Receiver/Amp Questions + Advice

Hello,

Long-time lurker, newly registered user, I've been poking around the forums for a few months and reading about AV equipment in general. After some prodding from a friend I finally got rid of my old no-name brand ~16 year old speakers that looked like they were covered in shag-carpet and through his recommendation picked up a pair of Dali Ikon 6's -- however my hardware is still the same and I've been looking around for suggestions.

My setup is fairly straightforward:
- Stereo system (2 speakers, no plans to ever expand).
- 15 year-old Technics SA-GX690 Receiver.
- 15 year-old Technics SL-PD887 5-Disc CD Changer.

There isn't much information available on thess units anymore, the best I could find was a PDF version of the manual at devicemanuals(dot)com [I can't post URL's yet, sorry]

The receiver has 5 speaker 70Wx5 or 100Wx2 continuous output and is rated as a "Class H+" product. Both receiver and CD are in mint condition, never moved from their original glass enclosures and regularly cleaned to avoid dust.

Although not explicitly mentioned the receiver can do 4 ohm through a "low-impedance" setting which is required for the Ikon 6's. The speakers are roughly 12 feet away (equal distance) from the receiver.

My question is quite simple: Is it worth upgrading the system? I have read that modern 5.1/7.1 receivers can do stereo just fine, but on the other hand I've read a lot of positive reviews on Emotiva's 2 channel stereo amplifier and wondered if using a separate amplifier would be a more appropriate route. I do not have many requirements, I simply need a tuner for FM radio, line-in for CD player, and a phono for my turntable (will be upgraded later). The room is roughly 16 x 18 and the speakers are NOT used too often, several times a month when guests come over.

In terms of money... seeing as the system is used 7-8 times per month (~16-20 hours per month) I would like to keep costs down. I am open to offers for finding certain used/older/demo equipment if you believe it is worth it. I would like to keep the total budget under $500 for receiver and/or amp combination. My budget is flexible if more expensive hardware is worth it. I have listened to these speakers on my friends McCormack DNA-125's when he brought it over for a few days and absolutely loved the sound.

Your advice would be much appreciated.

I'll just offer a few generalities to help you focus on the important stuff. Others can chime in when they feel like it or when you ask more specific questions.

1) Yes, I do believe they would benefit from a more powerful amplifier. Even though they are somewhat efficient, having more power is always a boon to a clean low end.

2) If HT is anywhere in your future, there have been light-years of advancement in receivers since the 15 years you say yours was made. Dolby Digital and DTS for instance.

3) Emotiva makes great stuff and is a great way to get lots of clean pwer but I don't think they make integratd amps, which is what you want. Methinks you might be looking at power amps and you will want/need a preamp ahead of them to control your sources. Power amps lack that functionality.

3.5) If all you want is stereo, then an Emotiva stereo preamp and power amp would do you quite well. Then again, their HT stuff doesn't suck, either.

4) There are some pretty fine and flexible HT receivers out there. If that is i your plans than one of them with preamp outputs would do you well if you decided in the future you need more power.

So, pick a direction and we'll see what pops up.

markw said:

I'll just offer a few generalities to help you focus on the important stuff. Others can chime in when they feel like it or when you ask more specific questions.

Click to expand...

Thank-you for the prompt reply, I'll answer your questions in order to help provide a more definite answer to what I am looking for.

markw said:

1) Yes, I do believe they would benefit from a more powerful amplifier. Even though they are somewhat efficient, having more power is always a boon to a clean low end.

Click to expand...

I became convinced of this after listening to the McCormack power amp through the same speakers -- there really is a difference.

markw said:

2) If HT is anywhere in your future, there have been light-years of advancement in receivers since the 15 years you say yours was made. Dolby Digital and DTS for instance.

Click to expand...

There is no TV in this room, it is simply a sitting area and I have a separate living room where I will be purchasing HT equipment for; eventually I will be converting one of the rooms in my basement into a dedicated home theater. I really think 2 speakers will be more than I'll ever need for this room.

markw said:

3) Emotiva makes great stuff and is a great way to get lots of clean pwer but I don't think they make integratd amps, which is what you want. Methinks you might be looking at power amps and you will want/need a preamp ahead of them to control your sources. Power amps lack that functionality.

Click to expand...

Sorry if I wasn't clear when I mentioned Emotiva's 2-ch amp, I do understand that I will need a preamp to control my sources, my question was a more general: Is this a viable option/path taking budget into consideration?

markw said:

4) There are some pretty fine and flexible HT receivers out there. If that is i your plans than one of them with preamp outputs would do you well if you decided in the future you need more power.

Click to expand...

For this small project, HT is not something I will be considering. I hope that helps narrow down the scope. Tackling the other projects is something I will leave off for now, and concentrate on a good stereo setup, from a budget perspective I think its the best way to slowly introduce myself to higher-end audio/video -- baby steps

In that case,...

Going the Emotiva preamp and power amp route is a very, very good direction in which to be headed. A friend has this setup and we just put it through it's paces this week and it did extremely well. That's not to say it's the only game on the block, but you could do a heckuva lot worse.

You could use your current CDP until you feel like upgrading but if you want a tuner, you'll have to add one. If looks and status don't matter, the best buy on the market now is the Sony XDR-FD1. It looks like a toy but don't let it's unassuming looks fool you.

Of course, there's always the "vintage" analog tuner route. Most of those old analog tuners from the 70's* will handily blow most of today's digital tuners out of the water. If remote control isn't an issue, I'd strongly consider this route.

* Of course, with an older analog tuner I always recommend an alignment by a skilled tech.

Once again markw, thanks for the quick replies. The Emotiva route does seem like a viable route -- I am going to strongly consider this pair. Are there any other suggestions in this price range?

As to the tuner - now that I think about it, it isn't a priority and a small external tuner like the Sony XDR-F1HD should be more than adequate for my needs.

The CD player is another issue. I noticed that a lot of reference CD players (such as the Emotiva) are all single disc. I really do love the 5-disc changer and would be hard pressed to want to down-grade (in terms of disc count) to a single disc unit. Popping in 4-5 hours worth of music for the entire evening is fantastic. I noticed Marantz has a pair of 5-disc CD players: CC4001 and CC4003. I am not a stickler for having all the components look identical. The Denon DCM-390 and 290 also look appealing. Apart from the WMA, Mp3, HDCD support these units don't look any different from my Technics.

Jasio said:

The CD player is another issue. I noticed that a lot of reference CD players (such as the Emotiva) are all single disc. I really do love the 5-disc changer and would be hard pressed to want to down-grade (in terms of disc count) to a single disc unit. Popping in 4-5 hours worth of music for the entire evening is fantastic. I noticed Marantz has a pair of 5-disc CD players: CC4001 and CC4003. I am not a stickler for having all the components look identical. The Denon DCM-390 and 290 also look appealing. Apart from the WMA, Mp3, HDCD support these units don't look any different from my Technics.

Click to expand...

We typically stay away from changers simply due to reliability. However, here is a list I found a couple of years ago (yes, probably too old), but here you go:

5 Changer SACD w/out video playback
Sony SCD-C2000ES
MSRP: $400
5 Changer SACD w/ video playback
Denon DVM-2845CI
MSRP: $500
Marantz VC6001 --OR-- certified refurb
MSRP: $700
Sony DVP-NC80V
MSRP: $120
Yamaha DVD-C961
MSRP: $450
6 Changer SACD w/ video playback
Onkyo DV-CP802 --OR-- HERE
MSRP: $500
Other multi-disc Changer SACD
Sony DVP-CX995V {400 Disc}
MSRP: $400
Sony DVP-CX777ES {400 Disc}
MSRP: $800
5 Changer SACD + A/V Reciever Combo
Sony AVD-C70ES
MSRP: $1000?


Depending on your budget, what I would most definitely consider in your shoes, is a media server. Something like Sonos, after my initial research, seems super cool. Forget 4-5 hours, go as long as you want . . .

Not to insult you or anything, but...

...If you're like me, you can't resist a bargain.

Yeah, I'm cheap. Waddaboutit?

Seriously, I bought a Marantz refurb changer from these guys about three years ago. It's still going strong. It's an Marantz authorized dealer and their stuff carries a manufacturer's warranty.

If this interests you, you should act quickly. Their stock changes frequently.