How much of a difference will I notice with this amplifier upgrade?

[admin_exported]

Hey guys, i was wondering if you could shed some light on the differences i will notice with this amp upgrade. I would consider myself an audiophile, and a complete hi-fi newbie at the same time. So i can notice even the slightest differences in tone, and appreciate the sound quality of different setups and the accoustics of rooms etc, but I know noting about audio equipment 🙁

I would be upgrading from a 20 year old Sony TA-D505 Hi-Fi amp (40w per channel into 6ohm) to a brand new Yamaha A-S300 (approx 65w per channel into 6ohm). The speakers i will be using are Wharfedale Diamond 9.2's (maximum power handling 100w @ 6ohm, recomended amplifier wattage 20w - 100w into 6ohm)

The sound quality with my current amp is acceptable, however the sound is quite murky and dull and the bass lacks punch, and to be frank it ruins the experience of listening to many genre's of music.

Thanks all 🙂

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry everyone, the A-S300 chucks out 60wpc into 8ohm's, so around 80wpc into my 6ohm speakers.

 

[Rethep]

I don't think there is much sense in telling how many Watt's the amps are capable of. Main difference will be in the character of the sound. That's a question of listening (at home). As you said that you are very good at this, it is just the matter of doining it.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think there is much sense in telling how many Watt's the amps are capable of. Main difference will be in the character of the sound. That's a question of listening (at home). As you said that you are very good at this, it is just the matter of doining it.

Thanks, as i said, i am a bit of a newbie. I assumed that if the amp can provide the speakers with more power, it might be able to drive the lower frequencies a little better.

I was hoping someone could give me an indication without me having to buy the amp first haha. Being a student, spending nearly £200 is more of a big deal than it may be to others.

 

[Rethep]

For a student, owning Wharfedale's is not bad. I owned the Denton 2 in the 70's. I also owned a Sony amp which sounded a bit murkey too. If you have 200 GBP to spend or less, look for secondhand. Read some reviews, but don't fuss too much about the details. A good neutral amp is a good neutral amp. Stay away from exotic brands. Good luck!

 

[shafesk]

I think it should be a good upgrade, your amp upgrade is long overdue. The watts are not the be all and end of all, an amp which has the same power rating as another amp might sound a lot more powerful. You would be surprised to hear that many amps audiophiles lust over put out less than 10 watts! Its all about matching your amp and speakers with your source. If you get just one of this wrong then the sound could go in the wrong direction.

So I would recommend that you take your speakers to a shop that has the amp in stock and try it out with your speakers. If it doesn't sound good then you can try another amp, but the best advice I can give you is don't take specifications and features as a guideline. One amp I would like to recommend is the pm6004, you can get it for 250, that is if you can stretch to it.

Best of luck and let us know how you get on,

Shafin

 

[Anonymous]

got them for £80 🙂 I guess the seller didnt know they were worth more... I also got the entire LBT-D505 hi-fi w' speakers (which i don't use) for £80, so my setup only cost £160...

Thanks for the pointers 🙂