Harman/Kardon AVR 335 Vs. Cambridge Audio 640A V2

Weidass

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Hey guys.
just lookin for some second opinions.

A couple of days ago, my HK 335 decided to stop outputting any sound what so ever.
Upon further investigation, i have found that,
the pre-outs also arent working,
the full osd (to my tv) isnt working,
and although no sound is coming from the speakers, (any of them, including surround) there is definatly current there, because the speakers make a sound when i connect or disconnect them with the amp on. (yes i know thats usually a bad idea, but i wanted to check if they were getting power.)

after all that background info, my question is, do you think that it would be cheaper to get it repaired, or get a new amp,
and also, seeing as the 640A is stereo only, (system use is less than 5% movies) am i likely to get a better sound from the 640A over my 335 if i get it fixed?


Thanks.
 
I have a similar use: Maybe 5% movies and primarily audio (CD).

I lived with a 5.1 system for 2 years - it was my first bit of "hifi" but ended up being a stepping stone to better things. When I moved to a new house I made the decision to sell the 5.1 system and move over to a simple 2 channel one instead, since I was finding myself listening to more and more music, and disliking the limitations of the 5.1 kit. I've not regretted it for one minute. The sound of my CDs improved dramatically since I was spending the same amount of money on 2-channel amp and speakers as my 5.1 channel kit had cost. And I simply don't miss the surround system atall. I'd even go as far as to say that the front soundstaging is better now with 2 speakers than it ever was with 3 speakers.

The rule of thumb remains that you need to pay 3x or 4x for a surround amp which can compete on sound with a 2 channel amp. Similarly, if you are splitting your speaker budget over 5 boxes and a subwoofer you are effectively paying only about 30-40% of the speaker budget on your front two speakers. If music is your priority and you don't have a multi-thousand pound budget to spend, you are just holding yourself back by going with a 5.1 setup.
 

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