Last years kit

[Lee H]

Hi all,

I've recently got some kef 2005s (the orginal ones from some years back) and am now looking for a receiver. I can't see myself going 3D for some time so I'm not too bothered about that, but I would like to upscale. Other "must" is that I've got a PS3 and Sky HD box so I understand (although could be wrong) that I'd need 2 optical inputs. So I have 2 questions...

1) Do optical switches work and is there any loss of quality or should I buy one with 2 inputs?

2) I keep hearing of savings on "last years" kit, but I can't seem to find these "bargains" anywhere. I'm not averse to ex-demo/reconditioned, but where can I get this from?

Budget is fairly tight (c. £400, pref less) for now. Room is about 21ft x 12ft

Other things that will be plugged in are a Sonos zone player and a Wii - music is especially important for my wife

I know it's all in the demo, but what should I be narrowing my options down to before I start asking for demos?

 

[Lee H]

Going for the record views to replies ratio

 

[sc1]

In my experience optical switches are a waste of space unless you get an expensive one, not worth it if you are buying an amp from scratch rather than having run out of inputs and not being able to afford to upgrade.

Bargains are all relative. An example is on Richer Sounds website the Denon AVR 2310 is c£500. THis was a 5 star product at £800 but has now been replaced by the AVR 2311. Or the Sony STR DH800 which was a 5 star product at £300 but is now available for £180. These are just examples, there are others of receivers that cost £2-3000 now in the £1-2000 bracket, which again is a bargain if you look at it from a certain point of view.

If you can get a sympathetic dealer why not try out several amplifiers to see which one takes your fancy? My view is only try the ones that satisfy your equipment requirements in terms of inputs without using switches etc if you can and see if any of those are to your liking, if not try the others.