Page 1 of A/V Receivers for Music - Need Advice??

I want to have both really good music and home theater capability and need to decide whether to get two separate amps/receivers (one for music and one for surround movies) or can one A/V receiver do the trick. On the one hand it seems ideal to have separate amps - probably will get better music performance. Indeed, many on these hardware review forums say exactly that. However, when I look at the reviews for A/V receivers such as the Rotel 1065; Yamaha RXV1300; or Denon 2803, many say they are more than adequate for music. I would prefer to get one A/V receiver since it would probably save me a few bucks and would take up less space. 42%er advised to get a A/V receiver with pre-outs AND a separate music amp. Someone replied to 42%er saying he tried that and was disappointed. So, bottom line, are there A/V receivers that do a really good job with music? If so, which ones are most recommended. Or, is it absolutely necessary to have a separate amp for music? I am looking at either Quad 11L or B&W 602s for fronts/center; KEF or Def Tech surrounds; Def Tech or Velodyne sub; Pioneer DVD; and either Rotel or NAD CD player. I assume I ABSOLUTELY need a CD player and that the DVD player is NOT adequate for music? Am I right about this? How does the other components I mention sound? Thanks for your thoughts and ideas! Zimmy

Hi Zimmy,
I have got the Denon 1803, was recomended it by Westy and RichardH when it first came out.

Can honestly say I can`t fault it, the sound is superb whether being used for AV or Audio, especially when you play back in Pro Logic 2, it sounds like you are surrounded by the band, guitars from front left, bass from front right, vocals from centre and drums from the sub, then backing vocals from the rear.

God knows how they do it. You can also use 5/7 channel stereo so you get same sound from front left and rear left and then front right and rear right.

BTW I am using it to run Mission, M73i front, M7DS rear, M7C2i centre and a B&W ASW300 sub. And it does sound better once warmed up (30 mins or so) incase you have a listen in a shop and reject it, there is a lot more warmth and depth to the sound.

All the best

Ger.

Read my older posts as Gerald here

Zimmy, If you want to go for the one box amp solution it may be worth hunting out the Arcam AVR300 when it is released. It will be about £1300 but it will be spot on for music. Also have a look and listen to the Arcam DV78 DVD player at around £650. Once again very good with CD`s. I will find out the local distributer details so you can find your Jakata dealer.

All the best,

The 42%er.

Give me a chance to shine and I will blind the world.

INDONESIA Authorised Distributors
From the Arcam web site.


1 distributor was found in INDONESIA.

Town: JARKARTA PUSAT 10120

Name: Kawan Lama Sejahtera Pt

Address: JL. Pecenongan Raya No. 55A

Phone Number: 00 62213844076

All the best,

The 42%er.




Give me a chance to shine and I will blind the world.

Thanks to you both for the reply and advice. I think that settles it - I`ll get one A/V Receiver. I will try and check out the Arcam products, but they are quite a bit above my planned budget. The Denon and Yamaha A/V receivers that I mentioned before get great reviews and are only a fraction of the cost of the Arcam? Same about the Pioneer DVD player (about US$250) and the Arcam DVD player (about US$1,100!?). I guess I should have said what my target budget was for the whole system - about $3,000. More advice about components given that budget? What do you all think about the B&W 602s or the Quad 11Ls? By the way, I did visit the Quad dealer as you (42%er) recommended and he, in fact, has the center speaker like you said. Thanks again. Zimmy