First AV setup, music important - have 20yo Pioneer A300X / Tannoy Mercury M2 currently..!!

[christotten]

Hi there

I have a very old Pioneer A300X / Tannoy Mercury M2 combo currently hooked up to a Pioneer Kuro telly used mostly for Blue Ray and Sky HD. The amp is understandably showing it's age (joke in there I know) and it's beginning to fail, occasionly the left channel needs "tweaked" to get it to sound loud etc.

I want to upgrade to a new amp, one that will sound as good as the Pioneer, which in it's day was a mighty good amp, so I don't want something thats all singing all dancing but sounds rubbish.

Question - can I upgrade the sound of this system to something that will initially be for stereo only, but will ultimately do full surround? Im thinking of spending around £500 for the app, and would be interested in getting a speaker package that can be added to gradually over time, so with that in mind was looking at Keff R100 series, problem is I'm out of touch with amp / speaker matches and don't know what would suit - would the 2012 Yamaha award winner match well with Keff, or are the speakers a waste (perhaps overkill for this amp?

I'd like something that could start with L / R, add centre, add rear, add sub etc - that type of gradual but ultimately quality sound upgrade - I'm a patient man!

Input sources would mainly be Sky, Blu Ray (currently via Sony PS3) and Sonos, content mainly Spotify

Thanks in advance

Chris

 

[Frank Harvey]

You'll not find many AV receivers that will match their equally priced hi-fi equivalents. At your current budget, the Yamaha RXV673 is about the best you'll get, and you may pick up the last of the outgoing RXA1010 receivers which is a step up in performance, and would be well worth it if you're looking at speakers like the R100's. I've always liked the soundfield that the Yamaha receivers produce as it always seems more seamless and integrated - others can sound a bit detached and sound like you're listening to front speakers and rear speakers, if you know what I mean.

But it's all down to what sort of quality you want from the receiver. The only way to tell that is to get a demo of a few AV receivers in two channel mode and hear how they perform with music.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi there

I have a very old Pioneer A300X / Tannoy Mercury M2 combo currently hooked up to a Pioneer Kuro telly used mostly for Blue Ray and Sky HD. The amp is understandably showing it's age (joke in there I know) and it's beginning to fail, occasionly the left channel needs "tweaked" to get it to sound loud etc.

I want to upgrade to a new amp, one that will sound as good as the Pioneer, which in it's day was a mighty good amp, so I don't want something thats all singing all dancing but sounds rubbish.

Question - can I upgrade the sound of this system to something that will initially be for stereo only, but will ultimately do full surround? Im thinking of spending around £500 for the app, and would be interested in getting a speaker package that can be added to gradually over time, so with that in mind was looking at Keff R100 series, problem is I'm out of touch with amp / speaker matches and don't know what would suit - would the 2012 Yamaha award winner match well with Keff, or are the speakers a waste (perhaps overkill for this amp?

I'd like something that could start with L / R, add centre, add rear, add sub etc - that type of gradual but ultimately quality sound upgrade - I'm a patient man!

Input sources would mainly be Sky, Blu Ray (currently via Sony PS3) and Sonos, content mainly Spotify

Thanks in advance

Chris

Hi Chris

Yamaha's RX-V673 is an excellent AV amplifier for the money. If your budget allows then for slightly more power, two HDMI outputs, pre amplification outputs and superior build quality the RX-V773 is also worth a look. Speakers to also consider are Monitor Audio's Bronze BX2's, BX LCR, BX FX & BXW10, Silver RX1's, RX LCR, RX FX & RXW12 or ATC's SCM7, C1C, SCM7 & C1S.

As good as M2's are however I feel that BX2's, Silver RX1's and SCM7 monitors are better overall. As to how the two channel performance of the RX-V673 or the RX-V773 AV receivers compare to the A300X is a tough one to call. Different presentation, but at what level the quality of stereo performance these AV receivers offer is something which I'll recommend that you should try and find out by auditioning before you buy.

Btw, another option would be to ulitise your A300X for main front speakers and use an AV amplifier with pre amplification outputs (such as the RX-V773) for powering the centre, surrounds and feeding the sub/s.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft