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Building a system to make my speakers shine

CrazyFoot

CrazyFoot

New Member
Hello all,

I am just getting into the world of vintage audio and vinyl. I have been browsing past forums and hoping to tap your guys wealth of knowledge on a couple of setup questions I have. This time to build a set-up around my newly acquired Boston Acoustic A200's.

This setup right now is mainly for listening to vinyl on my refurbished JVC JL A20 turntable. BUT if possible I would also like to have the option to listen to my Spotify collection either via Bluetooth, or via a RCA to 3.5 aux connection. I can do this right now with the receiver I have, the JVC RX-403, but it isn't quite the sound I am looking for. The volume is low, and the sound isn't as crisp as I know these speakers can sound.

The JVC Receiver can output 60wpc @8 ohms (the impedance of the A200's). From what I can tell online and the BA manuals, the BA A200's would like anywhere between 125-175wpc. Is the answer to just get a more powerful amp/receiver? I currently just have the RCA output from the turntable plugged into the phono input of the receiver. Should I invest in a pre-amp? Will this solve the volume issue?

The other question I have on top of this all is that is will pairing new equipment (such as the Schiit Mani) interfere with the vintage speakers and receiver? Is it best to stick with vintage, go with new equipment, or is it just personal preferance?

Any and all input is greatly appreciated. I can post pictures or provide any additional info if need be. Just let me know. Thanks for reading!
 
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How big is your listening room? From what I know, those speakers are meant to be positioned pretty close to the wall in back of them. Since they're fairly large, you'd want to have the spread at least 10' apart I'd think.

They are pretty efficient so you should be able to drive them sufficiently with 60wpc but more power wouldn't hurt. Keep in mind a doubling of power leads to an increase of only 3db. I'd start with speaker placement first and fo from there. Hard to tell if its an issue with speakers, receiver or both.

No reason you cant use a vintage receiver to run new sources. I use a Bluetooth receiver connected to the AUX inputs on my vintage receivers to stream content.
 
Bill S said:
How big is your listening room? From what I know, those speakers are meant to be positioned pretty close to the wall in back of them. Since they're fairly large, you'd want to have the spread at least 10' apart I'd think.

They are pretty efficient so you should be able to drive them sufficiently with 60wpc but more power wouldn't hurt. Keep in mind a doubling of power leads to an increase of only 3db. I'd start with speaker placement first and fo from there. Hard to tell if its an issue with speakers, receiver or both.

No reason you cant use a vintage receiver to run new sources. I use a Bluetooth receiver connected to the AUX inputs on my vintage receivers to stream content.
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I agree vintage recievers usually have loudness and good tone bass and sometimes midrange controls that can help with a less than perfect source, remember they were designed to make cassette and 8 tracks sound good!
 
Thanks for the reply's!

The room is about 23'x15'. Drywall on all walls, concrete floor covered mostly by rugs. I currently have them about 4"-5 in away from the back wall and have moved them a good ways apart. It definitely helped the room feel more full of sound. I'm, still thinking that an amp/receiver that can push 100-120wpc would fit them and the room better as I really have to crank the volume on my current one to really fill the room. I could still be wrong on this.

Some of the receiver recommendations that I am seeing are for receivers in the thousands of dollars. Things like the Kenwood KR-9600 and pioneer sx-1050 were said to pair well but they are way outside my price range...

Is it silly to upgrade to something like a Sony SDR DE 975 for like 50 bucks (110wpc) or save up for something new like a Yamaha R-N303. Or just really save up for the vintage goodness.
 
The amount of power speakers can handle, which is what I think you quoted, is usually not very relevant. They don't "like" any particular amount of power, but do have limits on how much power they can handle on a sustained basis before damage occurs.

What is relevant is how loud you want to be able to listen. Speaker loudness is a function of power, speaker sensitivity and listening distance.

Note also that an amplifiers's rated power is it maximum output before it starts clipping (grossly distorting). Actual output depends on the volume knob. So until you get to the point where it hits its limit, a 20 watt amp puts out exactly as much power as a 200 watt amp, given same speakers being driven to the same loudness.

There is, however, a benefit to having more power than the amp is putting out on a continuous basis (its average output). This "spare" power (headroom) is needed to handle transient peaks in the music, which can be 12-15dB louder (or more) than the continous level.

Each 3dB change requires a doubing of power. So, if your amp is averaging 2 watts of output to achieve your desired loudness at your desired listening distance, you would need an additional 32-64 watts to handle the peaks.

The more sensitive your speakers, the less power they need to achieve a given volume (loudness). This, plus wide variations in desired listening levels, explains why a 10 watt amp is plenty for some folks, while 250 watts isn't enough for others.
 
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As regards vintage gear....unlike newer gear, prices now reflect both performance and collectability...with the collectability premium at an all time high.

There is still plenty of good used gear available at very reasonable prices, but the popular silver-faced Pioneer, Marantz, Kenwood, etc units are no longer in this category. Especially the higher-powered ones.

There is nothing about a Pioneer 1010 or KR9600 that makes them a better match for your Boston speakers than any other decent amp. Unfortunately, a lot of more modern gear, especially AVRs, don't fit this category...and AVR power ratings can be hard to compare to stereo amplifier power ratings.

But if you want the vintage look and the name, and high power, be prepared to pay up. And then pay again to get it back to peak performance.

One thing you might consider if your goal is to fill the space with good sound (as opposed to closer-in "critical listening") is to find a lower powered receiver with the vintage look and preamp-out connections. Use it as a preamp, and as the "face" of your system, and connect it to a modern power amp in the 200-250 watt (or more) range. This gets you vintage cool and much of the sound, with the much lower $ per watt price and reliability of a modern amp. It would also reduce the cost of restoring the vintage unit, since you wouldn't need to do its power amp section.

200-250 watts will give you the power to fill that space at pretty high levels while providing enough headroom to keep distortion to a minimum. Maybe something like a Crown AB-class amp. A couple of powered subs would also help to fill out the sound in your space.
 
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Keep an eye out for a Yamaha RXV-1070 AV receiver. 110wpc in 2 channel stereo and its very well built and sounds great. They cam be had for $100 or less. Sleeper TOTL AVR from back in the day based on their popular 2 channel stereo design. I have the next one down, the 870 and its 80wpc. Sounds very nice and not as expensive as earlier vintage.
 
Thanks Spark. I wasn't really aware of how inflated they were due to the collectability. I'll have to do some more research.
 
I am no expert, but some Nikko products have a good reputation and the prices have not gone crazy. Just my 2 cents.
 
CrazyFoot said:
Hello all,

I am just getting into the world of vintage audio and vinyl. I have been browsing past forums and hoping to tap your guys wealth of knowledge on a couple of setup questions I have. This time to build a set-up around my newly acquired Boston Acoustic A200's.

This setup right now is mainly for listening to vinyl on my refurbished JVC JL A20 turntable. BUT if possible I would also like to have the option to listen to my Spotify collection either via Bluetooth, or via a RCA to 3.5 aux connection. I can do this right now with the receiver I have, the JVC RX-403, but it isn't quite the sound I am looking for. The volume is low, and the sound isn't as crisp as I know these speakers can sound.

The JVC Receiver can output 60wpc @8 ohms (the impedance of the A200's). From what I can tell online and the BA manuals, the BA A200's would like anywhere between 125-175wpc. Is the answer to just get a more powerful amp/receiver? I currently just have the RCA output from the turntable plugged into the phono input of the receiver. Should I invest in a pre-amp? Will this solve the volume issue?

The other question I have on top of this all is that is will pairing new equipment (such as the Schiit Mani) interfere with the vintage speakers and receiver? Is it best to stick with vintage, go with new equipment, or is it just personal preferance?

Any and all input is greatly appreciated. I can post pictures or provide any additional info if need be. Just let me know. Thanks for reading!
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first, are you only having this issue with the turntable? If so it might just be your cartridge doesn't have enough output to drive the receiver to full output.

If this is the case an outboard phono pre could help here, one with gain control will allow balancing the output with other sources so you won't need to crank the volume control so far.
 
It isn't just the turntable. When I connect my phone to the CD input on the back of the receiver, the volume is quiet as well. I have to set the phones volume to max and the receiver to 8/10 to fill the room, and there is an audible hum that you can hear when the music is quieter as well.
 
CrazyFoot said:
It isn't just the turntable. When I connect my phone to the CD input on the back of the receiver, the volume is quiet as well. I have to set the phones volume to max and the receiver to 8/10 to fill the room, and there is an audible hum that you can hear when the music is quieter as well.
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ef the phone, try the tuner built into the receiver, or an actual CD or DVD player, do they suffer from the same issue?
 
CrazyFoot said:
It isn't just the turntable. When I connect my phone to the CD input on the back of the receiver, the volume is quiet as well. I have to set the phones volume to max and the receiver to 8/10 to fill the room, and there is an audible hum that you can hear when the music is quieter as well.
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That doesn't sound right. You introduce all kinds of distortion turning a healthy receiver up to 8/10. I suspect a problem with the JVC. Is there a -20db cut attenuator switch on the receiver that's engaged? Your 60wpc JVC should drive those 90db spl speakers to very loud levels with the vol turned up half way.
 
I'll second @Bill S recommendation to look for a pre-HDMI Yamaha receiver (especially if cost is a consideration). I had a RX-v1105 (purchased new) that's still going strong (gave to my sister). The Yamaha that Bill mentioned weighs 18.6kg. The Sony you mentioned weighs 9.5kg. Weight often (but not always) means better build quality, and usually better sound.

I was happy with the sound of the Yamaha, and only gave it away when I acquired a slightly newer Rotel receiver, thinking it would be better. It wasn't. The Yamaha had much better, more detailed sound.

If you can spend a little more, the inexpensive receiver/power amp combo that @spark1 mentioned would be an excellent (and better) idea. You would then have the power needed to drive whatever speakers you might purchase, in the future.
 
Hafler 500 series amps with FET outputs were a great amp at the time. Well defined and yet smooth which is a rare combination for that period of time. Mcintosh amps were great too but they can be pricey now. I would look for a 7100 Though rated a 100 watts they will put out closer to 130 watts at 8 ohms and about 66% more at 4 ohms while meeting Mac specs.
 
so after getting the radio to work, i can report it seams to be slightly louder per volume then the turntabnle but not by a whole lot. Maybe 10% louder. and maybe 40% louder per volume then the phone/aux jack. Unfortunately i do not have a DVVD or actual CD Player to test those out.
 
CrazyFoot said:
so after getting the radio to work, i can report it seams to be slightly louder per volume then the turntabnle but not by a whole lot. Maybe 10% louder. and maybe 40% louder per volume then the phone/aux jack. Unfortunately i do not have a DVVD or actual CD Player to test those out.
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Something is amiss. I have a Technics 40 WPC that I connect to my cellphone through the auxiliary jacks, and it will play plenty loud (through Boston A70s).

I also have A200s and they are easy to place in a room, compared to other speakers I’ve owned. I’m powering those with a Pioneer SX5590.
 
CrazyFoot said:
so after getting the radio to work, i can report it seams to be slightly louder per volume then the turntabnle but not by a whole lot. Maybe 10% louder. and maybe 40% louder per volume then the phone/aux jack. Unfortunately i do not have a DVVD or actual CD Player to test those out.
Click to expand...
A nice vintage receiver is going to be expensive as you note. That's why I suggest you look for a nice AVR receiver from the early 90s like the Yamaha RX-V 850, 870 or 1070. Denon and Onkyo also made nice ones. You'll want an early Pro Logic one - no HDMI inputs. It will be heavy - 35 to 40 lbs or more. Output in stereo will be 60-100+ wpc. You'll want to defeat any surround effects and delay. Run it clean in 2 channel stereo. Biggest bang for the buck these days. Make sure you can hear it and it works before you buy. The bulbs sometimes burn out on these but they're easy to replace.
 
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