Advice please: receiver/amp for old Wharfedale Modus 7 floor speakers

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Advice please: receiver/amp for old Wharfedale Modus 7 floor speakers

manburger

22 posts

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#280759 8-Jan-2021 10:48

Hello,

I have two old Wharfedale Modus 7, exactly like the ones listed on retrotronics here: http://www.retrotronics.co.nz/detail&id=566 and here: http://www.retrotronics.co.nz/detail&id=819.

I would like to get a receiver (or amp? unsure of terminology here) that can make good use of these, preferably with the option of going surround at some point.

Our TV has optical out so something with optical in is a requirement, I'm guessing that's pretty standard now adays anyway.

Any suggestions? We're not audiophiles so something that's good value for money would be great, the extra money spent on upper end gear would be wasted on our unrefined ears :)

richms

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#2632408 8-Jan-2021 13:15

Not sure how they differ from the modus one three which I have a pair of, I have them running on a TPA3116 based amp off aliexpress after I found out what my old receiver was chewing thru power wise when on waiting for me to play stuff on the echo or chromeace. No different sounding to my old cheap philips ere marantz stereo receiver. These are easy speakers.

If you want to go surround then you will need the matching center one which when I looked was very hard to find so I relegated my wharfdales to the computer room and got something else for the secondary home theater.

Richard rich.ms

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

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#2632440 8-Jan-2021 14:49

Look at a Yamaha RN402.

It has an optical port so you can connect a TV to it (set the TV audio to PCM).

It also has Spotify Connect (free or premium), Tidal, Deezer, Airplay, Bluetooth, web radio etc.

The amp isn't crazy expensive, uses under 3W in standby and should be easy enough to get your hands on.

33coupe

988 posts

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#2632928 9-Jan-2021 20:21

manburger:
Hello,

I have two old Wharfedale Modus 7, exactly like the ones listed on retrotronics here: http://www.retrotronics.co.nz/detail&id=566 and here: http://www.retrotronics.co.nz/detail&id=819.

I would like to get a receiver (or amp? unsure of terminology here) that can make good use of these, preferably with the option of going surround at some point.

Our TV has optical out so something with optical in is a requirement, I'm guessing that's pretty standard now adays anyway.

Any suggestions? We're not audiophiles so something that's good value for money would be great, the extra money spent on upper end gear would be wasted on our unrefined ears :)

Due to an upgrade I was planning on selling my Onkyo TX NR515 in march, but could be willing to part with it sooner if you would be interested.
I'm based in Christchurch. Thanks

manburger

22 posts

Geek

#2634034 12-Jan-2021 08:44

richms:

Not sure how they differ from the modus one three which I have a pair of, I have them running on a TPA3116 based amp off aliexpress after I found out what my old receiver was chewing thru power wise when on waiting for me to play stuff on the echo or chromeace. No different sounding to my old cheap philips ere marantz stereo receiver. These are easy speakers.

If you want to go surround then you will need the matching center one which when I looked was very hard to find so I relegated my wharfdales to the computer room and got something else for the secondary home theater.

Thanks @richms, I did a search for TPA3116, got a few hits on banggood. A Q about wattage: the highest I saw were 100Wx100W (https://www.banggood.com/YJHIFI-6J1-TPA3116-bluetooth-5_0-100W+100W-Digital-Power-Amplifier-Headphone-Car-Audio-Amp-p-1740497.html), and the speakers say 125W on the back label, guessing it won't be enough to power these speakers?

manburger

22 posts

Geek

#2634035 12-Jan-2021 08:45

Dunnersfella:

Look at a Yamaha RN402.

It has an optical port so you can connect a TV to it (set the TV audio to PCM).

It also has Spotify Connect (free or premium), Tidal, Deezer, Airplay, Bluetooth, web radio etc.

The amp isn't crazy expensive, uses under 3W in standby and should be easy enough to get your hands on.

Cheers @Dunnersfella, this is it here for $900 which is a bit more than I wanted to spend, but the features are attractive (https://paulmoney.co.nz/product/yamaha-r-n402-network-stereo-receiver/). It says 100Wx100W, is that too little for the 125W speakers? Or is it okay to have an amp that has lower wattage than the speakers?

manburger

22 posts

Geek

#2634036 12-Jan-2021 08:45

33coupe:

Due to an upgrade I was planning on selling my Onkyo TX NR515 in march, but could be willing to part with it sooner if you would be interested.
I'm based in Christchurch. Thanks

Wow, that looks amazing! Really interesting setups I can think of it, especially the 4K upscaling for e.g. the mini SNES I got or gaming on an older machine.
It has a lot of bells and whistles, but it can still just take an optical input from the TV and play the sound right?
I would be happy to wait till March anyway, these speakers have been sitting here unused for a few years so a few more weeks won't matter too much :)
Will PM to see if it's in the right price range for me

Batman

Mad Scientist
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#2634061 12-Jan-2021 09:05

manburger:

Dunnersfella:

Look at a Yamaha RN402.

It has an optical port so you can connect a TV to it (set the TV audio to PCM).

It also has Spotify Connect (free or premium), Tidal, Deezer, Airplay, Bluetooth, web radio etc.

The amp isn't crazy expensive, uses under 3W in standby and should be easy enough to get your hands on.

Cheers @Dunnersfella, this is it here for $900 which is a bit more than I wanted to spend, but the features are attractive (https://paulmoney.co.nz/product/yamaha-r-n402-network-stereo-receiver/). It says 100Wx100W, is that too little for the 125W speakers? Or is it okay to have an amp that has lower wattage than the speakers?

Yes it's fine

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timbosan

2159 posts

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#2634140 12-Jan-2021 11:35

I am selling my Rotel RSX-1058 (its listed here on geekzone) if your after a home theater amp. It's HDMI capable and it take optical in as well (I used this for my 4K TV as the amp isn't $k, so I run my Apple TV $K to the TV, then Optical Out from the TV to the amp to get Dolby Digital 5.1).

PM me if your interested :-)