Deep Singh

Trying to get my system together. So far have decided on

Panasonic 50 TH70X

Kef 2002 (auditioned these with some expensive Yamaha amp)

Sky HD

Need to choose an amp. The Sony 1200 can be had for about £340. I can't seem to find anywhere near me that has a listening room and stocks these. All the places with rooms seem to stock more expensive stuff like Arcam, Yamaha etc.
Anybody run the Sony and in a position to give some feedback? The room is quite big at about 18x13 and is semiopen plan to my kitchen which is also the same size(if that makes any difference)

Thanks
Deep

Deep Singh

Someone must have this best selling amp?

Smiler-Wrx

Have a look here matey

Integrated AV Amplifiers & Receivers - AV Forums

Deep Singh

Thanks mate, I'm a member of that forum but that lot do tend to over analyse things a bit
I was hoping for some feedback from 'normal' guys like me on Scoobynet

KiwiGTI

Here you go. Sony are rubbish, get yourself a Pioneer, Denon or Yamaha.

Daryl

The Sony will be more than good enough for the speakers you are proposing to use with it.

You really should listen before buying though...

Deep Singh

Right, so post 5 and 6 are complete opposites. Clear as mud now.....

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

There's always Ebay - try eBay.co.uk: YAMAHA DSP-AX1 Natural Sound AV Amplifier (item 220118545673 end time 10-Jun-07 21:00:00 BST) for example. You won't get all the latest toys, but you will get an absolute powerhouse of an amp. If it's half as good as my DSP-A1 - the previous model - you'll be laughing. Not that anyone will hear you over it...

stevem2k

the only *real* way to tell is to audition a selection of amps with the chosen speakers. You tested your speakers with a high end system ? They could sound (relatively) crap with the sony/denon/pioneer etc etc.

Any decent AV shop will let you play with a few discs.

As Andy suggested, going for the previous MY in the same budget usually gets you a better quality system.

My Denon 3300 sounds as good today as the day I popped in to the AV shop 'just have a look' . There's a couple of 3802's on ebay now

Deep Singh

Thanks guys but I want HDMI connections which outgoing models probably won't have. Anyway I'll try and find somewhere in London that has a listening room and stocks the Sony.

Daryl

Also try and listen to the new Onkyo 505 and 605.

The 505 will appear in next month's What Hi-Fi, AFAIK.

BTW, are the speakers Kef 2005.2? If so, as I mentioned before, I think these will be the limiting factor rather than the amp you are proposing. It's not that there is anything wrong with them, more that a sat/sub system at this price is less likely to show up any limitations of the amp.

KiwiGTI

But that should give you a clue, most places with listening rooms won't sell Sony, and vice versa, because bluntly their Hi-Fi sucks.

sammyh

iTrader: (1)

For the money its fantastic underated but has had top reviews, on the downside it could do with an extra hdmi port. I'm trying to find time to finish connecting all my stuff but my SKY ps3 and xbox 360 all sound superb through it

Deep Singh

Kiwi, it can't suck that badly as its won a ton of awards ( I know that some mags are biased) It is only £319 now, so needs to be compared at that price level not to a £600 Denon, Yamaha or Pioneer.

Daryl, thanks, I've heard good things about the Onk on AV forums.

Sammy, which speakers are you running with yours?