New Amp... Help?

[Pl0urensz]

Newbie: need some help...

I have the old flagship Yamaha A1 Amp
Samsung LCD 3D TV, 3D Blu Ray, SKYHD usual tricks

Mission 753 front speakers and matching surround sound coupled with the Mission active dual 8" power sub.

The time has come to upgrade the amp to HDMI, but considering for space moving to a Bose. My dad has the Bose V25 and sounds great, but always feel mine has much more sound range.

I am thinking of ONKYO TXNR515 or spending more and getting PIONEER VSXLX55

Or what other options do we have? I listen to allot of music and love the 2:1 the Yamaha performs brilliantly with music and hugely powerful never go more then half way on the dial but this needs to be an all-rounder, music, films and Tv.

Thanks for your help and time.

 

[vshah]

you're not going to get any love for bose here or on any other audiophile forums, simply because they're overpriced & suck.

personally I've always bought and had good experiences with denon receivers. the Denon 1913 is in your price range.

 

[Rio Rebel]

You aren't going to "upgrade" that setup by going to a bottom end Denon and Bose speakers. I understand actly what you are doing. I sold my Demon 3805 to "upgrade" to an Onkyo ht-rc360. I love the HDMI switching and new tech features, but I miss the sound of the 3805 with its more powerful amps and quality construction. If you are downgrading the quality of your amp AND moving to Bose, you have my condolences.

 

[JimKiler]

Find another Yamaha receiver, i loved mine till the day i replaced it for a Marantz but getting the employee pricing let me jump ship.

I could have gone Denon but even with 50% off i was not willing to spend too much and i did not like the remote of the lower end receivers at the time. They had buttons on both sides and it drove me nuts for everyday use.

 

[Pl0urensz]

Hi, no sorry. It was upgrade the amp and keep the speakers I have OR move completely to Bose.

I think I'd prefer to keep my setup, just wanted to confirm my thoughts, but what amp.

The onkyo has some fantastic reviews and the bigger Pioneer I feel is more on the same level as the A1?

 

[alkemyst]

Do you have the Yamaha A1 Amplifier or the DSP-A1 reciever/pre-amp?

 

[Pl0urensz]

Do you have the Yamaha A1 Amplifier or the DSP-A1 reciever/pre-amp?

DSP A1

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/hifi-components/amps/dsp-a1_black__u/?mode=model

 

[alkemyst]

you need a reciever not an amp.

Almost anything at the $300 point level NEW will out perform it.

 

[vshah]

is your setup 5.1 or 7.1? your yamaha has 5.1 multi channel inputs, so you could use a newer receiver with pre-outs if you wanted to continue using the yamaha as your amplifier.

unfortunately most new receivers with pre-outs are $500+ and have pretty solid amps already, so there's not much point.

 

[donfm]

you need a reciever not an amp.

Almost anything at the $300 point level NEW will out perform it.

Agreed...I think he meant he wanted to upgrade the receiver. Just upgrading the amp won't allow him to switch HDMI inputs if that is what he was going for with this upgrade.

Does your Yamaha have separate inputs for each channel you can access? If so perhaps you could find a nice Home Theater preamp but I'm guessing such a unit would be high end and cost major bucks. I'd go with a good receiver if it was me. Denon receivers used to be top of the line units in fact I own one of their older flagship receivers myself and it's been solid as a rock for many years. In recent years I've heard their receivers are not that reliable anymore.

 

[Pl0urensz]

Yes 7.1 currently, pretty awesome for such an old amp but need to get up to date

Pioneer seems to have it all??

 

[donfm]

Yes 7.1 currently, pretty awesome for such an old amp but need to get up to date

Pioneer seems to have it all??

I suggest you read some online reviews and see if people are having any problems with the receiver you select. If something is wrong you will hear them bitching. There is really no need for a separate amp and preamp any longer with the quality of the Home Theater Receivers these days in my opinion not to mention the money you save on interconnects. Frankly I doubt the average person's ears could tell the difference between high end and middle end. To me it's all just a bunch of hype to get more money out of people who insist on having the theoretical BEST there is. Maybe your dog could hear the difference but you're not buying it for him.....lol....That Yamaha you have is a top notch amp/preamp by the way....

 

[Rio Rebel]

i accept that some people out there can tell a difference between high end and super-high end, and can accept that they are willing to pay for it. I am glad that I'm not one of them. I can hear some difference between Paradigm Monitor series and Reference series...but I'm not willing to pay twice the price to go from Very Good to Fantastic.

As for the receiver, you might also consider whether the new one can be controlled with an ios or android app. It's awfully convenient.

 

[Pl0urensz]

Yes, thanks. The pioneer has iPhone and iPad app. I have read allot reviews and I think that lx55 should be powerful enough for my system with all the HDMI inputs too.

 

[Pl0urensz]

Thanks for your help. Bought Pioneer LX 55 with all features for iPad and iPhones seemed best bet, what hifi 5star and many other reviews giving it top marks

 

[donfm]

Thanks for your help. Bought Pioneer LX 55 with all features for iPad and iPhones seemed best bet, what hifi 5star and many other reviews giving it top marks

Congrats on your new purchase. Hope it works well for your needs....