Is there an amp that does 2-channel and all this?


Hola,

I'm looking for an integrated amplifier/receiver/AVR that does 2-channel well. I don't need 5+ channels but I would not mind it. I have gotten the impression that 2-channel receivers are preferred over 5 channel for 2-channel music. However, if there is a 5 channel receiver with stellar sound quality, I'm all ears!

I'm looking for a piece that has the kitchen sink:

phono stage
tuner
dac (usb and spdif)
bass management / variable sub out crossover
remote
tone control
125w+ per channel
pre-out

IF available, I'd also like room correction

Budget is $4000

Thoughts?
128x128michaelkingdom
I might buy the tuner from the EU and get a power converter. The remote would then cover the whole story.
A $4000 Arcam or NAD or Harmon multi-channel receiver is still going to sound crappy compared to a $2000 2-channel integrated amp.

The 2-channel guys have just opted out of responding to this thread just like most vinyl guys don't bother trying to answer the question "What DAC sounds like vinyl?"

I think you'd be better off getting a 2 channel system separately from your HT system, and finding a way to integrate them (usually, say by using a HT bypass option found on some preamps or integrateds).
To clarify:

The HK-990 is a two channel amp with a 150 wpc power amp section derived from a Matti Otala (Citation, Electrocompaniet) design. It adds all the DSP functions that the OP has identified. NAD has a new one that is similar, but does not provide auto room EQ - as best as I can tell from their description. There may be others out there, but these two seem to be unusual in that they combine high quality stereo power amp sections with HT style DSP in the pre-amp sections.

If you're gonna use the DSP functions for music (As I do), separate systems for music and HT don't really work.

Marty
One more clarification, if you use subwoofers for music listening (as I do, and, apparently, as the OP does), digital bass management can be extraordinarily satisfying. Obviously, this idea won't appeal to the traditionalists out there, but after trying both approaches (I switched from ARC and Joule preamps to my Onkyo pre-pro) I'm a convert to Audyssey.

Again, YMMV.

Marty