stero amp to AVR - should I make the change?

S

slamster

Guest
I have a Sony blu-ray player and a Hi def TV and I have just bought the Humax foxsat. I have the blu ray attached to a Cambridge audio stereo amp (£100) and a pair of wharfedale speakers (£120). Sounds better than the TV speakers but it is a pain to manually change the volume on the amp.

Is it worth buying an AV receiver - less than £200 - to get high def sound and a remote. I have no intention of using anything more than the 2 speakers that I own now.

Thanks.
 
I would spend the £200 on a stereo amp that has a remote control. You will get far better sound from a £200 stereo amp than a £200 AV amp.
 
Is it worth buying an AV receiver - less than £200 - to get high def sound and a remote. I have no intention of using anything more than the 2 speakers that I own now
No, it would be a waste of money, or if it was cheap enough, of a quality that will make you want to keep it turned off permanently. As dicklodge says, a new stereo amp with a remote control would be the obvious solution.

In the meantime, it's possible you can solve your problem at a much lower cost. If your TV has an analogue audio out connection that can be configured to be subject to the TV's volume control (check its manual), just run a stereo cable from the TV to the amp and disable the TV's internal speakers (probably already done). I did this for over 20 years, and I still do this for the TV, Hard Disk Recorder and VCR (i.e. all stereo sources).
 
Presumably you also have to rotate a source selector dial on your amp when you want to listen to the Humax ?

At least an AV receiver's remote would let you switch input, in addition to volume, and often you can configure AV remotes to operate most other devices, which helps tidy things up a bit.

I was in a similar dilema a couple of weeks ago, but my amp was failing, so I was forced to go shopping. I ended up getting something 2nd hand, for much less than £200, though it originally retailed at £500 in 2007. Obviously there's a risk involved here, but it was the only way to ensure quality music playback that fitted within my budget, and I have no regrets.

I have to admit I'm not an HDMI user, and don't understand what 'Hi-def' audio is. I'm not even sure if it's applicable to a stereo setup, and whether your devices output audio via HDMI, but I'm sure someone else can explain this...
 

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