Would this be a BIG upgrade in your opinion?

[xxhoosierdaddyx]

Switching to stereo for music? Ok. Currently I own 2 Energy Rc-30s (sound beautiful). They usually sell for $550 each, but I got them on closeout for $200!

I currently run them through a Yamaha Rx-v465 A/V receiver.


I play 256 kbps music through my ipod through my XBox 360 on them. As we all know, when I play music through the ipod, it uses the Ipod's internal DAC (which is only ok) The receiver is mediocre at music.




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I have decided that this receiver is meant for 5.1. I KNOW that stereo receivers are WAY better for music. I have decided to sell this receiver, and buy a stereo receiver/amp/ and nice cd player. I want top audio quality within my budget.


Can someone recommend me stereo receiver/amp/cd player to go with my speakers please? I am willing to go used. Budget =$800

 

[FirstReflection]

So you "KNOW" that a stereo receiver is going to be "WAY" better than your Yamaha, despite the fact that you're listening to compressed music files with the source being the headphone jack of your iPod, huh? You "KNOW" that? Despite the facts?

And you've "decided" that your Yamaha is "meant" for 5.1 and, apparently, can't possibly sound good when playing in stereo? You've "decided" that? Despite the facts?

Well then what do you need us for? You just "KNOW" things and "decide" things, regardless of whether or not they're true! I'd sure love to have that power...

To answer the question posed in your topic headline: No, that would not be a BIG upgrade, in my opinion.

At the very least, start using the digital USB output of your iPod. If your receiver cannot play files directly through the USB interface, I'm sure there's a dock from Yamaha that will allow you to plug your iPod into that dock like a USB cradle so you can stop using the headphone jack and the iPod's less-than-stellar internal DAC and amplifier.

Better than that, start listening to some actual music files in a non-compressed or losslessly compressed format.

Right now, the limiting factor in your setup is your source. For the love of God, stop using your Xbox! Even the new, slim ones are loud as all getout just from their fan.

Once you're playing decent music files from a decent source, MAYBE you could consider upgrading your receiver. But simply going to an $800 stereo receiver isn't going to get you anything. Not now, and not even if you upgrade your source. Your Yamaha ain't the problem. But you've already "decided" otherwise, so who knows if my answer will even be worth a damn...

 

[lsiberian]

No it would not be an upgrade. Good stereo receivers don't offer any real performance advantages over good 5.1 receivers. Nowadays they have pure direct and stereo built in for 5.1 receivers. If you want to spend 800 dollars on your system list what you have and I'd be happy to see where we could get the most bang for your buck.

 

[lsiberian]

Better than that, start listening to some actual music files in a non-compressed or losslessly compressed format.

It really depends on genre, but at 256kbps I've not seen anyone beat a double blind level matched test on any piece. That seems to be the cutoff based on my own testing. He could certainly benefit from a usb dock. So let's get that going.

 

[jliedeka]

Try to ignore FR's tone, what he and Isiberian said is good advice. Usually when it comes to sound quality, this is the order that matters:

1. Speakers/room - the two are inseparable
2. amps/pre-amps
3. source components
4. (distantly) cables/interconnects

There's no reason why a 5.1 receiver can't play good stereo. I use an older NAD 5.1 receiver for stereo in the bedroom. The receiver is actually able to use more power when only driving two speakers.

256k sources should be fine. If I have to use MP3, like for my phone, that's what I rip to.

You might get some benefit from better digital to analog conversion. Generally speaking, the speaker room interface swamps all other considerations. As long as your amps and sources have low noise and distortion, there's not much benefit in spending more money there. Yamaha makes reasonably good amplifiers. I'd only consider an upgrade there if I was driving difficult speakers.

Jim

 

[bikemig]

I use an AV receiver for music and it works great. I just set the presets so that only the full range fronts get used for music. I know from personal experience that it is tough to get an ipod to pair up nicely with a receiver. If you want to stick with your ipod, this will help, http://www.highresolutiontechnologies.com/istreamer/; so will this, http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/iDO/index.php. Personally, I think the Squeezebox Touch works really well for what you are trying to do. I connect the Touch to the RCA receiver inputs since I like it as a DA converter but you could also connect it to a digital input. There are other solutions but the problem is probably the source not the receiver. Personally, I'd ditch the ipod as a playback device for digital music files.

 

[markw]

OP, stick around for a while.

Coming here looking for affirmation of what you already know can be a jarring experience. If you keep an open mind, you might be surprised to find out that a lot of what you know you know is wrong.