Primary setup of the system was for movies. This is now transitioning to music (vinyl).
Just curious if the Onkyo is doing my 2 channel vinyl the justice it deserves? Im open to the thought of other 5.2/7.2 receivers that would be considered much more musical.
For stereo speakers Im using Energy Veritas 2.2 and a dual sub setup. Although the bass on vinyl is so rich I often turn one sub off. So dual sub output is not competely necessary.
I would like to use seperate equipment for music and home theater but its not a practical option at this point.
Max budget would be $2,000. Thanks for any suggestions.
A receiver won't ever do justice to 2 channel audio (my opinion). I discovered this when moving to separates and away from receivers. If you to intend to use a receiver, I highly recommend that you don't use the built in phono preamp and use a dedicated external one. Even a low cost one would be better than the one that is built inside the receiver. Another area to improve on is the cartridge in your turntable.
Yes sir. I have a fairly decent TT setup with an 2m Bronze cartridge. The phono pre amp you speak of certainly sounds like a weak link that could easily be improved on with a good investment. Thanks!
Yes, you would use a normal stereo input. For a phono preamp, try to stay away from the ones that are powered by a wall adapter. Take a look at the Parasound Zphono.
Receivers are fine to use as long as the amplifier(s) are not clipping
The main complaint with multi-channel receivers is the power supply can't provide the power required to all the channels at the same time. However, this is NOT a problem when using 2 channels as power limiting is not a factor.
Looked up the Energy speakers, the largest ones handle "up to 250 watts" so not much point in going higher than your Onkyo provides. The extra 100 watts would give you +2 dB of output which is not worth the effort.
If you require significant SPL, look for higher efficiency speakers to provide that need.
You can have a pair of those speakers, the flatpack option, a Crown XLS2000 AND a phone pre-amp for under $2K. Snap, crackle and pop at concert levels!
That's a fairly expensive amp - $1799 Retail, currently $999. I would expect good results from that class of amp for general Music.
Once you cross into the $1000 price range, Home Theater amps start to come very close to quality Stereo amp, and once you cross $1500, there is very little difference between them.
Though for music, I'm not sure I would pick ONKYO. They are good amp, I have two smaller Onkyo stereo amps and no complaints, but in AVR's it seems other brands might do better.
"The Marantz SR7008 is yet another masterful receiver from a brand that has remained great despite repeated changes in ownership. With every new product, Marantz earns its stripes all over again, and as the years go on, I become increasingly impressed by how many deeply satisfying Marantz receivers I can look back upon."
Try taking a look at accessories4less.com. They have very good prices for factory refurbished receivers and amps with a great service policy and are great people to deal with. I have purchased at least 4 receivers and and a network receiver and never had a single problem with company. Plus extremely quick shipping.
At that price one might also look at Anthem, which are also well known for good sound quality (I just got a MRX 310), but I think an external phono amp may be needed.
I'm coming from a 2-channel 'audiophile' (sort of) stereo-only background and I like the Anthem a whole bunch (though i'm keeping my external power amp).
I've found that spending too little is one of the more expensive mistakes---as I later feel like I should have done something else and end up changing and all that costs more than the upfront of doing it right.
Consider your future requirements if you buy an all in one receiver. You aren't planning on any upgrades for the next several years, then it may be the right choice for you. If you go separates or find some middle ground, then there are many more options open but will require much more space. Some middle ground options include a lower end receiver or a used surround processor to decode surround sound for movies, a USB dac / digital interface, phono stages, and integrated amps. My Yamaha A-S500 integrated ($400) ran circles around my onkyo. Draw back is the system can easily grow very complex and you will need lots of cables but the benefit is that if you don't like the sound, you will have many more options to change things around.
Good to hear! Always wondered if the fuses (if so equipped) to disable the surround/center channel could be pulled to save on power and heat generation? It would be nice to have the power supply and the heatsink to just run two channels.
Enjoy!
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