Dedicated CD player with Home Cinema amp?

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I am looking to build a home cinema system that will also double up for HiFi duties. I'm no expert but I know the conventional wisdom amongst reviewers goes along the lines of "Multichannel amplifiers can sound ok, but a dedicated 2 channel amp will always give better sound quality". However, let's suppose I go out and spend £2,000 on a reasonably high end multichannel amp. Can anyone give an approximate idea of the price-comparable stereo performance I could expect to get from this system? In other words, approximately how much could I typically expect to spend on a stereo amplifier if I wanted to get the same 2 channel performance? Or put another way, what would be a sensible amount to spend on a partnering CD player?

I realise that this will vary enormously between different products, but can does anyone know if there is an approximate rule of thumb, e.g. that on average a multichannel amp will produce a stereo performance of a 2 channel amp costing, say, half, or a third (or whatever amount) of the price?

Reviewers never seem to make this very clear. I subscribe to WHF and every issue seems to contain comments like "this is one of the most musical multichannel receivers at this price point", but it leaves me with no real idea of the level of performance.

Just one final question: suppose I were to take the opposite route and buy a seperate CD player and 2-channel amp. Would it then be possible to wire these up to the front speakers of the multichannel setup? (Obviously not to receive a signal from both amps at the same time, but just connected so that I could listen to either music or movies through the same speakers.)

Thanks in advance for any tips.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Andy510:
I am looking to build a home cinema system that will also double up for HiFi duties. I'm no expert but I know the conventional wisdom amongst reviewers goes along the lines of "Multichannel amplifiers can sound ok, but a dedicated 2 channel amp will always give better sound quality". However, let's suppose I go out and spend £2,000 on a reasonably high end multichannel amp. Can anyone give an approximate idea of the price-comparable stereo performance I could expect to get from this system? In other words, approximately how much could I typically expect to spend on a stereo amplifier if I wanted to get the same 2 channel performance? Or put another way, what would be a sensible amount to spend on a partnering CD player?

I realise that this will vary enormously between different products, but can does anyone know if there is an approximate rule of thumb, e.g. that on average a multichannel amp will produce a stereo performance of a 2 channel amp costing, say, half, or a third (or whatever amount) of the price?

Reviewers never seem to make this very clear. I subscribe to WHF and every issue seems to contain comments like "this is one of the most musical multichannel receivers at this price point", but it leaves me with no real idea of the level of performance.

Just one final question: suppose I were to take the opposite route and buy a seperate CD player and 2-channel amp. Would it then be possible to wire these up to the front speakers of the multichannel setup? (Obviously not to receive a signal from both amps at the same time, but just connected so that I could listen to either music or movies through the same speakers.)

Thanks in advance for any tips.

It's a very difficult question but for starters there is a gap between £1500 receivers and then the likes of the Denon AV1HD or whatever it's called, that's about £3k. I would say something like the Onky 906 would be on par with a £300-£400 stereo amp. Far, far better getting a £1k receiver and a £1k stereo amp.

Just read your last question, yes it's easy to do. RCA cables from front pre outs on receiver to stereo amp spare input. You need to calibrate your speakers with the stereo amp at a memorable level (12 o'clock seems popular) and then always have it that level when using all your speakers.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info. That all makes sense, although with regard to the last part I suppose that means you would need to have both amps switched on when listening to multichannel. Also, by running the front two channels through a pair of interconnects to a second amp is there a risk of altering the tonal balance/sound quality compared with the remaining five speakers (in the 7.1 setup)?

I guess the other issue to consider would be making sure that the various components are roughly price compatible. Suppose for argument's sake I went for £1K multichannel and £1K stereo amps (just running with the numbers you mentioned). In order to justify a £1K outlay on the latter, I would probably need a pair of stereo speakers of at least the same value. If the front two speakers are costing £1K then I'd probably be looking at a total of around £2.5K for a complete 7.1 system. But then of course I'd have to look at my multichannel amp and say that in order to get the most from my speakers I'd need to go for something costing at least somewhere around the £1.5K mark (e.g. Onkyo 906, Yamaha 3900, Pioneer LX81 or Sony 5400ES). And if the amp in question performs roughly at the level of a £400 stereo amp anyway, it raises the question of whether it is really cost effective to spend £1K for what is effectively a £600 upgrade. (Not to mention another £1K or so for a suitable CD player!) On the other hand if stereo listening is really a priority then I suppose it could still be worthwhile.

I can see that some tough decisions lie ahead...