Page 1 of Whats essential in an amp?

Hi
I want to buy an amp and 5 speakers to use with a tv/video/dvd player.

Can someone tell me whats the basics i should be looking of in an amp?
ie what ports do i need as a minimum.

I really know nothing about amps as i have never had one, some are £60 some £400 what`s the difference and what do i really need? Obviously I would like to spend as least a possible but £60 sounds a little too cheap to me.

Any advice v much apprecitiated

Hi,

I`m no expert on AV, but I`ve spent many weeks reading and reviewing and trying to understand what I need, like you.
IMHO you should view your Amp as the very heart of your AV system. The quality of output that you get thru your speakers, from DVD,TV, CD etc is significantly down to the quality of the Amp.
The majority of amps will give you the basic ports you need for most applications ie coax or optical digitial in from your DVD, pairs of phono ins from your Nicam TV and possibly an old turntable etc.
Where the cost starts going up is with the power ratings per channel and feature support. Support for DTS will cost a little more than just Dolby digital 5.1, DTS ES again a bit more, THX, more still. Then there are things like power per channel output. Also, its usually best to get a DVD player without DD/DTS decoder and let the AMp do this job.
So, first you have to decide what U want from an amp so that you dont under or over spend. JFYI I have gone for the Denon 3801, cheapest price I have found is £599, next model down is the 2801. This wont answer all your questioins but hope it helps a little

£599 !! bloody hell, a little out of my price range me thinks.

I have seen one in a richersounds magazine the Pioneer A109 which is 40WPC.
I think 40wpc is quite good???? problem is it is £90 and therfore I suspect there is something wrong i.e. it wont have enough ports or it doesnt support DTS etc.

I really am a total newbie with Amps.

I am guessing that the important factors are::

1) WPC
2) Dolby and DTS support
3) Number of ports

Anything else you looked for???

As I said, there is the Denon 2801 and even the 1801 (havent looked at that spec) but Denon is a class act without paying mega bucks.Have a look on their web site and choose the features you need. SDB electronics has the 2801 for 449. You didnt say if you needed a receiver or just an amp?

If U want to get good surround from a normal stereo source the Denon is also good as it splits the original sound channel between your 6 speakers (DTS ES)

If your budget is modest, you may just be better off going for an all in one system like the new JVC TH A9R, sparkling reviews (see Home Cinema May/June) at less than 500 squids all in which has DD & DTS decoders DSP modes, tunerDVD, 5 speakers + woofer. I had thought long and hard about this one myself but I have a bit more budget and decided to use it.

AV is a very very subjective subject. Best to buy a few mags like Home Cinema or Home Cinema Choice, read the reviews on pages like HCC and Home-Entertainment and go from there. Thats what I have done. At the end of the day what sounds good to one doesnt sound good to everybody. Best of luck

Nothing wrong with a sherwood from richer sounds and you can get one with dd for 200 or so .If you want a video /audio amp (svhs) 500 will do the trick or maybe im wrong as i have a sherwood ....just a thought
ps you will get there in the end....baz

This item was edited on Thursday, 7th June 2001, 21:03