Should I swap my beloved DSP-A2 for STR-DA5200ES?

paulec

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I have 3 HDMI sources and a Pioneer 436XDE. I am driving Monitor Aud in walls with my trust old Yam DSP-A2 and I'm quite happy with the ssound.

As you'll no doubt work out, without putting a splitter in the line I have to choose which of my HDMI Sources gets treated to component / scart instead (as the Pio media box has only 2 HDMI ins). The upscaling, 3 input 5200 really appeals as (I understand that) it would improve the sound, simplify the switching and give me the best possible picture from my HDMI sources by upscaling to 1080i (my panel is not full HD):

a) do you think its the best option (and have I got my facts right)?
b) if not, what else would you suggest (splitter, go component for the sky or ps3 or Denon DVD and save my cash?)

Thanks in advance for your help
Paul
 
The DSP-A2 was a great surround amp in it's day, and still stands up to most AV amps/receivers below £1k. Make sure you audition the Sony first. Many Sony AV amp owners will shout it's praises and recommend you buy one without hesitation, but Sony now use digital amplification in their amps, which is not the best for audio quality. Plus, beware of Sony specs. Their power outputs are overrated, unlike Yamaha A1's and A2's which seemed to have endless power on tap.
 
The Sony 5200ES has gone back to analogue amplification now see HCC review

Dave
 
Hi Paul,

I have an A2 and like you have been looking to upgrade for some time to new 'sparkly' hdmi amp but have been really disappointed thus far.

I even had a Yamaha 2700 on demo for a whole weekend but in terms of sound it was unbelievably poor compared to my old A2 - I was gutted!

I have also tried the arcam 350 and whilst it was cracking on stereo sources the A2 still was better on 5.1 and DTS etc.

I have considered the sony (I am a bit of a sony fan!) but have been reluctant to go through the whole thing again as its a pain.

I was now waiting for the new hdmi 1.3 Denons due out later this summer but would be REALLY INTERESTED to hear what you think of the Sony compared to the Yamaha if you go ahead. The A2 is a belter of an amp and I honestly think the new amps have forgot their real 'raison d'etre'

Good Luck anyway!
 
The Sony 5200ES has gone back to analogue amplification now see HCC review
Dave
Thanks, i stand corrected!

I was now waiting for the new hdmi 1.3 Denons due out later this summer but would be REALLY INTERESTED to hear what you think of the Sony compared to the Yamaha if you go ahead. The A2 is a belter of an amp and I honestly think the new amps have forgot their real 'raison d'etre'
I dont think even the Denon's will match it somehow. I'm currently using a 2400, and it's a great amp. The only way from here is one box powerhouses or pre/powers. And you're right, the A2 was a cracking amp, as was the A1. The AX1 sounded better again, but just wasn't as popular. Good luck to you both anyway!
 
Guys - thanks a whole bunch for the guidance. This is very much a combination of "it must be better because the grass is always greener" and the juvenile in me wanting a new piece of kit. The comments centred (importantly) on sound quality but I would really be interested to see whether the upscaling really does make a difference, especially when I listen very frequently at lowish volumes (therefore the focus is on PQ rather than sound). I also dock my iPOD and play audio CDs through it and find the Yam a bit brutish musically.

I will demo this new shiny number and get back to the forum.

Thanks once again all
Paul
 
I have an A2 in my lounge and a Denon 3803 in my cinema room, the Denon has the help of a BK 200 watt power amp for the main stereo channels and made a big diffrence to the Denon sound much more spatial and a ddefinite increase in bass power, as I can recall the power amps did make a difference to the sound of the A2.
I am getting a Sony 5200 next week from Amazon, now do I sell my A2 which I have had from new or do I sell the Denon 3803?

Dave
 
Personally i'd sell the Denon.....i've always preferred the presentation and processing of the big Yamaha's.
 
I am getting a Sony 5200 next week from Amazon, now do I sell my A2 which I have had from new or do I sell the Denon 3803?

Hi Dave,

Would you mind very much posting a new thread when you get the 5200to let us know how you think it compares to the A2?

I will be really interested to hear what both you and Paul think given you both have A2's.

Helicon, why do you think it is that the sound side has been neglected by Yamaha or dont you think this is the case. As I said earlier in the thread I demo'd the 2700 and was really disappointed.
 
Helicon, why do you think it is that the sound side has been neglected by Yamaha or dont you think this is the case. As I said earlier in the thread I demo'd the 2700 and was really disappointed.
I haven't heard the 2700, nor the 2600 for that matter, so i can't say whether things have changed over the past 3 years since the 2400 with regards to their amplification. It may be that with having to add HDMI connections and scalers etc they've had to cut back on quality of components. If this is the case, it goes for all manufacturers. There is only so much a manufacturer can do for any given budget, but they are having to add more and more features to their products and keep the prices the same or reduce them to compete with each other. The good thing out of that is that we're seeing feature laden bargain do-it-all receivers, but on the other hand, we're experiencing a box trying to do too much, being built more cheaply and using cheaper components, affecting it's quality and reliability.

The old A1's and A2's were feature laden for their day, but they do very little in comparison to todays modern receivers. No radio, no HDMI, no video conversion/upconversion, no second zones, no room EQ, no I-pod features etc etc. Just good old amplifiers processing DD/dts and driving speakers to within an inch of their lives.

I have deviated from Yamaha ocassionally, but always come back to it due to ease of use and processing/presentation of the movie soundtrack. The biggest eye opener was when i sold my Tag AV32R and temporarily used a DSP-E800 processor until getting a Z9.......
 

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