AV Receiver vs Stereo Receiver?

H

Hooligan

Audiophyte
I've been trying to make sense of it all and thought I would ask here before I choose either the Yamaha RX-V750 or the Harmon Kardon 335.

Question is, Chances are I will not be using it for more than just connecting my old Pioneer tape deck and CD palyer to it to listen to music. The pioneer had an amp and pre-amp (I guess) and the Amp went south, so I'm looking to buy something I can use to tune into radio and play CD's as well as some old vinyl I'm hanging on to. I have a pair of 15 year old B&W speakers.

So the question is, am I looking at the right products if I'm not going to do Home Theater and just want to listen to some music?



TIA
 
Z

zumbo

Audioholic Spartan
You need to be looking for a stereo receiver. Both models you listed are A/V receivers. If you are not interested in radio, a good way to go is an intergrated amp. It will have everything you need, minus a tuner.

Rotel
NAD

Or, if you want the tuner.
Rotel
H/K
 
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F

Fife

Junior Audioholic
Along this same line. . . In a traditional stereo receiver does the signal ever get changed to digital or does it stay analog from the CD player to the speakers?
 
N

nm2285

Senior Audioholic
the NAD c320bee is a fantastic choice. As are the other NAD integrateds (I own the last-generation C370). If you want a built in tuner, look at the HK 3480. It's also more than sufficient.
 
R

rschleicher

Audioholic
A company that makes very good sounding 2-ch. integrated amps is Creek. They're still fairly expensive, though, at least on a $/watt basis. I would agree with the NAD recommendations. There are also a couple of amps from Cambridge Soundworks that are very good values.
 
M

MDS

Audioholic Spartan
Fife said:
Along this same line. . . In a traditional stereo receiver does the signal ever get changed to digital or does it stay analog from the CD player to the speakers?
CDs are digital. 16bit linear PCM at a sampling rate of 44.1kHz to be exact. If the cd player has a digital output (coax or optical) and the (stereo) receiver has digital inputs, the signal will stay digital until the receiver converts it to analog for amplification. If you connect the cd player using the analog connections (the L(white) and R (red) cables), then the player will do the digital to analog conversion and send the analog signal to the receiver for amplification.
 
Rob Babcock

Rob Babcock

Moderator
In a sense, there's no need to look at AV receivers if you truly only intend to listen to 2CH stereo with just a few sources. Buying a newer HT-type unit would give you more expansion options down the road, but if you're not concerned about that, then a plain stereo receiver, integrated amp or a separate amp & preamp is probably the way to go.

The NAD products are nice. The 320 BEE is a sweet little unit, but only 50 Watts or so. The NAD C372 is real bruiser, though, at 150 WPC. I've heard the older model it replaced and liked it very much.

Cambridge makes some nice integrated amps, too. Very nice looking.

If you want to retain a tuner, several companies still make 2CH stereo receivers. I haven't really looked at them in years so I don't know much about the specific models. But I have seen the 3 nice Denon stereo-only receivers, and any of them would fit the bill nicely.

Lastly, you might look at separate amps & preamps. Depending on how much power you need and how "into" gear you want to get, you can get a decent preamp for a few hundred or spend several grand. The beauty of this approach is that you can buy whatever features, style, etc you want and choose an amp with just as much power as you need.
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
Hooligan said:
I've been trying to make sense of it all and thought I would ask here before I choose either the Yamaha RX-V750 or the Harmon Kardon 335.

Question is, Chances are I will not be using it for more than just connecting my old Pioneer tape deck and CD palyer to it to listen to music. The pioneer had an amp and pre-amp (I guess) and the Amp went south, so I'm looking to buy something I can use to tune into radio and play CD's as well as some old vinyl I'm hanging on to. I have a pair of 15 year old B&W speakers.

So the question is, am I looking at the right products if I'm not going to do Home Theater and just want to listen to some music?
TIA

If you will stay in the 2 ch domain, you may want to consider looking for a 2ch receiver, used, on ebay or some such places. Maybe even locally at hifi shops, newspaper ads, etc?
Or, repair what you have?
 
Rob Babcock

Rob Babcock

Moderator
mtrycrafts said:
Or, repair what you have?
Repair what you have? REPAIR WHAT YOU HAVE?! :eek: Are you outta your friggin' mind! Dude, you always use the failure of a peice as an excuse to buy a new peice! :D How long have you been at this?

Okaaaay, you could maybe fix it, but depending on how old it is it may not be worth it. Besides, depending on where you live it can be hard to find a decent shop anymore. And expensive. Aside from places that do mosty warrenty stuff, so much of the household electronics nowadays is essentially disposable. :( When your vacuum or toaster goes out, most people toss and and buy a new one since they're so cheap. Hence the drop off in the number of guys who repair the stuff.
 
H

Hooligan

Audiophyte
HK 3480 Reliability

Thanks to everyone for the input. The HK 3480 seems about right for the money but, looking at their 'store' on ebay they have a bunch of 3840's refurb'd. Gives me a sense that there might be a qc isssue. Anyway JR has them for about $300.00 - no tax no shipping.

Gonna think about it a day or two more. Realized that my Dish Satellite has all this music :rolleyes:

So maybe an AV is the way to go? But I am on a budget...
 
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J

JJNab

Audioholic Intern
I cast a strong vote for the HK 3480. I've had one for 3 months and have been delighted with it. For stereo, you've got loads of power, and stereo sub outs. You can also use it to run a 2.1 HT if you want. Vanns.com is an authorized dealer at $318 delivered.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck, JJ
 
Rob Babcock

Rob Babcock

Moderator
Many current stereo receivers will do video switching, too. Denon, for example, has some models that will switch composite video for a few components. Their DRA-685 also has preamp outs, which is handy if you wanna add a muscle amp down the road.

The main thing you're gonna find as you start researching models is that you'll have a lot less choices if you go with a stereo reciever. The fact is that few companies still make them, and as a niche product (low volume, small market) the prices will actually be higher than those of comparable HT models. There are probably no less than three dozen HT receivers you could buy for under $300. And a few really good ones available for around $250.

Especially appealing are the digital models from Panasonic and JVC. If you cruise the forums, including AudioCircle and Audio Asylum, you'll find a lot of guys raving up the XA-25 & XA-50's, as well at their newer replacement. A guy I know had one modded and it reportedly compared very favorably to his $5k stack of tubed Van Alstine gear. And one of our regulars at AC uses a $200 JVC to run his Maggies off of a $4,500 digital front end! :eek: Both are amazing bargains- great sound, very efficient and cheap to run, with amp video switching & digital inputs. The can even be configured to passively biamp if your speakers allow it.
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
Rob Babcock said:
Repair what you have? REPAIR WHAT YOU HAVE?! :eek: Are you outta your friggin' mind! Dude, you always use the failure of a peice as an excuse to buy a new peice! :D How long have you been at this?

Okaaaay, you could maybe fix it, but depending on how old it is it may not be worth it. Besides, depending on where you live it can be hard to find a decent shop anymore. And expensive. Aside from places that do mosty warrenty stuff, so much of the household electronics nowadays is essentially disposable. :( When your vacuum or toaster goes out, most people toss and and buy a new one since they're so cheap. Hence the drop off in the number of guys who repair the stuff.

Maybe he should replace his 15 year old speaker too? Buy everything new.

I would consider $50 DVD players disposable, not components in the many hundreds. He is not looking for new technology, just a fix to get back into business with his stereo.
Pioneer should have no problems doing that for him, most likely for a lot less than new?
He can also go used. Maybe a better alternative?
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
Hooligan said:
Gonna think about it a day or two more. Realized that my Dish Satellite has all this music :rolleyes:

So maybe an AV is the way to go? But I am on a budget...

Yep, best not to rush into it.
As you are on a budget, how about used?
 

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