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January 17, 2015 - 8:49pm
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Stereo receiver suggestions on a budget, experiences so far
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I would take a Denon receiver over any Onkyo at every price point if you are looking for something new. For something used, try and find a used Marantz, Denon or Pioneer Elite. In general, they sound more neutral and offer better detail than any of the Sony-Yamaha-Onkyo's on the Market.
Also, Michael Green has mentioned in a couple of strings a Sherwood receiver for like $99 that evidently sounds great and he can recommend a couple of mods that make it much better. he mentions in in Amplification where he is planning to write some receiver and amp reviews.
Things that are missing in the Sherwood that I would like to have: banana plug compatible speaker connectors, and a phono input. Otherwise, it sounds like a great value for the money...
I suggest that you stay away from Yamaha, Sony, Onkyo, and Pioneer receivers. They have ridiculous power ratings which one should totally ignore, and will not drive many speakers well because of their poorly engineered inadequate power supplies. The result is harsh sound quality.
You just don't get much for under $400 from those companies; the product has to be made on too tight of a budget.
I suggest that you consider a NAD T748 receiver, which is much better engineered and therefore sounds much better with most speakers. It is $599 most places, but the price is relatively modest for something that really does sound good and will last a long time.
If I had to get something for under $400, the only receiver I would consider is the Harman-Kardon 3700, which is pretty decent.
Sherwood is ultra-cheap, and that's how the stuff is made. Don't count on durability or reliability with it.
some very reasonable suggestions.
it depends on personal preference as well as far as sound quality goes. like others have stated, low to mid level Yamaha/Onkyo/Pioneer stuff is not my favorite, i think they're made to sound artificially boomy (pet peeve of mine), although of course it may work if paired with subdued speakers.
in my weekend cabin i have a MusicalFidelity M1PWR power amp that i think pairs very well with small bookshelf speakers, they can be found for $400 and truly sound bigger.
another line i like quite a bit is Creek, they're quite balanced and can also be found for very reasonable prices used. i scored a Creek Destiny Power amp (originally 2k or so), new for less than 800 on Ebay, and that is a really-really impressive sounding amp.
That's just not in my budget. I can maybe stretch it to $250 for the right deal, but $400+ is out of the question. Not that I couldn't afford it, but audio is not a serious enough hobby of mine to justify sinking much more than another couple hundreds bucks into -- I just want to be able to fill my living area with music that sounds reasonably good. I'm also probably limited in terms of quality by the DAC in my source, which is primarily an HTPC -- in particular, a Raspberry Pi Model B Revision 2.0 using the original Wolfson (I believe the hardware is actually Cirrus Logic) audio card. I can post links to data sheets on that if anyone is that interested. I also sometimes put a record on, though my turntable is not that great, an old Technics SL-B350
I've been reading over the Michael Green posts, and there's got to be something between his $99 Sherwood and a $400 unit that would offer some benefit over the former and reasonable compromises compared to the latter, and that could deliver reliable service for at least 5 years (though hopefully more).
And Re: the HK3700, I'm afraid I'm spooked off of the brand after my last experience. As well, the feedback I've received from my electronics guru is that the components in, e.g., various Onkyo units are typically of a higher quality and thus more repairable than those present in my HK3390, at least from his perspective. He also did some investigating of his own and, when he called HK support and inquired as to whether or not cheaper solder was used on their boards, they declined to comment. If his reflowing of the board proves successful, that will be the culprit
Accessories4less is the clearance site for a few audio manufacturers and they sell factory refurbs.
They are currently out of stock, but the Marantz SR4023 would be ideal. If you call them, they may be able to tell you when they are expecting more stock. It is also only $399.
Alternatively, you could look the item up on eBay or Auidogon and see if you can get it for the same or less. Marantz makes durable, great sounding equipment.
Interesting -- thanks for the tip. I was just browsing around on the site and discovered that the pricing for home theater receivers seems to be much lower than stereo receivers. Is this just an effect of supply/demand, or are there other forces at work here? Should I consider buying a multi channel receiver as a means to get more milage out of my money in terms of quality? Though I would lose phono support...