Old Audio in a New World

[anweiss]

All,

I could use some advice. I have an old audio system with some salvageable parts. These include a Linn LP12 table with a Sonic Frontiers phono pre-amp and a pair of Acoustic Energy AE-1 speakers.

I'd like to buy a reasonably good A/V Receiver with fairly high quality FM and a DVD-CD player capable of playing SACD with at least medium fidelity.

My preliminary research has me zeroing in on either a Denon AVR-2805 or a Yamaha RX-V2500 receiver. Also, a Yamaha DVD-C750 or Denon 2910.

Questions:

1) Receiver choice - Any others to consider? Any good reasons to favor one over the other?
2) Am I going to be able to play records?
3) Any reason to buy the more expensive DVD-CD player?
4) How are the FM sections on these receivers?
5) What should I do about speakers? Should I add a center channel? Who's?
6) What sort of audio quality can I expect? I listen to a lot of classical/vintage rock and blues.

TIA

Andy

 

[Rip Van Woofer]

Kinda where I was, except my electronics were old Dynaco. Remember those?

A couple of answers:

FM sections on most AV receivers for the US market are only fair to poor, from what I've read. Perhaps someone here knows of a happy exception or two. Basically, they tend to be an afterthought because FM itself is of declining importance for "serious" listening. They still take FM seriously in Europe and Asia, supposedly, so they still get "the good stuff". Chances are your car radio has a better tuner than just about every AV receiver out there! However, you can do a lot for a mediocre tuner with a good antenna. Roof mounted if you can. FWIW, I was pleasantly surprised at the FM performance of my Harman Kardon DPR 7100 with an indoor antenna. It could (barely) get a weak NPR station over 50 miles away which was more than I expected. (My car radio gets it fine, in stereo! See?) However, tuner performance is very much a "your mileage may vary" thing depending on your location.

Phono stages (if a receiver is even equipped with one) also tend to be bare-bones. You might want an external phono preamp even if your receiver has a phono stage. The Rotel unit for around $200 (I forget the model number but it's their only one) has a good rep. It does it the "right" way, with separate gain stages for the lowpass and highpass filters to create an accurate RIAA curve. Thinking of getting one myself for my old orphaned Thorens.

Choice of CD/DVD player comes down to features, ergonomics, and price IMO. Sonic fidelity is a given at nearly every price. I went ultra cheap with a Pioneer DV-563A and it does the job fine for now. The Denon has lots of fans so it should do the job.

 

[anweiss]

I built half a dozen Dynacos, the last was a Stereo 120.

Interesting information about FM and records. I live in the NY area, so we do get some decent and interesting FM programing although it's spotty. BTW, I have a Sonic Frontiers phono pre-amp so I'll probably use that for the turntable.

Any suggestions on speakers? Center channel/surrounds, etc.?

What about the overall approach? Am I making sense going this way or should I be shopping in an audio store?

Andy

 

[nm2285]

The good thing about tuners is that they can be purchased used for fairly cheap. If you buy your receiver and find it's FM is not sufficient, you can go on ebay or audiogon and find a separate with little problem.

As for your DVD player, I'd like to add to what Rip said: "Sonic fidelity is a given at nearly every price" if you're using the digital out. That's because you're using your receivers DACs. If you use the player's DACs (analog out), a higher price will probably bring you higher fidelity. Consider the Denon, Yamaha, and Marantz universal players. BTW, if you're not going to have surround sound, don't worry about the SACD. 2-channel SACD is not an (significant) upgrade from CD in 2-channel.

A center channel is totally up to you. If you'll be watching many movies, buy one (but also think about adding surrounds further down the road for SACD and movies). If not, don't worry about it. If you buy one, try to get one that is timbre matched to your mains (or, move the acoustic energy speakers to the rear and buy 2 new mains and a new center).

If features and the most advanced video processing aren't huge concerns for you, I'd recommend NAD receivers. Otherwise, I'd recommend the Yamaha over the Denon 2805. Many seem to feel that there's a large step up from the 2805 to the 3805, but many also feel that the 2500 compares well to the 3805.

Go to the stores, see, feel, and use anything you may buy. ESPECIALLY SPEAKERS. The quality of audio you can expect lies within the quality of speaker you buy. Go listen for yourself and pick what you like.