Stereo Receiver Owners/Supporters: Let's Hear From You!

[PearlcorderS701]

Any of you Audioholics using a stereo receiver to do your two-channel dirty work, speak up! Do you like your receiver? Does it push enough clean power for you? Share some setup pics as well!

I absolutely love my Onkyo TX-8555, which was recommended to me by the site's Anamorphic; this thing is a real brute -- especially considering its ridiculously low price tag. The build is incredibly solid with beyond standardized heft, right down to its hairline brushed aluminum front panel and ridiculously heavy and solid master volume knob. As many of you can recall, I really wanted Onkyo's A9555 integrated amp, but I simply couldn't afford it at the time -- but to be honest, the 8555 stereo receiver could easily be called an integrated amp with a tuner; this thing cranks out some serious current.

But I'd like to hear from some of you other stereo receiver owners -- do you think a good stereo receiver can be every bit as involving as a decent separates setup? Can some stereo receivers truly give some preamp/amp combos a run for their money? Furthermore, even compared to some ridiculously over the top tube-driven esoteric stuff you'd read about in The Absolute Sound, do some of you believe stereo receivers have what it takes to crank out some good sound?

Weigh in, two-channel receiver owners!

 

[mtrycrafts]

Any of you Audioholics using a stereo receiver to do your two-channel dirty work, speak up! Do you like your receiver? Does it push enough clean power for you? Share some setup pics as well!

I absolutely love my Onkyo TX-8555, which was recommended to me by the site's Anamorphic; this thing is a real brute -- especially considering its ridiculously low price tag. The build is incredibly solid with beyond standardized heft, right down to its hairline brushed aluminum front panel and ridiculously heavy and solid master volume knob. As many of you can recall, I really wanted Onkyo's A9555 integrated amp, but I simply couldn't afford it at the time -- but to be honest, the 8555 stereo receiver could easily be called an integrated amp with a tuner; this thing cranks out some serious current.

But I'd like to hear from some of you other stereo receiver owners -- do you think a good stereo receiver can be every bit as involving as a decent separates setup? Can some stereo receivers truly give some preamp/amp combos a run for their money? Furthermore, even compared to some ridiculously over the top tube-driven esoteric stuff you'd read about in The Absolute Sound, do some of you believe stereo receivers have what it takes to crank out some good sound?

Weigh in, two-channel receiver owners!

Since you are speaking of stereo listening and having enough power from a receiver, that should be obvious from the 2 ch performance rating of that receiver and the speaker load, no? It's not like looking for an 'all channel' rating and nowhere to be found
If you want pictures, open my link

 

[PearlcorderS701]

Since you are speaking of stereo listening and having enough power from a receiver, that should be obvious from the 2 ch performance rating of that receiver and the speaker load, no? It's not like looking for an 'all channel' rating and nowhere to be found

Huh?

I was asking people's opinions of their own stereo receivers, or what they thought of the idea of one powering a 2-channel rig...

If you want pictures, open my link

I believe I have viewed your photos before, but I'll look again and return with comments!

UPDATE: Indeed, I have seen your pics before -- I recall the boomboxes. But are you driving your system with a 2-channel stereo receiver? The thread was specifically targeting those who have set up a 2-channel rig/room and are powering the system via a stereo receiver...

 

[mtrycrafts]

Huh?

I was asking people's opinions of their own stereo receivers, or what they thought of the idea of one powering a 2-channel rig...



I believe I have viewed your photos before, but I'll look again and return with comments!

UPDATE: Indeed, I have seen your pics before -- I recall the boomboxes. But are you driving your system with a 2-channel stereo receiver? The thread was specifically targeting those who have set up a 2-channel rig/room and are powering the system via a stereo receiver...

Oh, ok I saw ' do you like your receiver' and already forgot about it being stereo

 

[PearlcorderS701]

Oh, ok I saw ' do you like your receiver' and already forgot about it being stereo

Indeed; the thread is geared towards stereo receiver owners...

 

[its phillip]

Unfortunately, I don't have a stereo receiver...but I do use an old 5.1 receiver just for stereo.

I've never compared my receiver to separates, although I have an ancient sony es preamp (can't remember the model number offhand) and a giant old denon amp (poa-2400a i think) that I could try comparing it with. I'm not exactly a critical listener though.

I am interested in picking up an H/K 3490 since they're pretty cheap refurbished from harman's ebay store. I'd guess that would be more of a lateral move though and not really much of an upgrade.

 

[markw]

Does a 35 year old Marantz 2270 driving some vintage JBL's in the office/basement.gym system count?

How about a NAD 1600 tuner/preamp driving a NAD 214 power amp pushing some Sound Dynamics bookshelves in the library/guest room?

 

[Dark Regent]

I have been very happy with my Yamaha RX-797 in my 2.1 computer setup. It sounds very clean, puts out plenty of power and can be had for $365 new including shipping on ebay. I think it's a great deal and does all you would need it to. One of my requirements for purchasing a stereo receiver was that it should have a subwoofer output connection which the Yamaha does. I narrowed it down to the Yamaha or a Harman Kardon and I went for the Yamaha and have been very happy with it.

My Setup:

 

[PearlcorderS701]

Unfortunately, I don't have a stereo receiver...but I do use an old 5.1 receiver just for stereo.

I've never compared my receiver to separates, although I have an ancient sony es preamp (can't remember the model number offhand) and a giant old denon amp (poa-2400a i think) that I could try comparing it with. I'm not exactly a critical listener though.

I am interested in picking up an H/K 3490 since they're pretty cheap refurbished from harman's ebay store. I'd guess that would be more of a lateral move though and not really much of an upgrade.

Thanks for your input, Phillip!

I was mainly trying to get some folks' perspectives on stereo receivers as used in their two channel rigs; I too used to run a surround receiver for both multichannel film playback and stereo, until I bought my house and we were able to separate some rooms, and I made a loft room into a two channel dedicated listening area -- then, I bought the Onkyo TX-8555 to power it!

 

[PearlcorderS701]

Does a 35 year old Marantz 2270 driving some vintage JBL's in the office/basement.gym system count?

Wow...now THAT'S some vintage gear, Mark! I suppose that combination would qualify for this thread; even if it's not brand spanking new!

Do you utilize this system for dedicated two channel music playback?

How about a NAD 1600 tuner/preamp driving a NAD 214 power amp pushing some Sound Dynamics bookshelves in the library/guest room?

Close -- but I'd call those separates!

 

[mannoiaj]

I have an H/K 3490 stereo receiver and have pitted it against an onkyo 805 and a denon 3805 for 2 channel only. I used direct mode with the onkyo and denon vs stereo with the H/K. They all spec out at about 120 watt/ch and I believe can all do 4 ohms. What I found was that the denon and onkyo 7 channel receivers seemed to "handle" the speaker load a bit better and produced a bit cleaner, fuller, and dynamic presentation. I really thought with the HK I would get a better 2 channel performance but it wasn't the case in my specific situation. I still own the 3490 and use it, but it isn't quite what I expected. I also put it up against some NAD seperates and the NAD's blew it away, not even close.

The speakers that I used for my comparison were Linn Nexus, and it was just my wife and I switching banana plugs between receivers and the pre/+amp in my living room... nothing technical.

I'm of the opinion that the 3490 doesn't quite have the balls that it does on paper in reality, it also seems physically pretty light in weight.

 

[mannoiaj]

Does a 35 year old Marantz 2270 driving some vintage JBL's in the office/basement.gym system count?

How about a NAD 1600 tuner/preamp driving a NAD 214 power amp pushing some Sound Dynamics bookshelves in the library/guest room?

I used the same NAD 1600 but with a pair of bridged NAD 2100 power amps, pretty good sounding combo I think.

 

[PearlcorderS701]

I have been very happy with my Yamaha RX-797 in my 2.1 computer setup. It sounds very clean, puts out plenty of power and can be had for $365 new including shipping on ebay. I think it's a great deal and does all you would need it to. One of my requirements for purchasing a stereo receiver was that it should have a subwoofer output connection which the Yamaha does. I narrowed it down to the Yamaha or a Harman Kardon and I went for the Yamaha and have been very happy with it.

My Setup:

Thanks for sharing, Dark Regent! Where is your Yamaha receiver in the pic? Do you use it for two channel music listening in this computer room? You don't have a dedicated separate "listening room" for two channel playback?

Your bookshelf speakers look like my Polk R20s do on their Sanus stands...

 

[PearlcorderS701]

I have an H/K 3490 stereo receiver and have pitted it against an onkyo 805 and a denon 3805 for 2 channel only. I used direct mode with the onkyo and denon vs stereo with the H/K. They all spec out at about 120 watt/ch and I believe can all do 4 ohms. What I found was that the denon and onkyo 7 channel receivers seemed to "handle" the speaker load a bit better and produced a bit cleaner, fuller, and dynamic presentation. I really thought with the HK I would get a better 2 channel performance but it wasn't the case in my specific situation. I still own the 3490 and use it, but it isn't quite what I expected. I also put it up against some NAD seperates and the NAD's blew it away, not even close.

The speakers that I used for my comparison were Linn Nexus, and it was just my wife and I switching banana plugs between receivers and the pre/+amp in my living room... nothing technical.

I'm of the opinion that the 3490 doesn't quite have the balls that it does on paper in reality, it also seems physically pretty light in weight.

Interesting; that's disheartening though that the separates blew away the AVR...

Stereo receivers need to get some more love!

 

[mannoiaj]

Interesting; that's disheartening though that the separates blew away the AVR...

Stereo receivers need to get some more love!

If I were to do it all over again, I would have just bought an integrated from cambridge audio. I wanted the 640/650 from cambridge but I decided to chince out and purchase the HK. Plus, it had a tuner which is nice.

 

[PearlcorderS701]

If I were to do it all over again, I would have just bought an integrated from cambridge audio. I wanted the 640/650 from cambridge but I decided to chince out and purchase the HK. Plus, it had a tuner which is nice.

Indeed, mannoi...I felt a similar way before I finally pulled the trigger on the 8555 -- I wanted the A-9555 integrated amp as I wanted separates-like performance but yet didn't quite need separate chassis complexities and such, and I didn't really necessarily need a tuner. But when all was said and done, the A-9555 just wasn't affordable anywhere online, and I ended up getting the 8555 stereo receiver based on Anamorphic's recommendation, and it seems like the "next best thing" to having a good integrated amp. Also, as you pointed out, the receiver had a tuner which my wife finds usable almost every night when she sits in the 2-channel room working on the laptop or whatever; if I hadn't gotten a receiver, we wouldn't have had a tuner at least not right away, so she wouldn't have been able to listen to radio, which she's doing a good deal of since getting this Onkyo 8555.

 

[AJinFLA]

I'm of the opinion that the 3490 doesn't quite have the balls that it does on paper in reality, it also seems physically pretty light in weight.

That is precisely why when they do controlled (valid) tests, you have no idea about the details of what you are listening to, which only ends up biasing judgment....especially things like the physical weight of the DUT...which can psychologically lead to "lightweight", less "full" sound .

I also put it up against some NAD seperates and the NAD's blew it away, not even close.

What power output NAD....and how much louder were you listening when it "blew away" the HK?

The speakers that I used for my comparison were Linn Nexus, and it was just my wife and I switching banana plugs between receivers and the pre/+amp in my living room... nothing technical.

Yep, that explains it .

 

[Knucklehead90]

I have a pair of Infinity Interlude IL40s driven by an HK 3390 in the bedroom setup. I also have a 12" DIY sub that I hardly ever turn on because this combination delivers enough bass in the bedroom I don't really need it.

With 80wpc the IL40s really sing in that sealed space.

I'm hooked on the Infinity CMMD tweeters - as you can see by my sig line. I've gone through a lot of speakers in the past 10 years and have yet to find anything with tweeters that sound better. The Emotiva speakers came close - and the timbre match is nearly dead on between Emotiva and infinity.

I doubt I'll ever be without a 2 channel setup. It just sounds 'right'.

 

[jostenmeat]

If I were to do it all over again, I would have just bought an integrated from cambridge audio. I wanted the 640/650 from cambridge but I decided to chince out and purchase the HK. Plus, it had a tuner which is nice.

I use an earlier version of the Cambridge 840A integrated. It works fine. It might have been nice to get the Outlaw stereo receiver instead for the tuner. I dunno. But, some things I don't like about the Cambridge:

The backlight is way too bright. Even the in-between setting is too bright. It's either the two lit settings, or just off, which I don't like either.

Any volume change makes a pronounced clicking sound. I wish this could at least be defeated.

Lastly, though not necessarily the fault of the Cambridge (though never an issue with my Onkyo HT unit, or for that matter, any other unit that I've programmed for among various friends/family), my URC RF20 that I use to control it changes the volume by two clicks, not one. With URC, we often program volume by "holding down" the original, so that continuous volume change by simply holding the button is feasible. Between the two evils, I choose continuous w/o the ability to change by single clicks.

Anyways, careful what you wish for. No complaints otherwise though.

 

[PearlcorderS701]

Thanks for all the conversation so far, fellas...

I knew it was a matter of time until we heard about the Outlaw receiver! Anyone have one of these in their rigs?

Let's go, stereo receiver fans!