stereo receiver vs av receiver

[alcon10]

hello ...I don't know what to choose a stereo amplifier or a av receiver.i have some questions about them
1.is there a big difference in sound quality between an analog audio connection with rca and a digital audio or hdmi audio?many say a quality stereo receiver sounds better than an av receiver.i don't want 5.1 sound just stereo with a sub,also a lot of guys say that rca analog audio sucks
2.i have a laptop,if i buy an av receiver with an optical in is there such a cable with a jack of 3.5mm at one end ,and a optical out at the other end,and does it help me having the optical in on the receiver if the laptop has just a 3.5mm headphones jack?can i connect the laptop if the av receiver has a coaxial in?
3.i have a hdtv,can i connect a stereo receiver to it and if so will it sound good?compared to a av receiver,how can i connect the stereo receiver that doesn't have hdmi ports on it.
4.what is a cheap way to add usb playback to a stereo receiver to play music on it or how can you connect an mp3 player to it?what about the av receiver if the receiver has only rca connections and optical in and coaxial in thank you

 

[markw]

You can pretty much count on not being able to connect anything but red/white analog audio to most, not all stereo only units. Ther eare exceptions though.

And, you CAN get pretty durn good sound from an AVR and they do lend themselves to future upgrades to HT,and they all accept digital sources.

 

[ImcLoud]

If this is just for music from your laptop, then I wouldn't get an avr, some will disagree but I have listened first hand and can tell the differnece, you want your audio path as direct as possible, or at least I do...
I would do something like this...
XDA-2 USB DAC/Digital Preamp/Headphone Amp | Emotiva Audio Corporation | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel
UPA-200 | 125W x 2 | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel amplifiers, stereo amplifiers, and monoblock amplifi
for a digital music only system, if you have a larger budget then you can look into the xsp1{with xda2} and xpa2 which work well together and allow crossing to a subwoofer with out needing an additional crossover but that system will run you north of $2000...

 

[SearchofSub]

hello ...I don't know what to choose a stereo amplifier or a av receiver.i have some questions about them
1.is there a big difference in sound quality between an analog audio connection with rca and a digital audio or hdmi audio?many say a quality stereo receiver sounds better than an av receiver.i don't want 5.1 sound just stereo with a sub,also a lot of guys say that rca analog audio sucks
2.i have a laptop,if i buy an av receiver with an optical in is there such a cable with a jack of 3.5mm at one end ,and a optical out at the other end,and does it help me having the optical in on the receiver if the laptop has just a 3.5mm headphones jack?can i connect the laptop if the av receiver has a coaxial in?
3.i have a hdtv,can i connect a stereo receiver to it and if so will it sound good?compared to a av receiver,how can i connect the stereo receiver that doesn't have hdmi ports on it.
4.what is a cheap way to add usb playback to a stereo receiver to play music on it or how can you connect an mp3 player to it?what about the av receiver if the receiver has only rca connections and optical in and coaxial in thank you

I dont know if there is any difference in sound quality between a 5.1 reciever and a 2.1 receiver. I know there is a difference between a Pre-amp/Amp sperates and a AVR.

There is a Stereo reciever made by Outlaw. Maybe you should try that out. But it dosent have any HDMI inputs, which was the ultimate deal breaker for me.


Many say there isnt a difference in sound between HDMI and Digital Optical. But the few that do, say Digital Optical sounds better. Digital Optical dosent support 7.1, only upto 5.1 but since you are going 2.1 it really wouldnt matter. Also, Optical supports only audio, not video/audio like Hdmi.

There is one reciever that is 2.1 made by kenwood that has HDMI inputs. You would need HDMI to connect your HDTV to the reciever.


JVCKENWOOD Nederland B.V. | AV Control Centres > RA-5000 (details)

 

[Grador]

In general I think that an AVR will do you very well, but disregarding that what speakers do you intend to use? Most people that believe that there is a difference between AVR and separates believe it isn't a night and day comparison so unless your speakers are quite good it may not be worth spending the $750 on the [quite nice i must say] system ImcLoud suggested for you.

What laptop do you have and does it have an HDMI out? HDMI would be a fantastic choice for getting sound off of your laptop. To answer your question about 3.5mm to optical, no there is no such thing. The headphone jack provides analog audio only. There are some laptops [including my sony and all apples] that use the 3.5mm jack as an optical jack AS WELL, but that is unrelated to the headphone portion of it.

Anyone that says there is a difference between HDMI and optical for CD quality stereo audio have absolutely no clue how either work and should be ignored on all fronts.

If you're in the united states do not buy a kenwood unit as you're unlikely to receive warranty support as kenwood has no official retail channels in the region.

 

[SearchofSub]

Here is anoother 2.1 stereo reciever OP.

Outlaw Audio RR2150 Stereo RetroReceiver Review | Audioholics

 

[alcon10]

thank you for the answers i need to know if there is a big sound quality difference between connecting my laptop to a stereo receiver with a standard analog cable with 3.5mmjack and 2 rca for left and right audio,and connecting my laptop to a av receiver with hdmi.someone i am talking just for 2.1
i have read here that laptop hdmi to av receiver will not work only for audio i need to have my hdtv on.so if i want to listen 4 hours of music do i have to keep the tv on 4 hours also?is that true that hdmi is sound and image and u cannot use it only for audio ?
my chosen av receiver has coaxial in and optical in, my laptop doesn't have optcial out just 3.5mm.what is the best way to connect my laptop to this receiver besides hdmi..if i connect the signal from 3.5mm to optical in is it ok?for 2.1 sound?

 

[ImcLoud]

There will be a sound difference using the headphone jack adapter... Look into a Audioengine d1 dac and a good integrated amplifier....
Amazon.com: Audioengine D1 24-bit digital-to-audio converter: Computers & Accessories
Amazon.com: Dayton Audio DTA-100a Class-T Digital Amplifier 50 WPC (Black): Electronics

or the dayton apa150 amplifier is also nice..

another option is a topping with built in dac...

Amazon.com: Topping TP32 Class T Digital Amp with USB and Remote 15WPC: Electronics the tp 30 and tp 31 also have built in dac's if you intend on using good efficient speakers the 30w will be plenty...

 

[Grador]

thank you for the answers i need to know if there is a big sound quality difference between connecting my laptop to a stereo receiver with a standard analog cable with 3.5mmjack and 2 rca for left and right audio,and connecting my laptop to a av receiver with hdmi.someone i am talking just for 2.1
i have read here that laptop hdmi to av receiver will not work only for audio i need to have my hdtv on.so if i want to listen 4 hours of music do i have to keep the tv on 4 hours also?is that true that hdmi is sound and image and u cannot use it only for audio ?
my chosen av receiver has coaxial in and optical in, my laptop doesn't have optcial out just 3.5mm.what is the best way to connect my laptop to this receiver besides hdmi..if i connect the signal from 3.5mm to optical in is it ok?for 2.1 sound?

The difference can be large and i'd bet it would be more than slight. I did just check if i could use HDMI w/o my tv on and it seems that doesn't work, i had no idea. There is no "3.5mm to optical" as headphone jack is analog audio, not digital. If you buy an analog to digital converter there would be no point as you'd already be past the quality loss of the headphone jack. the audioengine DAC ImcLoud linked you to is a proven choice unit, I would consider it.

 

[macddmac]

What about an optical mini jack to toslink cable? My airport express outputs digital through the mini jack output to my griffin 20 amp/ dac.
i think MacBooks have the same feature. If so, the OP could output digital to a stereo receiver such as an HK3490 or a Nad 356 with dac module.
Cheers, Mac

 

[Grador]

What about an optical mini jack to toslink cable? My airport express outputs digital through the mini jack output to my griffin 20 amp/ dac.
i think MacBooks have the same feature. If so, the OP could output digital to a stereo receiver such as an HK3490 or a Nad 356 with dac module.
Cheers, Mac

I asked him what his laptop was for that reason, but got no reply. Unfortunately it's not a common feature for laptops to have a dual use 3.5mm jack.

 

[alcon10]

No my laptop has only 3.5mm stereo sound output..no dual use on my laptop.i want to ask is there a sound quality difference between a stereo receiver and av receiver,i need the av receiver because it has more connections,but many say that it get's pretty hot if you use it just with 2 speakers.also many say that a cheaper stereo receiver will sound better than an expensive av receiver.and how can i find out the real power output for the device because many producers lie about the real power,is the consumed power the real power output? i have found some receivers with 7x100w specified and only 300w power con.

 

[Grador]

Anything but the bottom lines of AVRs will provide rated power into 2 speakers. The issue they have is that their overall power supplies aren't big enough to power all 5/7 to full power at the same time.

My yamaha AVRs run COLD.

I doubt you'd find significant [non-imaginary] difference between the sound quality of an AVR vs a stereo integrated amp at similar price point [or at all really]. Many will agree with me on this, many other's will disagree. Frankly you'll just have to make a judgement call. What I can say is that for the most part there's no such thing as a "cheap" stereo receiver.

 

[alcon10]

this is the comment that confused me :''For av receivers :In 2 channel mode the processing may not be the issue but you are still only using an amp that is at best a quarter of the price of the amp compared to a stereo amp. i.e. a £400 AV amp in stereo mode will be using the equivalent cost of amp of less than £100 if bought as a stereo amp.''a5.1 av receiver has 5 amps and the same price as a good stereo receiver

 

[Grador]

Never ever look at pricing, it has very little to do with quality.

 

[ImcLoud]

Are you just connecting a PC to this system?

If so just go with a DAC and an integrated amplifier, depending on how much power you need this could be done as cheap as the topping TP30 for around $95 which has a built in dac that hooks rite into you pc's usb port, {they sound great} or a simple usb like the audio engine d1 $169 and a larger amplifier like the upa200 {125x2}, or an apa150 {76x2}, ect...

As far as sound, for critical listening I prefer a direct audio path, but if you are going to be hooking up ps3's dvd players, cd players, tv's ect then get an AVR... there are SOOO many to choose from and they are so inexpensive..

 

[shadyJ]

The OP really needs to get a USB audio interface and some active studio monitors. Sound from an onboard 3.5mm is likely going to be awful. Who cares if you use stereo or surround sound on that, it's all going to sound bad on that jack.