Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo delusions about receivers

I'm thinking of upgrading from a low-end sony receiver to something a bit better to drive my m60s. I have only a vague notion that I will purchase speakers for surround some day and primary focus is music.

I am tempted by denon 2803, hk etc but also kind of wondering if I am paying for a lot of stuff I will never use. Is it delusional to think that if I spend the same money on an integrated amplifier such as nad 352, I am getting better quality components by spending just on what I need? Or do the economics of everybody wanting HT make this a mute point? The way NAD talk about focusing more on music then others on their website is seductive but....

Tough question. I don't really know the answer, but I do have to say that good AV receivers on sale sure do offer a lot for the money.

Have you played some good DVDs through the M60s yet ? If not, give that a try before making the decision.

I would upgrade if I were you. I went from a Cheap Sony surround reciever and while it sounded just fine, I really had to crank it to make my speakers sing. My Denon pushes my speakers effortlessly. I didn't notice a difference in sound, then again I really wasn't looking for one. Plus, my Denon barely gets warmer than room temperature even after being pushed very hard (60-90 minutes at -10). My Sony would get extremely hot and would burn my hand if I pushed it to hard. On top of that, the Sony was in a better ventilated area than my Denon is now. I've always loved NAD and HK products (although I've never owned them) and hope to purchase one when I decide to upgrade. With all that said, a Denon would be a worthwhile upgrade in my opinion.

Plus, I got my Denon for $270 shipped. Thats only $80 more than my old piece of [censored] Sony!

you can get a very nice Denon receiver that is refurbished at www.ecost.com for about $250-$500 USD

I'm sure a Denon would serve you better than your current sony. If you need surround or not depends on your plans for the future. have you ever heard the benefits of home theatre? try listening to one and see if you might like it. If you do, then get a 5.1 receiver

pushing my M60's. I think the sound is tremendous. As you know, this NAD is for 2-channel music only and that's all I wanted it for. Maybe, NAD has sold me on that. I also have an Onkyo 502 upstairs driving M22's and it is nice also. I have not jumped into the center channel, sub or surrounds yet for that system. Though, the Onkyo also reproduces the music very well...IMHO

Does your Cheap Sony have Preouts? If so you could consider buying a nice 2 Channel amp to run your M60's and use your Sony as the Pre/Pro. Thats what I am in the process of doing with my system. I have a 6.1 system, but am switching over from a Receiver to all seperates.

However for a fix that will allow you to get better sound out of your current system, and still leave you open in the future if you decide to go HT, this might be the way to go.

I would need to know your budget to know what to recomend, and I would spend a little money on wire as well. I recently changed my IC's to DH-Lab's, put 10awg power chords on my Yamaha Receiver and Usher CD player, and put a Hubbell plug in the wall, and my Axiom M22's have never sounded better!! I have Rotel Amps now and they sound good, but I plan to upgrade to McCormack DNA amps.

I've owned quite a few Receivers: HK, Yamaha, Fisher, Sony, Sherwood and Technics being those I can remember.

I've also owned several integrated amps: Jolida 1701A (hybrid), Cambridge Audio A500RC(Solid State), Jolida 202A (Tube) and Jungson JA-88D (Pure class A).

IMO none of the Receivers came anywhere near the sound quality of even the cheapest amp. I'm not saying you can't find really good sounding receivers. But the typical $400 HT recievers arn't it.

Including my kids and wife's systems we have speakers ranging from the Axiom MzeroTi and PSB Alpha minis which go for under $200 up to the Focus Audio FS688 monitors which go for $3200. Regardless of the speaker the difference was notable. Needless to say the better the speaker the more obvious the difference.

With the M60's I believe you would really find a nice difference. NAD, Cambridge Audio and Jungson all make good integrateds for under $500.

I know this probably isn't a popular opinion none the less, if I wasn't really looking to put together a HT system I would bypass receivers and go for the integrated.

BW MaxxC

It is so hard to make this recomendation because it all depends on your listening habits and how good your ear is. I still consider myself a newbie so, like you, I am still tinkering around with the upgrades.

What I found in my short history is that the cheaper stuff really stands out as just that, cheap. Now, don't get me wrong cheap does not mean bad instead it means that you can hear the differances. I have an Outlaw 1050. Although a very good reciever, once I upgraded to a 3803 there was a night and day dif in the sound qualtiy. The Denon put out a MUCH clearer, cleaner sound to my ears. All in all this made a world of dif to me. I will be moving to seperates soon and I am hoping that that will give me the same night and day change as the Outlaw to 3803 change made.

With all that in mind, what are your listening habits? If 2 cha is all you are looking at have you looked at some tube amps? Amazing sound.

In reply to:

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I will be moving to seperates soon and I am hoping that that will give me the same night and day change as the Outlaw to 3803 change made.

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Craig,

I am curious as to what makes you want to move to seperates now.I have read more than once that you were not a fan of seperates.I am not trying to be a smart a$$ here I would just like to know.

I am able to get seperates at a cost that I cannot pass up on. So I thought, "what the hell." As I stated in the past, I am not one of those that is under the belief that there will be a true night and day between sep or all in ones but as I've seen many time, I could be wrong... I'll keep you updated though. I will not have them for at least 3-4 mo.