Stereo amp which do justice till some extent for movies?

prash2k01

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Hi
I am looking for a 2.1 setup for music and movies (50/50) and I need a 2 chanel stereo amp for this.
I have gone thru a lot on several posts and I want only stereo amp which do justice till some extent for movies?
Kindly suggest?
 
AFAIK, no stereo amp has the trait of 'excellent-for-movies-too' kind of thing attached to it, and you will know they do their duty well. Having said that, I was very happy with my int. amp (640) doing the workout of HT too.

Hope you can get my drift ?

:)
 
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Hi vinod_david
Which amp are you using for? And I am also not looking for a 'excellent-for-movies-too' kind of stereo amp. I am looking for musical amp which can be used for movies too.
But do 2 channel give clarity to dialogues, since they dont have center channel?
 
All stereo amps can do movies if you know what you can compromise for. I have CA 640A V2 integrated amp.

:)
 
Hi vinod_david
Which amp are you using for? And I am also not looking for a 'excellent-for-movies-too' kind of stereo amp. I am looking for musical amp which can be used for movies too.
But do 2 channel give clarity to dialogues, since they dont have center channel?

Yes you can use them for watching movies if thats what you are looking for. Depending on the type of amp, you may be able to get a virtual centre channel byusing certain DSPs.

Also depending on your speakers, the bass extensions may suffer if the speakers cannot manage these frequencies. Sub is usually out of question except for soem very specific models that allow a sub to be added.
 
If you can excuse the surrounds, any good stereo amp with decent power will be good for movies as well. Plus, adding a sub in the mix will definitely be an improvement - especially for that extra oomph during explosions! An idea of how much you are planning to spend might get you specific suggestions.
 
Absolutely agree with unleash 100%.

I use a 2 channel amp for movies and do not even use a sub. I have two amps, one SS and one tube amp. Usually use the tube amp for movies like Amadeus, Sound of Music, My Fair Lady or Jodha Akbar and use the SS one for movies with more thumping sound like The Dark Night, Casino Royal etc (because don't want to strain the tube amp for those purposes, don't need it for that kind of sound anyway).

My DVDP does video upscaling to 1080p (when connected to my Bravia TV with a good quality HDMI cable). At the same time 5.1 channel audio can be downmixed to 2 channel PCM. I take the digital audio out through a coaxial cable and put it in a DAC. Analog outs from the DAC then goes into the 2-channel amp. Alternatively, for a high quality DVDP with a better audio DAC part, one can also take the 2-channel analog audio out directly from the DVDP and put them into the amp.

You will not get the surround sound (although some DVDPs while downmixing gives an option for simulated surround, but not sure if it really makes a difference), but you will never miss the centre channel. A very good pair of speakers plus a reasonable amp create the effective centre channel anyway. If the speakers go down to the bottom frequencies, you may not miss a sub either, although the requirement of bass like anything else is highly subjective.

I do not have a blue-ray player, but my guess would be that it probably also does the same kind of job with respect to the upscaling and downmixing and all that.

BTW when one sends AV signal through HDMI to the TV, one needs to adjust the TV volume to zero manually (my DVDP does not have the option of setting HDMI audio off, but some players do have that option) otherwise TV speakers will act as actual centre channel, but TV speakers should be off because they are usually heavily compromised when compared with 2 good quality speakers as used in a stereo system.

Regards.
 
Even I am not planning for sub in my initial setup. (Will add latter on.)
So as marsilians suggested that in few amp I may be able to get a virtual centre channel byusing certain DSPs. Please suggest me few model no's so that I can shortlist them and audition them.

Since I am newbie and having very less knowledge in this world, I would like to know more about stereo amp because I am not sure how is handling for tube or SS amp. Please comment!!

Request to all: please tell me the combination which you are explaining to solve this purpose.

As far as my budget is concern I can spent 60-70K +-10%.

Now I can list down the short listed one:
1. CA 640A V2 integrated amp Speaker??
2. NAD 326 + Speaker??
 
MA RS6 + Marantz PM7001

Both are highly sort after but discontinued models. You should be able to find deals on brand new for sure. RS6 has oodles of tight bass and PM7001 is a fine musical amp. If for any reason you find them bright for your taste, simply use the tone controls - they are there for a reason.

Happy auditions.
 
Request to all: please tell me the combination which you are explaining to solve this purpose.

As far as my budget is concern I can spent 60-70K +-10%.

Now I can list down the short listed one:
1. CA 640A V2 integrated amp Speaker??
2. NAD 326 + Speaker??

Please do audition Lithos Q10 speakers if you come to Mumbai anytime. It costs about 50K for a 2.1 setup. Heard lot of good points. If budget does not permit, and speaker space is a constrant, you may look at noa1 speakers from same company Lithos, they cost about 20K for a 2.1 setup. These speakers go particularly well with NAD amps.
 
Hi
But do this CA 640A V2 Or Marantz PM7001 Or NAD 326 give get a virtual centre channel byusing certain DSPs??
 
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