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New member Username: Sandman670Chicago, IL Post Number: 2 Registered: Jun-05 | I'm looking for a used receiver (stereo, not HT). My priorities are good sound and durability. Any suggestions on brands? where to get one? I'd like to spend between $100-200, and I don't have great speakers at the moment but that's next on the list... |
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Silver Member Username: DmwileyPost Number: 816 Registered: Feb-05 | For 200, you could buy a new basic stereo receiver. Try Yamaha, Onkyo or Panasonic. |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 906 Registered: Mar-05 | get a refurb Harman Kardon 3480 from Harman Direct on eBay, comes with full original HK warranty. Usually goes for $160-200. or for an extra $30 you can get the JVC RX-F10 from Amazon.com, $230 shipped. It is a 6.1 HT receiver but I've heard it in 2-channel mode and it sounds as good as receivers costing 5 times as much due to its cutting edge pure-digital technology. |
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New member Username: Sandman670Chicago, IL Post Number: 3 Registered: Jun-05 | one question-- is an integrated amp just a receiver without a tuner? (and therefore higher quality for the price?) Thanks everyone for the replies and sorry for the dumb newbie questions |
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Bronze Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Pakistan Post Number: 99 Registered: May-05 | In a nut shell an integrated is a reciever minus the tuner. Theoretically, you should get higher quality at the same price point because you are paying the same amount of money and getting less bells and whistles. If you don't need a tuner, and intergrated amp could be a good route. If you want to spend a couple bucks more and are going to upgrade your speakers later on, you may want to look into a vintage Marantz receiver. You can find them on e-bay. Some of the sellers restore them themselves. My father has a vintage Marantz receiver (model 2220B) and they sound great. They have low power ratings, but like most of the higher end stuff, their wattage goes a long way. On a good day, you can find a restored Marantz for about $250. For the money, you aren't going to find anything remotely close to the sound and build quality as those. But also keep in mind that they are older and therefore require a little more pampering. If you are looking for a party system that can take a lot of abuse, this may not be the best idea. |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 921 Registered: Mar-05 | also look at the NAD integrated amps on eBay, you should be able to find something around $200. |
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Silver Member Username: TwebbzAnn Arbor, Michigan USA Post Number: 123 Registered: Apr-04 | You could pick up a used Yamaha "Natural Sound" Tuner Model T-15 on Ebay for dirt. They're pretty good. There are a couple available now. I have a Yamaha receiver of the same vintage and it pulls in the stations as good as any and that includes NAD and Rotel. |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 943 Registered: Mar-05 | http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5763237#post5763237 After reading the above, you might want to look into the Kenwood VR7100. Anytime I hear of people preferring the sound of X over Y which costs 3-10 times as much, I tend to get very very curious... Vanns.com has it going for $250 shipped right now. Seems to me $50 over budget is a fair price to pay in order to get something that very possibly might equal if not best, the SQ of a $3000 receiver. |
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New member Username: Sandman670Chicago, IL Post Number: 4 Registered: Jun-05 | I'm really not looking at getting into HT at the moment but I was wondering about the Kenwood... It's listed at 0.7% THD in stereo! I realize this is the 6 ohm rating, but there's none given for 8 ohms. HK 3480: Continuous power (FTC): 120 Watts per channel, 20Hz -- 20kHz @ <0.07% THD (and 0.2% THD @ 4 ohms). also the kenwood looks about half as big, and with a ton more features. is there any way the sound quality is better in stereo? i find that hard to believe, but i havent heard either one. I'm impressed by the refurbished HK's price, specs, and warranty, so I'm leaning towards that unless I can be convinced another unit has better sound for the price. thanks |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 962 Registered: Mar-05 | THD specs are pretty much useless, ignore them. THD doesn't even begin to be noticeable until you get to 10% and up which usually happens only in cheap ministereos. A pure-digital receiver is almost certain to be much more detailed and crisp than analog, even to a fault according to their detractors. And yes they are usually about 1/2 or 1/3 the size and 1/4 the weight of analog receivers. |
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Gold Member Username: Paul_ohstbucksPost Number: 1364 Registered: Jan-05 | While it's true that .7% might be obvious, but it's a sign of cheapness. If they skimp on that, geez.....it makes me wonder what else they've skimped on???? .7% is not the sign of a quality built receiver. I recommend taking the hint and reading the signs, and looking elsewhere. I wouldnt consider a receiver >.1% on principle alone, because they've probably skimped throughout. |