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New member Username: JohnharperPasadena, CA Post Number: 1 Registered: Apr-05 | Hi. I have 4 Bose Series II speakers, a Scott Receiver 325 R, and a new Onkyo CE player (DX-C390. The reason I have a new CD player is that my old RCA produced murky sound-not all the time but enough so that I quit playing CD's and just listened to the radio (that worked fine). I figured my problem was the CD player but now know I was wrong. Can a receiver cause these type of problems-sometimes the CD's sound great and then a track sounds smeared or murky. Next time around, it can be another track that is bad. And if it is the Scott, what is recommended at something less than $450. Thanks much. John |
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Silver Member Username: Touche6784Post Number: 329 Registered: Nov-04 | honestly, i wont be too surprised if it is the speakers. bose isnt nearly as good as they claim they are nor are they worth the money it costs for them. do yourself a favor and ebay those speakers. with the money you get from them you can get yourself a pretty good set of real speakers. another thing, the quality of the cd is dependent on how well the recording engineer did his stuff. if he was a moron, the cd will obviously sound pretty bad. |
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New member Username: JohnharperPasadena, CA Post Number: 2 Registered: Apr-05 | Thanks, Christopher Lee. I really don't think it is the speakers as some time the sound is good and sometimes bad bit it all is totally inconsistant. If it was the actual CD, then it would always be bad, wouldn't it? Hence I am coming down on the receiver but not sure?? John |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 270 Registered: Mar-05 | Well Scott receivers are no great shakes either but the Bose speakers are really bottom of the barrel. Here's the lowdown on Bose for you: http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html |
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New member Username: JohnharperPasadena, CA Post Number: 3 Registered: Apr-05 | Hey, all I appreciate your comments and now I know my "Boses" are not well liked in the stereo world. However, they are not my main problem at this point in time, I believe. Sometimes the sound I get from them sounds terrible but sometimes not. I think if they are cruddy, they would always be cruddy. I thought a bad CD player might sometimes read CD's well, delivering clear music and sometimes not, delivering the muddy, unclear tones previously mentioned. So I replaced the CD player and continue ot have the same issue. My main question remains-could the primary source of my sporadic poor quality sound be attributed to the Scott receiver going bad. (I can't believe that the speakers alone would go from OK for my untrained ears to abominable from a single track of a CD.) If so, what is a good replacement receiver around the $450 mark? Thanks again for your input. |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 271 Registered: Mar-05 | Well either way, any of the receivers below would be a huge improvement over your Scott, esp. the HK: Harman Kardon 335, $450 shipped from digital1234.com Pionner 1014, $385 shipped from onecall.com Marantz 4500, $400 shipped from hifi.com |
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New member Username: JohnharperPasadena, CA Post Number: 4 Registered: Apr-05 | Thanks, Edster. I'll check those 3 out as well as a couple more downscale varieties, HK 3480 and Onkyo 8511 unless you have stong negative reasons. John |
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Silver Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 336 Registered: Feb-05 | Stay away from Onkyo and stick with the receivers Edster suggested. I might remove the Pioneer from that list and add a comparably priced Denon. I hate to dogpile here but those Bose speakers don't help matters. Good luck John. |
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Silver Member Username: SmittyCanada Post Number: 195 Registered: Dec-03 | John, it seems like you're only interested in stereo. If you can do without a tuner I would highly recommend checking out the Cambridge Audio 540A or 640A as well as the NAD C320BEE integrated amplifiers. They are in the $350 - $500 range and ought to easily outperform any AV receiver in that price range for stereo music. |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 273 Registered: Mar-05 | John, Well if it's stereo you're interested in then the HK 3480 would definitely be my first choice. Marantz also makes a 2-channel receiver, the 4320 which goes for $400 shipped from hifi.com I think jandr.com has the 3480 for $300 shipped, and I can't imagine that one being worse than the 4320. |
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Silver Member Username: Joe_cOakwood, Ga Post Number: 188 Registered: Mar-05 | no highs no lows must be ....... |
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New member Username: JohnharperPasadena, CA Post Number: 5 Registered: Apr-05 | once again, thanks for all the input. I am rather starting to enjoy this exercise, particularly as I found that the dog had pushed in my Tape Monitor button on the old Scott 325R, unknowst to me. How many watts per channel does this tired puppy carry? My murky sound has dissappeared! Never-the-less, stupid or not, I intend to press ahead. I am interested in both the CD's andthe AM/FM so Smitty, I do need a tuner. You all must realize my Bose are like my first borne only older so they will be the last thing I change out. The HK 3480 has got my vote so far. Thanks again all. John PS Joe Coulson, you note said "no highs no lows must be" ?? Would you finish your thought, please? |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 285 Registered: Mar-05 | It's an old anti-Bose ditty: "No highs no lows, it must be Bose." Others I've read on this and other audio forums: "BOSE = Buy Other Sound Equipment" "Bose blows" ...and so on. I'm sure there are plenty more out there. |
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New member Username: JohnharperPasadena, CA Post Number: 7 Registered: Apr-05 | Edster922, The more I learn, the more confused I become. You advised me of three receivers that would be better than the old Scott 325R I currently have. One was Harmaon Kardon 335. Is this the HK 3350 model?The other two, Pioneers 1014 and Marantz 4500 are both 7.1 type. In message "How to Select Best Receiver", I understood you to have written that a two channel receiver is best for music listening. Did I catch your drift? As I am still stuck with my no highs, no lows, I am told that I need a "high current receiver" and also note the HK3350 is listed as a high current receiver, 2 channel. What does this mean and how does one know when reading specs that a receiver is a "high current" one? As usual, your advice is appreciated. John |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 348 Registered: Mar-05 | For music listening a 2-channel receiver like the 3480 should be better in that there's less unnecessary crap inside the box so hopefully what's there will be of better quality and also fewer circuits should mean less interference and noise. I've never heard of an HK 3350 model, but maybe you can look at the HK website to verify that. However a multi-channel receiver does offer you the advantage of easy expandability and versatility should your needs ever change, and the difference in sound quality esp. for a decent one like the 335 should not be huge. As for "high current" that's a very amorphous term that's sometimes abused. More technically astute people on this forum should be able to help you decipher the specs in such a way as to get a general idea just how "high current" a receiver really is---I'd start a new thread for that. But then again specs themselves often don't tell the full story. |
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New member Username: JohnharperPasadena, CA Post Number: 8 Registered: Apr-05 | Found the HK AVR335 and considering it although I am still leaning towards the two channel variety, primarily due to my present living conditions. Don't ask me where I got the 3350 number. I will start a new thread re high current. |
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no name here for now Unregistered guest | An intermittent sound quality problem could mean a bad connector or wire. Do have the problem with both stereo channels? If it's just one you're on the track to solving it. mz |