Any real benefits in going for a home cinema amp when watching older movies?

[CompleteCount]

Regardless of being in mono rather than having multi-channel mixes, running older films through an amp really adds to the experience. You might want to pick up a (comparatively) cheaper home cinema amp so as to not skimp on quality, so you'll be equipped for any kind audio experience which takes your fancy.

An amp and speakers really enriches mono soundtracks, with firmer lows and sweeter highs. Many just think that mono equals lower quality, but most were mixes designed to be as good as possible, and don't just reply on everything being largely lumped in with the midrange.

A rather obscure example of how potent a mono mix can be when put through an amp comes with the film The Colossus of New York. Sure, it's a low-budget "B"-movie from the 50s, but every time the Frankensteinian creation takes step, the bass really THUMPS!

Many amps/receivers allow selection of 2.0 mono to be either distributed evenly between front lef/front right or piped exclusively to the centre speaker, for more localised placement. The various settings on the average amp will usually tailor the output to match your speaker array, or how to you want it output.