Hey all, the good folks at reddit's r/audiophile subreddit think quite highly of M22s and from what I'm reading, they look like an amazing bang for your buck. I have an Onkyo TX-DS656 which I mainly use with my tv and audio technica turntable. I have some probably mid to late 90s boston acoustic bookshelf speakers and want to make sure that I am not crazy here. Is my receiver subpar and should be upgraded first? The receiver itself seems adequate, and my speakers just sound flat and at times a bit crackly. Thanks in advance for your help!

Joey, welcome. If your 656 is still in good working condition, it isn't "subpar" as far as basic amplification(85 watts should be enough)goes. Since that model is about 12 years old, however, there are receivers with much more advanced features available which you might consider. Your "crackly" comment might relate to the speakers, but could also indicate controls on the receiver are dirty. Run them quickly all the way up and down(no sound playing, of course)a couple dozen times to help clean them a bit.

I've been enjoying music through my M22s for almost 12 years now. They're very accurate, excellent speakers, and I'm confident that you will also find them to be very enjoyable if you give them a try.

Thanks for the quick response. I ran the controls and it seems to help. They generally aren't very 'crackly', but notably when I watched an episode of Game of Thrones, the sitcom Maron, and Dredd, there was a kind of crackle that didn't seem to be intentional. I'm hoping that it is my speakers and I'm not beating a dead horse with the receiver, but it sounds pretty good 95% of the time. Also, are the factory M22s refurbished? Thanks again for the speedy response and your help!

No, the factory outlet speakers are brand new, but are said to have a slight cosmetic blemish. The saving is very worthwhile, and those who've gone that way(including me)have generally found it difficult to find the cosmetic problem.

I bought a couple of QS8's that way and couldn't find a blemish.