Weakest link in my set-up is my receiver - looking for suggestions under 200$

Though I posted a thread asking for suggestions on upgrading my speakers a few days ago, I've discovered my Sony AV receiver is the weakest link. Bloated, upper-midrange heavy sound which makes my dad's Pioneer VSX receiver sound great in comparison.

Now I'm primarily looking for a receiver as opposed to speakers, and am looking at either a vintage Yamaha receiver or the modern Yamaha R-S202 which has had some praise. I've heard the modern low-end Onkyo receivers are good too.

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate everyone here. Great place to be.

 

Onkyo TX-8020

Used: Marantz SR-4021, SR-4320 Integra DTM 5.3, Integra DTM 5.9

 

I have the Onkyo 8020, from a time when my budget was the same as yours. I think it's a great receiver for the money. Plenty of inputs, nice tuner, two speaker pair connections, remote, and LFE output (if that's your thing). For CD, Spotify, FM, and TV listening, it has served me well. The only big drawback was the phono stage, which I find really veiled and uninvolving.

 

The Onkyo looks good as a new choice, but for $200 - $250 you could get a very nice vintage receiver from the 1970's on Ebay or Craigslist. From the 1980's you can get a Carver MXR 130 or 150, just be sure it's been serviced and restored. I had one in a couple of weeks ago which had issues, but before it did I heard some fantastic sound from the CD and Phono inputs.

 

I'd like to get a vintage receiver to mesh with the rest of my set-up, but I had some bad experiences with noise from my Pioneer SX-680 which I was never able to get clean. Wasted like 2 cans of QRC Contact Cleaner on it... But in terms of vintage brands I'm looking at Yamaha, Sansui, Marantz, Realistic and I guess Pioneer. I've always wanted to try out a Marantz but they're so over-priced on eBay...

 

A question for you...You ask about a receiver, so is off the air radio important? If not then your possibilities change.

 

Don't know where you're located, but you may look for a local shop which refurbs and sell vintage equipment. If you jave one, you should be able to pick up a clean receiver in your price range.

 

Your profile lists your current receiver as a Sony STR-D511. From a Google search that appears to be a fairly competent little 90s prologic receiver. It probably does OK in stereo mode. I think to substantially better it with your budget you're going to have to go used. Check your local craigslist for older high end AV receivers. They work great in stereo mode. Pre-HDMI ones are the best bargains. I got the Sony DA4ES in my office for $174 on craigslist and it is an absolute BEAST. Also look for 90s era Marantz kit on eBay. I got the SR-4120 in my living room system for $45 /$20 shipping on ebay - then added $18 / $5 for a remote and it sounds incredible and has a really fantastic FM Tuner built in. The AV-7200 in my basement I picked up for $250 and it retailed for $1399 new.

 

Yamaha CR-600 or CR-620 or CR-800 or CR-820, make sure you like the control layout, they are all slightly different. 1975-1984ish vintage, be sure it works or has warranty.

 

problem with vintage is the possibility of leaky capacitors and noisy pots. Recent used is a good option. The latest offerings from Marantz, Yamaha an Onkyo over the past 10 years are good and not overpriced on ebay.

 

Anything 30+ years old probably needs work, such as a recap. Contact cleaner isn't going to do it. Even if you can pick up something vintage very affordably, a $200 budget doesn't leave much left over for professional repair/resto work, unless you are talking something close to free.

 

Something more recent like that that one could pick up locally probably involves the least amount of headaches in the OP's budget range. I'd look for something that isn't too old where the owner took care of it and is only selling due to upgraditis.

 

save $

 

$350 will get you a solid modern integrated amp like the Yamaha A-S301. If you can't stretch your budget that far, I'd stand pat with what you have.

 

Used Yamaha or Marantz.

 

You're not bad going back 20 years or even to the 90s vintage of the OP's prologic receiver IMO. I had an early 90s prologic receiver from Philips that was fantastic I ran it as a stereo receiver for years. I'd add Harman/Kardon to the list of manufacturers, their stereo stuff is solid. The more expensive higher end stuff (when new) from Sony, Pioneer, and some of the more "pedestrian" manufacturers can be a great bargain used. Pioneer Elite and Onkyo Integra THX branded stuff is fantastic IME.

 

Did you compare your dad's Pioneer with your own setup or with his setup?
If not yet using it in your setup, I would suggest try the Pioneer with your setup first before getting new receiver. It might actually sounds similar to your Sony.

Or, you might want to try your Sony in your dad's setup to see if it sounded the same or not.

If sounding the same, it would mean that you need to upgrade your speakers instead.

 

I used it in my own set-up, since his speakers are a good bit lower grade than mine are. (He has little KLH speakers) The Sony has far worse sound reproduction to the point I'm not going to be able to fully enjoy my system because of it.

 

Yeah, the Sony is lower end product with stated watts for 8 ohm only. Not sure if it could properly support the 6 ohm nominal speakers.
If possible, look for used higher end receivers with support down to 4 ohm.

 

Apparently the Pioneer VSX-454 only goes down to 8 ohms as well...

Also just to let y'all know the Pioneer receiver I'm testing is *technically* an Optimus STAV-3470 but it's just a rebranded Pioneer. I could get one pretty easy for 70-80$.

I don't listen to any kind of radio, online or off the air... so a integrated amp would work just fine for me.

Nearest vintage shop from me is around an hour and a half away, Shangri-La in Memphis TN.

Would another AV receiver be as much of a viable option as a plain stereo receiver? I see they're pretty cheap, I bet the price/performance ratio is better since they're a lot more overlooked... Are the Marantz AV receivers good?

 

Yes! and Yes!!!!

 

I'd say try to find a good used integrated, otherwise you're going to be pretty much stuck in the same pretty murky sounding stuff.

 

The Pioneer AVR I compared my Sony to isn't particularly expensive though either, I could get one or one that's similar for 70-80$. A good used integrated isn't a bad idea though as I never listen to the radio.

 

Get more money. Seriously, you can do it. Just give it some time.

 

Most integrated amps have a better, certainly much cleaner build with the circuitry which more often than not translates to better sound, obviously YMMV, but that is the rule of thumb.