Amp Choice

[swj1]

Hi All,
Hopefully you can point me in the right direction, i need an amp to go with some mission m-cubes 5.1 I have a HTPC, PS3 and a wii as input sources and a 1080p Samsung flat panel. I have a max budget of £399 and have narrowed it down to the Arcam Diva 280 or the Onkyo 606 and i was just wondering what you thought was best?

Thanks in advance

 

[McPhee]

The Arcam should sound better, but the Onkyo has better features. If the Arcam's feature set suits you then get that, if not then it's no good and you'll either have to get the Onkyo, or look at Denon/Sony/Yamaha/etc.

 

[eaglemmoomin]

You need to account that with the Arcam you will only be able to get HD audio codecs with either a properly setup HTPC or standalone blueray player with analogue multichannel outputs ie PanaBD50/BD55. The PS3 will not be useable for HD audio with the Arcam. You will only get the 'core' sound tracks.

The Onkyo won't sound as good but it does offer all the connectivity options. The Arcam is discounted from its original price (£1200) because of its smaller connectivity set and because it and its 350 sibling will soon be replaced by the AVR600 (bit priceier though at £2300-£2700ish).