Which budget Amp for music and movies with Wharfedale 9.1s

[Rolius78]

Hi all,

First up - sorry if this is a bit of a silly/noob question. I know next to nothing about Amps and speakers etc

Anyway I've got a pair of the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s and I'd like to pair them with a budget amp (maximum £200, and would rather spend half that) for music and films.

I've done a lot of research and decided to go down the Stereo Amp route rather than a AV player as they are apparently much better for music and more than capable for films - especially as I dont have room for a surround sound set up (or budget for more speakers). I would like to be able to run a sub though - or at least have the future option just in case. The usage between music and film will be about 60% music.

My TV seems to only have an optical audio out - does this mean I need a DAC - seperate or built in? or can I buy some sort of cable...

I'm guessing all other devices audio (DVD etc) can be plugger via HDMI directly into the TV - is this a good solution or is there better?

I find a small form factor attractive and because of this have looked around for 2nd hand NAD D 320s and the TEAC AI-301DA but no dice on budget the best price I have found is £299...

I've heard good things about the Onkyo A-9010 and the Marantz PM6005 which seem to be available for around the £200 mark but a little large.

For info most music I listen to now is via Spotify and currently a PC with a creative soundcard - small 2.1 set up...

So... Can anyone offer advice on good amps that would suit this type of use at this price point? I guess the most confusion is whether I need a DAC or not to connect everything up and are there other 'small' Amps out there other than the TEAC or NAD.

Thanks in advance, very much appreciated!

R

 

[davedotco]

It is possible to get amps with built in dacs for around the £200 price point, but they might not be fully equiped to do everything that you want. If your TV is optical out, then this is essential as this is your only choice, your computer has a soundcard built in which will give you analog out, how good is that?

Does it have a digital out on the card, maybe you want to use the higher quality of usb out into a usb dac. What about other functionality for future use, internet radio say, or streaming your own music from a computer or Nas drive, how about Airplay or Bluetooth?

It is worth taking a few minutes to think this through, a few pounds extra spent now might save money down the line.

 

[Rolius78]

Thanks for getting back to me. I'd definitely be interested in streaming through a handheld device but I was planning on doing that through google chrome. Spotify is my go to so I'm not worried about streaming my own files.

Thinking about DACS then would I be better getting a cheaper amp and a separate cheap DAC or something that is already built in? Is there much noticible difference in sound quality between different DAC models as I've seen they vary in cost from £30-£700!

what about a sub can I easily run one through any stereo amp or is it better getting one with a dedicated sub outlet?

cheers!!

 

[davedotco]

You can clearly move ahead in a step by step manner, use a good basic amp, I like the Denons but there are others to choose from around £120-150 though few have subwoofer outs which may be important.

The PMA720AE has pre-outs which can drive a subwoofer, so would be a good choice, no digital input though, so you will need a dac, budget up to £30 and see if you can get a Fiio D3 for that. In adition if you want to stream from a hand held device, you will ideallt want a Bluetooth receiver, so much neater than using a wired connector, another £30. Plus of course if you are going to use Chromecast, that's another added cost.

See where I am going with this? Something like the Yamaha RN301 does everything bar a subwoofer but one can be easily connected to the speaker terminals and if you look around you can get one for £200.

Like I said, there are tons of options but they all do things slightly differently, do your homework and work out which is best for you.

 

[rainsoothe]

+1 for the Denon 720. Or even 520. Another great alternative is Nad c316 bee, which can be had for roughly the same money.

 

[Rolius78]

Thanks for the suggestions and I see what you mean about cost adding up.

I have seen this http://www.whathifi.com/denon/ceol-piccolo-n4/review

It seems to tick all the digital boxes - it has a output for a sub and will presumambly do a pretty good job with the TV and movies. It even has a small form factor which will help in my small room. Good review too.

Will it drive the Wharfedale 9.1s though... I've heard matching can be important

Cheers

R

 

[rainsoothe]

it could work, haven't heard it though.

And I, for one, would keep the PC or a laptop as a source and use a cheap audio interface as a DAC (like Behringer UCA 202, which you can find on thomann and other places), straight into an amp. And use a player that also has a remote app - like J River Media Center, and control volume with that. That's how I'd go about it, at least.

 

[knaithrover]

Marantz MCR510 ticks a lot of your boxes, sounds pretty decent too

 

[davedotco]

Thanks for the suggestions and I see what you mean about cost adding up.

I have seen this http://www.whathifi.com/denon/ceol-piccolo-n4/review

It seems to tick all the digital boxes - it has a output for a sub and will presumambly do a pretty good job with the TV and movies. It even has a small form factor which will help in my small room. Good review too.

Will it drive the Wharfedale 9.1s though... I've heard matching can be important

Cheers

R

The Denon/Marantz all in ones do indeed tick a lot of boxes, they are though, somewhat limited in power capability. Forget the manufacturers spec, output is modest but your speakers are not hard to drive so a reasonable levels they will be fine.

The 'separates' mentioned above are all rather more capable in more demanding situations but they are bigger and not so well equipped. As always, the choice is yours, both in terms of functionality and, of course, sound quality.

 

[chelstondave]

There are some good deals around at the moment on the Monitor Audio A100. i haven't heard it myself but its well reviewed, ticks all the boxes and is within budget

 

[Rolius78]

Hi all, thanks again for the tips.

In the end bought a Marantz M-CR511 - http://www.marantz.co.uk/uk/products/pages/productdetails.aspx?catid=networkproducts&subcatid=networkcdreceiver&productid=melodymediamcr511

I got it for a pretty good discount at £210

It sounds great with the speakers through the TV and with Spotify.

However I do wonder if a better solution would have been to buy a cheaper regular non networked Amp - Denon, Pioneer, Onkyo etc and simply add on a DAC for the TV and a Google Chrome Audio for Spotify...

I think its a challege for someone who is new to buying audio to really see the benefit of one route over the other.

For instance with a regular good quality Amp - it will presumably last for years - and you can always upgrade the digital add ons.

Where as I've already noticed with the Reciever that wi-fi is not 100% consistant etc... mmm

Quick question - the unit is supposed to support high qulity 192kHz / 24bit audio - is there a quick way to test the difference with this? Eg the optical signal is only 48khz according to the display.. What can I try seeing as I don't hold audio files on my PC and play everything over the net?

 

[splasher]

To the best of my knowledge you can't stream anything as high as 24/192 yet. Tidal do CD quality 16/44.1. Proper high res needs to be bought, downloaded and played locally, from a USB stick, hard drive, NAS or computer.

 

[knaithrover]

Hi all, thanks again for the tips.

In the end bought a Marantz M-CR511 - http://www.marantz.co.uk/uk/products/pages/productdetails.aspx?catid=net...

I got it for a pretty good discount at £210

It sounds great with the speakers through the TV and with Spotify.

However I do wonder if a better solution would have been to buy a cheaper regular non networked Amp - Denon, Pioneer, Onkyo etc and simply add on a DAC for the TV and a Google Chrome Audio for Spotify...

I think its a challege for someone who is new to buying audio to really see the benefit of one route over the other.

For instance with a regular good quality Amp - it will presumably last for years - and you can always upgrade the digital add ons.

Where as I've already noticed with the Reciever that wi-fi is not 100% consistant etc... mmm

Quick question - the unit is supposed to support high qulity 192kHz / 24bit audio - is there a quick way to test the difference with this? Eg the optical signal is only 48khz according to the display.. What can I try seeing as I don't hold audio files on my PC and play everything over the net?

Very good choice. I loved my 510 until I ran out of space and got a NAD D3020