Zardoz Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Hi all, Long story short, my Sansui AU-417 packed it in. This thing was great with my B&W 601s but didnt really do my B&W CDM 7SE speakers justice. I'm looking at replacing the 601s with 805S speakers in the future (I've actually found a pair!). I'd like to move to a proper surround setup so I can feed myself with surround SACD. Current setup: B&W 601 S2 (would like to replace with 805S) B&W CDM 7SE Yamaha YST-SW100 (I LOVE this thing. Dual 6.5" drivers and cost me about 100 bucks. Marantz DV-8300 Sony JB-980 MD deck (doesn't see much use these days) ASUS Xonar STX (just bought some opamp upgrades) Onkyo TX-DS595 which I had sitting around. This thing was rubbish when I bought it for $1200 and it's still rubbish now, easily lightyears behind the Sansui. This is an interim measure. Where things get interesting: the other setup here has a Denon AVC-A1SR. I love this amp, absolutely love it on my CDM 7SE's and would definitely say it does a better job than the Sansui. I've been able to source a secondhand A1SE which has the same amplification and will be sufficient for my needs in terms of technology. Two 8ch discrete inputs? awesome. It has a few drawbacks. No pure direct mode with an active LFE out so I need to run the sub off the L+R pre-outs which is okay until I get a real power amp to power the 805S's down the road. I can also get an Onkyo TX-DS989v2 for reasonably cheap, however it's cheaper than the Denon, weighs less and I can't remember how this thing sounded. I can then start to look at the Rotel combos, the Marantz SR-12 and SR-14 series (nobody seems to be selling them secondhand). The reason I'm looking at a receiver is I've seen some great deals on flagship amps which don't do all the latest standards but the amplification in them seems decent enough. I don't really want to spend more than about $1500 on the amp unless I'm getting something substantially better than the aforementioned Denon. Thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotur Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 Have you considered the Emotiva UMC-1? Only a processor and no amp facilities (you'll need to run separates) but from many reports it is highly regarded for its processing way above its US$699 price tag. Landed from the US would be just over $900AU and runs on 230v 50hz. Just a thought. I'm ordering one tomorrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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