Amplifier or Receiver

The Klipsch Cornwall IV is a well regarding speaker is is capable of fantastic music sound quality. You are going to severely limit the potential for great music sound quality by using any HT receiver.

If you are going to do 2-channel audio for now, but want to potentially add multi-channel HT in the future, look into a quality integrated amp that has an HT bypass / processor loop. That will allow you to use the integrated amp and Cornwalls as the front L&R amplification/speakers in a multi-channel combo 2-channel/HT System in the future. You would just add an HT receiver (that has pre-outs) to facilitate HT sources, perform HT processing and power the center channel and rear surrounds.

I've done the combo system several different times in the past and it works well. The HT functionality does not affect your 2-channel Sound Quality at all in this type of setup. Heck, the HT receiver doesn't even need to be turned on when you're listening to 2-channel music.

Good luck. Don't get in too much of a hurry and make an expensive mistake. Ask questions here before ultimately plunking down $1500 - $4000 for amplification that may not work well for your specific needs.

Thanks. I guess I should have added that the TV will be connected immediately and also a Sony box/dvd player. Both have hdmi connections only (perhaps an optical too). All amps that I checked did not have any hdmi connections. I looked at reviews of Arcam avr20 which say that its audio quality is very good...............

The Arcam has 16 channels of amplification, Dolby Atmos and a whole bunch of other stuff that you don't need unless you are setting up a serious, dedicated Home Theater room. I would not spend $4k on something that provides a bunch of features I'll never use. Also, suppose the HDMI board goes out. Guess what, you are without audio for as long as the unit is in the repair shop. No thanks....... Too many eggs in one basket.

If all of your digital source components have digital outs (coax or optical), you could get a DAC to use as the interface between your digital sources and an analog integrated amp. That would be my choice. And if you preferred, you could get an integrated amp that has a DAC built-in. Lots of them do now, however both of the ones I've owned with built-in DACs did not have as good of sound quality as a simple analog integrated amp and a separate external DAC.

If you actually NEED HDMI, the Lyngdorf TDAI2170 supports an optional add-on HDMI board. It also has digital inputs, so you could connect your digital sources directly to it (if they have digital outputs) Might be a good choice. It has been well reviewed and is highly regarded for it's 2-channel sound quality. That said, it's probably $4000 too, once you add the HDMI board.

Lots of choices, just depends on if you want a full HT receiver (expensive, wasted features and probably compromised sound quality), 2 separate boxes (analog integrated amp and a separate DAC), or a one box integrated amp that has a built-in DAC.

Thanks reubent4