Want to buy a new amp for home theatre

Kashkai

I want to invest in a new sound system to replace my 5 year old SONY DAV550 home theatre system cause I want the best sound to match my PS3 and 1080p HD tv.

I've seen the Onkyo TX-SR605EB in Harvey Normans and cheaper on Komplett.ie - link http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=342399.

Is this a good amp as I haven't got the funds to make a costly mistake. If it is the biz, will I need to upgrade my speakers and woofer as well?

Advice appreciated.

Slaphead07

The Onkyo is a good amp if good is good enough. Personally I'd prefer to spend the money on an Arcam and never have to wonder was there better amps I could have bought.... but maybe that's just me.

Assuming the speakers you're talking about are the ones from the Sony yoke then the short answer is no, with any "quality" amp they're not going to be good enough. But.... they will do the job for now until you can afford better if that suits you. One possible problem though... the sub may be passive on that Sony system and proper AV amps will require an active amp (one with it's own built in amp) but if you have any kind of old amp knocking around it would power the sub in the meantime.

The Ritz

The Onkyo is very well regarded for home cinema use and has the benefit of being able to decode the latest HD sound formats so is future proof if you use Blu-ray as a source or adopt it further down the line. The Arcam Diva series can't do this and are in a considerably higher price bracket - for instance the AVR350 has a RRP of abouot £stg1200, if memory serves - not exactly comparing like with like with respect to the Onkyo, which is available at about €500ish.

Agree with the point about the speakers - you would want to upgrade them also but could do this bit by bit. A powered sub would also be needed.


Ritz.

Slaphead07

I hadn't realised the Onkyo was so cheap. That said I'd still go for the better amp - the Arcam. The fact that the Onkyo decodes HD doesn't mean it's any better than a quality amp that doesn't. I strongly suspect the standard Arcam will produce a better sound than an all singing all dancing Onkyo. Just as a standard 720 res Arcam produces a better picture than many cheaper upscaling or 1080 DVD players.

Idleater

Slaphead07 wrote: »

The fact that the Onkyo decodes HD doesn't mean it's any better than a quality amp that doesn't.

++

The 605 is a fine amp that will work. If you expect little, you will be overwhelmed, because it is better featured than anything else in its or pretty much any price bracket. Which is why it is so popular.
For movies it is fine, I don't think the music path is very good though.
Yes you will get the decoding, yes you will get the upconverting, but will it be good enough not to leave you wanting more at some point in the future - probably not.

Having said that, of course, in a few years time you might be in a better position to do a dedicated audio upgrade.

Slaphead07

For movies it is fine, I don't think the music path is very good though.

I wouldn't expect an AV to deliver a good music signal. I've heard a Dessun AV processor driving 5 Classe power amps and music sounded awful through it. Cinema sound was stunning but it was no good for music.
I suppose, if you con't run two seperate dedicated systems, you have to make a decision as to which is more important and live ith the compromise.

MAJJ

Onkyo are releasing a 606 in April so the 605 prices may drop. I have a 605 for music and movies and am very happy with it.

Idleater

Slaphead07 wrote: »

I wouldn't expect an AV to deliver a good music signal. I've heard a Dessun AV processor driving 5 Classe power amps and music sounded awful through it.

There are _some_ pretty good ones that perform well for music.

The Audiolab 8000AP is good, as is the NAD T175. The Arcam AVR350 is good too. I'm sure there are others.

Slaphead07

nereid wrote: »

There are _some_ pretty good ones that perform well for music.

The Audiolab 8000AP is good, as is the NAD T175. The Arcam AVR350 is good too. I'm sure there are others.

I've heard all those myswelf (I have the arcam) and they're very poor for music really.... compared with "real" hifi anyway.

Idleater

Slaphead07 wrote: »

I've heard all those myswelf (I have the arcam) and they're very poor for music really.... compared with "real" hifi anyway.

I'm upgrading my amp soonish and I listened to the Arcam last year some time and really liked it. However I heard the other two with the 8000 x7 and 975 power amps respectively and it is now a choice between these two. I was satisfied enough with the music ability in stereo mode to suit my tastes, but you are right, dual monoblocks they were not.

Slaphead07

The only way I've seen (heard?) a system work well for music and movies is where you keep your two channel stereo intact, for music playback obviously, and simply add a processor/power amp to handle the centre, rears and sub-woofer.
I know that by boards.ie standards I hold extreme views on hifi but to me a stereo amp and an AV amp are actually opposites. The two channel stereo amp should do as little as possible to the signal while an AV amp will process the sh1t€ out of it! Even the ubiquitous "direct signal" button on an AV amp makes little difference.

Kashkai

My only use for the new sound system would be in the home theatre arena, i.e. blu ray movies. That way I can tell my daughters that its no good for their westlife cds;).

A mate of mine told me he has a yamaha amp that uses wifo (or wipo? - I was a little inebbriated so I can't remember). This system has a mic that you place where you are sitting in a room and the sound system calibrates itself to suit where you are sitting. He got it in Peats if memory serves correctly for about 6 - 700 yo yos.

BTW I saw that the ONKYO amp is for sale on the richersounds website for €512.

Idleater

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

This system has a mic that you place where you are sitting in a room and the sound system calibrates itself to suit where you are sitting.

Audessy is the latest and greatest room equalisation software, and is available on many amps, not sure about the Onkyo 605.

MAJJ

nereid - FYO - the 605 comes with Audessy and a mic. for auto calibration.