Need new receiver.

Can anyone recommend a good receiver for an upgrade? I have a Kenwood from the 80's that does not sound to good. I have Cerwin Vega VS 120 speakers. Also I do not want surround sound.
Thanks Jon

 

I had an outlaw. It was pretty good but you might be better served with a refurb 70's model. If you want newer, nad stuff is generally pretty good.

 

Throw out a budget.

 

Also, when you say 'receiver,' do you still use the FM tuner?

 

I don't use radio, just CDs and vinyl. My budget would be 500.

 

I recommend a vintage receiver like this one, SX Series Pioneer. I'm jamming mine right now (vinyl) and have been since 11am. "Somebody stop me!"
Phono section is NICE!

 

@Jon777opeth , I actually have something similar to this that I was planning to list. Check your inbox for details...

 

^^^no disappointment.

 

Also, a more modern speaker, even low priced ones will make an improvement over the Vegas. I've had the 120's they are cool for sure, but I think you would be surprised at what some "oh" Andrew Jones Pioneer floorstanders would do to them in a fistfight. Just sayin.. the Vegas have a spot in my heart because I lived with a beloved pair during my 20s.

 

I'm guessing what those big 4-Ohm Cerwin-Vega speakers are missing is some brute power, like an Adcom GFA-555 amp and GFP-555 preamp.

 

I've been using the Andrew Jones Pioneer bookshelf speakers paired with a Rega Brio-R in my bedroom, and have been VERY impressed.

 

I'd recommend a Yamaha A-S701 integrated amp. It has 100 watts per channel, with built in phono and a built in DAC. Variable Loudness too. Plus, it can be had close to your budget at Accessories4Less.com.

YAMAHA A-S701 2-Ch x 100 Watts Natural Sound Integrated Amplifier Black

 

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

And the Andrew Jones actives he's just done for Elac take you to 90%+ of the way to their £4k passives. His words and claim, not mine.

So yes, if you're looking at an upgrade...then I'll surprise no-one and suggest you also consider looking at active speakers, and that'll take care of your amp/speaker partnership in one.

 

If you don't need surround sound and you don't listen to the radio, you don't need a "receiver".

Buy a modern (read, reliable) integrated amplifier. A two-channel integrated amp is essentially the same thing as a receiver, without the radio part.

As I don't listen to the radio, I don't use receivers, I use integrated amplifiers instead.

Your budget of $500 will stretch a whole lot further if you buy it used on eBay.

I buy EVERYTHING that I can USED! Buying on eBay gives you PayPal protection for all of your purchases. If the product is in any way, damaged on arrival, not working or not as described, they will see to it that all of your monies are refunded.

Since you have an older amplifier that is getting a bit long in the tooth, I don't recommend buying vintage gear, which is better served by people who understand the efforts that are usually involved in owning vintage equipment.

The biggest issue is that most of this equipment that I'm speaking about, does not come with a built in phono preamp, you could get a better one than the one's that are in the receiver's for about $200. You will have the added benefit of better sound from your records.

While I prefer an all analog chain, since you listen also to CD's, your CD player, may have an inexpensive outdated DAC inside it. Your CD listening experience would probably benefit with an updated DAC.

Rather than a receiver, I use a processor to decode the surround sound, which is then fed into my preamp and other outboard amplifiers.

When my processor died, I wanted to get another one from eBay, but there were none listed at the time (the processor was out of production).

I decided to get an inexpensive surround sound receiver to use on a temporary basis, until I could locate another processor.

What I found was, there are tons and tons of AV receiver's on eBay. I looked at the Marantz listings and they were overloaded.

See, a company like Marantz sells so many of these units every year, that as people move on to other things, they put them up for sale on eBay.

I found a unit that retailed originally retailed for $900, listed on eBay for only $300 AND... the model was only three years old!

I had it hooked up to my system, for a short time. It really was not the right match for my system. My system is designed to have a processor feed in to it and the Marantz is designed to be the only and final component (not counting sources). So it went to a friend in NC (directly in the path of today's eclipse).

Although I am not personally a fan of receivers, I have to admit that this sounded excellent. This was one of those big bulky Marantz's, not the thin ones. I realize that you don't have any use for a surround sound receiver. But... for $300, you can utilize just the front two stereo channels and use it like it was an ordinary two channel receiver.

If your CD player has a digital output, you can bypass the inexpensive and dated DAC in your CD player and connect it digitally to the AV receiver, which will have a much improved, later model DAC.

For less than $200 you can purchase a nice SS phono preamp from Emotiva, for your TT. For roughly $500, you can cover all of your bases, both analog and digital.

One last idea.

You can usually find used Peachtree amplifier's on eBay. Peachtree Nova's usually can be found for between $375 and $425. These are totally an analog preamp (class A) and a regular Class A/B analog power amp section. A Nova will give you three normal analog inputs. In addition it has a built in ESS Saber DAC, so you have a quality classic analog amplifier, with the addition of digital inputs. It's a win, win situation, all the way around. This integrated amplifier, used to retail for $1,300. I use these products myself.

Peachtree also has a later model Deco65, which has a class "D" power amplifier, I found one of these on eBay for $400.

Almost any solution, other than a vintage receiver, will require you to purchase a separate phono preamp.

Cheer's

 

I just happened across a vintage Marantz 4300 receiver that was just posted to the hardware for sale section of the forum.

These receivers can be operated in 4-channel mode or standard stereo. In two channel mode, it is rated at 100-watts/channel. These were sold between 1972 and 1978. and are really nice classic Marantz receiver's. Super quality.

There are a few of these models currently on eBay, one ending today and one ending tomorrow, from the current bids, it looks like they will go for around $500.

Our member is offering his for $350.

As it turns out, the seller is just a few miles away from me. If you think that this might be of interest to you, please let me know. If the seller is agreeable, I would be happy to meet with the seller and look over the amp in person and get back to you with my thoughts and impressions.

S&G

 

I had the sx 680 back in the day. Fantastic and built like a tank

 

Not a forum favorite but I think it's way better than a new $500 Yamaha

Denon DRA 825 R Receiver - Excellent Phono Stage

$100

 

I have the Onkyo a-9010 intergated amp and am pretty happy with it. There is an updated version available now.
https://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-A-9010-Integrated-Stereo-Amplifier/dp/B00SY20TE8

 

What about the sound is not good? And, why do you think it is the Kenwood and not the C-Vs? Those are cool speakers in their own party way, but not paragons of accuracy. Heh, what they need is more like this
https://smile.amazon.com/Behringer-NU1000-BEHRINGER-iNUKE
or its bigger brothers (sisters?). OR this beast from the past:
Sansui G-9700 200Watts/ch Pure Power Stereo Receiver | eBay

What Kenwood receiver do you have exactly? You *might* be able to just add on an amp if the preamp part is good. But some of those were just kinda crude.

Do you ever think to run subwoofers? Because unfortunately, most non-surround products stupidly cannot integrate a subwoofer properly (=with a highpass crossover to cut out the low bass to reduce distortion and increase headroom).

 

For vintage you can't go wrong with a Poineer SX model. I have an SX-850 in my bedroom and really enjoy it, it was my first oiece of gear purchased five years ago when I stepped back into this hobby. I've got a soft spot for these as I had a lower end SX model when I was a kid, my dad would never have sprung the $$$ for my current model.

Luxman receivers from the 1970's are also a great value. On Ebay right now there's a near mint R-1050 up at $375 with a best offer option and free shipping, quite a deal. There are also a number of R-1030 and R-1040 models listed as well. While I've never owned one if these, I do have a Luxman L-85v integrated amp of the same vintage, also with the beautiful rosewood cabinet, and it sounds great.

 

The Yamaha Integrated was a VERY GOOD recommendation indeed!

 

Music Direct is running a sale on open box amplifiers.

There is a nice Marantz integrated amp, a PM-6005, for $425.

There is a Yahama integrated amp, a A-S501, for $440.

There is a NAD C 316BEE integrated amp for $289.

All of these products have a warranty.

 

Definitely consider the A-S501. It's a bit difficult to quantify, but to my ears, my A-S500 sounds 90% as good as my Parasound. Yamahas also produce the best bass of any amps I've had in my systems, with a variety of speakers.