Need help on upgrading my Amp please?

[shacla]

Hey all,

My decision has been made on the plasma front as I fell in love with the Panasonic TH50PF9 yesterday which I was able to see SD, HD and PS3 during my demo at AV Sales.

Now being very new to this AV stuff I was wondering whether someone could help me out in getting the best of my new panel as I don't want to be spending my hard earned cash on this screen only to be not using it to its full potential. My current setup is as follows:

• TV: Toshiba 36ZP48 (upgrading to Panasonic TH50PF9)
• Receiver: Standard Sky (to be updated to Sky HD soon)
• DVD/Surround: Sony DAV-S888 (upgrading DVD to Toshiba XE1)
• BD/Gaming: PS3
• VHS: Toshiba V634UK

Now after reading a lot of threads on these forums I have decided to upgrade my audio along with the visuals. I have allowed up to £1000 in my budget for whatever I end up picking on the amp front with the possibility of either upgrading the speakers further down the line (if my Sony speakers can connect to the seperate amp) or talking the other half into extending the budget for the speakers. I have looked into the Denon AVR-3806 and Marantz SR8001, but being a newbie started getting lost in some of the tech specs. Will any of these cater for my needs and should I look into any other amps?

Not entirely sure what I need so am open to any suggestions. I plan on splashing out all at once when I make my purchase (very soon) so that I don't need to think about upgrading my rig any time soon (apart from the speakers of course!). Look forward to reading any replies and thanks.

 

[Badger0-0]

Hmm.
I say the speakers are much more important than the amp, so I don't really know how to answer your question.

The 3806 is highly regarded, for all round performance.
The Marantz are regarded as warm sounding and a good match for Mordaunt Short speakers, which are somewhat bright, IMO.

Basically, I'd sort the speakers and then look at the amp, myself.

It would help if you can clarify what your preferences are (telly,CD etc) with percentages.
Eg 30% telly, 30% Games, 40% Music

 

[truscotsman72]

Hi Shacla,

Well, you're right where I am at the moment when it comes to the world of AV and home cinema. What I can say is, I picked up a wealth of info mainly from this forum and googling things I wasnt sure about on this forum, I've also became an avid reader of 'What hifi, sound and vision'. And one of the issues was titled 'Perfect setups for every budget'. Like you I was limiting myself to 1000 pounds, and so far Ive bought an amp from ebay (Denon AVR-1906) for 168 quid, its not HDMI ready, but I wanted to start somewhere. I did have my heart set on the Sony STR-DA1200ES, which does have HDMI connections, but the denon seemed like a good starting place, plus my trigger finger got the better of me and I bought the denon.
As for speakers, I think (and please correct me if Im wrong all you AV forum members), the lower the impedence (ohms), the less resistance and the less effort and work your amp has to do to drive the speakers. The magazine I mentioned above is recommending the 'Q Acoustics 1010 5.1' speakers as a superb budget buy, theyre around 500 quid for the lot (5 speakers and a sub). As for the rest, well thats as far as Ive gotten so far, next on my list once I have my amp and speakers, is a quality AV stand (yeah they make a difference), speaker stands and good quality speaker cable to rig it all up......Oh yeah and I also bought a logitech harmony 885 universal remote

Hope this helps, but theres an infinite amount of info on this site, just sift thru it. I sat up til 4am reading thru it when I first joined lol

 

[shacla]

Hi Badger,

Yes I see your point, I shall look into the speaker side of things soon.

My preferences are as follows:
Games 40%, TV (mainly movies) 35%, Music (Very wide range) 25%

Thanks

 

[shacla]

Hi Shacla,

Hope this helps, but theres an infinite amount of info on this site, just sift thru it. I sat up til 4am reading thru it when I first joined lol

Tell me about it

I was only planning on having a quick look through to buy a HDTV (originally thought I wanted an LCD) now I have ended up budgeting for a complete AV revamp

Anyway thanks for your response - I will probably be budgeting the same again for the speakers so will see what I end up with - I'm sure I'll have an AV grin on soon and will post a pic once I've completed the upgrade .

 

[Badger0-0]

Hi Badger,

Yes I see your point, I shall look into the speaker side of things soon.

My preferences are as follows:
Games 40%, TV (mainly movies) 35%, Music (Very wide range) 25%

Thanks

OK, going by what you like to listen to and bearing in mind the fact that I'm starting to get boring, because I own, love em and always shout about them
I'd recommend you nip down (or is it up?) to AVSales and have a listen to these:

http://www.avsales.co.uk/SVS-SBS-01-SB12-180-.htm

Those, mixed with a 3806 would be a great choice, IMO.

 

[shacla]

OK, going by what you like to listen to and bearing in mind the fact that I'm starting to get boring, because I own, love em and always shout about them
I'd recommend you nip down (or is it up?) to AVSales and have a listen to these:

http://www.avsales.co.uk/SVS-SBS-01-SB12-180-.htm

Those, mixed with a 3806 would be a great choice, IMO.

Hehe - well its sort of nip sideways and I'll certainly be going there to secure my deal on the plasma soon so I'll give them a call before hand and see if they can hook these up for me before I sign the dotted line.

Thanks for the advise onthis point - so are you suggesting using these with the Denon amp then as we seem to have gone sidestepped onto speakers rather than the amp?

 

[Badger0-0]

Hehe - well its sort of nip sideways and I'll certainly be going there to secure my deal on the plasma soon so I'll give them a call before hand and see if they can hook these up for me before I sign the dotted line.

Thanks for the advise onthis point - so are you suggesting using these with the Denon amp then as we seem to have gone sidestepped onto speakers rather than the amp?

That's why I suggested them, you're only up the road(ish)
They're the only UK supplier and they already have them hooked up

I can only apologise for diverting your thread somewhat, but as I said, IMO, the speakers are what you need to get right first.
The amp, whilst still very important, is secondary, is what I was saying

Good luck, whatever you decide

 

[shacla]

That's why I suggested them, you're only up the road(ish)
They're the only UK supplier and they already have them hooked up

I can only apologise for diverting your thread somewhat, but as I said, IMO, the speakers are what you need to get right first.
The amp, whilst still very important, is secondary, is what I was saying

Good luck, whatever you decide

Sorted then!! The Denon AVR-3806 and SVS SBS-01 & SB12 Sub 5.1 Speaker Package it is (after a demo of course). Thanks for your input in helping me decide on my audio upgrade

 

[Badger0-0]

Blimey
Don't take my word for it, go and listen for yourself