Need replacement inexpensive 2 channel home stereo receiver (Home Use) - sugestions?

[Lazerick]

During my faderwave RADIOOOOOO!!!! show Monday night my 2 channel home stereo receiver shut down, no big deal, I switched to my monitors and keep it moving. Welllllll it turns out that my 2 channel home stereo receiver fried and died. So I'm looking for a replacement, it will power a set of Polk 6 1/2 inch satellite speakers. My ideal replacement will be a small powered sub (8 or 10 inch) that will power the satellite speakers (like a 2.1 configuration). I do not want to buy a 2.1 system as I have gone thru two complete klipsch promedia 2.1 systems so please no computer speakers :mad: . My budget - as cheap as possible ($150 max).

[de.j.l]

pawn shop?

[fueledbymusic]

I sold my Harmon Kardon reciever last year for $50! But realistically if your talking DJ subs, theres no such thing as a $150 sub. I think getting a used home amp is the best choice. Theres plenty on craigslist

[fueledbymusic]

heres a couple for you!
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/ele/2841524139.html
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/ele/2835773786.html

receivers
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/ele/2865637441.html
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/ele/2854183252.html

[Alex Murphy]

Look at some low power NAD amps. They're dirt cheap yet very flat, outstanding sound quality.

[de.j.l]

Look at some low power NAD amps. They're dirt cheap yet very flat, outstanding sound quality.


Concur, NAD = great sound. Thats what I got for my B&W200 series.

[Alex Murphy]

Most likely a NAD 3020 or 3120 (audiophile version) to match these speakers. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=nad+3020&_sacat=See-All-Categories

[Stevil]

I had an old Sony receiver that I was going to give away. Unfortunately I plugged it in the other day to test it and the amp seems to be fried.

Is there a Goodwill in your area? That might be a great place to check out for used stereo equipment.

[pete]

Can vouch for NAD on Polks.

Ideally you want a NAD 906. Its 3 amps in one, so can power your speakers.

[Alex Murphy]

Can vouch for NAD on Polks.

Ideally you want a NAD 906. Its 3 amps in one, so can power your speakers.

Great amp too, but it's a multichannel with no front controls. Though would also do the job properly with less circuitry in between. Direct amps, yum.

[BuddyUK]

A) Charity shops

Do you have these in the US? Absolute Treasure trove for hi fi equipment here, got my current speakers from there for £20 for the pair from the YMCA shop, they are £140 on ebay. just had a huge pile of speakers in the corner Tested them all for weight pulled the grills off the front looking for cheaply made chipboard crap on the front and the cones were well built and in good condition and they had ports for the low end etc. Always see good amps in there, old Marantz and Technics Series AA etc. at well good prices, like £30/40.

B) Small ads

If you have the equivalent of Loot or Friday AD get on it, picked up some great stuff there for nix.

c) Pawn Shops

As de.j.l suggested, they NEVER sell at the price they actually put on them unless you're stupid enough to pay it, haggle like an Egyptian or summat bro.; My favourite opening gambit is to say 'you see that x you have in the window or over there *chuckle to yourself and shake your head* what's your real price? Because you can't be seriously asking that mate' etc.

[Lazerick]

The NADs are what i'm looking for, hard to find in the USA though.

[Lazerick]

The hunt starts today!!!! finally, I get to shop for something I believe I actually need :D

[Lazerick]

shit loads of pawn shops in my area!!!

[de.j.l]

I got the 705, works just fine. Those prices are nice and low on ebay too.

[BuddyUK]

shit loads of pawn shops in my area!!!

Think about it. they bought it off some smackhead for a tenner, no way will they only take £150 for it, could easily walk away with it for a third of the price at least, also they usually have fucking stacks of hi-fi gear in them, they want to get rid of it and make some money is the bottom line.

[Unknown DJ]

Brand new. $99

http://www.jr.com/sherwood/pe/SHE_RX4105/

[Phil Noize]

Rotel amps are very good too. I run three (RB-971) identical amps (two are bridged mono) and they sound fantastic. I picked up two of them for about £100 each and the other for £50.

[Lazerick]

Thanks for all the suggestions - Keep them coming!!!! :tup:

[Alex Murphy]

Good shout on Rotel.


The NADs are what i'm looking for, hard to find in the USA though.

i did check before I posted and spotted 2 x NAD 3020s on Egay u.s.

[Lazerick]

This is my front runner:
AudioSource AMP-100 (http://www.amazon.com/AudioSource-AMP-100-Stereo-Power-Amplifier/dp/B00026BQJ6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top)

Not a NAD but it should get the job done, anyone have experience with AudioSource amps?

[mix4fix]

This is my front runner:
AudioSource AMP-100 (http://www.amazon.com/AudioSource-AMP-100-Stereo-Power-Amplifier/dp/B00026BQJ6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top)

Not a NAD but it should get the job done, anyone have experience with AudioSource amps?

I would save a few bucks and get you a decent used integrated in the mid-fi area (NAD, Rotel, Cambridge Audio, etc) - a little more and you can step into used seperates (NAD, Rotel, Parasound, etc)

As a brand, I love Parasound:
Love the Halo range
Used to have Z-series stuff (actually the ZPhono - I could use a ZAmp, Zpre, and maybe a ZTuner right now)
Liked orginal Classic stuff (was trying to buy seperates one time but items were discontinued and dealer tried to rip me off on the demo setup)

I like Cambridge Audio.
Not a big fan of NAD but I did check out the Master series.
Rotel is good - I was checking out their Euro series once.

There are plenty of speakers in the entry level mid-fi range.

Can't really comment on subs - I have decent sub (Adire Audio Rava w/DPL12 driver upgrade) and and can't comment on the lower end)

[Alex Murphy]

I like Cambridge Audio.
Not a big fan of NAD but I did check out the Master series.
Rotel is good - I was checking out their Euro series once.


That's pretty much the top 3 for me, Rotel amp/pre-amp combos are the best in that range, beyond that I'll only rate Mc Intosh though the price isn't exactly budget. There is also Marantz which is extremely good quality, and also Onkyo who stepped up recently. They have been very good for years and excellent value for money, then they didn't sit on it and improved some more in every aspect, are now outstanding value for money.

[mix4fix]

That's pretty much the top 3 for me, Rotel amp/pre-amp combos are the best in that range, beyond that I'll only rate Mc Intosh though the price isn't exactly budget. There is also Marantz which is extremely good quality, and also Onkyo who stepped up recently. They have been very good for years and excellent value for money, then they didn't sit on it and improved some more in every aspect, are now outstanding value for money.

Marantz Reference = :love:

And, Parasound Halo > Rotel

[Lazerick]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I believe you guys have pointed me in the right direction (Amp vs Receiver).
I have though about increasing my budget but my logic keeps coming back to the fact that the amp will only power some bottom of the line Polk Audio bookshelf speakers that only cost me $50 brand new (they sound great too).
The suggestion of the NAD amps pointed to exactly the type of amp I'm looking for. The list of brands was perfect for comparative research. Even looking at the more expensive models made me think about upgrade-ability (is that even a word), which I realized was not necessary in this situation, and I thought about used vs new (I will buy it new).

[Lazerick]

Marantz Reference = :love:

And, Parasound Halo > Rotel

I am looking at Marantz and Onkyo right now

[Lazerick]

And Harman Kardon

[Lazerick]

Cambridge Audio

[Alex Murphy]

I believe you guys have pointed me in the right direction (Amp vs Receiver)

One more thing then, don't buy a receiver for DJing. Purely because of lag problems. In a receiver, the sound signal is converted digitally then processed by the amp which takes a few milliseconds, then rerouted through DSP, presets and allsorts of processing, which basically puts you out of sync as a DJ. Unless you have the old school receiver magic button called CD direct or source direct. I usually recommend not buying a receiver for DJing.

TL:DDR Get a good old second hand stereo amp, it's cheap and cheerful. In your case aim for a good brand that's pushing around 25 to 30 watts and you're good. I can't rate that first rank of yours as I never tried it or even heard of it.

[Alex Murphy]

And Harman Kardon

Correct, that's good stuff too

[Lazerick]

One more thing then, don't buy a receiver for DJing. Purely because of lag problems. In a receiver, the sound signal is converted digitally then processed by the amp which takes a few milliseconds, then rerouted through DSP, presets and allsorts of processing, which basically puts you out of sync as a DJ. Unless you have the old school receiver magic button called CD direct or source direct. I usually recommend not buying a receiver for DJing.

TL:DDR Get a good old second hand stereo amp, it's cheap and cheerful. In your case aim for a good brand that's pushing around 25 to 30 watts and you're good. I can't rate that first rank of yours as I never tried it or even heard of it.

Cool this is exactly what I was thinking, especially the wattage range :)

[Hamza21]

I been using this for about ten years:

http://www.amazon.com/Sherwood-Rx4103-Remote-Controlled-Stereo-Receiver/dp/B00005T3X0

my cheap computer speakers died about two months after getting my computer (in 2009) I've been using bookshelf speakers hooked up to this receiver as my computer speakers. (speaker out> receiver > bookshelf speakers). If you're looking for cheap and reliable this receiver will do the trick.

[Defiance]

Check out parts express, you can get a pair of the bookshelf Dayton Audio speakers, Lepai amp, and depending on the amp you pick, you can pick up a passive or powered subwoofer, for a total cost of under $150. I have the speakers/lepai amp and its more than enough to mix for yourself.

[pete]

this looks like a beaut
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NAD-906-Home-Theater-6-six-Channel-Power-Amplifier-AMP-EXCELLENT-SHAPE-and-POWER-/260969066462?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc2f7efde

[Lazerick]

Check out parts express, you can get a pair of the bookshelf Dayton Audio speakers, Lepai amp, and depending on the amp you pick, you can pick up a passive or powered subwoofer, for a total cost of under $150. I have the speakers/lepai amp and its more than enough to mix for yourself.
I was researching the Lepai mini amp - it figured would work for my application, it was my first thought to pick up one with a sub and go from there. The efficiency of the class T amp does have me thinking about it.

[mix4fix]

One thing about those "micro" amps (that's what I call them), they're neat but not really a permanent solution. Something like that you would take on a trip because it is small but will do the job ok (or keep as a backup - kinda like having that Discman in the drawer). I have a Sonic Impact Super T amp (bigger but better designed - binding posts instead of spring-loaded terminals, etc). It's the size of a mini amp (that's what I call something like a Parasound ZAmp).

I would buy Z-series stuff in a heartbeat (or some other brand of mini audio unknown to you) if I needed small-size but quality. Given' your budget (and my insistment on you getting more money), I would go with the Audiosource amp and put more against the speakers (better set/bigger set with the wattage available).

I would rather have a "real" amp (look inside a Crown/QSC/Parasound/etc with power supplies that can supply voltage for that demanding piece of music) vs a amp that was only the basic amplication circuit.

I'm not against you owning that micro amp - I don't feel it's the best option in this case.

[Lazerick]

Thanks for the advice, i did decide against the mini amp because I did not feel it would fully satisfy my needs. I had decided to go with the Audiosource AMP-100 because it best fit my need (budget and application). I did consider every recommendation presented here but it all came back to the application which dictated the budget.