SandyF
Established Member
Thanks to the generous help of the members on this forum, I have purchased a Denon 1600 CD player. (It just arrived and has to sit for a couple of hours before i can plug it in).
The Current Amp is a Musical Fidelity X-80 - which does a good job, but at nearly 20 years old, is going to need replacing soon.
My speakers are Dynaudio Audience 40's.
I am looking for an amp that at the very least has a USB input so I can stream/play music through a PC if need be, and a headphone socket. I don't need a phono output either. So that rules out the Rega and Naim, Audiolab & Musical Fidelity (either they do not have USB input, or have no headphone socket.
My first thought is to simply go for the Denon 1600PNE. It's got good reviews and will match my Denon CD player, and I can plug a laptop into the back if I want to listen to digital downloads. Thing is , I live in a tiny flat and it is possible that the 1600PNE at 140 watts per channel will be more than what I need.
Would there be any merit on going for the Denon 800 - which is half the price of the 1600 and offers a more modest 75 watt per channel (at 4 watts impedence) and saving myself £600 into the bargain? If I don't need 140 wpc, will I (and my neighbours) miss much soundwise by buying a cheaper amp that delivers the a lower wpc?
The tech specs for the speakers recommend 65w for a medium sized room - and at 31/2 by 7 meters, the room is certainly not huge.
The alternatives seem to be the NAD 338/368 (to which I can add the bluesound 2i module) or somethog from Marantz.
At the moment I tend to listen to listen to jazz, classical, rock and opera on CD and buy the odd MP3 pop song on Amazon. The SACD part on the Denon is my first foray into His-Res type audio.
I am at the point where space is at a premium, so if I can make use of the CDs I currently have and make future purchases online (so the music collection doesn't take
The Current Amp is a Musical Fidelity X-80 - which does a good job, but at nearly 20 years old, is going to need replacing soon.
My speakers are Dynaudio Audience 40's.
I am looking for an amp that at the very least has a USB input so I can stream/play music through a PC if need be, and a headphone socket. I don't need a phono output either. So that rules out the Rega and Naim, Audiolab & Musical Fidelity (either they do not have USB input, or have no headphone socket.
My first thought is to simply go for the Denon 1600PNE. It's got good reviews and will match my Denon CD player, and I can plug a laptop into the back if I want to listen to digital downloads. Thing is , I live in a tiny flat and it is possible that the 1600PNE at 140 watts per channel will be more than what I need.
Would there be any merit on going for the Denon 800 - which is half the price of the 1600 and offers a more modest 75 watt per channel (at 4 watts impedence) and saving myself £600 into the bargain? If I don't need 140 wpc, will I (and my neighbours) miss much soundwise by buying a cheaper amp that delivers the a lower wpc?
The tech specs for the speakers recommend 65w for a medium sized room - and at 31/2 by 7 meters, the room is certainly not huge.
The alternatives seem to be the NAD 338/368 (to which I can add the bluesound 2i module) or somethog from Marantz.
At the moment I tend to listen to listen to jazz, classical, rock and opera on CD and buy the odd MP3 pop song on Amazon. The SACD part on the Denon is my first foray into His-Res type audio.
I am at the point where space is at a premium, so if I can make use of the CDs I currently have and make future purchases online (so the music collection doesn't take