What home cinema amp to buy?

[jonwade]

Last night my old Harmon Kardon amp stopped working. I have: Project Debut 2 turntable (2001)Roksan Kandy KA-1 stereo amp (2001)Sony BDPS790 3D player (2013)Standard Plasma screen (2005ish) - Hitachi 42PD7200Harmon Kardon AVR 330 amp (broken - lights come on, no sound)Humax FOXSAT-HDR Freesat+ 320GB HD Digital TV Twin Tuner HD Recorder (2010) I had my blue-ray connected to the HK with the digital cable and the Freesat connected with L&R. I used the pre-out for front L&R speakers which went to the Roksan amp, so I could then use the Roksan amp direct for turntable - it has a phono stage thing. I am now using just the Roksan stereo for everything! I have 5 speakers (2 Jura floorstanders and centre at the front and something else at the back). I am just trying to decide where to go from here. Should I ditch the Roksan completely and get one new amp that does it all well? Or get an amp that has pre-out so I can continue to connect the turntable direct to the Roksan (there is an earth cable with the Pro-ject, guessing this will not have a home on many new amps!?). Or just get a phono stage amp (like the Project Phono Box MM Turntable Pre-Amplifier). I do not have a huge budget at all, so £500 tops. I like the idea of Bluetooth so I can stream music from my phone to the amp. Been looking at loads of options, inc. the new Onkyo, Pioneer, Marantz, Sony, Yamaha ...... So confused. Maybe I should just go budget, something like the Yamaha RX-V377 with the Project Phono Box? Total cost of about £230. http://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-v377/review http://www.amazon.co.uk/Phono-Box-MM-Turntable-Pre-Amplifier/dp/B000YEK1AQ No network features, but I suppose I could get a bluetooth adapter if I want to stream from my phone? But worried I will regret it. Admittedly, I hardly seriously listen to music these days (I had a lovely Roksan CD player that went with the amp, but that packed up years ago). My music listening is mostly radio and the odd cd or record!

 

[Leeps]

Personally I'd just look to replace your broken AV receiver and continue to use your Roksan Kandy for stereo duties. A cheap AVR won't get close to it.

It's just coming up to the time of year when many manufacturers are introducing this year's models, which means that in the next 3-4 months, the 2014 AV receivers will be reducing dramatically in price. With a budget of £500 I would ignore current £500 models, but instead look at £800 models that ought to reduce to that price.

A couple of examples to look out for. I can personally recommend the newer version of my own AVR, the Pioneer SC-2024: originally £800, now available in Richers for £499. It's a powerful machine that's very well specified...it should have all the gizmos you need and pre-outs for your Roksan. The Yamaha price equivalent is the Yamaha RX-A840, but it's still a bit pricey yet. Give it another few months and it should be around the £400-£500 mark.

So far, most AV receiver manufacturers have released their budget machines. The mid-range and high-end ones haven't been released yet, so some of their predecessors are holding onto higher prices. That will change though. It's one of the good things about buying AV receivers: you can pick up some real bargains as they get discounted more heavily than their price-equivalent stereo amps.