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Do AV amps have a place in Hi Fi stereo?

Peter Stockwell said:
That's my view too, and good sound is not about maximum power output, it's about minimum power output. I.e. how does the system get from (near) silence to making music.
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Agree with both posts. In my experience to get anywhere near to a 'musical' AV receiver/processor, you need to be prepared to spend at least £2.5-4k if buying new. Primare AV kit has been mentioned and I would go along with that. Their HT range is pretty special at the moment, although far from cheap.

Simple AV kit done well seems to work best.
 
Av amps are not very good at all in the lower price range for two channel music listening..Av amps for watching tv/videos are quite impressive..but stereo hifi amplifiers for listening to music..is by far the way to go..unless you are prepared to spend in excess of £3000.00
 
I think this is very much one of those 'depends on the situation' type questions. For my parents family room system, primarily used for AV, with my old 603 s3s biamped for front L/R on a Yamaha receiver using a Sony BluRay player over HDMI as the source in a pretty large room, it is very competent with CD. By the time you had bought a hi-fi amp capable of driving those speakers in that room, plus a CDP which outperforms the DACs in the Yamaha you could easily have doubled the cost of the system; categorically not worth it for them. Meanwhile in my much smaller living room and with more music usage I have gone the other way, and decided multi channel simply wasn't worth it, at least for the time being; the stereo out from my BluRay is perfectly good for films and stereo immersive enough, I may add a sub to get some 'proper' movie bass though...
 
I think processor/power amp(s) combination is likely to be the most flexible way. At a cost, as has been said. I have a combination of Meridian and Anthem in my main system.
 
The Nuforce AVP-18 looks interesting for a minimalist solution. A friend just got one, replacing a Quad 44.

A sympathetic detail of the '18 is that its programmable parametric equaliser is accessible by the user, as opposed to be rigidly set (and screwed up) by some in-built correction algorithm.
 
I often hear my Fathers Denon AVC-A1HD through his Opera Seconda's playing CD or SACD via from a cheap Blu-ray player. Decoding is performed by the Amp so the Bluray is just a transport.

This is an absolutely stunning setup. The amount of detail is awesome. I often go home to my Marantz/Naim/B&W setup and play the same CD hoping for a similar experience in vain.
 
I have had a somehow complex audio story; today, since I use the same system for music and cinema sound, I have a Naim AV2 into a NAP 150x, fed by my Oppo DV980H in digital.

The AV2 was, in relative terms, a very good bargain. Well, all I can say is that in the total of my experience the sound of CDs is very good, detailed, meaty and natural, with the classic Naim 'forward' signature but lively and believable.

So, my answer is yes.
 
PhilDick said:
I often hear my Fathers Denon AVC-A1HD through his Opera Seconda's playing CD or SACD via from a cheap Blu-ray player. Decoding is performed by the Amp so the Bluray is just a transport.

This is an absolutely stunning setup. The amount of detail is awesome. I often go home to my Marantz/Naim/B&W setup and play the same CD hoping for a similar experience in vain.
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Interesting - is it a surround setup or two channel?
 
I think it's possible to spend much less than £3000 to get good stereo sound form and AV amplifier. As I said, my current AV amplifier easily outperforms the dedicated Marantz and Nad that I used to own. It depends on your set up. If you use decent cables and perhaps an externals dac(though this is not always necessary)you can have excellent stereo sound. Pure audio mode switches out other potential interferences and can make a big difference.
 
avole said:
I ask the question because they seem to offer a lot more features, bags more power plus, of course, the chance to be deafened by your favourite movie/game.

I'm mulling an amp change (lack of remote is driving me up the wall) and am wondering whether there really is as much difference now as there used to be. I've tried an AV amp before and quickly dumped it, but that was ten years ago, and what I heard in a local AV/HiFi dealer the other day sounded pretty decent in 2 channel mode.

Plus, of course, on paper they're much better value for money.
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For value and performance, what you're really looking for is a pro amp:
http://www.itemaudio.co.uk/prestashop/power-amps/752-crown-xls2000-power-amp.html

Pro amps have quietly got better and more domestically friendly for the last decade, to the point where they're now one of the biggest unsung bargains in audio.

Having banged the drum for almost a decade now, it's gratifying to see how many folks have now jumped on the pro monitor bandwagon, but the better amp, like the Crown XLS2000, deserve to be better known - particularly given the paucity of options to match typical £300-800 attenuating DACs. Again, you're welcome to try one on a free home loan . . .
 
Del monaco said:
If you use decent cables and perhaps an externals dac(though this is not always necessary)you can have excellent stereo sound.
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Expensive audiophile cables do help address the major problem with AV amps in "serious" audiophile applications - being too cheap.
 
Mate has the AVR 450 by Arcam. Better - sounding than the other receivers he tried but it just doesn't get the foot tapping.
 
I've seen the Arcam 750 amp has some positive feedback. Not heard it myself but seems they may have improved reliability from the previous AVR600 range.
 
Werner said:
The Nuforce AVP-18 looks interesting for a minimalist solution. A friend just got one, replacing a Quad 44.

A sympathetic detail of the '18 is that its programmable parametric equaliser is accessible by the user, as opposed to be rigidly set (and screwed up) by some in-built correction algorithm.
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Where did you get your amp werner?
 
As stated, depends how much money you throw at the problem. Using an Arcam AVR (direct mode with NAD M51 DAC) sounds sweet in 2 channel. Probably get as good results using a good 2 channel amp tho - the only plus is that it sounds great in 5.1 too :)
Had an AVR500 before that but it got hot enough to fry eggs. Those problems are supposedly fixed on the AVR750 and not before time.
Have a cheaper Denon receiver and it's not in the same class as comparably priced or even cheaper stereo amps.
 
PhilDick said:
He has 5.1, biamped at the front.
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So when he is listening to music, is it stereo transformed into 5.1 with one of the surround processing decoders, or a 5.1 native recording?

The reason I ask is that I used to listen to music in 5.1 with a surround processor before adding a separate "proper" hi-fi and I miss the whole "enveloped by sound" feeling - it felt more like being at a gig (vocals etc. still come from the front, but with lower frequency ambience from the other speakers), whereas with stereo I sometimes get the nagging feeling that I'm sitting in a studio.
 
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