av receiver or separate amplifier for audiophile quality (classical/jazz)?

[japichurri]

Hi,

I currently have a hifi system made of a Marrantz PM6005 amplifier and CD6005 player with 2 B&W loudspeakers (DM 602 S3). I would like to extend this system to a home cinema by keeping the same loudspeakers as left and right and my question is.

Are home-cinema receivers nowadays good enough in order to produce a good sound purely for music, in particular classical and jazz. In other words, once I upgrade, should I replace the amplifier by the home-cinema a/v or keep the two systems (i.e. one amplifier for music, another for home-cinema)?

- What a/v receiver would you recommend for this set-up (audio quality is the most important, and ideally, Airplay ability).
- What rear and center loudspeakers would you recommend adding to that (I am thinking to add 3 B&W M1).


Many thanks in advance for your help,
Javier

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yes, separate pre-pros will sound as good as AVR for both music and movies. Notice I didn't say it the other way around?

So you won't need 2 separate systems (one for music and one for movies), unless you just want to for the heck of it.

Really, the big difference is features like Audyssey XT32 and dual sub EQ and Dynamic EQ, which I really love.

But in Pure Direct modes, you won't be able to tell the difference.

As far as amps go, you probably don't need external amps unless you play extreme loud volume (like 100dB+ from each speaker) from a far distance (like 15FT+).

So I prefer something like Denon X4000 or older models (for cheaper prices) like 3312/3313. If you require more power, you could always add external amps later.

But the X4000 will sound every bit as good as any pre-pros out there in Direct mode and probably better than other pre-pros that don't have XT32 + dual Sub EQ + Dynamic EQ.

That's my take.

As far as the M1 speakers, I think they are fine for surround speakers. You will have to audition to see if they are good enough for center.

 

[j_garcia]

I wouldn't add a newer model center to those speakers, I'd use the 602s as the rears and add a new front end for the best timbre match across the front since you are saying audio quality is the top factor.

I have one system for movies and music as well, but I use a pre/pro (already had the amps). I went from a heavy duty AVR to a smaller, but more current Pre. I'll tend to agree that there is less sound quality improvement in the AVR vs Pre/pro area, so the difference really is whether or not you need separate amplification. It doesn't sound like you do with those speakers, since pretty much any adequate AVR should easily handle them.

 

[japichurri]

thanks everyone for your tips!