Do AV amps have a place in Hi Fi stereo?

[narabdela]

...but it just doesn't get the foot tapping.

I really thought Hi-Fi had moved on since the eighties.

 

[kasperhauser]

They definitely have a place. The factors governing their performance as regular 2 channel amplifiers are the same as those for regular hi-fi amps.

This.

I've had long, heart-to-heart conversations with a number of AV amps; quite surprisingly, not one of them seemed to have the slightest clue it was an AV amp.

 

[ItemAudio]

This.

I've had long, heart-to-heart conversations with a number of AV amps; quite surprisingly, not one of them seemed to have the slightest clue it was an AV amp.

Pro amps tell the same story.

 

[PhilDick]

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.

He listens in Stereo (in direct mode) for CD's. He also has SACD's and Opera's etc (on Bluray) which are decoded in direct mode too (5.1 DSD or 5.1, DD trueHD etc).