Home Stereo Amp

[Redback]

OK we are in the throws of looking at a new home stereo, after visiting JB-Hi-Fi we are now totally confused.

Our current stereo is a Yamaha surround sound and now over 20yrs old and started to drop speakers and crackle, so time to go.

Does draw wattage affect output wattage(ie) 250watts draw power to 100w output to the speaker, we looked at 2 Amps, both have surround sound, one had 400watts draw with 5 x 85watt output(ONKYO) the other(SONY) HAD 250WATTS AND 5 X 100watts if that makes sense.

Baz

[Corgie Carrier]

I went from a Yamaha to a Harman/Kardon and it is fantastic.

Not sure what the imput is but pretty sure it puts out 100w to all 5 channels and has a sub output. It even has it's own volume setup for each speaker that it sets automatically. I just sit in my usual seat and press a button on the remote and it uses a mic in the remote and sets the sound level, real cool.

Good luck with your search.

Neale
P.S. I run mine into a bose speaker system

[Vern]

Corgie's got to much money:D
I use Onkyo, good gear with a good warranty, never let me down.
As for speakers, I have a pair of old 70's KEF's, killer sound, particularly down low:) But that's in the shed:D
House has Onkyo, but need to upgrade the speakers, was thinking of getting Castles, or KEF's, not really sure as its only for watching TV

[Benz]

If it's a quality system it can be fixed.
would give you many more years of service
many say they don't make them like they use to

just a thought

[amtravic1]

I dont know about the JB stores where you are but the ones in Melbourne do not seem particularly good for HiFi gear. I would be looking for a proper shop that sells just good sound gear.

[Redback]

Thanks for the input guys, JB is not what they used to be, actually looking at the gear, HiFi seems to be lacking compared to all the other gear they have, but it was more of an info search more than buying trip, they seem to lose interest after we hinted we were not buying:)

We'll just keep looking and see if we can find a proper HiFi outlet, the current unit was high end at the time costing over $600 over 20yrs ago and we're not in that much of a hurry.

Baz.

[Benz]

what model number is it?

[Debacle]

Have you tried opening it up and spraying a bit of contact cleaner around.

[OffTrack]

Baz,

There is quite a bit of BS in quoted power figures.

For example Onkyo specs for the TX-NR525 (which JB Hifi sell) show figures of 80w per channel for 2 channels driven with 0.7% harmonic distortion, so you won't get anywhere near the same output with all channels driven. They also list a headline dynamic power figure of 100W in to 8ohm with 1 channel driven.

Sony will probably do something similar with their power specs.

If you can let me know what models you were looking at I can dig up the spec sheets and give you a better idea of what shenanigans are being played ;)

cheers
Paul

[one_iota]

....We'll just keep looking and see if we can find a proper HiFi outlet...

Baz.

Hello Baz,

This will be a bit of a trek from the deep south but the people at Hi-Fi Trader in Newtown are worth "tugging-the-ears-of".

I've bought a bit of gear from them over the years. They are good at advising on putting together matched components that aren't all gold-plated and valve-amped.

[jerryd]

Been upgrading my Linn system for 25 years + :) It gives more pleasure to my soul than a defender ever would.

Linn (http://www.linn.co.uk/systems)

[flagg]

Definitely go to an actual HiFi store. Call them before you go, tell them you budget and the sort of things you like. When you book a time they should have all the options lined up for you to try.


I pick off bits and pieces as they go on sale / come up second hand and the results are good. (and there is nothing wrong with valves and gold plating :D)

[WhiteD3]

Our Yamaha gear was stolen 2 years ago. I replaced it with an Onkyo TX-NR509 mated to some Mirage speakers for 2 years. Brilliant sound and on the screen display is great when hooked up to a TV.

I purchased this unit for the networking functions, particularly Internet radio. After 2 years of updates it finally seems stable although it does some weird things when trying to save stations.

I doubt I'd go Onkyo again.

[Modelsp]

Mr REDBACK
come on down to the 'Gong to Sturmans in Crown St
all top Quality gear with people that know what they are doing.
they also do repairs to most systems.
Sturman Electronics - Home (http://www.sturmans.com.au)

cheers
Paul

[flagg]

one piece of advice though - NEVER listen to a system or component outside of your price range.

[jerryd]

one piece of advice though - NEVER listen to a system or component outside of your price range.

That's good advice ;) my dream speakers cost $68k and I'd buy them tomorrow if I could :cool:
A couple of years ago I went to a Linn music night and a guy there had spent in excess of $300k on his system :eek:

[Piddler]

Hi Bazz,
If I lived where you do, drive up and see Steve at Eastwood Hi Fi. He knows it like no other and has big range of gear at right price. Very funny guy as well. Check them out on the Web.
Cheers Piddler

[Geedublya]

Unless you want more features, or you are not happy with your current receiver. You are probably better off getting the one you have fixed.
IMHO a lot of the new gear is consumer rubbish and you won't find something nice until you spend at least $3k.
Probably some of the electrolytics are drying out and just needs a good service and some replacement capacitors.

[Blknight.aus]

yes there is a correlation bewteen the watts you draw from the power point and what watts turn up at the speakers


but usually it means nothing because most stereos get sold on the PMPO rating and not on the RMS numbers.


have an eyeball at the wiki

Audio power - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Redback]

Baz,

There is quite a bit of BS in quoted power figures.

For example Onkyo specs for the TX-NR525 (which JB Hifi sell) show figures of 80w per channel for 2 channels driven with 0.7% harmonic distortion, so you won't get anywhere near the same output with all channels driven. They also list a headline dynamic power figure of 100W in to 8ohm with 1 channel driven.

Sony will probably do something similar with their power specs.

If you can let me know what models you were looking at I can dig up the spec sheets and give you a better idea of what shenanigans are being played ;)

cheers
Paul

Thanks Paul, the Onkyo 525 you quoted and the Sony STRDN840, these were the 2 we looked at in JB, I'm not sure but I imagine these are middle of the road type gear.


Hello Baz,

This will be a bit of a trek from the deep south but the people at Hi-Fi Trader in Newtown are worth "tugging-the-ears-of".

I've bought a bit of gear from them over the years. They are good at advising on putting together matched components that aren't all gold-plated and valve-amped.

hELLO Mahn, good to hear from you, I think we looked at them all those years ago for our current Amp, but we got it from a store in Marrickville instead, they beat their price.


Been upgrading my Linn system for 25 years + :) It gives more pleasure to my soul than a defender ever would.

Linn (http://www.linn.co.uk/systems)

Thank, will check them out.


Mr REDBACK
come on down to the 'Gong to Sturmans in Crown St
all top Quality gear with people that know what they are doing.
they also do repairs to most systems.
Sturman Electronics - Home (http://www.sturmans.com.au)

cheers
Paul

Hi Paul, have walked past them a few times when in the gong, I may just drop in soon, thanks.



Thanks again everyone, we have thought of getting our current Amp looked at, it is so well matched to our speakers(Syntax) with Yamaha speakers for the surround sound, I think we need to look at other other than to ones we have been looking at, we are looking at Amps that were the same price as we paid 25yrs ago, and I think we need to go up in price to get what we have now, that might require saving a bit more money than we have budgeted for.

Baz.

[jerryd]

Hi Baz,
Why not join this forum and have a look around before jumping in at the deep end ;) Very friendly and helpful bunch ( bit like here ) and you could even find somebody local to you who will advise and let you listen to their systems

StereoNET Australia (http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/)

Source,control and playback are the three major elements in every system.

I used to be a deranged audiophile but then found land rovers :D

[OffTrack]

Baz,

If you can deal with a fairly minimal feature set its worth taking a look at the NAD T748 amp. They sell for around $700 but the emphasis has been put on sound quality. The T748 is rated at 40w per channel but this is measured with all channels driven and at 0.08% Thd so in reality it's more powerful than the onkyo for example.

You'd have to sure you could live with trading off the bells and whistles for audio performance.

http://nadelectronics.com/products/av-receivers/T-748-A/V-Surround-Sound-Receiver

Cheers
Paul

[Redback]

OK it's funny what you persevere as good quality or high end when shopping around, our current unit is a RX-V492 and is the same price it was 25yrs ago and is identical right down to the remote:D

But this was what I've been looking at:ohyes:

just brousing the HiFi Trader
Yamaha RX-A1030 A/V Receiver (http://www.hifitrader.com.au/category141_1.htm)
.

Baz.

[OffTrack]

OK it's funny what you persevere as good quality or high end when shopping around, our current unit is a RX-V492 and is the same price it was 25yrs ago and is identical right down to the remote:D

But this was what I've been looking at:ohyes:

just brousing the HiFi Trader
Yamaha RX-A1030 A/V Receiver (http://www.hifitrader.com.au/category141_1.htm)
.

Baz.

Sounds like you are a bit of a Yamaha fan ;)

I'm biased towards the NAD gear as I've owned their gear over the past 30 years, and like what they do, so can understand the loyalty factor involved.

If you are playing in the $1500 price bracket you should at least have a look/listen at the NAD T-757 (http://nadelectronics.com/products/av-receivers/T-757-A/V-Surround-Sound-Receiver).

It's had very good reviews and I don't think you'd be disappointed with the sound or picture quality.
There is a pretty comprehensive review here: NAD T757 7.1 A/V Receiver - Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/receivers/receivers-reviews/nad-t757-71-av-receiver/all-pages.html)

cheers
Paul

[dswatts]

X2 on the NAD gear, just had to sell my 317 and 3x 214's:(
Beautiful amps.

[Debacle]

X3 on the NAD gear, I'm running an old 3020i from the 80's through a pair of similar age Jensen 100w speakers and love the sound.

[Bushie]

Barry,

Have a chat to Caringbah Hi-Fi in Port Hacking road. They used to be good - have been around as specialist for better than 30 years.

Martyn

[TasD90]

Anyone remember when SONAB amps. were one of the boutique lines.
Mine is still alive and kicking through a pair of Polk Audio speakers also bought in the 70's. Still sounds awesome.
No RCA sockets on this baby, all 5 pin DIN sockets.
Redback, if you like your current sound , clean out the pots and replace a few capacitors and just think of all the extra dollars to spend on new CD's.
Cheers Peter.

[Corgie Carrier]

OK it's funny what you persevere as good quality or high end when shopping around, our current unit is a RX-V492 and is the same price it was 25yrs ago and is identical right down to the remote:D

But this was what I've been looking at:ohyes:

just brousing the HiFi Trader
Yamaha RX-A1030 A/V Receiver (http://www.hifitrader.com.au/category141_1.htm)
.

Baz.

You seem to be stuck on Yamaha but you should consider others. I had a Yamaha RX-V490 and it had the worst reciever I have ever had. The signal was weak and dropped out all the time, I turn my radio on in the morning and leave it on all day, but the 490 was so pathetic I used to play cds all day.

When I moved out here to the sticks I even resorted to putting up an external antenna and the signal would still drop out. I had the unit looked at by a couple of quality stereo shops but they said this was typical Yamaha.

I then bought the Harmon/Karndan for around the same price as the new Yamaha and the radio works even without the external antenna and has never dropped out.

So it depends how you use your stereo what you will need, but I will never own another Yamaha.

If they have home shows or similar where you are, go and check out some of the stereo stands or go to shops with room where you can compare amps/receivers with the same speakers and cd players.

Hope this helps

Neale

[Redback]

You seem to be stuck on Yamaha but you should consider others. I had a Yamaha RX-V490 and it had the worst reciever I have ever had. The signal was weak and dropped out all the time, I turn my radio on in the morning and leave it on all day, but the 490 was so pathetic I used to play cds all day.

When I moved out here to the sticks I even resorted to putting up an external antenna and the signal would still drop out. I had the unit looked at by a couple of quality stereo shops but they said this was typical Yamaha.

I then bought the Harmon/Karndan for around the same price as the new Yamaha and the radio works even without the external antenna and has never dropped out.

So it depends how you use your stereo what you will need, but I will never own another Yamaha.

If they have home shows or similar where you are, go and check out some of the stereo stands or go to shops with room where you can compare amps/receivers with the same speakers and cd players.

Hope this helps

Neale

Never had any issues with mine in all the years I have had it, it's been brilliant.

I'm only brousing at the moment, I will be going out and looking at other Amps.

Baz.

[Tote]

Hmmm...... Proper amplifiers
ME Amplifiers Pty Ltd (http://www.meamplifiers.com.au/welcome_to_me_amplifiers)

I have a mate with an 850 - 360 watts x2 into 2 ohms load, DC- 20KHZ.
You could weld with it and indeed it has welded up the drivers on a set of Richter Wizards at one party ( maybe they were a little under rated for the amp).
Seriously good gear and the 550 is still available new.

Regards,
Tote

[Meken]

X3 on the nad - if you want to spend that $600 in today's money you are probably looking at about $3k (inflation)

I moved from loyal Yamaha owner to nad addict - the sound is very sweet so it is a good all-rounder from listening to CDs to movie watching. It has audessey speaker setup so you plug in microphone and let it work out speaker volumes & delays (for surround sound) the are " modular " with their components so there is some upgrade-ability but at what cost I'm not sure.

[uninformed]

Hard to beat NAD for sound quality per $. They make VERY good sounding stuff.

If you want longer term reliability, then keep with Yamaha. I would how ever find someone that sells their "Aventage" range. Yamaha has 2 ranges, what is sold at JB hifi etc is the lower tear range (not as good sound or quality)

AVENTAGE Series IV - AV Receivers - Yamaha - Australia (http://au.yamaha.com/en/products/audio-visual/av-receivers-amps/aventage/'mode=series)

[WhiteD3]

Quoting myself.....an update:

Anything networked (Internet radio, DLNA, Iphone App player) is unreliable and inconsistent. Works great one day, dead as a dingo the next.

The audio quality is fantastic but I will not go with Onkyo again.


Our Yamaha gear was stolen 2 years ago. I replaced it with an Onkyo TX-NR509 mated to some Mirage speakers for 2 years. Brilliant sound and on the screen display is great when hooked up to a TV.

I purchased this unit for the networking functions, particularly Internet radio. After 2 years of updates it finally seems stable although it does some weird things when trying to save stations.

I doubt I'd go Onkyo again.

[Piddler]

Seriously Redback living where you do I would take a drive towards Dural to Eastwood Hi Fi and see Steve.

They really know there stuff.
Great prices good products and funny as :D

Cheers
Piddler