I am looking to "upgrade" my home component system, and was interested in recommendations. I currently own some very old 70s/80s vintage components (Ohm H speakers, JVC JA-S77 Integrated Amp, Onkyo Cassette Deck, Hitachi FT4400 Tuner, Sony CDP-70 CD-Player). I was never happy with the Ohm speakers ... and the Integrated Amp and Cassette Deck are shot.
My listening patterns and tastes: wide variety of music ... little bit of jazz, little bit of show music, but I would say 80-90% classic rock, current rock, and current day stuff like Creed, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Counting Crows, Matchbox 20, Third Eye Blind, etc (no rap). I live in an 800 sq. ft. apartment.
I don't consider myself to be an advanced audiophile, but I do consider myself to be above the average listener is quality expectations (somewhere in the middle). I like some enhanced clarity and separation, and also like some bass separation.
Here's my dilemma. Without a working amp, the rest of my system is unusable. I think the future seems to be Home Theater, so I'd like to pursue that. It would seem logical that I should think along the lines of replacing the amp with a Home Theater Receiver first. That way, I would then have a usable system with speakers and CD player. However, I eventually want to replace the Ohm speakers with new floorstanding ones ... I never felt that they had adequate bass (in those days, Infinity would have been the way to go, but it's a long story as to why I chose Ohms).
I know enough (I think) to know that one should purchase a receiver or amp that adequately drives ones speakers. Yet ... I'd really prefer to not have the expense of a new receiver and speakers all at once ... especially since I have "usable" speakers. So what should I do? Just pick a suitable receiver that I hope will drive whatever speakers I eventually decide on, or just resign myself to having to purchase them all up-front?
The next question is what to consider in terms of components. I know this is a matter of opinions/tastes, but it would appear that in terms of home theater receivers, I should consider Yamaha, NAD, or Denon (figure on price point $500-$1000). I have heard pretty consistently that Yamaha has a crispness at higher volumes that Denon doesn't have. Is this true?
In terms of speakers, do I have to have 4/5 speakers if I am using a Home Theater Receiver, or can I start with 2? What speakers are good nowadays that have good bass separation and emphasis (figure on price point $1000-$1500 total for either 2 or 4 speakers). And can I have two floorstanding and then the remainder a set of bookshelfs and a sub?
As to your question about having to have more than 2 speakers, the answer is no. On todays receivers, you just tell the amp theres no rear or center speakers hooked up, and it mixes the channels into the front speakers.
On a budget of around 500-1000$ I would look at Marantz , Elite , and NAD. I could name models(tell me of you want me to)but that would take all the fun out of looking for a receiver. I have the same listening tastes as you, and have to say the Elite is awsome for the music I listen to. Thats just my opinion though, and I would definately listen to the receivers you like.
Since you live in an apartment, you dont need tons of power, so power shouldnt be an issue, especially with only an 800 square ft. apartment to fill. Any Elite, NAD, or Marantz receiver should have easily enough power.
Yamaha and Denon both have a bright sound, which can be hard to listen to and just wouldnt be the best for the type of music you listen to. When you listen to a receiver at say Best Buy, most people get tricked into thinking that brighter sound is detail. Dont get that confused as a "better" receiver.