difference between using a receiver and a pre-amp processor (1 Viewer)

[Minesh Patel]

I have a Sherbourne 7100 and AVM 2.0 and love the combo. Gobs of power, never any strain or clipping, and runs cool, too. The AVM is an awesome performer, too, and Anthem frequently releases firmware updates, so my 4 year old pre/pro has the same capabilities as one that just rolled off the assembly line.

I bought both used on audiogon at a great savings.

 

[AlbertD]

I had a seperates system that consisted of a Sherbourn 7/2100 amp paired with a B&K Ref 50 prepro. The sound was fantastic. I had to sell the equipment (moved onto a boat and had no room) but a few years later wanted to rebuild my HT system (the boat is for sale and I am back in a house) Instead of going out and buying seperates right off the bat, I decided to go with a receiver and listened to a LOT of different gear including the ones you have listed above. IMO I liked both the Yamaha and Denon, but as I had quality issues with 3 other Yamaha receivers I have owned over the years (not a knock, I loved the sound I guess I was just unlucky) I went with the Denon. My idea was to live with the bells and whistles that the Denon offered and eventually buy an amp and use the Denon as the prepro. (here it comes) After several months of listening to just the Denon on it's own, do I believe that there was an upgrade in sound with my seperates system? Yes. Was it a big difference? No. In fact I believe it's close enough that unless I move and need to power a MUCH larger room, it would be a waste of money to buy a seperate amp again. And actually, if I need to power a larger room I would probably investigate more sensitve speakers before I pulled the trigger on a seperate amp. By the way my setup is 7.1 in a room that is about 20' x 17' with acoustical treatments and I listen often at refrence level. For the record my speakers are Triangle. Cometes for mains, Titus for the others, with my trusty Infinity HPS1000 subwoofer that I never sold. HT is excellent but music is superb.

 

[felix_suwarno]

thanks for sharing your story, albertd.

( living in a boat??? wow )

by the way, i just found that denon 3806 is cheaper in here compared to yamaha 2600. the price difference is more than 100 dollar.

i also found that what hifi! preferred the 2600 to the denon. hmmm now i am leaning to the yamaha....

 

[felix_suwarno]

hi guys.

i got monitor audio gs10 and gslcr now. three boxes, sitting in my storage room without any receiver to set them with. heheheh.

i am still checking things out here and there a little bit. i was like, why dont i purchase a receiver in the denon avr2807 class and add a 5 channel rotel amp... or a denon avr3806 / yammy rx-v2600 and add a 2 channel rotel amp...

everybody says the speakers are meant to be matched with a decent amp. it is the flagship product from monitor audio... the problem is it is not possible for me to test different receiver / amp in my room. heh, the room it self is not ready yet.

 

[Bob_Lawrance]

Felix

I noticed that you have gone with the monitor gold series. I am thinking about the silver series. Why did you go with the gold over the silver?

Bob

 

[mackie]

Don't sweat the difference between amps and receivers. Go with a reputable name brand receiver (Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo) and and a amp from a reputable brand (Rotel, Parasound, Outlaw). Look for the best price and the features you want. The differences between them in sound quality are minor, but features can be very different.

Congrats on the speakers. Glad you got them, now go plug them up and starting enjouying them. They are meant to be used

 

[felix_suwarno]

hi bob and mackie.

i went with the golds for several reasons.

First, i want the flagship product, or simply the best monitor audio has to offer. This will be a loooong time investment. I live in Indonesia, you know, a third world country where selling used stuff is not as easy as using ebay. Credit card fraud is rampant in here.

Second, i didnt have the chance to listen for differences between many speakers side by side. I personally dont have time for that kind of leisure. And the audio shops...i dunno, they are meant for snobbies, really. I am not comfortable asking shopkeepers to let me hear those expensive equiptments all at once in a day. I dont even have a friend who share this hobby. Nobody helped me here, only you guys ... ( and i havent even seen any of you !) So, going for the best product monitor audio has to offer felt like a save bet.

Third, the dealer gave me a pre order price. One GS-LCR, and two pairs of GS10 costed me around 2200 dollar. I placed the pre order last january, and i got the speakers last week. If this were against the forum rules, i do apologize, but the dealer is in Jakarta, not in the states.

I got the rosenut finish. I saw a black piano finish, GS60...they looked beautiful.

Mackie, i was thinking about getting a denon avr2807 plus a rotel rmb1075. Or a denon avr3806 / yammy rx-v2600 plus a two channel amp. My research says that arcam avr300 would be a save bet for now ( even though it is quite expensive in here ), but what if in the near future i want to upgrade the receiver? So i think a cheap receiver coupled with a separate amp would be much better for me. I dunno, i will do more research.

The dealer demoed the gold sigs with a primare receiver. Last january i heard the rs1, and as far as i can remember, it sounded good too with minimal difference compared to gr10 ( at that time they only had the gold reference ). I have to be honest here, i didnt really pay attention to the difference between the silver and the gold, because my mind was already set to purchase the gold sigs.

 

[mackie]

FWIW - I would get the Denon 2807 and the Rotel amp. It looks like you eventually want to have a prepro, so I'd buy a good amp and minimal receiver. Save the money it would cost to get a more expensive one and put it towards the prepro. The Denon will work just fine, and you might decide it's everything you needed. It also has an impressive features list. The Rotel amp will last at least a decade if not more.

Keep us posted, and write a nice review when it's all set up.

 

[felix_suwarno]

i was just wondering if there were significant difference of the sound processor ( what do you guys call it? DACs? ) between the receivers i mentioned. i havent checked the price for denon 2807, but 3806 was like around 900 dollar in here. after some haggling around i think it might go down to around 750 dollar, i dunno. the rmb1075 was ( last january ) priced around 800 dollar. i think it could be owned for around 600-700 dollar. so my budget should be around 1500 dollar at max.

 

[Bob_Lawrance]

Thanks for the repsonse Felix, let me know how they sound.

 

[mackie]

Checked the Denon website. The 3806 and 2807 have the same DACs - BurrBrown PCM-1791

 

[Shiu]

For inductive loads, if listed in VA, the formula will work. If listed in watts, you have to account for P.F., the power factor. For most inductive loads, including fans, and your amps/receivers, use 0.75 for P.F.

Watts=V*A*P.F. for single phase (most households) power supplies.