Need advice for new system

[Lavafang]

Hi Everyone,

I am currently in the process of replacing my old HT system with a decent Hi-Fi setup. I have ordered some Quad 22L2s (L/R) and a QSP power amp, but I am having trouble deciding on the other component(s), and was hoping to get some help from others who know more about it than me.

I used my old system mostly for movies and games, but I am planning to listen to a lot more music--FLAC/mp3 streamed from my computer--maybe 50%/50% music/movies.

I was wondering how the DAC in modern receivers would sound with music? I have a budget of (hopefully) <2000 to get set up with some combination of a receiver/pre-pro/DAC/streamer.

I was looking at Marantz sr6006 which would stream music and have an amp for powering surrounds/center channels later on, but I am curious about how it would sound for music. Some other options I am considering are perhaps a Rotel without streaming, and a squeezebox system (or NAD or Marantz streamers, but I think the features on the squeeze touch are better, and its a lot cheaper).

I would rather not have separate system for music and movies, although I imagine that would sound best.

Thanks!

 

[PENG]

I think the mid range Yamaha models such as the RX-A2010 and up as well as Integra's (I tried not to say Onkyo these days) have the Burr Brown DAC in them that have better specs on paper than those in the current Marantz and Denon models in the <2000 price range. In my opinion, the better specs (DAC) on paper will unlikely translate into better sound quality in those AVR's but there are other factors that may, and all things considered I think the Denon AVR4311 can be a great choice.

 

[Lavafang]

Most of the reviews I have read for AVRs discourage their use for music, but this is referring to using the inbuilt amplifier. Since I have a separate power amp, I don't really know how they compare to dedicated stereo equipment for music in terms of DAC/pre-pro capabilities. Any opinions on that?

Thanks

 

[agarwalro]

Most of the reviews I have read for AVRs discourage their use for music, but this is referring to using the inbuilt amplifier. Since I have a separate power amp, I don't really know how they compare to dedicated stereo equipment for music in terms of DAC/pre-pro capabilities. Any opinions on that?

As long as the speakers are not overloading the receiver/amp, they will be indistinguishable if compared scientifically.

DACs matter on the benchmark tests and for bragging rights, but the infinitesimal differences (i.e. supposed improvements) will be swamped out by room interaction based inaccuracies.

 

[Lavafang]

So you would not expect much difference in terms of "musicality" of receivers used as a pre-pro / DAC within the same price range (eg $1k+) ?

What about the ARC system in the Anthem MRX-500? That is another contender, although it is has far less features (and too few HDMI inputs) on its own.

Thanks