Want hi-fi sound from AV receiver...

[admin_exported]

Something had to give ... there just wasn't room in our new house, or our budget, or my sense of reason, for a separate dedicated audio system - and I had become totally convinced of the merits of surround sound after several very good demos. Also, what my wife and I wanted was less kit, not more. So it had to be just the one AV system.

Anyway, I've chosen Tannoy Arena 5.1 speakers; the telly is a Panasonic TX-P42G10. When the Oppo blu-ray player is available for regions B/2, I guess I'll go for that - there doesn't seem to be any competition. We'll see to the record deck later....

However, I'm struggling when it comes to choosing an AV receiver. I want to 'upgrade' substantially, in sheer sound quality terms, from our current, modest NAD integrated amp. However, it seems to me that to get more of that essential lucidity, transparency, whatever, you have to buy shedloads of bells and whistles to go along with the higher-quality decoding and pre- and power-amplification.

Yes, I want all the HD audio formats, but I don't want multi-room/zone or all that malarkey, just the kind of audio insight that makes you grin involuntarily. We don't need grunt measured in horsepower rather than watts, we just want the sweet-spot "rightness" of well-sorted kit. How can I get that without spending a fortune? Do I have to invest in one of the £2K+ monsters to get sound I can live with?

 

[Big Aura]

The bigger you spend, the closer you'll get, but it is a bit of a struggle. I have not heard 'em, but the Onk 876, or the Yamaha 1900 are said to be more musical. What's your budget?

 

[Anonymous]

I'm kind of in a similar situation myself.

If they ever get round to releasing it, the Cambridge Audio 640R V2 will certainly be a potential candidate to audition.

 

[Messiah]

Hmmm Hi Fi sound from an AV receiver. I don't think anyone has achieved it yet, certainly not at an 'affordable' price.

 

[Anonymous]

Only one I know who says he has got close is 'Trevor79' who like me has a 'onkyo 875' but he has improved his mains supply which helps a lot I have heard.

 

[aliEnRIK]

Affy Sion Ado:
Do I have to invest in one of the £2K+ monsters to get sound I can live with?

My dad used to use the Pioneer AX10 which was around £2600 when it came out. The 2 channel sound (Which what hifi reviewed and said was good) was cr*p compared to a decent dedicated 2 channel amp

 

[Anonymous]

You could try the Naim AV gear. I suspect it doesn't come cheap, though....

 

[Anonymous]

It really depends what the budget it.

It is true that, though, that the superior-sounding A/V Receivers are the high(er)-end models, which are released with a lot of bells-and-whistles that not many people use. Manufacturers feel the need to fill-up pages upon pages of specifications to justify the higher price to customers. It seems to work on many customers, who seem to enjoy reading specifications (not realising that they are never going to use the majority of those features).

I would say an 'entry' point towards getting somewhere towards 2-channel nirvana would be the Sony DTR5400ES A/V Receiver. After that, it starts at the 2,000GBP mark for the Yamaha DSP-Z7, and then the sky's the limit.

Dan.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks very much to dantan and the other respondents.

Looks like I just need to research and listen carefully and 'bite the bullet' when it comes to handing over the money! I guess I shall need to start from scratch evaluating affordable-ish receivers.

What is the budget? Well, in the (audio-centric) past I've been patient and 'pounced' on bargains with price tags of hundreds, not thousands. Good sound on a small budget...

The telly has always connected to the system (using audio-out from the set itself and the VCR), from now on it'll be an integral part of it as well.

So it looks like £1500 to £2000 max to get decent sound (although I'll definitely have a good 'taste' first to determine whether that'll be enough!). The only question is, what else gives in the domestic budget?

But that one's my problem.