Most flexible amplifier option

SandyF

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So, after buying the rather lovely Denon 1600 CD player, my old Panasonic Dvd player died. I've ordered the Panasonic 820 hi-definition player as a replacement. Now, this leads to a dilemma as the Denon PMA 1600 has little in the way of AV options. I live in a flat, so a 7.1 or 5.1 system is out - there's not enough room. But I could plug for the Marantz 8006 amp which has an HT bypass or go for something like the Denon soundbar & subwoofer which would connect to the Lanny via HDMI & the telly by optical out. I don't need to buy an amp right away - so would something like a separate 2.1 system work, or an Amp with a pre-out that could go to a subwoofer and use the hi fi amp to produce. 2.1 system work better? For music, the Denon 1600 looks good, but for flexibility the Marantz might work better. Does anyone have any thoughts?
 
Don't go for a soundbar, stick with a stereo set up. The 1600 is a fantastic player, I have the big brother 2500 and it will easily outperform any blu ray player even costing the same amount of money. Again I can confirm this as I have a Pioneer LX500 UD player and the stereo performance of my 2500 easily beats that of the Pioneer when played via analogue to my stereo amp. So definitely keep the 1600, the Panny 820 will not play SACD or DVD-A.

I'm a bit lost as to why you would need a stereo amp with HT by-pass as you've not mentioned any AV amp, although the Marantz is certainly a good amp. You will need an amp with optical input if connecting up the TV for audio. The Marantz doesn't have it's own sub woofer pre-out so you would need a sub that has high level inputs such as REL or BK.
 
That's the problem. Having the Denon 1600 cd player, and the Panasonic UB820, what is the best amp to go for? The Denon PMA 1600 would work well with the CD player, but has no pre-out, which means I can't attach a sub-woofer or active speaker to it. The Marantz has a pre-out socket, so I could attached an active speaker system/sub woofer via the pre-out and an analogue set up with a standard l/r link and get a 2.1 sound with the cheaper Marantz, than I would get with the Denon PMA 1600. So, the Marantz appears to be the most flexible option, but would I lost much from it?
 
That's the problem. Having the Denon 1600 cd player, and the Panasonic UB820, what is the best amp to go for? The Denon PMA 1600 would work well with the CD player, but has no pre-out, which means I can't attach a sub-woofer or active speaker to it. The Marantz has a pre-out socket, so I could attached an active speaker system/sub woofer via the pre-out and an analogue set up with a standard l/r link and get a 2.1 sound with the cheaper Marantz, than I would get with the Denon PMA 1600. So, the Marantz appears to be the most flexible option, but would I lost much from it?
Have you got a sub already? If not you can get one with hi level inputs, e.g. from BK or Rel, and you can connect it to the speaker terminals on the amp.
 
If you are ok with second hand and importing from Germany (may have VAT added on import, will need to look into that), this Musical Fidelity M6i will blow both the Denon and Marantz out of the water.

 
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Thanks for the replies. I'm gradually replacing my system and I'm thinking of going for a 2.1 to at least get some benefit from the sound options. The question is how to do. Richer sounds has the Denon DHT S416 for ÂŁ250, but with my hi-fi amp (which has pre-outs) likely needing replaced soon, I might be better off getting something that can run on what I already have, which will work with a future amp.

I was thinking of buying the Denon PMA 1600, but it doesn't seem to have pre-outs to attach a subwoofer(I think that's right). There's only room for one amp - I don't have space for an AV amp too. So it's a case of looking at options that will give me good sound for music and allow for a 2.1 sound.
 
Some subs can be run off the speaker cable terminals as well as line level, have a look at BK Electronics.
 
I didn't know that, thank you.

The Panasonic arrived. My first new player for ten years. Wow, the image quality is much better than it was 10 years ago. I've got two channel sound at the moment, and everything is sounding pretty good so far.
 
This is how you would connect a high level sub to any AV amp that has a Neutrik connector such as REL and BK.

REL-Neutrik.jpg
 
With your budget, I’d go straight for one of these.


A pretty much all you’ll ever need amplifier, built with your particular needs in mind.

And it has the magical Dirac Live.


An unmissable bargain.
 
Pps, please ignore any and all sound bar cravings.
 
I didn't know that, thank you.

The Panasonic arrived. My first new player for ten years. Wow, the image quality is much better than it was 10 years ago. I've got two channel sound at the moment, and everything is sounding pretty good so far.

The Arcam will use the lossless soundtracks through its HDMI inputs too. An improvement on the DD standard through optical.
 

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