Integrated amp vs. power amp with B&W 684s

[admin_exported]

Hi there

I'm another newby with a little knowledge (i.e. dangerous) and I'm in need of some advice.

I've currently got a Denon AVR-1906 which I added some B&W 684s to and got rid of the silly little 5.1 surround speakers I had. Really happy with the 684s but feel like I'm might be missing something.

When I was buying my speakers the salesman suggested I look at upgrading/chaning my amp to a stereo amp as I mainly use the system to listen to music. So, I've got a few quesitons and hope someone can help:

1) Why would a stereo amp be better than an AV amp for listening to music?

2) I saw that the Rotel RA-1520 is a good match with B&W 684s and recommended by What HiFi (I think but can't find the articel again). If the RA-1520 is only 60w/channel is my AVR-1906 better as it has 85w/channel?

3) Would the Roksan Kandy K2 be a better choice?

4) I mainly listen to 320Kbps MP3s through my AppleTV using WiFi and connecting the AppleTV by optical cable to the Amp. Should I be considering a seperate DAC? Or am I being really dumb using WiFi/AppleTV/MP3s?

Thanks to anyone out there that can help me.

Karl

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I have both Denon AVR 1910 and Rotel 1520 (and 7 B&W monitor speakers in one room!) so Denon sound is ok for home cinema, as for music I would call it DEAD and BAD. Rotel 1520 is superb with great soundstage and to experience it the speakers should be one meter off the wall or you will get boomy sound (some people like it but classical ochestra sounds like on steroids). However to trully enjoy the sound stage you should invest into a streamer ( I use Marantz NA 7004 and airplay from an iPhone or iTunes or from a classic iPod via USB, which serves as a hard drive) You will be in heaven. The only problem is lip sync, which will not work from Rotel 1520, so you still need Denon for movies.

 

[Anonymous]

BTW do not worry about the power. to my ears Rotel is more powerful, faster than Denon and as a friend of mine observed 'with such sound stage there is no need to listen louder than 9 o'clock position of the volume knob'. (12 o'clock and Chemical Brothers brought my upstairs neighbour to complain)

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, I'll definitely be going into a store to test a few setups then. Interesting that the Rotel makes such a difference to music vs. the Denon AV amp.

I've actually been looking at the Marantz NA 7004 because of the Airplay but that's adding another £430 so may need to wait for that.

When you say it doesn't lip sync with the Rotel, what input/setup do you mean won't work for movies? Would I have the lip sync problem if I ran an optical cable from my Sky box or DVD player into the Marantz and HDMI from Sky/DVD into the TV?

 

[Anonymous]

on the Denon you can manipulate time when the dialogues (and the whole soundtrack) are heard so it can be synced with TV. I have no experience how to solve this problem in a different way than by home cinema amp. So you should ask some experienced dealer.

 

[Memphismusic]

Hi,

A few answers using my experience over the last 5 years playing with different amps and speaker set-ups.

1. I have tried some really good AV amps and have found if you want stereo music, then only a good stereo amp will work best. The AV amps just don't have the attack, detail and stereo image desired for top quality stereo music.

2. After trying several sets of good speakers I have found the 684's (which i own and use now) very good and controlled and can be powered by a 40w, 60w, 120w amp if desired - Less is sometimes more!

3. I recently owned a K2 amp and even tough i liked it's style, it was british made and very powerful - It was also too forward, didn't help treble control, was very difficult to set a decent listening level by the remote and caused listening fatigue. That's just what I found - What Hi-Fi and probably others rate it, just not for me.

4. I have now just purchased a Cyrus 6a Amp - The best move I ever made - It's a stunner, but doesn't have optical, if you have them use stereo conections on your Apple TV to the stereo amp.

5. WiFi is fine for casual listening, but CD's and a dedicated CD player will always sound best.

6. The Rotel RA-1520 maybe a fine amp (i don't know) and will probably sound more powerful anyway than the Denon. Again work out your connections and see if it has optical.

I hope some of this helps - it comes from a lot of experimenting and far too much money spent to get to this concluson.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Hi Fi Biker and MemphisMusic.

I'm defintely getting the feeling that I need to head to a stereo amp from what you have said and what I've read on other forums.

 

[WinterRacer]

An interesting test of a cheap AV amp vs high end separates here: [LINK REMOVED - house rules]

The received wisdom in hifi circles is that AV amps aren't very good as stereo amps for music. This link shows a test that challenges that view. I'd suggest keeping an open mind on this and spend some time auditioning to make sure you can hear improvements for yourself.

 

[Anonymous]

Listen with the volume at 9 o'clock says nothing about the power of your amp. It has more to do with the output impedance and the sensitivity of your loudspeakers.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks WinterRacer, that's an interesting post and definetly makes me think I need to try quite a few and decide for myself what I like the sound of rather than jumping at an expensive stereo amp with loads of power and specs.