Newbie getting new A/V Receiver

[Carl06c6]

Hello everyone... Ive been out of touch with home audio/video for ? well to long. I got it in my head that i wanted to update my old receiver .... [ Kenwood VR-209 ] -I was orig never happy with it when i got it in 1998 ?., Seem to have what i best describe as hollow sound ? cheap sound ? . The receiver before that was a older kenwood from 1991. [ forgot model ]
I meant to join and post this before i bought, but i have a new yamaha HTR-3066, WHICH I hope i injoy.
So , what can i expect or not, as for sound ? compared to my old unit.. A friend of mine says not much if any...
And dumb question is, I hope that you can run this in 2 channel sterio mode when i play my music....

 

[zieglj01]

Hollow sound has more to do with the speakers, Not the receiver.
What speakers do you own?

And yes, you can play stereo with your new Yamaha receiver.

 

[herbu]

Hollow sound has more to do with the speakers, Not the receiver.

Quite right! Carl06c6, perhaps that's why your friend told you not to expect much difference.

 

[Carl06c6]

That hollow sound, is hard to describe and thats me judging it off a old kenwood [1991] receiver,, compared to the kenwood VR-209, [1998]. And using same speaker for comparison.. - Ive read some older post from sights of same complaints with later 90's receivers... But ive been out of touch and using the kenwood VR-209 on and off now...Over years -, lots of moves, and lots of old equipment sold. - My current speakers [ dont lol ] are well, Here it goes, Optimus, Pro LX10 TOWER, with dual woofer.- And i have a older set of surrounds, by yamaha . Which i bought years ago, -CENTER CHANNEL model # is NS-AC3, And bookshelf speaker model is NS-A770...Oh and a friend just recently gave me a set of these small bose speakers. that are real small and are the cube, that also swivel,. Dont know anything more about them. May be from a set, or are meant for surrond speakers..

 

[JohnnieB]

Hi Carl, welcome.
I don't believe anyone is gonna LOL at your speakers. I used to run Cerwin Vega back in the day, which I would say are probably similar in some ways to what you have in the Optimus.
I'm gonna cut to the chase. Your new receiver is not what I would call a powerhouse. It's rated at 100 wpc, 1 channel driven. 70 wpc 2 channel. It will be lower yet when all 5 channels are being driven. Luckily, even when using surround, not all 5 channels are going to be driven at once most of the time. Your room size and listening habits (volume levels) as well as your speakers are going to dictate whether this is adequate. The Yamaha looks to have a decent set of features for it's price range and will get you through quite a few years before new technologies make it truly obsolete. That's just my opinion. I agree wholeheartedly with zieglj01, your speakers are the sound issue.
The next item I would recommend for you is a powered sub, if you do not already have one. This will help take some load off your receiver and the woofers in the Optimus and help clean up the sound. There are a boat load of options for subs priced from $50 bucks on e-bay to new car prices. I would recommend you shoot for the $500 dollar range for starters and shop and compare from there. SVS comes to mind.
After that I would recommend upgrading your mains. A quick and easy recommendation would be Ascend Acoustics HTM 200 SE's. They are priced for the budget minded and are an easy to drive 8 ohm load. The sound will be anything but hollow. You also don't have to worry about matching them for a center, because they work well for a center and rear surrounds. These coupled with a sub will bring a smile to your face when compared to the Optimus.
This is the direction I would go if it were me. The higher up the hi-fi food chain you go with each component, the more you can lessen the chances for future upgrades. As many people can tell you, upgrading can go from a hobby to a disorder in a hurry.
So to move forward from here with more specific recommendations, information such as budget, room size and your preferred volume levels are a must.

 

[Carl06c6]

Hi Carl, welcome.
I don't believe anyone is gonna LOL at your speakers. I used to run Cerwin Vega back in the day, which I would say are probably similar in some ways to what you have in the Optimus.
I'm gonna cut to the chase. Your new receiver is not what I would call a powerhouse. It's rated at 100 wpc, 1 channel driven. 70 wpc 2 channel. It will be lower yet when all 5 channels are being driven. Luckily, even when using surround, not all 5 channels are going to be driven at once most of the time. Your room size and listening habits (volume levels) as well as your speakers are going to dictate whether this is adequate. The Yamaha looks to have a decent set of features for it's price range and will get you through quite a few years before new technologies make it truly obsolete. That's just my opinion. I agree wholeheartedly with zieglj01, your speakers are the sound issue.
The next item I would recommend for you is a powered sub, if you do not already have one. This will help take some load off your receiver and the woofers in the Optimus and help clean up the sound. There are a boat load of options for subs priced from $50 bucks on e-bay to new car prices. I would recommend you shoot for the $500 dollar range for starters and shop and compare from there. SVS comes to mind.
After that I would recommend upgrading your mains. A quick and easy recommendation would be Ascend Acoustics HTM 200 SE's. They are priced for the budget minded and are an easy to drive 8 ohm load. The sound will be anything but hollow. You also don't have to worry about matching them for a center, because they work well for a center and rear surrounds. These coupled with a sub will bring a smile to your face when compared to the Optimus.
This is the direction I would go if it were me. The higher up the hi-fi food chain you go with each component, the more you can lessen the chances for future upgrades. As many people can tell you, upgrading can go from a hobby to a disorder in a hurry.
So to move forward from here with more specific recommendations, information such as budget, room size and your preferred volume levels are a must.

Thanks..... I know that the yamaha isnt a power house compared to what some need and want. But when it gets here ill hook it up and compare it to my older kenwood for sound wise, then decide if i need and want it...-- Just was tryin to find out if sound wise,, if new receiver would be better than my old one[1998] And then ill go for sub or mains..My room size isnt big, Im in small/med size apartment now. Left wifey.. lol...

 

[zieglj01]

That hollow sound, is hard to describe and thats me judging it off a old kenwood [1991] receiver,, compared to the kenwood VR-209, [1998]. And using same speaker for comparison..

My current speakers [ dont lol ] are well, Here it goes, Optimus, Pro LX10 TOWER, with dual woofer.- And i have a older set of surrounds, by yamaha . Which i bought years ago, -CENTER CHANNEL model # is NS-AC3, And bookshelf speaker model is NS-A770...

Oh and a friend just recently gave me a set of these small bose speakers. that are real small and are the cube, that also swivel,. Dont know anything more about them. May be from a set, or are meant for surrond speakers..

I have pass experience with Kenwood - Pass experience with the Optimus LX series, Yamaha
and Bose speakers.

The key is that the speakers are on the thin sound side - the biggest difference in sound change,
will come from a speaker upgrade in the future.

On a side note some former older brand receivers, had a built in loudness button that could not
be defeated. And also on some receivers, there was a loudness button or bass boost switch that
some people would turn on and leave it switched on. If/when you do turn that switch/button off,
then the sound from the speakers could be perceived as sounding more thin.

 

[Carl06c6]

Thanks guys...Seems like new/features and 175.00 dollars for yamaha HTR-3066 will decide if i keep receiver when it gets here. Friend said dont jump gun on returning without spending time on adjustments and learning it. And he may buy my old one for 50.00...I guess i was thinking major improvements in A/V receivers since 1999 besides features...Ill let ya all know what i think of receiver when it comes in..

 

[PENG]

Your older Kenwood most likely has a beefier power supply and amp section than the newer Yamaha, but the Yamaha has more up to date features. As others have mentioned, don't expect much on the sound quality side and you may be nicely surprised, though unlikely. You can play with your speakers positioning and may get more improvements this way than to switch receivers. You may also consider getting a used Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, NAD that has Audyssey room EQ system, especially one that has Dynamic EQ, that's where you will gain substantially IMHO. Just check, the Denon AVR-1613, 1713 have DEQ.

 

[Carl06c6]

Your older Kenwood most likely has a beefier power supply and amp section than the newer Yamaha, but the Yamaha has more up to date features. As others have mentioned, don't expect much on the sound quality side and you may be nicely surprised, though unlikely. You can play with your speakers positioning and may get more improvements this way than to switch receivers. You may also consider getting a used Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, NAD that has Audyssey room EQ system, especially one that has Dynamic EQ, that's where you will gain substantially IMHO. Just check, the Denon AVR-1613, 1713 have DEQ.

Ill see how i like the yamaha when it gets here.. What started me thinking to get new A/V receiver over my older [1998] kenwood VR209 was i bought a new dvd player that has HDMI, BUt my older receiver does not.. And i thought, well my receiver is getting up in age [ flawless tho] and also thought home A/V receivers must of advanced alot over years . ?? Like car audio.. Well besides features it doesnt look like it at all, from what i read... Friend is telling me to return yamaha, and keep older unit, and suggested something like a
ViewHD HDMI Audio Extractor with 5.1CH Decoder

 

[Carl06c6]

A friend brought over to my house a early 1990's kenwood A/V receiver KR-V8040, And- WOW --- I was correct on the older kenwood's [1990] compared to my VR-209. [ 1998] .. def improvment... Best i can describe is, its like i up the watts by 40 rms, or swapped out for kickass speakers.... I based this off, radio and c.d., in 2 channel sterio.. And they have same spec's.... Havent tried the surround.. - Im keeping it, and selling the VR-209 [ 1998 ] Receiver..
I still have the new yamaha on the way.. Im dyin to see how the sound is.

That friend of mine told, me its all because older receiver's most likely uses a diff class amp.. As eary 90's was when VIDEO was just starting to take off.. And that is where most of the focus went..to video on the receivers pretty much since 1997. I agree..

 

[Carl06c6]

I got the reman/new yamaha HTR-3066. Got it all hooked up, and been running radio and c.d's.. All seems good and sound is alot better than my older kenwood vr-209....For my hearing pleasure i wish they offered units with less features and added WATTS.. This HTR-3066 SEEMS OK, but would like more power, but figure sound quality may make up for more watts... Wasnt going to pay out 75-125 more for 20 extra watts.....

If they could make a perfect a/v receiver for me. I would ask for,,,,,, No wireless..No blutooth,,No AM radio, No usb, No app's...And give me more WATTS at 8 ohms 2 channel driven at 20hz and 120 min watt min RMS