Recommend an amp

[pogologo]

Looking for amp recommendation. I was originally thinking a pm6006 but I am worried it will disappoint; so I am upping the budget and hoping someone can give me some recommendations.

Firstly the it will be paired with Zensor 5. I can't afford an upgrade on those too so a good match is necessary. I will audition the amp to check also.

The room is 5.73 * 4.93m. Carpet, sofas. Usual lounge furniture.

The amp must have digital inputs or be able to play through a NAS. I have approx 100,000 digital tracks. I have a Chromecast audio via optical currently and a Synology NAS.

Would be nice if it had a phono stage (I have about 1000 LPs) but I can cope without.

Budget. I guess around £800. Less preferably but I would go more if it wasn't too much and it was a significant step up.

Thanks.

 

[rainsoothe]

Hi. First of all, try to audition if you can, preferably in your own home. My suggestion would be Marantz PM8005 (Marantz gel very well with Dali, IMO) and use the Chromecast for now. It also has a good phono-stage. The new Rega Brio might also be worth checking out, same deal - phono stage, but no DAC.

 

[pogologo]

Thanks. These don't have optical in though do they?

 

[grimharry]

If the optical is for the cca have you tried it’s own dac seems a few people like it

 

[jjbomber]

Firstly the it will be paired with Zensor 5. I can't afford an upgrade on those too so a good match is necessary. I will audition the amp to check also.

The amp must have digital inputs or be able to play through a NAS. I have approx 100,000 digital tracks. I have a Chromecast audio via optical currently and a Synology NAS.

Would be nice if it had a phono stage (I have about 1000 LPs) but I can cope without.

Budget. I guess around £800. Less preferably but I would go more if it wasn't too much and it was a significant step up.

Thanks.

Arcam Solo Music is £799 at Richer Sounds. Runner up is their own Cambridge CXA80 at £649 and a Project phono stage with the change.

 

[plastic penguin]

jjbomber has it right: Arcam and Dali are a wonderful match.

 

[knaithrover]

Arcam FMJ A19 goes great with Zensor 5's and can be had for under £400 2nd hand. No dac but that can be added relatively cheaply

 

[pogologo]

Thanks. The Arcam solo looks very promising. I hadn't even considered or looked at an all in one. Is there any compromise needed with these setups or are they as amplifer separates? Would also need a phono stage adding, right?

As i said before I will be listening to mainly music but I see there is an Arcam solo movie (2.1) also that I could get that adds Blu-ray into the mix.

Is there a downside to this from an audio point of view or does it just add more features. I wouldn't want to compromise on sound quality, powder etc (as that's the reason I am upgrading anyway).

Thanks again

 

[jjbomber]

Thanks. The Arcam solo looks very promising. I hadn't even considered or looked at an all in one. Is there any compromise needed with these setups or are they as amplifer separates? Would also need a phono stage adding, right?

As i said before I will be listening to mainly music but I see there is an Arcam solo movie (2.1) also that I could get that adds Blu-ray into the mix.

Is there a downside to this from an audio point of view or does it just add more features. I wouldn't want to compromise on sound quality, powder etc (as that's the reason I am upgrading anyway).

Thanks again

Yes, you would need to buy a phono stage (Project have a range of suitable ones)

Yes, it has HDMI inputs for Blu-Ray

Yes there is a downside. You need to buy one before they sell out! They are uPNP conpliant, so you can stream from your NAS, as well as optical, coaxial and USB inputs. There isn't any comprimise in sound quality at this price point.

 

[pogologo]

Thanks. What is the difference between the movie and the music? On paper, apart from bluray, I can't see one.

 

[pogologo]

Any other suggestions or comments on the solo?

 

[jjbomber]

Thanks. What is the difference between the movie and the music? On paper, apart from bluray, I can't see one.

Used to be a couple of hundred quid extra for the blu-ray, that's all.

 

[rainsoothe]

Arcam FMJ A19 goes great with Zensor 5's and can be had for under £400 2nd hand. No dac but that can be added relatively cheaply

Imo, Arcam A19 + Dali Zensor 5 would sound too flabby, as the A19 (which is one of my favourite amps) can sometimes be just a bit "disorganised" in the bass, and Zensor floorstanders sound pretty flabby, so they need something with a tight bottom. Of course, it depends on taste, some people like it like that, and, for the record, I haven't heard the pairing, but whenever I auditioned Zensor floorstanders, they gave me that impression.

 

[newlash09]

I found the bass on the zensor 5's to be flabby too. But that could be my under powered amp too, as lots of folks have paired them with more powerful Amps and are happy with the outcome.

At the 800 pounds mark, will be very difficult to beat the arcam music solo in all respects, sound quality included. And if music is the main purpose, I'd stick with the solo music over the solo movie for its 2x80W .

 

[drummerman]

Sony STR DB930

 

[insider9]

Sony STR DB930

+1

We have a winner!!!

 

[QuestForThe13thNote]

Definitely not with that Sony, and I owned it - get yourself a proper audiophile 2 channel amp with less compromises than a home cinema multi channel av receiver.

 

[pogologo]

What are the compromises with an av amp and a stereo amp?

 

[QuestForThe13thNote]

I’d expect a £500 av receiver with surround sound processing and a receiver radio to be a big part of the cost of the amp, whereas a £500 dedicated 2 channel amp with no bells and whistles is about pure sound quality.

 

[pogologo]

That makes sense. What about something like the arcam solo? Still a compromise?

 

[jjbomber]

What are the compromises with an av amp and a stereo amp?

The stereo amp is a motorbike for two while the AV amp is a car for 5.1 people, OK, 5 people and a dog. A £10,000 motorbike will be far faster than a £10,000 car, but limited. If you want a car and motorbike to have similar performance, you have to pay a lot more for the car.

So the Arcam Solo Movie is more than the Arcam Solo Music in the real world, even though they share the same class G amp.

 

[drummerman]

What are the compromises with an av amp and a stereo amp?

The stereo amp is a motorbike for two while the AV amp is a car for 5.1 people, OK, 5 people and a dog. A £10,000 motorbike will be far faster than a £10,000 car, but limited. If you want a car and motorbike to have similar performance, you have to pay a lot more for the car.

So the Arcam Solo Movie is more than the Arcam Solo Music in the real world, even though they share the same class G amp. 

Just one of many old HiFi prejudices. Whilst I agree that ultra cheap A/V receivers are probably not the way to go just a read of some reviews (and measurements) of say some Onkyo A/V receivers will soon put the above to bed. They are usually more powerful and measure just as well as dedicated two channel amps at twice the price. HifiWorld and HifiNews havebin the past reviewed those.

Don't forget that these huge brands have huge buying power and sell vastly more than the typical HiFi brands. The result is the punter will get more for their money

Then add much superior functionality and the case for an A/V amplifier is good.

Styling is the biggest problem. They all look dull. You can't have everything.

As for the Sony, superb.

 

[jjbomber]

Styling is the biggest problem. They all look dull. You can't have everything.

Denon HEOS AVR. Beauty queen.

 

[QuestForThe13thNote]

What are the compromises with an av amp and a stereo amp?

The stereo amp is a motorbike for two while the AV amp is a car for 5.1 people, OK, 5 people and a dog. A £10,000 motorbike will be far faster than a £10,000 car, but limited. If you want a car and motorbike to have similar performance, you have to pay a lot more for the car.

So the Arcam Solo Movie is more than the Arcam Solo Music in the real world, even though they share the same class G amp.

Just one of many old HiFi prejudices. Whilst I agree that ultra cheap A/V receivers are probably not the way to go just a read of some reviews (and measurements) of say some Onkyo A/V receivers will soon put the above to bed. They are usually more powerful and measure just as well as dedicated two channel amps at twice the price. HifiWorld and HifiNews havebin the past reviewed those.

Don't forget that these huge brands have huge buying power and sell vastly more than the typical HiFi brands. The result is the punter will get more for their money

Then add much superior functionality and the case for an A/V amplifier is good.

Styling is the biggest problem. They all look dull. You can't have everything.

As for the Sony, superb.

dont really agree with that, as I’ve been an onkyo owner too, up to a £1000 onkyo av amp. They are good for home cinema but distortion figures of some of these amps are pretty horrendous.

I don’t necessarily agree you get more for your money. If you want an all encompassing radio, amp, av processor, have a home cinema system and listen to 2 channel too, then fine, but use a 2 channel amp for a 2 channel set up, maybe with bypass and then add on the av amp. It’s not just about power. A 2 channel purely audiophile 2 ch amp at £1k at 40w, can sound better than a av amp at £1k with 150w into 2 channels. It depends on speaker quality too.

The sound I’ve found in these av amps into good speakers is thin in mids and detail resolution, but good for all out punch, but then not as dynamically good in punchiness to good 2 channel audiophile offerings - a bit lazy in dynamics. Compare that too a really good 2 channel amp, you tend to get better detail, more refined mids, not quite the punch if a lower power amp, but still better dynamically, faster and more controlled.

 

[insider9]

Distortion figures of some of these may be higher but does it really matter? I've measured a cheap AV amp vs audiophile amp and the distortion figures are a non issue. I'd challenge anyone to tell them apart by measurements. Speakers and room contribute far more.

I agree with Drummerman a lot of it is just prejudice. Don't discount it just on the basis of a different label. Overall I agree with less is more but you need to judge with your own ears, in your system with your speakers.