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Hi, I'm new to the world of cinema amps. Is it worth spending £200 on a yamaha a2 to get me started? Will I be OK with the sound?? I currently have some hitachi amp from the 1970s which has a really rich warm sound to it with a deep bass characteristic. I understand that the modern amps typically tend to be more weighted towards a tinnier high frequency sound. My hitachi is currently connected to a pair of Ohm RW3 club speakers and i consider them to sound amazing. Especially when watching a movie albeit in stereo. I also have 4 bose double cube speakers and a bose center speaker which is not connected yet but I intend to connect all of this on the yamaha. I understand that the a2 was a decent amp years ago but is it worth getting for £200 or am I better off spending more on a more current amp? Or would my £200 be best spent on an alternative? Your opinions would be greatly appreciated thanks!
 
Hi, I'm new to the world of cinema amps. Is it worth spending £200 on a yamaha a2 to get me started? Will I be OK with the sound?? I currently have some hitachi amp from the 1970s which has a really rich warm sound to it with a deep bass characteristic. I understand that the modern amps typically tend to be more weighted towards a tinnier high frequency sound. My hitachi is currently connected to a pair of Ohm RW3 club speakers and i consider them to sound amazing. Especially when watching a movie albeit in stereo. I also have 4 bose double cube speakers and a bose center speaker which is not connected yet but I intend to connect all of this on the yamaha. I understand that the a2 was a decent amp years ago but is it worth getting for £200 or am I better off spending more on a more current amp? Or would my £200 be best spent on an alternative? Your opinions would be greatly appreciated thanks!

DSP-A2? 200£ sounds lot for it. It lacks hdmi connections and is fairly old, but depending what kind of connections/features you need. Judging your speakers being Bose you really don´t need anything special receiver wise, would be silly to spend lot for receiver as the speaker/sub quality is questionable. You won´t get much love for Bose at audio forums. I`m assuming those double Bose cubes has normal type of speaker connections. Some of the newer RX-V model (79 or higher ending) would do then fine if you fancy newer one with hdmi connections to tv and other devices.
 
DSP-A2? 200£ sounds lot for it. It lacks hdmi connections and is fairly old, but depending what kind of connections/features you need. Judging your speakers being Bose you really don´t need anything special receiver wise, would be silly to spend lot for receiver as the speaker/sub quality is questionable. You won´t get much love for Bose at audio forums. I`m assuming those double Bose cubes has normal type of speaker connections. Some of the newer RX-V model (79 or higher ending) would do then fine if you fancy newer one with hdmi connections to tv and other devices.

Hi,
Thanks for the reply!

Yes ithe A2 has no HDMI's
As for the Bose I'm personally not a fan of them either. I only got the Bose system as my Mrs Couldn't stand the sight of the huge Ohm RW3s but now I have the RW3s back out as the Sub unit on the Bose system suffered a water spill so am left with Bose Speakers set up in place as a starter and My Ohm RW3s on each side side.
Yes the Bose are the normal speaker type connections with an RCA plug on the other side.

Just to paint a clearer picture, I've just check the model number of the Hitachi Amp, its a HA-330 and the Bose system is a Lifestyle v30.

I suppose what's interested me in this Yamaha A2 is the the many historic comments found on the internet on about the good sound reproduction. I'm curious to see how they pair with the RW3s but the Bose cubes are an afterthought and I will at some point be looking to replace them. so for this reason the HDMI sockets weren't really concerning me and was mainly thinking of the sound. I'm looking to connect my TV to the amp with a optical cable. I do however have been told that HDMIs are far superior than optical cables.

I was not impressed with the surround sound of the Bose system so I do wonder if the A2 will sound a lot better surround sound wise compared to the Bose.

There is another option I've found which is an Onkyo TX-NR1007 for £200. The A2 has the original box manuals remote etc so it seems to have been well looked after.
The Onkyo is just the unit, it has noticeable scuffs and the remote is missing which I'm guessing I can get a replacement remote if it bothers me.

Out of the 2 which would you get or would you not get either and recommend something else for this price level? I don't really fancy spending too much just to get me started. BTW although the Bose system is a 5.1 system I refuse to consider it to be a starter system.

I have also just seen a Denon AVR-X2300W for sale for £200 Would that be a better option??
 
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Hi,
Thanks for the reply!

Yes ithe A2 has no HDMI's
As for the Bose I'm personally not a fan of them either. I only got the Bose system as my Mrs Couldn't stand the sight of the huge Ohm RW3s but now I have the RW3s back out as the Sub unit on the Bose system suffered a water spill so am left with Bose Speakers set up in place as a starter and My Ohm RW3s on each side side.
Yes the Bose are the normal speaker type connections with an RCA plug on the other side.

Just to paint a clearer picture, I've just check the model number of the Hitachi Amp, its a HA-330 and the Bose system is a Lifestyle v30.

I suppose what's interested me in this Yamaha A2 is the the many historic comments found on the internet on about the good sound reproduction. I'm curious to see how they pair with the RW3s but the Bose cubes are an afterthought and I will at some point be looking to replace them. so for this reason the HDMI sockets weren't really concerning me and was mainly thinking of the sound. I'm looking to connect my TV to the amp with a optical cable. I do however have been told that HDMIs are far superior than optical cables.

I was not impressed with the surround sound of the Bose system so I do wonder if the A2 will sound a lot better surround sound wise compared to the Bose.

There is another option I've found which is an Onkyo TX-NR1007 for £200. The A2 has the original box manuals remote etc so it seems to have been well looked after.
The Onkyo is just the unit, it has noticeable scuffs and the remote is missing which I'm guessing I can get a replacement remote if it bothers me.

Out of the 2 which would you get or would you not get either and recommend something else for this price level? I don't really fancy spending too much just to get me started. BTW although the Bose system is a 5.1 system I refuse to consider it to be a starter system.

I have also just seen a Denon AVR-X2300W for sale for £200 Would that be a better option??

Before you buy do more research as it seems you might have tough time connecting the Bose V30 system to new avr as i did some more research. You might need to look new speakers and powered subwoofer. Cheapest i could find as new was the Yamaha NS-P41 (5.1) at 279£.


Some benefits with the newer avr is the setup is done on-screen (tv) and it comes microphone and carboard stand (X2300W) that measures levels and sets distances etc, plus you have the hdmi connections and also the newer lossless hd audio which requires hdmi connection for 5.1+ (bluray movies). Also for streaming (Netflix etc) movies Dolby Digital Plus so bit better quality over what you have in the the old units. However the speakers are the limitation so i´m not sure would you hear difference.

To sum it up: ease of use, setting it up is easy as the on-screen menu tells you what to do, hdmi connections (picture and sound so no optical needed), some new features which may be usefull. For the old DSP-A2 you would need to buy spl meter (c-weighted slow response) and set speaker/sub levels with it, distances using tape measure so bit more work vs. newer units and being much older there is always risks with electronic devices! The Onkyo would be useless without remote.

Denon X2300W also has full 4k support, hdcp 2.2 etc. so fairly fresh still if you have newer 4K tv! If the unit is fully working, no bad scratches, has the Audussey mic, remote and cardboard mic stand then 200£ is probably ok assuming you collect it, bit too risky to send without insurance and i would prefer to test it before buying. I looked ebay and one is going 175£ now in a bid so probably ends up close to 200£. However with new speakers you probably looking roughly 500£ minium. I don´t know how much you would get from those Boses, they wife friendly so probably easy to sell.
 
OK so in summary newer amps are better as they are easier to set up plus they have tech that allows for the sound to be lossless but this is only beneficial if the quality of speakers are good enough to notice it.

The onkyo is now being offered at £100. If I could get a remote for it would it still not be worth it??

Lastly, do you reckon the A2 will not sound as nice as a modern budget amp which I think your going to say no to based on what you've said so far but essentially I'm just clarifying quality of historic higher end amps vs modern budget ones that have things like atmos and a decent hdmi spec.
 
Ended up buying a yamaha rx v685 with a monitor audio mrw-10 sub monitor audio vector 20 Centre speaker and 8 x monitor audio vector 10 speakers for £350

I think I did OK now I have a load of gear to get rid of...1st world probs
 
OK so in summary newer amps are better as they are easier to set up plus they have tech that allows for the sound to be lossless but this is only beneficial if the quality of speakers are good enough to notice it.

The onkyo is now being offered at £100. If I could get a remote for it would it still not be worth it??

Lastly, do you reckon the A2 will not sound as nice as a modern budget amp which I think your going to say no to based on what you've said so far but essentially I'm just clarifying quality of historic higher end amps vs modern budget ones that have things like atmos and a decent hdmi spec.

No i´m not suggesting the A2 would sound poorer than the Denon, quite the opposite if setup right way assuming it was way more expensive unit back in the day. Most people aren´t up for it with spl meter and there is risks buying very old units plus the limitation missing the connections. Not many wants to buy anything without hdmi these days..

Congrats for the new system you did well! :) The Yamaha V685 is fine unit and actually 2years newer (2018) than the Denon you looked and the Monitor Audio setup should be step up from the Boses. 👍 I´m not sure did the system come with wires and cables, if not then i would recommend these for low options which likely are better than the old wires if you get some. If you have over 10m runs the 2,5mm2 gauge is what you want and you can choose 15-50m roll length and cut for each speakers. This is full copper wire not those cheap CCA ones.

Amazon product ASIN B01C79Z1FU
Shielded subwoofer cable, measure the length you need as few options:
Amazon product ASIN B01D5H8G3W
 
Thanks!!

I'm glad I didn't get the A2 in the end. All that setup effort is not really something I'd be excited over tbh. Still have to change over the current bose cables and wall fixings that are in situ at the moment, but it's all part of the process, especially if you want to save a few quid.

I didn't get any speaker cables and really appreciate all the tips and suggestions.

My curiosity led me to compare different configurations with the bose speakers, the ohm rw3s, the monitor audio speakers and sub.

The bose sounded like really cheap poundland speakers and although I'm not a fan of bose, in fairness they sound significantly better when hooked up to the bose v30 system.

The RW3s didn't sound great either but no where near as bad as the bose speakers. Considering the RW3s have a 15" bass cone I was hoping that they would have more of a rumble to them. I went through a ton of settings, even the mono and pure audio ones and was not impressed.

Then I hooked up one of the monitor satellite speakers by itself which sounded nice but then connected the sub and it all came alive 🤩

I tried the sub with the other speakers but it was not as good as the sub and monitor audio speaker set up.

My conclusion is that modern av amps are setup to push out certain frequencies on the satellite channels which is why they'll never be thunderously bassy on the satellite channels and therefore you need the correct speakers to match the amp that's being used.

I'm in the middle of getting it all set up at the moment. Can't wait to get it done!!
 
Hi, I'm new to the world of cinema amps. Is it worth spending £200 on a yamaha a2 to get me started? Will I be OK with the sound?? I currently have some hitachi amp from the 1970s which has a really rich warm sound to it with a deep bass characteristic. I understand that the modern amps typically tend to be more weighted towards a tinnier high frequency sound. My hitachi is currently connected to a pair of Ohm RW3 club speakers and i consider them to sound amazing. Especially when watching a movie albeit in stereo. I also have 4 bose double cube speakers and a bose center speaker which is not connected yet but I intend to connect all of this on the yamaha. I understand that the a2 was a decent amp years ago but is it worth getting for £200 or am I better off spending more on a more current amp? Or would my £200 be best spent on an alternative? Your opinions would be greatly appreciated thanks!
Hi there. I have an A2 which, as you rightly say, was a decent amp in its day. Better than that actually. The mighty A1 used to come top of every list, but the A2 was more affordable and still had a fantastic spec. And very powerful too. Now, of course, the various multi-channel audio codecs have moved on multiple times since then, but it handles Dolby Digital and DTS and most discs and much streaming content should be just fine. But your main question seems to be around warmth, and I can absolutely attest to the warmth of the A2. I have now relegated it to my study to simply serve stereo duties, and I'm listening to it as I type this. It's driving power hungry B&Ws with ease and in all the years I've owned it (over 20?) it has never put a foot wrong. Clearly I'm a fan, but for £200 I can't think you'd go far wrong.
EDIT: I see you didn't go this route, but I'll leave my reply here in case it helps someone else.
 
Hi there. I have an A2 which, as you rightly say, was a decent amp in its day. Better than that actually. The mighty A1 used to come top of every list, but the A2 was more affordable and still had a fantastic spec. And very powerful too. Now, of course, the various multi-channel audio codecs have moved on multiple times since then, but it handles Dolby Digital and DTS and most discs and much streaming content should be just fine. But your main question seems to be around warmth, and I can absolutely attest to the warmth of the A2. I have now relegated it to my study to simply serve stereo duties, and I'm listening to it as I type this. It's driving power hungry B&Ws with ease and in all the years I've owned it (over 20?) it has never put a foot wrong. Clearly I'm a fan, but for £200 I can't think you'd go far wrong.
EDIT: I see you didn't go this route, but I'll leave my reply here in case it helps someone else.
Hi,

Thanks for your comments. I completely agree that it will help someone out down the line. I think although the a2 is a decent amp I reckon I probably would have still gone for the yamaha v685 only because of the dolby atmos and setting up side of things.

Good to hear you're getting good use oit of the A2 still
 

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