New Receiver or AMP

[Chris Durant]

Hello to all. I am going to do my best to make this question easy, I tend to be long winded.

I have an all new stereo system, after giving up on Vintage due to complete unreliability of the stuff I had and the people supposedly fixing it.

My newer system has in it - Wharfedale Jade 3 Speakers, Orbit Turntable with upgrades, Grado Prestige Black Cartridge, and now to the weak link I am told, Onkyo TXNR-656,,, I am told the pre amp is very poor and the overall sound is poor, I think it sounds ok and I got it due to Turntable Input and Tidal Ease of Use and On screen features with a TV that are very very nice and easy to use. But I would like to get as much as I can out of those speakers, things I may not be hearing due to Onkyo and Pre-amp?

I am willing to give some things up, Don't care about phono inpt, as I will get one of the better pre amps soon, Really Really like the on screen set up and the EQ to adjust sound to my room, my taste and music.

So all that to get here Does anyone know of a stereo only receiver or amp, new that has on screen features EQ Loudness Features and that is under lets say $700.00, I was looking at the HK3770, but it has no Tidal, no On screen of any kind and has a built in pre-amp. which will be redundant.

Please share any and all info, thanks, Chris / Flaps

 

[onplane]

Hello to all. I am going to do my best to make this question easy, I tend to be long winded.

I have an all new stereo system, after giving up on Vintage due to complete unreliability of the stuff I had and the people supposedly fixing it.

My newer system has in it - Wharfedale Jade 3 Speakers, Orbit Turntable with upgrades, Grado Prestige Black Cartridge, and now to the weak link I am told, Onkyo TXNR-656,,, I am told the pre amp is very poor and the overall sound is poor, I think it sounds ok and I got it due to Turntable Input and Tidal Ease of Use and On screen features with a TV that are very very nice and easy to use. But I would like to get as much as I can out of those speakers, things I may not be hearing due to Onkyo and Pre-amp?

I am willing to give some things up, Don't care about phono inpt, as I will get one of the better pre amps soon, Really Really like the on screen set up and the EQ to adjust sound to my room, my taste and music.

So all that to get here Does anyone know of a stereo only receiver or amp, new that has on screen features EQ Loudness Features and that is under lets say $700.00, I was looking at the HK3770, but it has no Tidal, no On screen of any kind and has a built in pre-amp. which will be redundant.

Please share any and all info, thanks, Chris / Flaps

You have some fairly impressive 3 way speakers. One thing to keep in mind is they are NOT terribly efficient. I own two sets of speakers with these same characteristics.

My experience is that by passive bi-amping, that is splitting the load over two amps, I find a significant sonic improvement. Most of this is due to gaining control over the speaker's voice since I can control the power sent to respective speaker halves.

Now, bi-amping can be a "messy" business and you might not want the trouble and hassle. Nevertheless, I recommend you experiment and fortunately there is a low cost - no hassle solution. Specifically, the Sherwood RX-5502 is a single box that houses 4 full range amps rated at 100 wpc @ 4 ohms. This is a stereo unit designed for multiple rooms. It works particularly well, however, in a bi-amp configuration. (Datasheet attached)

It's probably not your end point, but a means to determine your future direction.

Regards,
Jerry

 

[WaynerN]

I talked Frank into trying an Orbit turntable. It was their top model featuring a maple plinth, pivoting tonearm, cue lever and acrylic platter. I fitted it with a Grado Gold1 Longhorn, but the real improvement was the 8MZ-V stylus in lieu of the Gold1's standard stylus. This changed the tables performance from good, to "oh my God" awesome.

Since it sounds like your system has two definite sources and vinyl is one of the focal points, this simple change might make a huge difference for you. The 8MZ-V stylus will fit into your Grado Black. In my opinion, if great sound doesn't get a great start, no amount of improvement will bring it to its full potential. In other words, you can't make a silk coin purse from a sow's ear.


'ner

 

[twiiii]

Well they are rated at 150 watts which yields about 108 db max out put so they are dynamically challenged. And considering the bass really falls off starting at 45 hz they are bass challenged, too. But if you bought the right amps with protection for your speakers they might handle a little more. So I would be looking for a 200 watt Mcintosh integrated unit to save a buck. Pre- owned would save more unless you need one of the latest models for a future MC Cartridge or digital inputs. One rated at 200 watts will put out 300 watt peaks with out clipping and as long as you buy a 40 hz filter to roll off the bass your speakers can't handle you should be fine.

 

[Drum]

If you think it sounds fine what do you care what other people tell you? The room EQ is a nice feature that helps make up for a lot of room issues. You can have the best speakers in a bad room and they won't sound good.

One of my biggest peaves of the home theater receivers is lack of a loudness button - but I have a much older Onkyo 600 series. Yours may have the audessey eq with loudness compensation. I just don't usually like listening super loud for long periods of time, and at lower volumes the music sounds so thin without loudness compensation.

 

[Chris Durant]

Where can I find tha stylus, I looked on Ebay and nothing came up. Thanks for the tip too. Chris

I talked Frank into trying an Orbit turntable. It was their top model featuring a maple plinth, pivoting tonearm, cue lever and acrylic platter. I fitted it with a Grado Gold1 Longhorn, but the real improvement was the 8MZ-V stylus in lieu of the Gold1's standard stylus. This changed the tables performance from good, to "oh my God" awesome.

 

[jrtrent]

Where can I find tha stylus, I looked on Ebay and nothing came up. Thanks for the tip too. Chris

At least one place it's available is from Audio by Van Alstine:

http://avahifi.com/products/for-vinyl-lovers/longhorn-phono-cartridges

As to the amplifier, I agree with Drum; if it sounds fine to you, then it probably is fine. The only way to tell if a different amplifier would be an improvement would be to do a comparative audition with another amplifier. Do you have dealers in Las Vegas who could do an in-store demo if you took your amp and speakers in to try? Or perhaps let you borrow the floor sample of an amp to take home that they think would be an improvement? I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with any $700 or less amplifiers I could recommend with the features you find valuable, such as on-screen setup and Tidal ease of use (I'm completely in the dark regarding streamed audio), or with better current delivery. As onplane noted, your speakers are not a particularly easy load, with a lower than average sensitivity and an impedance curve that, at least throughout the midrange, Stereophile measured as being below 4 ohms, as low as 3.2 (and Stereophile's measured sensitivity was at 83.5 dB rather than the specified 86).

 

[Chris Durant]

Thanks for all the info, It sounds fine, but could it sound better for not much more money ?

I cant afford the things I really like so I get what I can, and my son and I are old pros at getting something testing and enjoying it, then we flip em on Ebay usually take a small hit, but the unit are mint and tested

So here is where we are now, ordered a Stereo Cambridge Audio Topaz 2, from everything I can tell, its going to sound better, with more power to give those Jades the juice they want. I will lose the Tidal and on Screen, but We have a tablet were loading that on so it will be just as nice anyway with Chromecast that we already own.

Will let you know if we think we can here a difference. Thanks, Chris / Flaps

 

[JoeESP9]

Where can I find tha stylus, I looked on Ebay and nothing came up. Thanks for the tip too. Chris

I talked Frank into trying an Orbit turntable. It was their top model featuring a maple plinth, pivoting tonearm, cue lever and acrylic platter. I fitted it with a Grado Gold1 Longhorn, but the real improvement was the 8MZ-V stylus in lieu of the Gold1's standard stylus. This changed the tables performance from good, to "oh my God" awesome.

Needle Doctor has it for $150.

 

[luddite]

Kind of funny about the unreliablility of the vintage. I just sold, as parts, to a local retailer a Marantz 2275, a Marantz 2230, a pair of Pioneer CS-51's, an Akai turntable, none of which were in good working order, for the grand total of $140... I think I should have kept the cartridge and stylus, though, for spares.
The good new stuff is too costly for me, so I'm not in the market. I am curious about whether or not any of it will still be working in fifty years, though. I sort of doubt it. But I bet it sounds good. If I could afford it, too, I'd be giving it a try.