Hifi amp ?

[gwalker]

Can anyone recommend an amp which will stream & has a remote ? Currently have an old Arcam. Budget hopefully around £500.

Any help welcome !

 

[John Duncan]

Most stereo amps don't have built-in streaming facilities themselves. There are still some options, just depends on what you mean by "will stream"?

 

[gwalker]

Am looking to stream music from iTunes using iPhone or iPad and also Spotify.

 

[plastic penguin]

Probably only the Marantz 603, unless John or someone else knows of an alternative. But it isn't streamer but does accommodate devices.

 

[gwalker]

Would it be best to get an amp & then get something else to connect to it to allow streaming ?

 

[gwalker]

Rotel RA11 or Arcam FMJ A19 ?

 

[John Duncan]

Nearest I can think of is an Onkyo TX-8050. Does DLNA and SPotify, but not Airplay, though you could add an airport express and still be in budget. I know you said you didn't want to have the Apple TV on (which would serve the same purpose), but I keep my AEX on all the time just for this purpose.

 

[the record spot]

Am looking to stream music from iTunes using iPhone or iPad and also Spotify.

As John just said, the Onkyo TX-8050, ticks most of your boxes as it does all of that minus native Airplay. That said, you have options. Either use an Airport Express or better still an Apple TV3 which does all that the AEX can do, but will give you your music library from iTunes via home sharing and hooks up via optical to the Onkyo. It has additional streaming features too that the AEX obviously doesn't.

You can hook up your Touch or iPod Classic to the USB input on the fascia too and use the Onkyo's remote to access your playlists that way. I do both and it works very well.

 

[gwalker]

Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[the record spot]

You're welcome; I see the price has gone up to around £500 on the 8050, and it's worth that, but I think for that kind of money, I'd be off to Richer Sounds and nabbing a TX-NR818 for £100 more a £599. Killer amp, and gives you access to audio formats the 8050 doesn't. Same network functionality and Spotify onboard too. Yes, more amps, if you just want stereo, but you can then cost-effectively bi-amp your speakers.

 

[GMK]

I bought an 8050 based on TRS (amongst others) praise for it. It is excellent, but as said, it was £250-£300 when we bought ours, so worth opting for the upgraded amp mentioned instead