Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Help me choose the right amp (M60)

Some receivers dance better than others. I thought everyone knew that?

That's a shame. I use an amp that is 50 years old - still running wonderfully fine. There are some that would argue that newer amps are far too complicated, which in turn muddies the sound. Think crossovers.



Well, it's often as simple as the sum of its parts. Take just about anything that has a competitor making a similar product and you'll find that one manufacturer will have used inferior parts somewhere down the line.



Well, you did post questions here, right? So, I'm giving you my very humble opinion. Take it or leave it, it's mine. "Who the heck is she?" Someone who listens to music for a living.



My recommendation: Stop reading and get out there and hear the darn thing!

Zoë

Yeah Fred, don't take subjective impressions about mysterious qualities of certain units seriously. Amplifiers just amplify, and if they cover the 20-20KHz audible range with audibly flat frequency response and with inaudibly low noise and distortion(which is the norm these days, available at quite low cost), that's all that can be done. Of course terms such as "rhythm", "pace", "detail", "imaging", "soundstage", etc., which have nothing to do with amplification, pop up in some reviews when there's really nothing to say. You can be confident that the Yamahas and similar units from the other manufacturers amplify transparently without adding or subtracting anything of audible significance.

Dance!! Now I gotta watch my receiver dance?? I hate dancing.


Now you have me intregued. Not a lot of occupations require you to listen to music.

Just to make it clear, I do appreciate you giving me your opinion, just stating which camp I rest in.

I hear you on the quality of components, and that is one of the things I wonder about the different Yamaha lines. Its hard to evaluate whats under the hood without specific electronics knowledge. Thats where a good review is useful. For instance, I have read a couple of Yamaha reviews now where the reviewer took the time to look under the hood and note that used bigger caps than required etc.

One component that will make a difference and should be easier to figure out is the DAC. I don't know how many manufacturers list the dacs in their different receivers.

I also agree about the level of complication of some/many of the newer receivers. Way too many connectors to plug stuff into.

I spent a lot of time looking at how to minimize the number of devices and connections needed to read/play/display all the various discs I have.

Anyway, looking around, now that I have some idea of what I need, I think I can pick up a good not-so-old receiver at a very reasonable price. Some of the less feature laden Yamahas are also very reasonably priced for what they offer.

Thanks John. I've seen your opinion on the subject in a number of other posts.


Actaully, for a man of my age, 20-14KHz is probably just fine.

I was at my brothers place today and he still has the first integated amp I bought. For giggles I decided to look it up on the internet to see how good my taste was back then. Seems I paid around $300 for it in 1978 and it was a good quality amp delivering 40watts/channel. Thats around a grand in today's $$.

Considering I can pick up an amp that delivers 5x100w, probably at much lower distortion levels, thats a heck of a bang for the buck!

But can it dance

....and do the moon walk....

And does it like children?

One a day, no dancing. Helps keep the current up, so I hear...

Fred

I used to work in the music industry and now I write about music and technology for a living.

Hey, there are some great smaller companies making really good integrated amps for reasonable prices. Look at NAD for instance. Their C325BEE has been getting some attention of late (someone else on this board asked for advice on it).

I guess I'm just biased against big companies like Yahama. They are such a mass production company that somewhere down the line they have skimped on something in order to make money and keep the price low.

I hope you find an amp that fits your budget and your listening needs. Oh, and if you get it to dance, take pictures!

Zoë