Receiver upgrade advice (1 Viewer)

[Daryn D]

Hi all. I am driving my Paradigm Signature 2's, which are my mains, with an HK-320. My music to HT ratio is 9 to 1. I plan to update my receiver and would like to know your recommendations on buying used equipment. What brand/models do you recommend in the $600 range. Should I do separates or stay with an AVR? What gets me the best bang for the buck? I like the warm sound of my HK

Daryn

 

[Tom D]

My vote is separates, especially for the signature line. Paradigm and Anthem are related, the same company - it is a good bet that they use Anthem pre/pro and Anthem amps for testing purposes. Other warm sounds can be had with Arcam or Rotel. Linn makes nice warm sounding gear as well, but expensive.
Good luck

regards, Tom

 

[Alan Wise]

I don't think going separates are possible on a $ 600.00 budget, especially Anthem. You would probably be better served to add a separate amp to you H/K.

Regards, Alan

 

[Jacob C]

If you have Sig 2s you ought to think of a bigger budget. Thats my .02. Those are some great speakers. Get the gear to back them up properly. I would probably buy a nice stereo amp and hook it up to your current reciever and then upgrade the reciever later.

 

[Daryn D]

Your right, after looking at the Anthem line, the budget will need to increase. I also like the look of the Outlaws. I hadn't thought of using my HK with an amp. That might be a good place to start... If my HK is a 60 watt receiver, how much power would I need in an amp to really notice a big difference. Also, do different amps sound very different, if after all they are only amplifying?

 

[Alan Wise]

Daryn,

To me, the best (and least expensive) place to start would be to get a good used three channel amp to power your front three speakers. That's where the bulk of the power is used. Allow your receiver to due the light duty work of supporting your surround speakers. Take a look on E-Bay, or Audiogon, for some of the Adcom three channel receivers (and others). They seem to be reasonably priced for their performance level.
Let us know how you make out.

Regards, Alan Wise

 

[Arthur S]

Get yourself a new HK 635 for $699 delivered from J&R and you should be fine.

 

[Robert_Gaither]

I'd advise get a pair of AudioSource Amp 3s and bridge them for clean cheap power. For about $600 on the used market it might be possible.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Agreed on that recommendation. The Audiosource 3 is a solid amp with a torroidal tranformer and it doesn't have any issues when driving lower ohm speakers.