Budget replacement for old Kenwood amp

[admin_exported]

Afternoon all. My old Kenwood amp finally gave up the ghost after 23 years of faithful service and things have changed a bit since I bought that! So I wondered, seeing as the amp did have a (Panasonic) DVD player, an old Marantz CD player, my ipod touch (via Cambridge Audio dock) and a budget Sony HDTV going through it and out to some old (but not as old as the amp!) Mission speakers, would I be better advised going the AV receiver route, (especially as I may upgrade to blu-ray and 3D at some point in the future)? (Or am I better just sticking with a more "old-fashioned" Hi-Fi amp?)

As this was an unexpected event (even after two decades), my budget is very limited indeed, only around £150 so I was thinking of the cheaper Yamaha to Onkyo receivers but I noticed Richer Sounds are doing a Yamaha YHT-294 (receiver and speakers) for £200, to which I could maybe stretch to try my first surround system if it would be worth it? Is there a better alternative?

If I did buy the YHT-294 package or similar , would I be able to use my old Mission speakers as the front ones and not bother with the Yamaha front pair that come with package and would that be the best set-up?

All advice gratefully received!

 

[f1only]

Hi Peggars

The Yamaha system you mention is OK ish, one of the downsides of it is NO HD audio decoding. The actual AV receiver of the system i believe is the Yamaha RXV367 @ £149.95. You could buy it & use your missions, i think you would be dissapointed though, there would be a tonal missmatch across the front with Centre Yamaha speaker.

If you were going to stretch to £200 for that package, how about buying the Sony STRDH810 @ £179.95 or less, which IMO a vastly superior AV amp to start with. As money is tight, you could keep the Missions & add a 2nd hand Centre Mission speaker to match it from ebay, therefore slowly building yourself up a better system as finances allow.

Regards ....

 

[Anonymous]

Hi f1only,

Thanks very much for that great advice, which I'm almost certainly going to go with. I've seen the Sony STRDH810 for £179.95 on Richer Sounds website but they don't have any available near me (oop north in Yorkshire!). Have you or has anyone else seen that model at a similar price anywhere else?

Thanks again.

 

[Petherick]

Not worth a visit to Stoke-on-Trent?? You'll have to be quick though!

 

[Petherick]

Sorry, repeated post; all sorts of strange things going on!

 

[Anonymous]

It just about is worth a trip to Stoke even if the train/petrol costs me £50 or more as no other prices seem to come near!

 

[Anonymous]

If I don't make it to Hanley/Stoke in time or dip out of the trip entirely but could get my hands on a Yamaha RXV467, Onkyo TXSR308 or Pioneer VSX520 for approx £150, would any of those be a decent alternative to the Sony STRDH810 for me. If so, which one do people reckon would be the best choice?

Thanks again!

 

[f1only]

Any of the 3 you mention would be better than the Yamaha RXV367. The Yamaha's are better generally with music, but still do a fine job with surround. Where as the Onkyo is more of a dedicated movie machine & i would put the Pioneer about 1/2 way between the two.

For me having auditioned all 3 of the brands & more, from last years models i preferred the Yamaha, thats not to say it will suit your taste. If possible see if you can get a demo / audition of each amp on a set of mission speakers to give you some idea of which you prefer, your the one who's going to be listening to it after all.

Regards...

 

[Anonymous]

Very sensible advice once more! I'll try to get a demo of each of them and take my pick - if I can find any! Thanks again.