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

plavatar

plavatar

Superhero
So, for those who saw my sad tale of woe and wtf, this is the result.

NEW UNIT NEEDED!

[laughs]

So, thinking about what I loved about the 596 I wondered:

How much better would an A-S501 be?

- I lose the CD Direct mode, but gain a DAC... but that probably won't matter to the soon-to-be modded PS1 I'm getting to replace my current CD player...

- It's new fancy caps vs. old leaky caps.

- It's $400 open box vs. $150 for old and used.

(Those Benjamins are a concern. I'm as-best-I-can-afford audio, and on a budget.)

Thoughts?

Other recommendations?

I used Pure Direct 90% of the time, and CD Direct the other 10%.
 
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An additional item:

I have two main sets of speakers I'll use with it:

- a big pair of Polk M12/Monitor 12 monkey coffins

and

- a mid-sized pair of homebrew 2-ways with 1-inch Eton soft domes and 8-inch kevlar long(er) throw woofers w/ heat pipe

Consider and advise =)
 
Try any of the flagship RX-V2xxx receivers 2090,2095,2500 etc. I'm happy with mine.

Any model with a flip down lid on the front is good and VERY heavy.
 
Are you dedicated to having a receiver? Or would an integrated be OK? 'cause if you like the RX-596 and want to stick with that era and power class but can live with an integrated then I'd recommend an AX-550, AX-570 (iirc the last model of this series with adjustable idle current trim pots) or a step up to an AX-850 or AX-870. Personally I see having a tuner in my amps as a minus rather than a plus.

Cheers,
James
 
I think it's a bad idea. $400 is way too much for audio, because there is equally or better stuff out there for far less.
 
Johnno_Oz said:
Try any of the flagship RX-V2xxx receivers 2090,2095,2500 etc. I'm happy with mine.

Any model with a flip down lid on the front is good and VERY heavy.
Click to expand...

That flip down lid! [laughs]. I like those =)

[scanning ebay for an idea on price...]

I do need a phono input. And I wonder about the great debate about stereo vs surround units. Do you use yours for stereo listening as a primary?
 
Bratwurst7s said:
Are you dedicated to having a receiver? Or would an integrated be OK? 'cause if you like the RX-596 and want to stick with that era and power class but can live with an integrated then I'd recommend an AX-550, AX-570 (iirc the last model of this series with adjustable idle current trim pots) or a step up to an AX-850 or AX-870. Personally I see having a tuner in my amps as a minus rather than a plus.

Cheers,
James
Click to expand...

Absolutely not married to a tuner.

I'd rather not have one.

[looks on ebay]

Crap. I missed 3 570's for great prices the past 2 months! These seem similar in spirit to the new A-Sxxx units.
 
ZOOM said:
I think it's a bad idea. $400 is way too much for audio, because there is equally or better stuff out there for far less.
Click to expand...

[HA!]

I know!

After getting the last 3 receivers used for a great price, grabbing a new one kind of galls me =P
 
plavatar said:
That flip down lid! [laughs]. I like those =)

[scanning ebay for an idea on price...]

I do need a phono input. And I wonder about the great debate about stereo vs surround units. Do you use yours for stereo listening as a primary?
Click to expand...

Yeah they have phono input. No HDMI on the older ones which will reflect the price. I scanned the USA ebay site and there was a RX-V2500 for $84 with 23 hours to go. You'll pay for postage on these if it's not in your city as they weigh over 40lbs.

I use mine just for stereo with no dolby or special effects through a pair of big JBL's. It's great!
 
I'd second an amp in the AX series. I'm kinda OCD and having a bunch of stuff for surround that I'd never use would drive me nuts.

I really love the older A series of integrated amps as well but they all need lovin' by now so if you're looking to listen to music rather than another project I'll have to suggest against them.
 
OMGCat! said:
I'd second an amp in the AX series. I'm kinda OCD and having a bunch of stuff for surround that I'd never use would drive me nuts.

I really love the older A series of integrated amps as well but they all need lovin' by now so if you're looking to listen to music rather than another project I'll have to suggest against them.
Click to expand...

AX series, but not A series?

[thinks]

I imagine any old unit I get will need some cappin' at some point.

I really need to do the same to those big Polks, too. But, ya'know... life and all that.

[sigh]

[best intentions]
 
The A series got the death glue on their caps that likes to eat away at any component it is in contact with which makes the repair situation more dire. Basically if you buy one to use you pretty much need to go through it though once done they are wonderful amps.
The AX series used different glue so the caps should go naturally and are a few years newer so repairs can be down the road.
 
The A series amps are nice, and from the few that I've re-capped are actually very easy to work on. But as the Cat stated you have to be ready to remove the old glue and replace any corroded components. So far I've just had to replace some resistors and jumpers. The A-520 is in the same power class as your RX-596. A sweet little amp with MM/MC phono support. So far the glue damage in the ones that I've worked on (only 4) always seems to be limited to 1 resistor and a jumper next to one of the big filter caps. Recapping them was pretty easy and well worth it, some of the old caps had drifted quite a bit. But they only have iirc 23 caps (including the 2 big filter caps) so are pretty inexpensive to recap. The earlier A-500 has a lot more caps and the cheesy spring clip speaker connectors but are still a nice little amp. The A-500/520 don't have Pure Direct but do have Tone By-pas and that does make a noticeable improvement in sound.

The A-700/720 and A-1000/1020 have auto class-A and more grunt, but you will see more dried out caps from the extra heat and of course they are more complex than the smaller amps and will have more glue damaged parts to replace.

With the AX series the design got more complex but also seem to be more robustly built. Large dual heat sinks for instance. And starting with the AX-(x)50 they support remotes, which is nice for us lazy people. Generation wise the AX should be concurrent with your RX. The one weak point with the AX series is the contacts in the motorized source selector switch. Like a lot of ageing gear they oxidize and need to be cleaned (De-Oxit). I have to de-oxit the switch in my AX-1090 from time to time or I get signal drop-out. I've seen replacements on the bay with gold contacts, they go for €80 to €90, I haven't bought one yet. I can attest that my AX-1090 is a great sounding amp and other than needing the above mentioned De-Oxit hasn't given me a single problem. I checked the idle current last year and after 18 years of use it was still dead on spec.

In terms of the difference between 2-channel and HT amps my experience is that the 2-channel amps have better channel separation and therefore better (wider) imaging, but other than that sound very similar.

Cheers,
James
 
Understanding the issues with cash I will say the A-S501 is an excellent amplifier. I use the dac way more often than I thought I would with the optional yba-11 Bluetooth interface and it sounds very good. Although plugging my iPod into my cd-s300 through the 501 sounds a bit better. But the convenience of wireless is awesome.

The A-S501 is a super clean sounding amp with a forward midrange and handles my speakers with ease. I can highly recommend it.
 
Bratwurst7s said:
The A series amps are nice, and from the few that I've re-capped are actually very easy to work on. But as the Cat stated you have to be ready to remove the old glue and replace any corroded components. So far I've just had to replace some resistors and jumpers. The A-520 is in the same power class as your RX-596. A sweet little amp with MM/MC phono support...
Click to expand...

You guys are wonderful. You know soooooo much about these things, and it really is a wonderful thing that you help n00bs learn =)

That AX-1090 looks awesome. Hard to find, it looks like. Same with the AX-596 I like the look of =(

I might have to settle for an RX-596-level replacement while I search for something better in the coming year.

The ebay/auction sites search continues!
 
KISMET!

O.k., it's not what I had my heart set on, but I picked up a receiver (and some extra speakers) at Goodwill today...

I was going to bid $100 on another RX-596 that came up, but... I stopped off at my local store this evening...

I got an HTR-5960 for $30, with remote. In fantastic shape.

It had the Pure Direct button and a Phono input, so I was intrigued. The enhancer option for MP3s looked cool, too.

It sounds pretty damn good. At first, I thought it was fried. I couldn't get any sound out of it. So, I reset the whole kaboodle. FIXED! WOOT!

I think it sounds better than the RX-596. My homebrew speakers sound like they learned how to breathe.

WOOHOO!

I may have grabbed a pair of little Klipsch floor-standing 2-ways, a subwoofer, and a center channel for an extra $70, too. Dusty, but in fantastic shape.

Played Tears of a Clown, Morning (Beck), some Kool and the Gang, King of the World (Steely Dan), live Lucius, live Three Dog Night (Shambala... nice to hear the rough distortion of the recording), Spinal Tap (for giggles), ending on David Byrne and St. Vincent's NPR concert... and I'm about to turn in for the night. All via YouTube and using the enhancer with no tweaks to tone. HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY =)

Tomorrow night, I'll bring metal and sick beats =P

Not sure what I'll do with the Klipsches, yet...

Thank you all so much for your advice and help. I'm sure I'll need it again soon. I've got 4 integrated amps on my wish list, thanks to you. This will have to tide me over until I snag one ;)
 
Nice :)
A new amp and you kept it in the family. I'll be honest, I sometimes wish for a remote. Maybe more than sometimes.
 
Save up for the A-S501. $400 is not much money in audio. The DAC in that Yamaha will out perform your PS1 and many other DACs in the $400 range. On top of that, you get a fantastic sounding integrated amplifier with a nice phono stage. Save your pennies!
 
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