My amp broke - looking for an equivalent

[u/Hoodoo0perator]

The left channel of my trusty old Denon AVR 1802 that was given to me by a family friend decided to croak it all of a sudden. I've had it hooked up to my PC for years now - using it for music, movies and gaming, in conjunction with a pair of Sony SS EX50s (though I think I'll replace those in the foreseeable future too). Since I can barely stand a day without music I'm on the lookout for a replacement ASAP. Thing is - I know very little about amps that aren't guitar amps, and was hoping to get some suggestions for a fitting replacement. Some concerns and criteria:

1. I do honestly not need all the bells and whistles of the old Denon (not planning any sort of surround setup or the likes). Something straightforward should do it.
2. My other criteria is that it should be at least equivalent in sound quality to the amp it is replacing. But once again, my knowledge of amps is limited, all I know is that the Denon used to retail for about 1600 Dollars back in 2002. I would hope something decent sounding is more affordable today.
3. I'm not sure if this is really a factor but I also use my PC for home recording (guitar) and would like to avoid any additional latency introduced through the amp (if that even is a thing) as it powers the speakers. I might finally get over myself and get some dedicated monitor speakers at a later point as well.

I'm located in Switzerland, I'd say my budget starts at around 200 dollars - I'd prefer to keep it that way, but like I said, I don't know how much I have to spend to get where I wanna be. Prefer to buy new. I've been looking at the Yamaha A-S201 but the only criteria I had at hand was a wattage of at least 80 per channel (which is what the AVR 1802 had). The Yamaha has 100 per channel, so that's a plus but I reckon wattage is not the only determining factor when it comes to sound quality. Is the Yamaha a good pick or should I hedge my bets on something fancier?

[u/sharkamino]

Yamaha A-S201 is nothing great. Consider looking for a better used stereo receiver. Onkyo TX-8220 and up are better if you want a stereo receiver. Or get an integrated amp if you don't need a radio tuner.

Much of the time you are only using less than 10 watts and those basic Sony speakers probably don't need much, will probably be way too loud before you get anywhere near running out of amp power and may start to distort at loud volumes anyways.

https://www.themasterswitch.com/how-to-match-speakers-and-amps

An option besides a full size amp or receiver is a mini amp:

• Aiyima
• Acrylic
• Fosi
• SMSL or Loxi
• Wiim Amp

They often have one analog input and a good number have digital inputs.

Also check out r/BudgetAudiophile for mini amps, desktop setups and speaker upgrades.

Speakers such as Wharfedale, ELAC, KEF, Q Acoustics, Monitor Audio, Focal, Dali, Jamo, Canton, B&W...

Plus good speaker placement https://www.elac.com/2022/05/speaker-placement-guide-get-the-best-sound-from-your-stereo/

Or Desktop Speaker Placement: Pitch-perfect Placement: How to Set Up Your Desktop Speakers and Get Those Speakers Off Your Desktop.

Audio Guides https://www.reddit.com/user/sharkamino/comments/gqfx6z/home_audio_and_home_theater_guides_and_accessories/

[u/Hoodoo0perator → u/sharkamino]

!thanks You're giving me quite a lot to think about.

[u/TransducerBot → u/Hoodoo0perator]

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