give us a clue?

[karkus30]

At the moment Im using a basic Yamaha surround set up for h/c. The sub tends to start complaining on some dvds even though its turned almost off. Speech isnt the greatest either. But for all its faults it only cost £300 5 years ago and does a pretty good job.

Im ready to upgrade now and want a package that improves on what I already have. I have a seperate system for hi fi so this is purely for h/c.

2nd hand would be more than fine, thats the way I buy hi fi anyway. New, only if I must.

Around £1200 including amplifier (I dont need a receiver), Im unlikely to go much past 5.1 sound. I dont use the amp for digital switching, purely for audio and I use a PJ so dont even need shielded speakers.

I dont want to spend time at demos, I think its irrelevant unless the whole kit and caboodle is set up in your own home. Reviews in hifi mags are treated with contempt. Been there , done that. % stars b@llox. Its your experience Im after.

Looked at Keff eggs, not impressed, look pretty but thats about all.

Any ideas ?

posted to speaker section as well.

[Ian J]

There is a Denon AVC10SE for sale in Classifieds for £435 which may suit you. This was a £1,300 flagship amp two or three years ago but many people turn their noses up at it nowadays as it doesn't have all the bells and whistles. It won't do PL2 and whilst it has the decoding insitu for the centre rears you will need to buy an extra amp to run the extra speakers.

What you get instead of a few bells is first rate decoding and THX amplification that will also make a good fist of music too. Whilst you have a seperate hifi system you may want to watch and listen to some music DVds and this amp does it very well indeed.

I've got one and am very happy with it.

[karkus30]

Thanks for the reply Ian. Looks like it needs a heavy duty shelf
Definitely a possibility. Your using M&K with that ? K4,7 & 9 ? Any going s/hand that you know of?

[Hawklord]

A few denon avr3803's will be appearing in the classified soon as the 3805 is out soon. That's a well thought of piece of kit and will be a bargain if bough s/h imo. It has all the sound formats you'll need and will do 7.1 if you change your mind about staying with 5.1. (I use 6.1 with my avr3802 and does add a bit to rear effects when dvd's support a discrete rear centre channel).

[karkus30]

Again, this is another magazine favourite. But if its so good why are people getting rid ? Is cinema sound moving forward so quickly that each generation of product totaly eclipses the next, is it just fashion, real technology, what?

Once I have a hi fi amp, I keep it for years, subsequent generations of amplifier dont really move forward, you do get the occasional leap with the advent of better transistors, but this rarely happens so the process is very gradual, a bit like natural human evolution.

[Hawklord]

Some people just need to have the latest kit going I would imagine. I'm perfectly happy with my AVR3802 that I'll be keeping for a few more years yet. I think the 3803 improved upon the 3802 which if is the case then it'll be a very good buy indeed imo.
If the hifi and av manufacturers are similar to all the other manufacturing industries they all strive to improve (continuos improvement initiatives et all) and release products with smaller time frames involved. What this relates to in listening terms though is anyone guess.
I've spent up on all my av kit recently(cc is on melt down) so it'll be a while before I can think about buying anything else
I'm sure any s/h av amps in your price range will be superb and you'll obviously try before you buy.

good hunting:D

[tom_nieto]

Does the AVC10SE have video upconverting like the 3803? If you've got a projector and plan to watch the TV on it, or play computer games or suchlike this feature might be useful, if only to cut down on connections.

[Ian J]

Originally posted by karkus30
Thanks for the reply Ian. Looks like it needs a heavy duty shelf
Definitely a possibility. Your using M&K with that ? K4,7 & 9 ? Any going s/hand that you know of?

It is a big heavy beastie. I am using it with three MPS1510 M&K Pro speakers across the front and a pair of K4 at the rear.

The MPS1510 are the Pro equivalent of the S85 and a few pairs of the latter were sold a few weeks ago but they are like buses with none around for a while then a cluster come along together.

[karkus30]

I shall keep my eyes open.

I dont intend to use the PJ for computer or tv, purely for films so any video gimmickery is superflous.