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Special Receiver Suggestion?

L

lestat0109

New Member
Old school audio guy who is lost in todays new receiver world, please help!

I need to buy a receiver for what, in the age of 5.1 and 7.1 receivers, seems to be a special setup. I need the ability to push two Technic home speakers with 12" woofers along with two Infinity home speakers with 15" woofers purely for music, no surround needed. My current receiver does fine on "A" and also on "B" but cuts out frequently when using "A + B".

I have been looking at the following receivers:

1. Onkyo TX-8255 - http://www.amazon.co...ywords=onkyo+tx

2. Onkyo TX - 8050 - http://www.amazon.co...ywords=onkyo+tx

3. Teac AG 790A - http://www.amazon.co...ds=Teac+AG+790A


Would any of these push my speakers effectively? Any other affordable receiver suggestions would also be appreciated.

All speakers 8 ohm in case that is important.
 
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8050 will you the best sound among the ones you mentioned - however, I would stick to just 2 infinity speakers, for better quality.

If you want even better sound for the same money, consider a used receiver sr-4a off of ebay, if you don't mind used.

What Infinity speakers are they?
 
Yup, which Infinity's ??

So, if they are any of the models with dual voice coil woofers (?), you need an amp that is stable into a nominal 4 ohm load. That's pretty low impedance and not easy to drive.

The reason your current receiver cuts out is it can't handle the additive load. I'd really look at a used 5.1 or 7.1 receiver that can handle 4 ohm. These modern receivers have individual amplifier sections for each speaker group (front, rear, etc.) so they don't see additive loads the same way as much of the vintage gear does.

The downside is that since they are primarily aimed at home theater, they usually don't put much effort into the FM or Phono sections :( So if you need to use those built-in functions, it's dicey. You can pretty easily work around the Phono issue with a modest cost external phono stage :)

Having said that, there are some very nice 5.1 and 7.1 receivers out there. And in your case I'd be leaning toward one. The reason I suggest this is that many of the better ones still had the vestiges of actually caring about FM and Phono :)

7.1 Example for reference only:

Brand Sony Model DA3100ES/B
Family Line Sony STR
Product Type Home Theater Receivers
MPN STRDA3100ES/B
UPC 27242687035

Key Features
Channels 7.1
Output Power 840 Watt
Amplifier Output Details 100 Watt - 4 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.09% - 1 channel(s) ( center ), 100 Watt - 4 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.09% - 2 channel(s) ( front ), 100 Watt - 4 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.09% - 2 channel(s) ( surround ), 100 Watt - 4 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.09% - 2 channel(s) ( surround back ), 120 Watt - 8 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.05% - 1 channel(s) ( center ), 120 Watt - 8 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.05% - 2 channel(s) ( front ), 120 Watt - 8 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.05% - 2 channel(s) ( surround ), 120 Watt - 8 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.05% - 2 channel(s) ( surround back )
Surround Sound Effects Digital Cinema Sound EX
Sound Output Type Surround Sound
HDMI No
Built-in Decoders DTS, DTS 96/24, DTS Neo:6, DTS-ES Discrete 6.1, DTS-ES Matrix 6.1, DTS-ES decoder, Dolby Digital Surround EX, Dolby Pro Logic IIx
Equalizer Included Yes
Equalizer Type Digital graphic
Receiver Tuner Type Digital
Receiver Tuner Bands AM/FM
Response Bandwidth 10 - 100000 Hz

Technical Features
Input Impedance 50 kOhm
Input Sensitivity 150 mV
Power Consumption Operational 450 Watt

Connectivity
Connectors Type 1 X AM Tuner Antenna input - rear, 1 X Component output - rear, 1 X Composite (Video) output - rear, 1 X Digital Optical input - front, 1 X Digital Optical output - rear, 1 X FM Tuner Antenna input - rear, 1 X Headphones output - front, 1 X Multichannel Analog Audio input - rear, 1 X Multichannel Analog Audio output - rear, 1 X RCA (2 Audio Channels) input - front, 1 X S-Video input - front, 2 X Component input - rear, 2 X Digital Coaxial input - rear, 3 X Analog Audio output - rear, 3 X RCA (2 Audio Channels) output - rear, 3 X S-Video output - rear, 4 X Analog Audio input - rear, 4 X Digital Optical input - rear, 4 X RCA (2 Audio Channels) input - rear, 4 X S-Video input - rear
Coaxial Digital Input Yes
Optical Digital Input Yes
Optical Digital Output Yes
Headphone Jack Yes

Miscellaneous
Color Black
Remote Control Type Universal remote control
Built-in Display Type Fluorescent
Bass Control Yes

Dimensions
Height 6.89 in.
Width 16.93 in.
Weight 46.3 lb.

I am not suggesting you get one of these as the sound may be a bit dry and analytical for you. What I'm trying to show is that these types of machines are quite comfortable with multiple speakers. You just forget all the bells and whistles. Configure for 2-channel and flip on speakers A+B :)

You'll need to audition what sounds best to you.
 
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k, definitely some things to think about. This system will be for my teenage son and his biggest interest is the receiver have enough power to push the "bass" he is looking for without cutting out. My biggest interest is it not costing me a fortune. :)
 
I currently have a Denon DRA-397, which is rated to be 4 ohm stable. Not a bad sounding receiver, although the phono section is substandard.
 
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You could always buy a second receiver to push the second set of speakers . Then take the output of the signal and put it to the input of the second receiver and speakers .
 
OBTW - I'm running a smaller version of the Sony I cited as an example into Infinities with the switch set to 4 ohms and it never sweats. Bought it for $176 on the 'Bay (including shipping). It's not an expensive solution.

Add an ART phono stage for another odd $50 and your ready to rock. I agree that these modern receivers do not have good phono stages ...
 
The Onkyo 8050 specs claim to be 4 ohm capable, shouldn't be a problem driving two pair of 8 ohm speakers. I'd recommend ensuring adequate clearance around any amp, but especially so when driving 4 ohm or lower loads.

The Denon is available as a factory refurb for $150.
 
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The network part of the 8050 would probably work well for my son as well as he has a spotify account. i just want to make sure all is cool before i get it and have to return it. Would that be 80watts x 4?
 
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lestat0109 said:
The network part of the 8050 would probably work well for my son as well as he has a spotify account. i just want to make sure all is cool before i get it and have to return it. Would that be 80watts x 4?
Click to expand...

No, that would be 160 watts into 4 ohm, but their web site has an asterisk for the 4 ohm load and I can't find the footnote. However, since they specifically state values into 4 ohms, I'm pretty sure it will be fine :)

The Yamaha in one of your last posts is not rated into 4 ohms, so I would not go there.
 
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