What stereo amp to pair with a modest AV system?

andymw59

Established Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2023
Messages
136
Reaction score
81
Points
68
Location
Camberley
I have an AV system based on the Yamaha RX-A860 and Q-Acoustic speakers. I have now got my turntable where I like it cartridge-wise, alignment and phono amp.

I would now like to consider adding a stereo amp for my front speakers (in by-pass mode, so that it works seamlessly with the AV Receiver).

Any suggestions from anyone as to what amp might be best (budget <£2,000).

Thanks in advance.
 
Here's a list of amps that have HT by-pass. For a number of years I used a Rega Elicit-R alongside my Denon AV amp. Should be a straight forward connection via your Yamaha's front pre-outs.

Happy hunting.
 
Sorry forgot the link.

 
If this is for the Q Acoustic Concpet 20’s which as far as I can see are £250 per pair your budget would be much better split between a front speaker upgrade and an amp, maybe half on the speakers and half on the amp. Just a thought.

As @gibbsy has said you need an amp with Ht Bypass mode, it is often called other things like processor mode or power amp mode so worth digging into the manuals.

Also, remember the stereo sources like your turntable need plugging into the stereo amp to get the benefit, most of the issues with AVR is in the preamp section which turns everything into digital, does lots of funky processing and then converts back into an analogue before passing it to the power amp action of the AVR. Plugging stereo sources into the integrated stereo amp used that preamp which is designed for stereo playback.

Just a few thoughts.
 
Sometimes he seems to speak the truth, sometimes he says ridiculous things.

Considering these are the latest thing everyone will buy them and of course many will turn round and sell straight away.

I garuntee you will see a few on the used market soon.

Have a listen to them.

 
If this is for the Q Acoustic Concpet 20’s which as far as I can see are £250 per pair your budget would be much better split between a front speaker upgrade and an amp, maybe half on the speakers and half on the amp. Just a thought.
Totally agree. The Concept 20 are super for the money, but they're not in the same league as some of the bookshelves in the >£1k bracket. Spending £2k on an amp for them would be unnecessary.
 
Totally agree. The Concept 20 are super for the money, but they're not in the same league as some of the bookshelves in the >£1k bracket. Spending £2k on an amp for them would be unnecessary.
I was thinking about moving to the KEF LS 50 Metas ... any other thoughts on >£1k standmount speakers?
 
The Meta's are great by all accounts (not heard them). Regards others, you can still get Kef R3 for £900. I doubt anything south of £1500 would touch them for SQ.

If you can find a pair second hand, the ATC SCM11 would come in under budget and they sound spectacular. You'd need an amp with some grunt for them though.
 
These come with the stands.


These do not.

 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
I have an AV system based on the Yamaha RX-A860 and Q-Acoustic speakers. I have now got my turntable where I like it cartridge-wise, alignment and phono amp.

I would now like to consider adding a stereo amp for my front speakers (in by-pass mode, so that it works seamlessly with the AV Receiver).

Any suggestions from anyone as to what amp might be best (budget <£2,000).

Thanks in advance.
Howdy, I can recommend the Audiolab 6000a. I have this in bypass for 7.1.4 with marantz sr6013 av amp and it works very well. I just switch the audiolab to integrated when I want to listen to stereo for my hifi needs, which the Audiolab does very nicely.
 
If it was me, I’d also upgrade the front pair first and then add an AVBypass capable stereo amp afterwards. If budget is tight, exdem or used are good options, or try a bit of negotiation. There are, ahem! two other forums that have classifieds like on AVF but the bias is towards two channel related equipment.

Alternatively, if your credit rating is OK, Ive paid for stuff on 0% interest and low or zero rate fee spending/balanced transfer cards and cleared the balance within the credit free period. But getting into debt that backfires is NOT what I am suggesting. Also now I avoid getting a bee in my bonnet about having to have something only to be disappointed or get fed up and ‘upgrade’ to something else later on.

As always, try to get a home loan of gear so you know it works with your stuff, in your environment.
 
Speakers first from me too.

You’ll not hear much of an improvement with the QAs buying a new amp.

I’d suggest the Kef R3s as well, great three way speakers at an excellent price.

You could also look for some used Neat SX3i

An offer on these perhaps.


And adding one of these would certainly upgrade your stereo listening to quite a league above your current set up.


 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
I have an AV system based on the Yamaha RX-A860 and Q-Acoustic speakers. I have now got my turntable where I like it cartridge-wise, alignment and phono amp.

I would now like to consider adding a stereo amp for my front speakers (in by-pass mode, so that it works seamlessly with the AV Receiver).

Any suggestions from anyone as to what amp might be best (budget <£2,000).

Thanks in advance.
My response is very unlike all the others yo have gotten here. I am a very long time audiophile, and started way back with an integrated amp and stereo speakers. Back then there was no swuch thing as a powered speaker, which it sounds like you have now. As far I I know, you do not need ANY by-pass amp. Just plug a stereo power amp into your pre-out connections on your Yamaha RX-A860, and do not use the receiver's amp for your main speakers at all! After upgrading my intitial integrated amp to the most powerful one at that time (135 w/ch), I ended up needing even more power, so I connected a 220 w/ch external power amp into the pre-out connector and ran with that from then own.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom