Hey guys,
I just got some hand-me-down BOSE 501 series ii speakers. They're in great condition, but they need a new receiver. The sticker on the back says 100 watts rms and 4 ohm. I am on a shoestring budget and frankly I have no idea what I'm doing. PLEASE HELP!
I am trying to buy the cheapest used receiver I can get away with--something in the $50 range--and then maybe upgrade the receiver and/or speakers in a few years. Nothing I can afford is rated for 4 ohm speakers so I am looking to minimize the risk of damaging anything. I will be using the speakers for music and movies in a small room at a moderate volume, and the receiver will only have to power these two speakers (i.e., no surround sound). It would be nice if I could crank the volume up every now and then, but if I can't that's ok. The main issue is not damaging the speakers, and the next issue is *hopefully* not having the setup sound like crap. If I run a small/moderate risk of frying a $50 receiver, that's not as big of a deal, although obviously I'd like to avoid it.
Most of my content will stream through my apple tv, which only outputs in hdmi and optical audio. So either the receiver or the tv will have to convert that to an analog signal.
There are two setups I have been considering (and I'd be very open to other suggestions):
Option 1: A lower-end receiver that is under 10 years old, such as an Onkyo TX-SR505 (just for example). The receivers I have seen in this category accept the optical audio input and in some cases hdmi, so I would then have the receiver convert the digital signal to analog.
Option 2: A better quality receiver that is maybe 20-30 years old, such as a Sony STR-D911 (which from what I can tell is a higher-end Sony from the early 1990's). From what I've seen these receivers only accept rca input, so what I'd do is have the tv convert the digital signal and then output to the receiver. (My tv is a lower-end Samsung hdtv from about 5 years ago.)
I have two main questions for you guys...
1) Do you think either of these setups will work without a serious risk of damaging the speakers? Is one better than the other?
2) I know neither setup will sound great, but do you think one would be likely to sound better than the other?
Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks so much.
I just got some hand-me-down BOSE 501 series ii speakers. They're in great condition, but they need a new receiver. The sticker on the back says 100 watts rms and 4 ohm. I am on a shoestring budget and frankly I have no idea what I'm doing. PLEASE HELP!
I am trying to buy the cheapest used receiver I can get away with--something in the $50 range--and then maybe upgrade the receiver and/or speakers in a few years. Nothing I can afford is rated for 4 ohm speakers so I am looking to minimize the risk of damaging anything. I will be using the speakers for music and movies in a small room at a moderate volume, and the receiver will only have to power these two speakers (i.e., no surround sound). It would be nice if I could crank the volume up every now and then, but if I can't that's ok. The main issue is not damaging the speakers, and the next issue is *hopefully* not having the setup sound like crap. If I run a small/moderate risk of frying a $50 receiver, that's not as big of a deal, although obviously I'd like to avoid it.
Most of my content will stream through my apple tv, which only outputs in hdmi and optical audio. So either the receiver or the tv will have to convert that to an analog signal.
There are two setups I have been considering (and I'd be very open to other suggestions):
Option 1: A lower-end receiver that is under 10 years old, such as an Onkyo TX-SR505 (just for example). The receivers I have seen in this category accept the optical audio input and in some cases hdmi, so I would then have the receiver convert the digital signal to analog.
Option 2: A better quality receiver that is maybe 20-30 years old, such as a Sony STR-D911 (which from what I can tell is a higher-end Sony from the early 1990's). From what I've seen these receivers only accept rca input, so what I'd do is have the tv convert the digital signal and then output to the receiver. (My tv is a lower-end Samsung hdtv from about 5 years ago.)
I have two main questions for you guys...
1) Do you think either of these setups will work without a serious risk of damaging the speakers? Is one better than the other?
2) I know neither setup will sound great, but do you think one would be likely to sound better than the other?
Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks so much.