Full Noob seeks guidance - Which Amp?

[LilSizzle]

That's a good one. 4 Ohm capable. A service manual is here. That could be handy one day. It has the nice and big beefy output transistors for that 4 Ohm capability. This is a good one.
Continuous Average Power (FTC
120 Watts per channel, 20Hz – 20kHz, @ <0.07% THD, both channels driven into 8 ohms.
150 Watts per channel, 20Hz – 20kHz @ <0.2% THD, both channels driven into 4 ohms

The guy I bought it from was a bit of audio nerd so talked me through everything. The DAC on this is meant to be pretty solid so I'm going to run an Airport Express and line that in optically. His suggestion was to get a cheap blue ray player and stream from that. I'm all Apple. So apples it will be.

 

[LilSizzle]

Hello highly distinguished, educated and kind humans,

My name is LilSizzle and I want to buy an amp. Here is the story:
I've moved into solo living for the first time in years, in the middle of the forest, and I want to some killer sound for my dance practice and watching movies. Killer as in driving and has some bass I can feel. At current I have HK Go Play. So anything that is a step up from that is a win.

Speaking of which I just found a Vintage Toshiba SA-320L Amp on the side of the road and it goes well. Along with some Melbourne made vintage speakers yep I'm from Down Under Australia.

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Along with this I just purchased a bunch of well cared for Polk Audio gear for $370 USD. Picking it up today.
- Floor standing - RTi A5 x 2
- Centre - CSi A4 x 1
- Book shelf - RTi A1 x 2 plus stands.
- Sub - DSW PRO 440wi

Details of the room:
- Hard wood floors
- 4metres wide x 6m long x 3m ceiling
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Wants:
- Danceable sound system - bass.
- Minimal gear in room as possible.
- Bluetooth.

Thoughts:
- Thinking 2.1- RTi A1 x 2 in unison with the Sub DSW 440wi.
- Or just 2.0 - Floor standing - RTi A5 x 2
- Will sell remaining gear to help fund an amp.

Questions - the amp:
- Either 2.1 or 2.0 Amp depending on speaker selection.
- Do I keep the Toshiba or run another amp?
- Budget for $250 AUD.
- Have been looking at Class D Amps due to small foot print:
Fosi Audio DA2120C
Fosi Audio BT30D
SMSL AD18
In Australia I've found it hard to find any TPA3255 run Class D Amps.

Open to all ideas.

Thanks for the read!

Kindly,

LilSizzle

Here are all of my learnings that maybe of us to other newbs that come in future.

The Maximalist Setup (for me):
The process of buying a good system goes in this order:
- Speakers
- Amp
- Audio inputs

Speakers:
Learn about impedance and Ohms. Once you get this then you can decide what amp to get
What Speaker Impedance Means and Why It Matters

Amps:
Class D Amps are good - if you want to spend good money on them and they can power your speakers.
Here is what I would suggest based upon reading many reviews at there different price points:

$800
Sonos Amp - 125watts a 8 Ohms. With the optical converter.
$500:
SMSL AO400 - 110 watts at 8 Ohms.
$300:
SMSL AO200 - 50 watts at 8 Ohms.

If you decide to buy an older amp and only want a stereo system that can run 2.1 (it actually supports up to 2.2), digital in with a great DAC then I suggest looking for a second hand Harmon Kardon 3490. It bangs. Review One. Review Two. I picked one up for $110 USD.

Audio Inputs:
Wireless Options:
I wanted to control music from my phone and have better quality than bluetooth. Thus a Wifi streaming service was the option.
This gets interesting. Many people suggested the Chrome Cast Audio - which does optical and analog from a 3.5mm jack - though as I'm 100% Apple Ecosystem I would suggest getting an Airport Express model A1392. This supports Airplay 2 and also has an optical output from 3.5mm. Technically speaking it runs on 16bit at 44khz. Here for more info. Also, if you have an old Apple TV sitting around that has optical out you can use that too - though in use as audio only some people got suck when the TV asked to be updated and they needed to plug in a monitor to do that. As stated here.

RCA to 3.5mm - playing music via the phone:
I learnt that phones are usually 1 volt and that CD players, computers and other devices usually are 2 volt. Meaning an iPhone will output a lot quieter sound. So if your amp sounds soft, which audio signal are you feeding it? If it is your phone. Check that there isn't a sound limiter on it. My iPhone has a headphones limiter so when I go full volume I don't destroy my ears.

Where my system looks like now:
2 x Polk ATi 5 tower speakers - 8 ohms and 90db impedance.
1 x Polk 440 DSW sub woofer.
1 x Harmon Kardon 3490.
1 x Airport Express connected optically.

?Is it a bad idea to have the amp on top of the sub?
- - - - - - - -

The Minimalist Setup:
My original goal was to have sound as good as my Harmon Kardon Go Play, though with more bass. The quickest and most minimal style option for this I found would be the Audio Pro C10 - I'd preference V1 over V2 because of the handle. It is equivalent to the Go Play sound wise AND has a sub out port AND supports Airplay and Google Play AND bluetooth.

I would of gone straight for the Audio Pro C10 in the beginning and just added a sub. Because the speaker is fully portable has the flexibility can be moved around the home with ease and then hooked into a sub with just one wire. I just might end up taking this route.

The Sub Warning:
Audio Pro has a sub that connects wirelessly call the C-Sub. A lot of people said that is doesn't get very loud over wireless connection and it needs to be plug in with a cable to ultimately perform. Thus aim for a wired sub. Audio Pro has the CW 10 sub as well.

My setup would be something like this: Clean and sleek.

Thank you again everyone for your feedback and helping on my learning journey. I discovered a lot about gear and great enjoyed bringing it together. I'll let you know what it is like having the Airport Express up and running.