Amp w. remote for living room setup?

[OldMold]

Hi ASR family! I definitely could use some help on this one. I'm looking to move my Jamo S803 bookshelf speakers to the living room for a basic 2.0 setup. As of now, the sourcing will go:

Amazon Fire Stick 4K > TV > Optical out to amp > S803s (Would a DAC help out if just streaming movies?)

I wanted to look at other options instead of going the AVR route since I'm only doing 2.0, but I'm willing to get an AVR if it's worth it and there are decent prices going on right now (I don't really see many deals on A4L right now). Overall, I'd like to stay under $200. Right now, the obvious options are:

• Topping MX3 (Lowest WPC but some reviews say it can do the job)
• Sabaj A4 (Leaning towards this at the moment)
• SMSL AD18

If there are any other good devices or stacks I can utilize, please share! Any input and advice is appreciated.

 

[JungleXray]

You would need a DAC between the TV and the amp. Whether it be integrated in the amp or separate.
Would probably be easier to use separates in your case. And then get an amp with enough power for your speakers. Dont know your specs, but bookshelfs are usually inefficient so... more power = more

EDIT: i looked at the amp/dac combos you is listed. None have enough power. I think you would likely end up clipping them.

 

[Cahudson42]

For a basic 2-channel stereo amp it's hard to best the Yamaha RS202 @ $150:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_022RS202/Yamaha-R-S202.html

Add to it a generic toslink to line out (DAC) at $15:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MPF4F68/ ( I use this at my summer camp to connect tv to Lepai 2020)

and you have 100w/ch stereo with toslink in for under your $200..

Edit: If you are not in a hurry, and are in the US, you might watch shop goodwill.com for a Yamaha RX-596 TopArt stereo receiver. Nice unit reviewed by Amir. Bought mine for $40 - but they are getting harder to find. Use same $15 DAC..

The Marantz RS4300 and similar circa 2000 Marantz AVRs can provide up to six amps around 80w ea, ea with their own line in. Often less expensive than the Yamaha. Let's you bi-amp, add a center, up to 5.1 etc - for peanuts.. Bought mine for an eventual miniDSP/DSP-408 speaker 'activing' project (electronic xovers, Individual transducer PEQs, etc.)

 

[OldMold]

For a basic 2-channel stereo amp it's hard to best the Yamaha RS202 @ $150:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_022RS202/Yamaha-R-S202.html

Add to it a generic toslink to line out (DAC) at $15:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MPF4F68/ ( I use this at my summer camp to connect tv to Lepai 2020)

and you have 100w/ch stereo with toslink in for under your $200..

Edit: If you are not in a hurry, and are in the US, you might watch shop goodwill.com for a Yamaha RX-596 TopArt stereo receiver. Nice unit reviewed by Amir. Bought mine for $40 - but they are getting harder to find. Use same $15 DAC..

The Marantz RS4300 and similar circa 2000 Marantz AVRs can provide up to six amps around 80w ea, ea with their own line in. Often less expensive than the Yamaha. Let's you bi-amp, add a center, up to 5.1 etc - for peanuts..

Thanks for the tips- I wasn't sure if the r-s202 0.2% THD would introduce noise, but for $150, it seems like a solid option.

And I'm not against looking for local deals or that site you mentioned (never knew that existed) so I'll definitely be on the lookout. I was hoping to buy in the next couple weeks, so I have a little time to hunt around. Those Marantz sure are nice to look at...

 

[BillG]

Klipsch PowerGate is at $180USD. It's been reviewed here and is better than other integrateds at its current price. However, its DAC isn't the greatest, but you might not notice the difference it and a higher fidelity one:

https://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-Powergate-Amplified-Wireless-Gateway/dp/B01N0A7PH5

 

[OldMold]

Klipsch PowerGate is at $180USD. It's been reviewed here and is better than other integrateds at its current price. However, its DAC isn't the greatest, but you might not notice the difference it and a higher fidelity one:

https://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-Powergate-Amplified-Wireless-Gateway/dp/B01N0A7PH5

I can't believe I've never heard of this before, but it might be exactly what I need. The reviews complaining about the WiFi don't impact me at all either as I won't be using it for that. Looks like a solid device! I might pull the trigger this afternoon if I don't find anything else. Any idea if I can use another DAC upstream if I needed? So it would be TV > DAC > Powergate. Or does the Powergate DAC still take over that that point?

 

[frogmeat69]

I can't believe I've never heard of this before, but it might be exactly what I need. The reviews complaining about the WiFi don't impact me at all either as I won't be using it for that. Looks like a solid device! I might pull the trigger this afternoon if I don't find anything else. Any idea if I can use another DAC upstream if I needed? So it would be TV > DAC > Powergate. Or does the Powergate DAC still take over that that point?

Looks like it has analog RCA inputs, so you can hook an external DAC to it.

 

[BillG]

So it would be TV > DAC > Powergate. Or does the Powergate DAC still take over that that point?

Assuming that you're running the DAC into the Powergate's aux/rca input, no, the Powergate's DAC would be bypassed. What I've done with my own to bypass it is the following:

Ex. 1) Chromecast (analog out) > Powergate (Aux in)

Ex. 2) PC (USB) > Apple 3.5 dongle (it's actually quite a good DAC, especially for $9USD) > Powergate (Phono/RCA in set to Line)

All the best...

 

[OldMold]

Klipsch PowerGate is at $180USD. It's been reviewed here and is better than other integrateds at its current price. However, its DAC isn't the greatest, but you might not notice the difference it and a higher fidelity one:

https://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-Powergate-Amplified-Wireless-Gateway/dp/B01N0A7PH5

The Powergate came in today and so far, this thing rocks. I just hooked up the Jamo S803s, optical to the TV, and played one of the Star Trek movies from the Fire Stick and it had strong, clean power that truly delivered. The only thing I need to deal with now is to get all my remotes sorted lol... The Klipsch volume (up or down) makes the TV volume go up until it hits 100; even though no sound plays out of the TV. Just a little annoying. The power button on the Klipsch also messes with the TV power button sometimes, but I'll eventually figure it out.

Thanks again for the suggestion and I will do what I can to spread the word about this little powerhouse.

 

[BillG]

Thanks again for the suggestion and I will do what I can to spread the word about this little powerhouse.

You're welcome, and I'm glad you're enjoying it. The weirdest with the TV I can't help you with, since I'm not using mine in that manner. However, as you wrote, I'm sure you'll figure it out...