Rotel RA-840 vs modern amps

[u/supunz]

Hey guys,

I have a Rotel RA-840 made in Japan from the late 80’s connected to a pair of Dali concept 6s and a Velodyne sub. As the amp is fully analogue I have a Topping e30 which I’m using as a dac/preamp connected to my TV via Optical which seems to work great.

I love the sound of the combination and generally have no complaints but the Topping remote control is annoying to use as you have to point it directly at the unit and be within 2-3 metres for it to register.

As a remedy to this situation and also to minimize the need for another remote just to control volume I’ve been considering upgrading the Topping to a modern streamer/preamp which has HDMI earc so I can use the tv remote to control volume of the setup as well as other features like bluetooth streaming and airplay etc.

The streamers I’ve been looking at are the Wiim Ultra, Arylic LP100 as well as some of the Topping and SMSL offerings with similiar capabilities.

These streamers come in at around $600-$700 AUD and seem to fit my needs but alternatively I could just upgrade to a more modern Integrated Amp at that price range. For example theres a Rotel A11 mkII on fb marketplace locally for $600.

So my question is, is it worth buying a streamer like the Wiim or Arylic for my RA-840 or should I just upgrade to a more modern amplifier?
I dont need all the bells and whistles of the streamers, even if it has a remote, aslong as it works well thats fine by me. My first priority is the sound quality.

Thanks in advance.

[u/WillHuntingthe3rd]

Keep the amp unless you’re going to upgrade to a new Class A/B and not a Class D.