Can anyone recommend a small "computer" receiver?

[jay]

Hi all,

Here's the problem, the receiver that's on my computer desk is an Onkyo 4500. It's a big boy, 19 inches wide and sorta deep, which doesn't leave much room for anything else on the desk top (like a plate of food!), papers, calculator, etc.

I'm looking for something much smaller, perhaps the standard 17 inches wide but the small 15 inchers would be even better. Another 'wish' is to find one that has the power switch and volume knob on the left side. It's probably too much to expect the tuning knob to be on the left, so I'd settle for the middle.

Lastly, just out of vanity, I'd like it to be, if not TOTL, then upper-middle. I know some BOTL stuff from the mid-late 80's will work but it's not 'classic' enough.

Vintage Marantz are obviously ruled out with these restrictions. How about Sansui, Pioneer, Sherwood ??? Any others???:) :)

[Lefty]

Your probably not going to find anything close to that in the vintage analog era.

I just measured my 'baby' pioneer SX-650 and it's 19" wide. It does have power on the left but tuning is far right and volume in middle. Some vintage gear was shorter but most all were pretty wide, needed from for all the iron lol

Lefty

[eThink]

Take a look at this system in the Gallery Forum.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=934

It meets a number of your requirements:

- TOTL
- Vintage (20+ years old)
- Small Size (15.2" wide)
- Power button on left side

Best of all, music sounds great via tuner, phono or CD!

These complete systems have recently sold for approximately $200 on ebay.

Highly recommended.

[ckelly]

jay

Check out a smaller Sansui G series receiver, such as the G4500.

Chris

[BeatleFred]

I use a Pioneer SX-3600 Receiver for lite duty with the computer.
The Volume control is on the right though. The SX-3600 is 30W, and weighs 18lbs and dimensions whd: 17 11/16" x 5 9/16 x 12 1/16". The light weight is important to me in that I dont want to put anything else heavier that would cause the shelf its resting on to start sagging. I got the SX-3600 for 25 bucks. Ideal for lite duty with the computer but cant cut it in the main hi fi system. A much better made receiver is the previous generation SX-780 (which I have)- can check Ebay, there's usually a selection of them there. If youre looking for smaller size though, you might have to get something from the 80's though- when they started downsizing receivers. But perhaps something like a G-2000, 3000 etc would be fine- or any of the lower-power budget models from whichever audio brand interests you the most. Try looking at some different models on Ebay- probably some good buys to be had there.

[BeatleFred]

If separates are ok too for you, then next time youre on Ebay, have a look at #1377786506- thats a good example of the early 80's look and would offer pretty decent performance in a system you have in mind.

[jay]

Hey, you've all given me some terrific 'food for thought'. Thanks a million, guys!;)

[THOR]

I have an old Nikko reciever that is tiny compared to my others.

[Shain]

The perfect receiver would be the Marantz 2010 or 2015. They're only about 13" wide x 13" deep x 5 1/2" high.

I use a 2015 in my bedroom. Has great sound with a small pair of Infinitys. Used to have it in my office at work.

I like Marantz of course, but there aren't many out there small like the 2010/2015 that are vintage, regardless of the brand name.

[Shain]

2015 pix below

[Tonto Yoder]

Small profile of the Advent might work:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1377597935

[jay]

Thanks a bunch everyone! I had no idea that there were so many vintage options for 'smaller' stuff!:) :)

[Brian]

I just added a Grundig RTV-250. Bought it on a whim thinking it would be an alternative to maybe my desk radio. I hoped it would be maybe only a little less terrible sounding than a Pioneer SX525. WAS I WRONG!!!! It really is a nice sounding unit. It is on a small set of 2-way speakers. The tuner sounds very liquidy with alluring sound. The amp is smooth and is nicely balanced. The phono preamp is rather noisy and the faceplate shows it was well used by its owner with the chrome worn off the raised lettering. I'm impressed enough that I've actually started to monitor some of the European electronics.

[aw11sd]

LOOONG overdue post alert!

I use an H/K 330a Baby Advent combo. Looks really cool and sounds almost as good as my living room Marantz 2215b Mirage SM-1 rig.

[Kamakiri]

A Marantz 2015 would also fit the bill nicely :)

[aw11sd]

A Marantz 2015 would also fit the bill nicely :)

Eh, the 2215 certainly fits the bill power wise, but it's a but bulky for desktop use IMHO. Imagine a 70's Cadillac Eldorado (the 500 CI one) with a Geo three cylinder in the engine bay... that's what the insides of a 2215 looks like, TONS of extra space.


Edit: oops. I see you were talking about a 2015. Damn, the world really DOESN'T revolve around me :(

[Inspiribomb]

Check out something like the Technics Micro system. I used to use my Toshiba micro system for my computer, but I moved that to the bedroom.

[sydsfloyd67]

Had this discussion here again 'three years gone' (on and on) here (http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38225) , and after a few local trials and errors, changed the intended niche, and turned then to the Marantz 2015. The only thing it does in this regard is reduce the width from 17-18" to ~14", the depth and heigth are the same as they ever were. If you need to cut the depth, you choice is also fairly clear and limited in the answer being 'Advent 300'. There you will cut the depth to around 9-10" while the width is the same as a full size receiver. Teac is reputed to have made something of interest in trying to cut both length and depth, but "it" must be too rare, or recent enough to escape desired karma. -sf

[Yamaha B-2]

This one do you any good?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-Compact-CD-Cassette-Tuner-System_W0QQitemZ5799106896QQcategoryZ14975QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem

[mhardy6647]

Well... this thread was started in 2002! Not sure what resuscitated it.

A Yamaha CR-220 is pretty petite. So is an hk 330C For an integrated amp, it's hard to beat the little hk A401 (the 20 wpc integrated... I think it's called A401).

[hpsenicka]

If all you need is an integrated amp to drive your computer speakers, a Kenwood KA-2002A is fairly compact relative to a typical receiver.....http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=41770&highlight=ka-2002

I have also been pleased with a Technics SA-104, and SA-106 receiver.

[sydsfloyd67]

A Yamaha CR-220 is pretty petite. M., Had hopes for that, but it actually measures 17.5" across acording to the online manual. The depth was the standard sized if I remember. Yamaha had a penchant for big boxes with a lot or air on their lower powered models I guess. -sf

[Jim H B]

It seems like I see these little Realistic integrated amps on Ebay all the time - SA-150 or something like that. I think they're around 8" wide.

In fact:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Realistic-Amplifier-SA-150-miniature-stereo-NR_W0QQitemZ5798556883QQcategoryZ3280QQrdZ1QQcmdZV iewItem

Does anyone have experience with these?

Jim

[yungin's-dad]

It seems like I see these little Realistic integrated amps on Ebay all the time - SA-150 or something like that. I think they're around 8" wide.

In fact:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Realistic-Amplifier-SA-150-miniature-stereo-NR_W0QQitemZ5798556883QQcategoryZ3280QQrdZ1QQcmdZV iewItem

Does anyone have experience with these?

Jim

Inquiring minds want to know.... Anyone?

[mhardy6647]

The little R/S amps like the SA-150 (there were many different models over a long run time) come highly recommended as cheap 'chip amps' and for headphones. There was a thread here on AK a while back about using one of them as a HP amp (although the thread-starter was ultimately not totally satisfied). They are quite low-powered, though.

EDIT:
1) Here's the thread referred to above:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=29562&highlight=radio+shack

2) I built a nice and very small power amp from the little kit sold by Velleman. This sounds quite good and was cheap and easy to build (and small).
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=13302

These two threads may be of some interest:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15774&page=1&pp=15
http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15894&highlight=velleman