Reciever Vs. Seperates. Any direct comparisons?

[BigGuy]

I wouldn't want to discourage you about higher quality pre\pro's. My speakers in my current set up are a weak link compared to everything else. With better speakers, a bigger difference might of been noticed.

Brian

 

[PENG]

I wouldn't want to discourage you about higher quality pre\pro's. My speakers in my current set up are a weak link compared to everything else. With better speakers, a bigger difference might of been noticed.

Brian

I feel the same about my Veritas 2.3i. In terms of resolution the Veritas seems to be right between the Paradigm Studios and the Signatures, but they probably are still the weak link in my system. My target speaker upgrade is the B&W D series. I will likely upgrade my preamp first though just because it (the one I am considering) is more affordable and has buttons to play with.

 

[bandit]

Just my personal experience here - although not a direct A to B comparison. Quite a few years back I purchased brand new and Adcom GTP-500 preamp/tuner and an Adcom GFP-545. It was rated at 100w/channel and in my opinion sounded very good and I really couldn't have been happier. Then along came home theater - and it was time to make an entry into that business. I ended up buying from Crutchfield a Sony 555 ES 5.1 home theater reciever. It is rated at 120/channel (very close to the Adcom) but I was quite concerned that I might be taking a step back as far as overall sound quality was concerned. I was WRONG. That Sony pretty much blows me away. Seems to have endless power reserves and is extremely quite and crystal clear. I think the bottom line is - if you are operating and amplifer (seperate or reciever) within its design parameters (not overdriving/etc)- it will be very difficult for you to tell the difference. I think your better off looking at your speakers as well as the enviroment that you are listening in. They have far greater effect on the overall sound.

Bandit.

 

[BigGuy]

I think Bandit has a very good point that speakers and room acoustics have a larger effect then the upgrade of a amp or receiver. Leave that aside though, as the question relates to equipment. Before I moved to the Bryston equipment, I had Denon, and before that a Yamaha. When I was shopping for the Yamaha I A/B'd Yamaha, Sony, Pioneer and a few other brands at a local home theater shop, all using the same speakers and source. I wont go into which one sounded the best, but I will say that I did hear a difference in all their sounds. Each receiver sounded different, not necessary better, but I could tell something changed. Point is that if it sounded different, then logically just because it's being used within the specs it doesn't mean it sounds the same. There are many schools of thought on this, and many would disagree, they would say that all amps\receivers sound the same. Go to a Tweeter and listen to 4 different receivers, if you can hear a difference,(at the same SPL) that will answer the question if equipment sounds different. I perceived a better sound with my Bryston at all levels compared to my denon 3805. I had also tried a Rotel 1077 digital amp, I really liked the sound of that too, but the upper end sounded "different" then the Bryston, and I preferred the latter. Go take a listen and try before you buy, that's half the fun in this hobby!

Brian