Page 1 of which A/V amp?

I`m currently looking to buy an a/v amp. i have two in mind. the sony strdb 870 and the yamaha rxv620rds. does anyone know which is best?

Try the Sony HTK215, small, cheap (from Unbeatable.co.uk) and brill.

Dave

I have the Sony STRDB 870.

Whilst I cannot compare it to the Yamaha as I have never heard it, I can tell you for a fact that the Sony amp is totally fantastic.

1. connections.

It has more av connections than you can shake a stick at. 4 optical, 1 coaxial. (my preferred choice) Loads of L/R stereo and two or three s-video options to boot. Bnding posts for speakers, pre amp outs + a lot more.

2. Set up.

Its easy to set up. It does not have an on screen display, but the Led is sound. There are numerous options and for configuring it to your needs. I have found the ` generic` set up suits me altough I have upped the mid and treble slightly.

3. Sound.

Well, this is what it is about. Simply, it delivers crisp pro-logic, 5., DTS and virtual 6.1 very very well. The on board DSPs are top.
It can handle vanilla 5.1 and DTS very cleanly, but I engage cinema studio ex B. This totally fills the room with an effective soundstage .
I cannot begin to descibe the pod race on The Phantom Menace, even without a sub it is simply fantastic as is every film I play !!!

4. Build - very very god. One of Sony` QS products finished a silver aliminium that sits very nicely alongside my Sony 735d DVD player.

Finally, my brother, a seperates fan who owns Denon and marantz hi-fi listened to The best of Tom Petty with me on Monday afternoon. He was amazed at the musical ability of the amp.
It may sound cliched, but it really delivered the sound and picked up things you are unlikely to hear on an average machine/hi-fi.

I hope this help. By the way, I got mine from

http://www.hifibitz.co.uk

only £379.99 (silver) including delivery.

Pete.

This item was edited on Wednesday, 27th February 2002, 16:46

What about newer kit like the Denon 1602/1802, Marantz 4200/5200. What`s the budget?

The budget is about £450 to £550 I don`t really care about Pro logic 2 and not to fussed about music performance. It`s just the movie side of things that counts.

The speakers i plan to hook up is a wharfedale diamond 8/ mission m7ds combination.

Well, in that case, goto

http://www.area450.com

Westy has reviewed the 1070, the next model up from the 870. He also talks about the Diamond package. As before, in this, instance the 870 is a wise choice.

Pete.

I was looking to get the Sony 215 - but was told that you can only connect it if your DVD player has coaxial out (i thinks thats right) my Sony NS300 doesn`t have one, so I bought the Denon 1802 instead, with some Mordaunt Short signature speakers. The sound is fantastic and I definately recommend this amp. I bought it for £250 (reduced from £350) from hifistore.co.uk

I wouldn`t mind one of those for £250, but the website says its £370.

denon 2802 has everthing pure magic buy for around £500. Go out and spend.