A new receiver or not?

[Spookyfoot]

Hello everyone, I'm a music FREAK and I'm struggling if I should update my old receiver or leave it be.

I currently have a Technics SA-DX1040 receiver powering 2 CSW M80's & a Sony SA-W305 Sub. The M80's are bi-wired and then bi-amped in the receiver. This receiver is 12 years old and truly sounds great with my current set up. But I'm going to purchase an Olive 04HD and if I'm going to shell out $2k I want it to sound the best it possibly can. I've never owned a Denon, Yamaha or Marantz receiver and even though my Technics receiver was a very nice unit back in the day I know I could experience better sound with a new high end receiver. The question is will it make THAT much of a difference???

Thanks!

 

[bikdav]

My Thought

That Olive 04HD looks very attractive. I'd like to try that out somewhere. I think a change in receivers will be a great investment. Buy an a/v receiver, because they are the most versatile by far. Many receivers in general have come along way in 12 years. Denon, Yamaha, and Marantz are great choices. A word of warning. If you buy a new receiver, check the back of it to make certain that it has the connections that you need. For example, some of the newer receivers no longer have recording facilities. I'm at a loss as to why. Also, I noticed that some a/v receivers have on board bi-amping via unused amplified surround channels. That was pleasantly surprising to me. The subwoofer outputs have all kinds of very helpful features_ such as level, crossover frequency, phase (on some). Anyways, please keep us informed of how things go.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Hello everyone, I'm a music FREAK and I'm struggling if I should update my old receiver or leave it be.

I currently have a Technics SA-DX1040 receiver powering 2 CSW M80's & a Sony SA-W305 Sub. The M80's are bi-wired and then bi-amped in the receiver. This receiver is 12 years old and truly sounds great with my current set up. But I'm going to purchase an Olive 04HD and if I'm going to shell out $2k I want it to sound the best it possibly can. I've never owned a Denon, Yamaha or Marantz receiver and even though my Technics receiver was a very nice unit back in the day I know I could experience better sound with a new high end receiver. The question is will it make THAT much of a difference???

Thanks!

What do you currently use to play CDs?
While that Olive looks good, it is very expensive indeed.
Not sure you would accomplish anything with a new receiver unless you need some features you don't already have. So, since your current receiver "trully sounds great" I don't see a need for an update. You may want to look into room acoustic improvements first.

 

[bikdav]

What do you currently use to play CDs?
While that Olive looks good, it is very expensive indeed.
Not sure you would accomplish anything with a new receiver unless you need some features you don't already have. So, since your current receiver "trully sounds great" I don't see a need for an update. You may want to look into room acoustic improvements first.

Mtrycrafts makes a very good point. Carefully access your needs before buying.

 

[33Gerry45]

I agree.

I have pretty good gear, Yamaha receiver and it is great.

I have always done recording in semi pro and sometimes pro studios and sadly nothing sounds like the crisp cracking high end we enjoyed when young. This is because our high end tails off with age. I notice it most in the overtones on brass. I tend to have to boost everything above 15k and then I think it would be unpleasant for a young person.

Subs are different and I would be spending money on a decent, if inexpensive, sub as well as room treatment which may cost very little.

This is if you seek pure sound experience.

If it is new features and that delicious smell of new gear and setting it up? Well nothing can replace that feeling. The new features should not be underestimated. I love manually adjusting 7 mixed Tannoys and Wharfedales with Mirage Sub with just about everything I play. I love changing the EQ on each speaker to get that much closer to audio Nirvana.

A surround system over a stereo system with sub will be a whole new ballgame but if that is not your 'cup o tea', and the present system is pretty good then do not expect that it will be a way better sound.

 

[Spookyfoot]

What do you currently use to play CDs?
While that Olive looks good, it is very expensive indeed.
Not sure you would accomplish anything with a new receiver unless you need some features you don't already have. So, since your current receiver "trully sounds great" I don't see a need for an update. You may want to look into room acoustic improvements first.

Currently I have 2 Sony 400 disc Mega Changers. They are linked together so that when one finishes playing the other one is cued up and fades in while the other fades out so I never have a second of dead air while I'm listening which is probably the best feature I will miss if I upgrade to the Olive.

The reasons I'm looking at the olive is becuase I have roughly 3000 cd's and I only have about 1200 of them loaded in the cd players (some albums are short enough to burn 2 onto one CD-R so instead of 800 between the two I can squeeze more in). The other issue is my one Sony player is starting to screw up...won't eject discs consistently, won't read and play some of the burned discs like it use to and when it doesn't then it ignores that slot completely and won't even recognize it in the display until you open the door and re-set every time. It seems the mega cd changers are disappearing, I think the biggest Sony makes now is a 300 cd changer. So replacing it at the minimum for something equal doesn't even seem to be an option unless I make the switch to a music server or computer if I want to enjoy a "shuffle play" of the my cd collection.

With the Olive 04's capacity to hold 6,000 discs I really think it is the machine for me so I can enjoy all of my music....even though it will take me forever to get them all loaded into the Olive!

But sound is critical to me and as much as I love my old Techincs receiver, on paper anyway, the higher end Denon receivers which I'm leaning toward have some advantages over my current receiver....lower THD, I could send 125 watts to each channel vs. 100 that I'm sending now, the ability to link with Apple products such as an I-Pod (this will be the selling point I'll need to hit home with my wife to get her onboard!) etc.

I just don't know have any first hand experience to know if updating a receiver with these improvements will make a big noticeable difference and be worth it?

 

[Spookyfoot]

That Olive 04HD looks very attractive. I'd like to try that out somewhere. I think a change in receivers will be a great investment. Buy an a/v receiver, because they are the most versatile by far. Many receivers in general have come along way in 12 years. Denon, Yamaha, and Marantz are great choices. A word of warning. If you buy a new receiver, check the back of it to make certain that it has the connections that you need. For example, some of the newer receivers no longer have recording facilities. I'm at a loss as to why. Also, I noticed that some a/v receivers have on board bi-amping via unused amplified surround channels. That was pleasantly surprising to me. The subwoofer outputs have all kinds of very helpful features_ such as level, crossover frequency, phase (on some). Anyways, please keep us informed of how things go.

Great advice! Bi-Amping is a must for me. My CSW M80's are built for bi-wiring and my current receiver makes bi-amping very easy with separate binding posts for that very reason and also displays the bi-amp is operating through a "bi-amp" indicator light on the front of the unit.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Currently I have 2 Sony 400 disc Mega Changers. They are linked together so that when one finishes playing the other one is cued up and fades in while the other fades out so I never have a second of dead air while I'm listening which is probably the best feature I will miss if I upgrade to the Olive.

The reasons I'm looking at the olive is becuase I have roughly 3000 cd's and I only have about 1200 of them loaded in the cd players (some albums are short enough to burn 2 onto one CD-R so instead of 800 between the two I can squeeze more in). The other issue is my one Sony player is starting to screw up...won't eject discs consistently, won't read and play some of the burned discs like it use to and when it doesn't then it ignores that slot completely and won't even recognize it in the display until you open the door and re-set every time. It seems the mega cd changers are disappearing, I think the biggest Sony makes now is a 300 cd changer. So replacing it at the minimum for something equal doesn't even seem to be an option unless I make the switch to a music server or computer if I want to enjoy a "shuffle play" of the my cd collection.

With the Olive 04's capacity to hold 6,000 discs I really think it is the machine for me so I can enjoy all of my music....even though it will take me forever to get them all loaded into the Olive!

But sound is critical to me and as much as I love my old Techincs receiver, on paper anyway, the higher end Denon receivers which I'm leaning toward have some advantages over my current receiver....lower THD, I could send 125 watts to each channel vs. 100 that I'm sending now, the ability to link with Apple products such as an I-Pod (this will be the selling point I'll need to hit home with my wife to get her onboard!) etc.

I just don't know have any first hand experience to know if updating a receiver with these improvements will make a big noticeable difference and be worth it?

Well, with that many Cds on one player, you do need a capable storage space that player seems to offer you but at what cost
While I don't know the THD of your current amp, I doubt you will be able tell the difference.
That 25 extra watts will only give you a 1 dB spl gain at the peaks only. Doubt that will be noticed.

 

[bikdav]

We all gave you our thoughts and that is good. But still, very carefully access your needs before parting with your money.

 

[thaisbeats]

a new receiver would do your speakers justice with the sound formats and higher end tech selling cheaper than chips

 

[Spookyfoot]

Thanks to all of you for your insight, I really appreciate it. I know I'm going to splurge for the Olive 04 to solve my cd challenge. But I really need to think about replacing my receiver before parting with it. I think the best route would be to hook the olive up to my old receiver and see what it sounds like and decide on the new receiver after I've had the Olive for awhile.

 

[bikdav]

Thanks to all of you for your insight, I really appreciate it. I know I'm going to splurge for the Olive 04 to solve my cd challenge. But I really need to think about replacing my receiver before parting with it. I think the best route would be to hook the olive up to my old receiver and see what it sounds like and decide on the new receiver after I've had the Olive for awhile.

Sounds great. Go for it. Keep us posted.