Question Amp/Receiver to pair with Tannoy Revolution XT8F

harrym13

Novice Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2019
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
26
Age
31
Location
Bristol, UK
Hello all,

I'm new to these forums and I'm after some advice. For a short version, i'm looking for either a 2CH Amp or an AV Receiver to pair with Tannoy Revolution XT8F speakers. For a longer version, read below...

A little introduction: I recently picked up a pair of Tannoy Revolution XT8F speakers from my local Richer Sounds; the ex-demo price was too tempting! This moved my much loved Sony SS-K70ED floorstanders from the living room into the bedroom (if you haven't heard of them, look them up! Rare in the UK and have served me well considering I got them for an absolute steal a few years ago).

I have been running old Sony STR-DB930 receivers in both rooms, which have always performed flawlessly for my needs (considering I picked them both up for less than £40 each!). Buckets of power and I wasn't too fussed with them being dated in terms of connectors/Dolby options etc. I have run both driven from PCs/Laptops using digital optical SPDIF.

However, I think the new Tannoys may have been just a little bit too much load for the 15+ year old electronics in one of the Sony receivers, and with a faint pop/whiff of burning electronics, it died. (Or it was just chance and was on the way out anyway, also very possible!)

So - I am looking for a nice replacement to drive the Tannoys. These speakers are fantastic so I feel they deserve some proper amplification! My requirements are as follows:

Budget = £300-600, probably 2nd hand unless there is an absolute steal on for something new.

I primarily listen to 2CH stereo, though I do have some rears set up in the living room to use as (currently 4 channel) HT. I primarily play music files (WAVs, FLAC)/music streaming from a PC through a SPDIF into the old Sony Receiver. I would ideally like to keep using this connection option, which I feel does close out using some integrated stereo amps that only have RCA inputs (unless I also pickup a DAC within the budget)

I have read that Arcam and Marantz kit would pair nicely with these speakers, and also stuff from Rega (Elex-R gets pretty rave reviews!).

In particular I've been looking as classifieds for Arcam AVRs, but am slightly wary after reading that a lot of them seem to have reliability issues. The newer ones tend to be a bit out of my price range too. Does anyone have any good suggestions for options to look out for on here and on eBay etc?

I'm also wondering if I should go down the route of an integrated 2CH amp and/or DAC for now, with the potential to couple it with an AV receiver at a later date to get the HT functionality, or just drop a bit more cash on a good AV receiver now. I definitely listen to more music than films/TV but I'd love good capability for both.

Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance.
 
If your main reason for the speakers is music then I would get a good stereo amp first and foremost. Receivers are not very good for music and the Tannoys are very good speakers and deserve good power to get the best out of them. You've mentioned the Rega Elex, but this amp doesn't have HT by-pass, the first one in the Rega line up to do so is the excellent Elicit-R. The Elex would favour the Tannoys as it has plenty of drive with a good power supply but is fairly neutral, good bass control is a strong point of Regas.

You don't need a stereo amp with HT by-pass if you use a speaker switch such as the Beresford 7220. If you do decide on a receiver then a working budget would be a good idea to give members. Marantz would be the preferred receiver as it has HDAM circuitry that is designed to be more musical, although it would still fall far short of what a dedicated stereo amp could provide. If going down this route then you would need a receiver with pre-outs to facilitate the adding of a stereo amp in future.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is Home Theater DEAD in 2024?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom