Need Advice on Receiver for Stereo

[Dejavuth]

Hi fellows,

I don't know much about audio hardwares, that's why I'm here to ask for some recommendation regarding receiver for my stereo set up.

I got a pair of speakers rated at 300w each, 8 ohm RMS. I've looked around but I could only find receivers for surround sound systems which are rated around 150w x 5 or x7 which is not what I want.

What are some of the receivers that are capable of doing it up to 300w per channel? Do i need an amplifier? Keep in mind that I won't be setting up a surround sound system in the near future.


Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheer,
Dejavuth

 

[mike c]

yes you do need an amplifier.
(what you dont need is a receiver ... being x5 x7 and all)

below is an example ...
http://europe.rotel.com/products/stereo-power-amplifiers.htm

what is your speaker btw? can you post the brand/specs?
(just so you know, you might not need 300w - depends on your usage and room size)

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Welcome to the forum.

You'll never need 300 watts per channel. Onkyo, Harman Kardon, and Denon offer some nice 2 channel receivers in the 50-120 watt range.

Check the sensitivity of your speakers. They are what dictates how loud they will play, more so than the power handling. Which speakers/model# do you own?

Check J&R Music World in NYC for 2 channel receivers. They'll usually have the best deals (and if not, will match legit online prices).

http://www.jr.com/JRSectionView.process?N=10946+206028&Ne=100779#Channels

 

[mike c]

1 minute buckeye

 

[Dejavuth]

Ah I'm not sure about the brand, the box doesn't reall say much. I got it as a gift from a friend and he also has no idea what the actual brand is.

All it says on the box is Symphony Ochestra Piano Infetna So-9, I've pluck that into google and got nothing. Sorry this might not help at all :/

My living room is actually pretty large, we just recently got a huge rear projection tv and the seats are about 3 to 4m away from the TV. So that's why I thought 300w per channel is good.

Sorry for a being a noob and all, but how does an amplifier work? Does it have rear AV inputs and outputs like the receivers? or do I need to hook the amplifier into something else?

I really appreciate the help

Thank.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

There are three parts to seperates.
1. The source. Like a radio am/fm tuner or cd player
2. The pre-amplifier. This converts the low-energy signal from the source components into a higher-energey signal for the amp. It also regulates volume, and switches between source coponents.
3. The power amp. This turns the signal from the pre-amp into the watts that drive the loudspeaker.

A receiver combines a radio tuner, pre-amp & amp into one chassis. usually the parts are all cheap stuff designed to keep cost down. If you drop the radio tuner you have an 'Integrated amp' which are typically of much better build quality, and are available with more power. (Music Fidelity does have a 300-watt integrated, but its a lil' pricey).

But serious stereo geeks have all seperate components. That way you can always purchase more powerful amps, or not bother with a tuner, or whatever combination of products you want.

Crutchfield has 2-channel stereos from Sony, Onkyo, and Denon, and even a very nice denon Integrated Amp.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

A stand alone amp won't help you without a receiver, or pre-amplifier. A two channel amp takes a signal from a receiver, or pre-amplifier, amplifies it, and sends that signal to your speakers. It's very basic.

On a stand alone amplifier, you'll have rca's in from the receiver/pre-amp, and speaker terminals out to your speakers.

A receiver packages all this into one unit, but usually won't have the headroom a separate pre-amp and power amp have. In addition, a receiver also has a tuner to pull in am/fm stations, where your pre-amp/power amp combo do not.