Joris Ceoen
New Member
I have a set of Hi-Fi speakers (KEF 105.4) and am unsatisfied with the current sound quality as the current A/V amplifier I temporarily lent doesn't seem to fill the room up enough. When these speakers were at my parents' house at the time, they sounded so nice as he used a recent Denon stereo amp on them. All he needs is a CD players and one connection from the TV output to Tape 1.
However, I have:
However, I also do not want poor quality for a CD or DSD-streaming listening experience, which most say a stereo amp is best for...
To sum it all up (tl;dr), I'm looking for an amp or receiver that allows the above mentioned speakers' full stereo potential, with a deep and rich sound that is powerful enough to fill a moderatly large living room. This amp or receiver needs the ability to directly stream Spotify (primarily) iTunes (secondary), internet radio, allow connectivity with the TV, gaming consoles and the input from the TV box that has Chromecast. It needs surround support for the future but NOW -for at least the next 5 years- also support a 'high-end' Hi-Fi stereo setup without the power or quality of the sound to be sub-par to a stereo amp. The addition of a quality subwoofer along those two Hi-Fi speakers is most likely going to be an option.
Financially I can go up to a max of €1200 (so I'm not looking for an €6000 A110 Denon or something like that). Eventually, I could boost it up to around €1500 but I'd prefer not.
The current model I have (it's not mine, a friend of my father lent it to us in the meantime of finding a new amp/receiver) is an Onkyo HT-R960. This does the job fine, but it's nowhere near the audio quality, bass richness and listening experience I had at home. We listen to classical music as well as modern music (pop/rock/jazz/soul basically everything) all the time through CD's and Spotify.
The audio quality has to be one of the biggest priorities (within the financial options). Since the one lent to me is an AV-receiver, I'm worried that the lower audio quality/richness is due to it being just that and not a stereo amp like my father has at home. Problem is I need all those connectivity support as well, and potentially surround for when we might eventually buy a house.
The only receiver right now that peeks my interest is the Denon AVC X3700H latest model that supports 8K signals and pretty much all the above. Would this be a good fit for my situation and speakers, or is really only a stereo amp for stereo speakers ever the one and only full potential-filler for a stereo Hi-Fi set?
However, I have:
- a 4K UHD TV
- TV box with Chromecast
- Powerful desktop/laptops with both iTunes and Spotify
- Gaming Consoles
- DVD & Bluray player
- Seperate CD player
- Vinyl player
- Ethernet cable for internet connectivity
- Watch primarily Netflix/Disney+ but occasionally also the DVD's/Blurays
However, I also do not want poor quality for a CD or DSD-streaming listening experience, which most say a stereo amp is best for...
To sum it all up (tl;dr), I'm looking for an amp or receiver that allows the above mentioned speakers' full stereo potential, with a deep and rich sound that is powerful enough to fill a moderatly large living room. This amp or receiver needs the ability to directly stream Spotify (primarily) iTunes (secondary), internet radio, allow connectivity with the TV, gaming consoles and the input from the TV box that has Chromecast. It needs surround support for the future but NOW -for at least the next 5 years- also support a 'high-end' Hi-Fi stereo setup without the power or quality of the sound to be sub-par to a stereo amp. The addition of a quality subwoofer along those two Hi-Fi speakers is most likely going to be an option.
Financially I can go up to a max of €1200 (so I'm not looking for an €6000 A110 Denon or something like that). Eventually, I could boost it up to around €1500 but I'd prefer not.
The current model I have (it's not mine, a friend of my father lent it to us in the meantime of finding a new amp/receiver) is an Onkyo HT-R960. This does the job fine, but it's nowhere near the audio quality, bass richness and listening experience I had at home. We listen to classical music as well as modern music (pop/rock/jazz/soul basically everything) all the time through CD's and Spotify.
The audio quality has to be one of the biggest priorities (within the financial options). Since the one lent to me is an AV-receiver, I'm worried that the lower audio quality/richness is due to it being just that and not a stereo amp like my father has at home. Problem is I need all those connectivity support as well, and potentially surround for when we might eventually buy a house.
The only receiver right now that peeks my interest is the Denon AVC X3700H latest model that supports 8K signals and pretty much all the above. Would this be a good fit for my situation and speakers, or is really only a stereo amp for stereo speakers ever the one and only full potential-filler for a stereo Hi-Fi set?