Question about modern receivers and amps

I recently lost my receiver, a Sansui 5000A, it died and was working unreliably when I first got it.

It couldn't handle two speakers at once on a higher volume, so I figured modern might be the way to go, even though I like the sound and aesthetics of vintage stuff far better

Forgive me, but I'm still learning, would an amp take the pressure off a vintage receiver so it could handle more volume and speakers
Not sure I completely understand the difference between receiver and amp

Any modern recievers or amps you reccomend?

I can get very nice vintage stuff from a guy I know, which I know is cheaper for a good quality item, so 300 is my budget there. I'd consider up to 450 for a nice new one though

Well, I'm young and new to this stuff, so I don't have a ton of money to spend.
I was eyeing some speakers, If I didn't buy those I could have a $650 budget for a new receiver or amp

look at:

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...al-sound-stereo-receiver-bose-901-comp/1.html

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...0-powerful-fm/am-stereo-receiver-black/1.html

receiver (tuner, amp, preamp..in one package basically) / amp (just a power amplifier..so you need a source with a preamp or a preamplifer) / integrate amp (power amp and preamp in one package... so if you want radio you need a separate tuner).

The yamaha A-S line is well regarded and in your budget
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha--S301B...ie=UTF8&qid=1428691576&sr=1-1&keywords=a-s301

or if you don't care about the optical inputs the old model A-S500
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha--S500B...ie=UTF8&qid=1428691519&sr=1-1&keywords=a-s500

First, just curious...why do you run 2 pairs of speakers at the same time?

Second, depending on how a receiver is designed, when you run 2 pairs at the same time it will either lower the impedance the amp sees or raise it. Raising is good, lowering it...not so much.

To do what you want, the options are:

Newer robust receiver that will laugh at hard loads (probably not going to be in your budget)

Newer receiver that doesn't halve the load when speaker A and B are played at the same time.

New speakers that have "at least" an 8 ohm rating AND don't have any major impedance dips at the wrong places.

I'm interested in my "first" question's answer.

The newer Yamaha R-N301 and R-N500 are both very nice, lots of good reviews, and they both have network capability. The 301 can be had for about $250 and the 500 for about $400 if you look around. And both have optical and coaxial digital inputs... for your TV and/or Blu-ray player.

Thanks!

To answer your question, I use two speakers for movies and stuff sometimes
since the space I'm working with is awkward, my Polk bookshelf speakers are in a better position and add a warmth that goes well with dialogue

I didn't realize it was such taboo to play two at once.

sometimes I play both with music, I feel it adds something more sometimes, but I usually don't

I was just told to do whatever sounds good to you and that's what is important

Like I said, I new to all of this and I like to play around with things

hnash53 said:

The newer Yamaha R-N301 and R-N500 are both very nice, lots of good reviews, and they both have network capability. The 301 can be had for about $250 and the 500 for about $400 if you look around. And both have optical and coaxial digital inputs... for your TV and/or Blu-ray player.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I figured Yamaha would pretty much be my only option within my budget

I get people going for higher end stuff, but I'm in college and I'm still building up my system. I'd imagine most of you know what you are doing and have been doing this for a long time.

I mean the cheap Sony reciever was a downgrade from what I had, but its working for me at the time, I got used to it

I just feel like some people are looking down their noses at me on these forums sometimes

Lschultz260 said:

Thanks!

I didn't realize it was such taboo to play two at once.

I was just told to do whatever sounds good to you and that's what is important

Like I said, I new to all of this and I like to play around with things

Click to expand...

It's only a taboo with some receivers and some speakers.

Absolutely do what's good for you. Someone might like to haul around a 1000 lbs of boulders in the back of his pickup 24/7. If it makes him happy than all's good. He just needs to understand that it will be harder on his truck and it will likely shorten it's life.

Your in a good place here. If you love music, you'll be in this hobby to some degree for the rest of your life. The rest of your life is, hopefully, a long time. Enjoy the ride. You don't have to get everything perfect at the moment.

Lschultz260 said:

I just feel like some people are looking down their noses at me on these forums sometimes

Click to expand...

(You posted this while I was typing)

Keep this in mind...there are almost 200,000 members here. With that many, there's bound to be a handful of them that are ??? . Don't let the few that are miserable or just totally lack any social skills bother you and..."Keep on thinking free" (Moody Blues)

NAD, Marantz, Onkyo and harman/kardon (and also, to some extent, Yamaha) still make good sounding and affordable stereo components (integrated amplifiers and also, in the case of at least most of those brands, receivers as well). I do not know if any of the stereo components are happy with loads of less than four ohms nominal impedance, but teh interwebs should know.

Peruse the offerings at, e.g.:
www.audioadvisor.com
www.crutchfield.com

I feel your pain - there's good stuff out there, but it's a tough fit when looking for power handling with two sets of speakers, within your budget.

If you can stretch your $650 max a little, or maybe keep an eye out for a sale, or a used item, or a refurb, the Outlaw Audio RR2150 is supposed to be fantastic receiver. It lists for $699.

Failing that, others have made great suggestions. If you don't need AM/FM you can go for an integrated amp (preamp and power amp in one box) instead of a receiver (tuner, preamp, and power amp combined).

Since you're in college I'm guessing you don't have a lot of living space. But if I'm wrong, another option is to get a nice old vintage receiver in decent shape, and which has "Pre Out" jacks in the back. Those jacks allow you to use it as a tuner-preamp, and outsource the heavy lifting to a dedicated power amplifier.

One power amp that might work well for you in this regard is the Adcom GFA-535. For what it is, it's a great sounding little amp. It's 60 watts per channel, and those are real watts. The first generation of this amp (the 535, NOT the 535-II) can drive two sets of speakers. It's got two power supplies inside, and it's a high-current amp with decent headroom - which means it should be able to drive two sets of speakers at once without blowing itself - and them - up.

Folks have their criticisms of this amp - it doesn't have relays to protect the speakers if something goes very wrong with the amp; and it is not the world's most refined-sounding amp. But I used mine for more than 20 years, and with relatively expensive ($1200) speakers, and it never missed a beat.

You can find this amp used for $150-180 all day long, and if you are patient you can get it for as little as $100. Just remember the 535 (or 535L) is what you want because the later 535-II has only one set of speaker connections.

Good luck!

I'm realizing very quickly to just use one pair of speakers. I really don't use two sets together that often at all anyway. So I'm thinking, another vintage receiver and A400s will do very well for me, I assume an old receiver will handle one just fine even at higher volumes or I could get an amp to take a load off

Onkyo TX 8050

Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk

Yeah... sometimes the comments made by AK members are a bit harsh. Hard to ignore sometimes, too. It can eat at you.

The Yamaha receivers are plenty powerful to drive 2 pairs of speakers. One thing to be sure of: the ohm-age (4,6,8) needs to be set in the receiver, and Yamahas provide for that. I have the Yamaha R-N500 and it can drive 2 pairs of 8-ohm speakers without getting hot at all. I've done it... and am doing it... no problem. If you are ever in doubt about your receiver handling speakers, refer to the owner/user manual... or call the place you got the receiver from and ask them. Crutchfield provides lifetime tech support for any item purchased from them (I have no affiliation with Crutchfield...except as a purchasing customer).

or get yourself one of these tpa3116 class d amps for about $20 and put it in a cigar box and use your sansui as a pre-amp. this is the best bang for your buck option

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=574806

This amp goes for $299 and will do everything you want and probably a lot more.

The sound quality difference between budget integrated amps and receivers is negligible so I'd opt for the surround sound receiver and get a lot more features that will certainly come in valuable for movie watching.

Also from Yamaha though I would also look at models from Onkyo/Marantz/Pioneer/Denon/Sony as they may have models just as good but with looks you like more.

http://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-v377/review