your opinions on recievers vs components

My question is what are the pros of having a amp with a seprate tuner? I am pretty new to stacked stereo and have just got a AU-517 Sansui amp but need a tuner still.
A reciever has it all built in and has plenty of inputs for reel to reels etc same as a amp.
Do the seperates have better specs then the recievers?
 
Since a receiver has the power amp, pre amp and tuner all in one box; the conventional wisdom is that one or more of these components is probably not up to snuff. By picking and choosing separate components, you can select the best of each.

Or, in the case of a tuner, you COULD just exclude it. I personally like to listen to the radio, but lots of people just don't anymore.

On the other hand, I have been a receiver guy all along (though I have an integrated amp en route). I like the convenience and lower cost.

Just my $0.02, YMMV.
 
Pretty much what he said. Components give you more flexibility, receivers give you more convenience. There are some really stellar receivers, and some really crappy components so you have to be careful about making too many generalizations.

Personally I like receivers. They tend to go for less money, and they fit my needs. My Onkyo I got with the speakers for 75 bucks. It sounds good to me, and the tuner works very well on both AM and FM. Its actually quite possibly the best AM tuner I own.
 
receivers vs. seperates

I have and still do own both types. One of the advantages of seperates is that the preamp, amp and tuner each has its own power supply; another is that the high-level amp signals won't interfere with the lower level signals of the other sections, as is possible in a receiver. However, what I find to be the greatest advantage of seperates is simply that a power amp may never require replacing, but a preamp (especially when home theater is part of the usage), will need to be replaced as technology changes. I tend to like preamp/tuner combos; they just make sense to me, especially since I don't listen to FM that often anymore. Disadvantages include cost and size.

That said, there are indeed some really great receivers available. NAD made some really good ones, and my c740 is the basis for a great deal of my listening since it's connected to my computer. My first 'real' system included a Kenwood KR6030 that served me well for about 15 yrs. I had an NAD 7140 and a Nakamichi T2 I wish I had hung onto, as well. And Advent made that quirky little gem of a receiver with the dial tuner (tuner still around in the various Tivoli Audio products - I have a PAL) that put out a monstrous 20wpc that I now wish I had kept also.

Basically, you can't go wrong either way, as long as you choose wisely.
 
Separates allow the owner to change a component and in turn change the sound to their liking. There are some excellent integrates on the market though that eliminate the guessing game for those that want a flat output signal and low distortion.
 
On balance the separates offer greater flexibility. However there are some stellar receivers, which are very appealing especially when the cost is considered in relation to separates.
 
Receivers, as a generality, make more compromises than individual components. And often the most compromised part is the tuner section. It takes a high-end receiver to equal the tuner performance of even a mediocre component tuner. Again speaking in generalities. That being said, Jetman, you are in prime position to have an incredibly good set of components. The matching tuners for your amp are superb. The Sansui TU-717 and TU-517 are among the best in their class, and will blow away any receiver in overall tuner quality.

So, if you want your tuner to be a front-line source, component is the way to go. If it is just a convenience (more than a necessity), you would be well served by a mid- to high-end receiver.
 
I have always preferred seperates, for many of the pro-seperate reasons cited already. I don't own any receivers. But, are you asking about modern receivers/seperates or vintage?

I would like to have some vintage receivers, though. Like Sansui or Marantz, natch.
 
Having serviced many Yamaha receivers and the separates of the same vintage I can say that there is very little difference as they have many parts in common. For example the only difference between a CR-1000 and the same era integrrated amp is that the CR-1000 does not do Class A but it uses the same power amp board.
 
Truthfully, for most living rooms, 50-80 watts per channel is plenty. But you can get more power from separate amps. I'm not so convinced of superiority of separate power amp and preamp over a good integrated amp.

The tuner section... there are few receivers that have tuner sections as good as a medium priced tuner. And if you want really good FM performance a separate tuner is almost a necessity.

For example, I have an Onkyo Integra TX-870, and while a good tuner section, (3-filter), it is easy to find Onkyo tuners with 4-filter/5-gangs, such as the T-4017, T-4087, T-4500. Or even more sophisticated tuners such as the T-4700, T-9090 II.

In my main system, I have an Onkyo P-3200 preamp, M-5150 power amp (150 w/ch), and T-4500 tuner (with filter mods). My bedroom system has an Onkyo TX-866 receiver, 80 w/ch. But I have also added a third stage of filtering to the 2-filter tuner by placing components back in the empty spots on the circuit board, following the European version schematic.

To me, receiver vs. separates depends on how much importance you place on FM reception.
 
Notwithstanding, there are some execellent receivers with outstanding tuners;e.g. Sony 6060F (5 gangs completely shielded, a tuner that can hold its own among some of the better stand alone tuners), Sony 6200, Sansui 8080, JVC JR-S400.
 
I love the looks of receivers and some receivers have excellent preamp, tuner and amplifier sections. For example, the Yamaha CR-3020 has a very nice preamp, a 6 gang tuner, and 170wpc (real watts). It also has a very decent phono preamp (MC & MM).

The best separates though are even better in all respects. If you like speaker designs that are inefficient and/or present difficult loads to the amplifier then separates are the only way to go.
 
Can not really generalize. With a receiver you end up with what a designer has decided on as to the mix of specs, quality and control. With separates you get the ability to do the mix and match based on your needs and goals. Tuner/preamps and integrated amps are a compromise somewhere between the receiver and spearates. Let's take a hypothetical system. The system is out in the sticks and the owner needs an excellent tuner that has a steep quieting slope and great sensitivity. In shot the best he can get, especially as it is going to be his main music source. On the other hand, he has Klispch K'horns and needs only about 10 -15 watts. He also has a pair of tape decks and wants to do dubbing between them. Result is he can get something like a Sony STR6060FW with it fantastic tuner and has 35 watts rms. But no tape to tape dubbing. He can get around the limitation with a SB700 Sony switcher. Let's add that he wants 2 phono inputs. The Sony only has one. Alternatively, he can get a Philips 673 tuner with the added advantage of a super am tuner and the patching preamp that has all the controls and flexibility he spec'd. As for an amp he could go with a SET as they are well liked with K'horns. Oh, we did not discuss a budget. The separates will set him back somewhat more than the Sony complete with a refurb but, not as much as one would think.

Let's also try to get apples to apples. The Matantz 18 receiver has the 20 tuner, the 7T preamp and 15 power amp. The receiver can be had for less than the tuner alone. But it does not have the control ability of the 7T an less power. Soundwise, they come very close. The receiver is also limited by a power supply design required to fit the chassis. You could also compare the 19 with the 20b, 33 and 16 that comprise the unit.

My JVC JR-S301 is not up to the challenge of the Sony though it has more power. The Sony is close but not up to the Sherwood S3300 tuner and the 20 watt S9500c amp. However, the Sony ST-5055 tuner and TA-1055 amp is not up to the Sherwoods nor the KLH 27. Then again none are up to the Mc MR77 tuner, C28 preamp or MC2105 power amp not the Philips Lab system. If this is confusing, now you know why you really can not get a sane answer to an insane question that is too general.
 
very good response

Wow good response, Yes it does make a lot of sense that you can fine tune your system with components.
I have run into this problem of a less then great tuner with a Marantz 4230 reciever I have.
I am stuck with the tuner they put in it as were with the AU-517 I can put in a better tuner with better sensitivity then the Marantz has.
From my limited knowleage about tuners I see I need at least a 4 gang tuner.
 
Yes, these are all great points. One aspect I have heard mentioned is that in a receiver all the circuits share the same power supply. That's much more economical, but in some receivers this has been known to cause issues. Can anyone here expand on this?
 
MORE TOYS IS COOLER

So a Nice intigrated like your AU-517 or my Pioneer SA-9100's with a matching Tuner like my TX-9100 Looks cooler then a receiver. I have the SX-1010 which is for all intents the Receiver version of my amp and tuner (All TOTL in 1974) And while it's pretty cool all nice and Blue the Amp/tuner combo has more knobs and takes up more space and looks COOLER.

Did I say seperates are cooler looking?
 
If I got a receiver today I would want one with preamp outputs and main amp inputs so I could add a powered subwoofer if I wanted. Sure, many subs, including my Paradigm, have terminals you connect to the main amp's outputs (receiver's speaker terminals) and another set of speaker output terminals for your existing speakers. The sub's electronic crossover is able to "steal the bass" from the receiver's output and send that signal to the sub's built-in amplifier. It seems to me it is much, much better to connect the preamp output to the sub's line level input and connect the line level output from the electronic crossover to the receiver's main amp input.

Someday I'll have to play around with my sub's amp level inputs to see how well that works. If anyone else has tried it I'd be curious about your results. Some powered subs may even use a passive 2-way crossover, but then you wouldn't be able to adjust the crossover frequency... I don't know. And what kind of load is that to your receiver? Just seems like the wrong way to go.

Having a separate power amp is the best and easiest way to connect your sub to a 2-channel system. A home theater receiver is another matter - those have a dedicated subwoofer line-level output.
 
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