Amplifier or Receiver

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

What’s your expected ratio of listening to 2 channel music versus watching TV/home theater (HT)?

Most folks on this site are predominantly music focused (that’s why the H/T section of forum is comparatively little utilized).

Are you open to more than one amplifier (one for music, one for HT)?

Are you ever planning to add more speakers for HT surround sound or the current state of art ATMOS?

If you are not open to more than one amplifier/processor, then just get an AVR, and realize that you are trading some 2ch music quality for convenience.

But if that’s the case, at your budget I’d go with an Anthem receiver. Otherwise if you just want something that’ll sound pretty good, can do all the home theater stuff and also stream 2ch music, get a marantz AVR around $1k and it’ll do a fine job to start. If you want better 2ch music quality, you can always add the integrated amp discussed below later.

If you are open to two boxes, then an integrated amplifier that will power your Cornwalls for music in the $2-3k range, and a HT processor or AVR in the $1k range might be a good solution. In this case, look for an integrated amp that has HT bypass (as was mentioned above).