Interesting challenge: Help me put together a Craigslist speaker/amp combo for less than $300

Chiliarches

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Howdy, all.

I am visiting my in-laws for Thanksgiving in Washington DC area (Northern Virginia, we will be splitting our time between Manassas and Culpeper), and I would like to buy my father-in-law a decent system for music while I am here. Source will presumably be CD/DVD player and/or a computer, though a turntable is not out of the question.

He is NOT a critical listener and this system will be used primarily for background music while shooting pool in his basement. As such, the primary goal will be VOLUME sufficient to cleanly fill a large space and with decent heft, rather than ultra-high fidelity and tons of detail. Still, I'd like it to be decent - something I'd enjoy while I am there shooting pool myself!

Using Craigslist as a source, I have assembled the following list of speakers and amplifiers as options. With a $300 budget, what combo would YOU buy? I have never heard any of these components

SPEAKERS


AMPLIFIERS


Another option for amplification would be one of the inexpensive chip amps available on Amazon, though I would probably prefer a traditional receiver or amplifier for the sake of multiple inputs and a phono stage. There are also a bunch of cheaper AVR type options on Craigslist in the $30-60 range.

So....whaddya' think?





 
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I like the Yamaha A-S301 - I run an R-S700 and it really cranks :) I like the look of the Rectilinears, although I have never actually heard any of your suggestions. Good luck with the build :)
 
Monitor Audio bookshelves or small towers ($150)
Denon AVR-3800 series receiver—3808 has per speaker room correction and HDMI audio, 3802/3 not; all have full compliment of analog/digital/phono inputs ($200, $125)
 
I think its not a problem with your budget, just need to be patient and you will find things. I have done it more than once. All sorts of good things are out there.
 
I think its not a problem with your budget, just need to be patient and you will find things. I have done it more than once. All sorts of good things are out there.

Well of course, but I want to make the purchase this week since I am in town and I live 12 hours away. :)
 
Personally for your budget and needs I would go for a higher wattage avr with phono and spend the bulk on speakers. And stay away from vintage speakers unless they've been refurbished. I doubt your father-in-law wants to end up with a project instead of a stereo.
 
Well of course, but I want to make the purchase this week since I am in town and I live 12 hours away. :)

Go with the A-S301 then, you won't regret it. The Kenwood is vintage and not all that powerful, plus it MAY need attention in the near future (even if it works ok now). It's a bit like giving your father-in-law a classic car as a gift - in six months time he finds he needs a new clutch, a gearbox rebuild, an engine overhaul etc. The Yammy is a much newer machine, utilising modern manufacturing processes.

I would avoid the other Yammy receiver though - it's primarily a home theatre device which has all the associated complexities of multi-channel decoders etc - more to potentially go wrong.
 
I see avr receivers that originally went for 3k for $100-$150 on my local cl. I've looked up some of these and supposedly they are great for stereo.

Most mid-fi AVRs have some sort of "Direct" or "Pure Direct" mode where they turn off all video and other circuitry (even display) for optimum 2-channel listening.
 
I love vintage (well, for components anyway) but this system is for his father-in-law. Lets be honest, how many of us have an unrestored vintage system that hasn't had issues over time?
 
That Yamaha RX-V2095 is actually a bit of a beast. I’ve owned two and they sound excellent in two channel mode, with tons of power. All of the Yamaha RX-V series are built like tanks and have yet to run into one that has had issues. Im currently using an RX-V3000 in two channel for the TV/Movie room and it’s been running it for the last several years without a problem.

Also the rectilinears

Dan
 
Howdy, all.

I am visiting my in-laws for Thanksgiving in Washington DC area (Northern Virginia, we will be splitting our time between Manassas and Culpeper), and I would like to buy my father-in-law a decent system for music while I am here. Source will presumably be CD/DVD player and/or a computer, though a turntable is not out of the question.

He is NOT a critical listener and this system will be used primarily for background music while shooting pool in his basement. As such, the primary goal will be VOLUME sufficient to cleanly fill a large space and with decent heft, rather than ultra-high fidelity and tons of detail. Still, I'd like it to be decent - something I'd enjoy while I am there shooting pool myself!

Using Craigslist as a source, I have assembled the following list of speakers and amplifiers as options. With a $300 budget, what combo would YOU buy? I have never heard any of these components

SPEAKERS


AMPLIFIERS


Another option for amplification would be one of the inexpensive chip amps available on Amazon, though I would probably prefer a traditional receiver or amplifier for the sake of multiple inputs and a phono stage. There are also a bunch of cheaper AVR type options on Craigslist in the $30-60 range.

So....whaddya' think?





I live in Richmond and include the northern metro as-well-as Craig's Tidewater and Charlottesville areas in my used stereo survey, making one or two purchases each year. Do not hurry your auditions, play more than one song to reach your purchase decision. I've noticed misbehavior only after several minutes when a problem existed, only once was "something wrong - dead tweeter" noticeable at first listening. The DC Metro Craigslist tends to list more or an increased number of higher level or "quality" of the gear on the average than the other areas mentioned, so you are lookin gin a good market by the numbers of potential candidates than the others I listed. That said, expand your search to include Craig in Baltimore where a great many, well kept vintage pieces appear with comparatively greater frequency than even DC.

That general advice conveyed, I recall recently in the DC listing pairs of Celestion 100s, Spendor 1s and some small Snell two-ways at very good prices - which I believe should sound more pleasing and may outperform the speakers above. All my friends that rolled older Yamaha and Pioneer receivers are now listening to Kenwood separates or intergraded amps. Of the three amps, the Kenwood (which has a fine phone section) build quality and sound gets my vote. I think they sound cleaner and more detailed than the typical Yamaha presentation (Not firing a shot at Yamaha, just my listening observation preferring detail over warmth as my cup of tea).
 
Yamaha S-301 and the Large Advents, buy a foam kit and your golden.

Will do what you want and be simple enough for him to use/enjoy regularly.
 
That Yamaha RX-V2095 is actually a bit of a beast. I’ve owned two and they sound excellent in two channel mode, with tons of power. All of the Yamaha RX-V series are built like tanks and have yet to run into one that has had issues. Im currently using an RX-V3000 in two channel for the TV/Movie room and it’s been running it for the last several years without a problem.

Also the rectilinears

Dan
I have a RX-618v in my computer room... 5.1 AV, 100w and all analogue and still going strong. Surprisingly the phono stage is far superior to my Yamaha RN500.
 
Here is an option for you to consider, even has phono input. Offer $300 and you're done.

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/ele/d/onkyo-tx-8050-network-stereo/6357495927.html

Check these out for yourself maybe:

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/ele/d/huge-hoard-fisher-500b/6378724864.html

Unless the Onkyo 8050 I returned was a fluke, they run hotter than hades even at low volumes... could it felt like burn my hands if I put 'em under the receiver where their linear transformer was... tops got quite toasty too.
 
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