From the ashes: RX-596 pt II... or save for an A-S501?

[plavatar]

Saving pennies =)

I'm starting an upgrade fund, since my 1st $100 went for the haul last night, I'm back to square 1.

BUT, that's o.k.!

I got a better sub than I was looking for, and this receiver will do me until I save up for a better unit.

AND I'm going to give my 396 and a pair of speakers to a friend of the family. She's in her 1st year of college, and she just got in to Rush. She bought a little Audio Technica turntable, and scours used outlets for Rush albums. But she plays them through her computer speakers. This - will - not - do =P

I really think my save-for-audio fund will got towards an A-S501 (or higher) OR a great example of the AX-596 I can re-cap.

I've got a Realistic STA-960, and those Polk Monitor 12's, too. I'd like to re-cap those. Listening to those speakers on that receiver is nice. Different, but nice. But that may never happen. I enjoy the Yamaha sound with my homebrews too much =)

 

[plavatar]

- Do you all have certain units you use with certain speakers?

On pairing receivers/amps with speakers:

- That pair of low-end Klipsches I found (model F-1) sounded amazing for a starter system with my backup 396. But the 396 made my homebrews sound muddy. I gave the Klispches to a friend last night, but he says they don't sound nearly as good on his 201 in his living room as they did in the barn on the 396. I'm going over on Saturday, so I'll take a listen. I thought his newer Yamaha would've made them sing.

- I want more body from the 5960 and my homebrews. I can't run it stock, with Pure Direct, and get the same sound my 596 gave me. The upper end is beautiful, but the lower end is strangely thin. I hooked up the subwoofer I got to see if it would fill in the sound, but I can't get it to pair right in the tiny room my stereo lives in right now. I'll have to read up on the receiver more. I hope it's not a matching problem, like my buddy's unit and the Klipsches =( The 596 paired well with them, no fiddling required.

 

[Bratwurst7s]

I have the AS-201 brother to the RS-201. It's a nice sounding amp within it's limitations. But it has a lot less real power than your old 596. The owners manual shows RMS power as 100wpc from only 40hz to 20khz at a whopping 0.2% THD. But if one looks farther down at the THD specs it shows 50wpc at 20hz to 20khz at that same 0.2% THD. So I'm wondering how much clean power it can deliver? At something like say an overall 0.01% like the RX-596 has at 80wpc. 35wpc? Sadly it looks like Yamaha stooped to spec bloat with this model.

So it wouldn't be a surprise that the RS-201 didn't perform as well as the RX-596. Hard to say about the HTR-5960. It would seem that it should have enough grunt in 2 channel mode.

I've become a lover of Canton speakers paired with Yamaha amps. I think that they really compliment each other, they have a certain symmetry. But I'm guessing that Canton are probably harder to find over there. If my Speakerlab 7s were a bit larger I'd say that when I die they should just pull the stuffing in one and bury me in it. But then my son would only inherit one of them and that won't do.

Cheers,
James

 

[SuperLead100]

The sound also has a great deal to do with the room. There are so many factors affecting the sound. I've had one system in the basement which is very well insulated and sound wonderful; move the same system to the living room and the sound is completely different.

 

[OMGCat!]

I am a fan of B&W speakers but some are fairly difficult to drive so you need some muscle behind your amp. My main system is my A-1020 running a set of DM620s and it sounds absolutely amazing. Great imaging, beautiful highs and mids, a touch lacking in the bass but most music I listen to isn't very bass heavy so no biggie.
I was so happy about how everything sounded that I bought a set of Matrix 804s to increase the amazing and, to my disappointment after reading all of the glowing reviews and the fact that they are the same era speaker just way higher up the food chain, it sounded not so good at all. Screeching highs, way forward mids, no bass to speak of.
Running them with my PC2602m gives them the power they want but in my smaller (and not optimally shaped) listening room it's kind of a silly arrangement so they sit in the unused gear pile for now.
As usual it's all about synergy and who knows how that all works. It just does when it does and (really) doesn't when it doesn't.

 

[plavatar]

Updates no one will care about [laughs to self]:

- So my 596 is still in storage, and I hope to try and fix it in the coming months (we're trying to move to a neighboring town).

- The 5960 (w/ a monoprice HDMI audio extractor) is tagged for theater work in the new house.

- I got an RX-497. It's nice. Only cost me $45. But... there's something missing. I can't put my finger on it. Out of the 396, 5960, 497, and 596, I still prefer the 596.

- I gave my 396 to a family friend who starts college in the Fall. She just got in to Rush, and I thought she deserved the gift of a real starter stereo =P

- Looking at an A-1020, if I can get it for the right price. I do like a strong, well-formed low-end, though... so I'm curious about that, OMGCat!.

- Also looking at an Onkyo TX-870. I tried to get an 890, for fun, since I have it's matching separate EQ, but it went for double what I expected!

DAMN THIS ADDICTION!

Holy cow. What a thing!

 

[Bratwurst7s]

If you can get an A-1020 for a reasonable price go for it. Just a guess, but what you may be missing between your 596 and the 497 is the extra definition that more power brings. The A-1020 has more power and is a great choice.

That's a very nice thing that you did giving the 396 to your friend. Respect!

Cheers,
James

 

[plavatar]

Just a guess, but what you may be missing between your 596 and the 497 is the extra definition that more power brings. The A-1020 has more power and is a great choice.

I see A-1020's more often on the UK's ebay than Stateside. Maybe with this whole Brexit mess I can snag one with a more favorable dollar-to-pound exchange...

That's a very nice thing that you did giving the 396 to your friend. Respect!

Thanks =)

I'm just glad I'm fortunate enough to be able to spread a tiny bit of stereo joy to someone who appreciates it. Small investment, lifelong results =)

 

[plavatar]

This week was fun!

First good find was a pair of Polk rti10's for $60. They need a new bracket/outrigger w/ carpet spikes on one, but that's no big deal =)

Then, a few days later, my mother... she knows not what she does... she says to me 'All of your Dad's stereo stuff is beat to Hell. This last move (from WV to MI) was hard on what still worked. Can you find him some better equipment?'

Challenge accepted, Mom =P

I got an AX-596 for $73 shipped last night. If it's more like my RX-596, then I'll give my Dad the RX-497 (he still listens to a lot of radio).

Then I have to decide if the vintage Wharfdales I gave him a couple of years back are good enough, *or* if I should set him up with some Polks (monkey coffin Monitor 12's, the rti10's, or some little Missions (with replacement woofers)). I think I'll give him my eq, too, because he might like to play with it (he did give me one for Christmas when I was 14, but he never owned one).

No luck on an 1020, and I looked before I found the AX-596 last night. I figured the 596 was too good a deal to pass up =P

 

[plavatar]

Thread resurrection!

2 years with the AX-596, and it's a wonderful unit. I'm still driving my homebrews with it. Quite nice. Doesn't do well paired with them for ultra-active crunchy metal, but that's o.k. For anything else, it's a great pairing =) Plus, I have a sweet little Realistic phono preamp from the 70's hooked to my Luxman that sounds fantastic, and I just got a Nakamichi CD player at the local thrift shop that sounds GREAT!

MUCH appreciation to everyone who helped guide me to an AX series and the other, higher-end units I still lust for.

I've got a friend who might be able to help me look into fixing that RX-596 I blew... (http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/i-think-i-fried-my-rx-596-ideas-on-repair.706978/).

So, we moved right after my last post, so in the house I've got:

- an HTR-5990 for the main home theater I'm working on (need to rebuild the crossovers on my Polk Monitor 12's for the mains... it'll cost about $100, which is fair)

- an HTR-5960 pushing 2 Polk RTI10's in the family room from the tv

- an RX-496 in the living room with a turntable in a cabinet with Paradigms on the bookshelf

- and that poor RX-596 is sitting in the basement with a CD player, just waiting to be resurrected so I can swap it for the 496 (and pass that on to another friend who is learning the joys of big stereo listening).

Stereos are fun =)

I cleaned and lubed and de-oxidized my old Realistic receiver, paired it with some Mission bookshelf speakers I replaced the woofers in, and set those up with a fair MCS turntable last November. I gave it to a friend who needed a pick-me-up. He grew into stereos in that 1970 to 1982 vintage, so it was nice to surprise him with it after he'd been out of stereos for a long time.

I'm rambling now, and I apologize!