speakers vs receiver

2Learn

I am a newbee to this forum and home audio but extremely interested to learn. My question:

If you were on a tight budget, is it better to spend the money and get high end speakers or a high end receiver (and you can only one high end, and the other regular stuff). For example: Get polk towers with a $200 receiver or get a denon or marantz receiver with say like infinity or other lower brand speakers. Thank you.

lomic

I'd say either get a midrange set at the best you can afford, or save up to buy both higher end. Otherwise you'll just end up thinking "I have this great X, but the crappy Y is making it sound bad".

Willow

I say a better receiver..you will have a good base to start with

other wise you have crap base with good system it will still sound crap

a good receiver with crappy speakers will sound ok the source is where it's at !!

mantis

I say save your money and don't buy anything untill you can afford what you like.

Matching is key

Dan

Willow

if waiting is an opiton then Mantis is right

dcarlson

Are you building a 2 channel stereo or a home theatre surround system?

fireshoes

I would say drop the dough on the speakers, because a good speaker will stay good, but receivers get outdated quickly. If you get a budget receiver, just remember to keep your volume in check because of the higher distortion levels. I would go used on the receiver so you can get a better amp.

TechChallenged

Consider buying used and get the best of both worlds. I also believe it would be an injustice to yourself to wait. If you chose new, good speakers will always be good speakers. Receivers come and go. If you decide to purchase a budget receiver the Yamaha HT series is virtually identical their RX series.

I hope this helps.

Terrax

I would echo fireshoes's statements, it is alot better to make an investment in quality speakers than a all-in-one receiver what will outdate itself in a short matter of time. If you find a good receiver that has pre-outs, and a good processing section, then later you can add good quality amps.

And BTW, welcome to the forum.

Willow

good points I never thought of how quick we are to want to upgrade/swap our receivers......

go for speakers..makes sense

Steve@3dai

But what if you get something like a LSi speaker that is hard to amplify, then get a cheaper amplifier. The amplifier because of the lack of quality and current damages the speakers.

Looks like you are SOL in that case.

I say start at the amplification stage and then go to the speakers, and then go to the sources. Having cheaper sources won't damage anything, it just won't sound that great.

But that's just me.

Terrax

Budgets are always a concern, I know, I'm constantly faced with them. But, (and I know from first hand experience) if you go with something cheaper, just to get by, you will very soon regret it, and wish you had saved just a little more, to get what would have been a better choice. If a person was to get LSi's and find that they do not have the quality of amp to drive them, then they have already set themselves up for disappointment. But, if used wisely, LSi's can be driven (albeit at low volumes) with a good high current receiver. As long as it can handle a 4 ohm load. Just wouldn't want to push the limit of it. The limits to which something is pushed is what harms gear. Thus, in the furture save up for better power pushing gear.

dcarlson

Why a receiver? Why not an integrated amp? Unless he's going HT, I'd steer away from a receiver.

steveinaz

With a tight budget, look at bookshelf speakers. Bookshelf's have come a long way and usually incorporate components from their higher-end brethren (trickle-down technology). Bigger is not necessarily better.

With as little as $400, I could put together a Receiver and speakers that would amaze you given the cost/quality ratio.

As an example, i know of a very nice bookshelf speaker that can be found for as little as (new, mind you) $139/pr. Lets say it cost you $40 in shipping; You've got $220 remaining for a receiver. Go used and get the most bang for your buck. For $220 you should be able to pick-up an otherwise out-of-your-reach receiver. Or better yet, grab a nice used integrated.

2Learn

Originally posted by dcarlson
Are you building a 2 channel stereo or a home theatre surround system?

Home theater surround.

2Learn

Originally posted by steveinaz
With as little as $400, I could put together a Receiver and speakers that would amaze you given the cost/quality ratio.

As an example, i know of a very nice bookshelf speaker that can be found for as little as (new, mind you) $139/pr. Lets say it cost you $40 in shipping; You've got $220 remaining for a receiver. Go used and get the most bang for your buck. For $220 you should be able to pick-up an otherwise out-of-your-reach receiver. Or better yet, grab a nice used integrated.

What brand are you referring to here?

2Learn

Originally posted by dcarlson
Why a receiver? Why not an integrated amp? Unless he's going HT, I'd steer away from a receiver.

Because I don't know how the integrated amp works. As I said I am new to all this, always had an interest, and now the interest is peaking.

steveinaz

An integrated amp is simply a receiver minus the AM/FM tuner. Its a preamp/amp stage in one chasis, hence, "integrated." You might look at Cambridge Audio's offerings.

If you're tight on money, I'd suggest putting together a 2-channel setup first, you can always run your DVD thru it with good results until you can put the bucks together for full blown HT surround.

Definitely search the used market. With careful searching you can come away with a heck of a deal. Watch the Polk Flea market, folks around here have some really good prices on great equipment.

dcarlson

If you're on budget and listen to music as often as you watch movies, I'd recommend getting some decent speakers and an integrated amp. Decent speakers can and most likely will stay in your system much longer than most receivers ever will. An integrated amp is basically a 2 channel amp with volume control and source switching. IE.: CD, Tape, Phono....

Generally speaking, you'll get more performance out of a budget integrated than you would with a budget receiver. It will allow you to get by very well in 2 channel mode until you can afford to get the receiver you want to build your home theatre around.

Here's an integrated that's pretty popular around here.
Cambridge Audio

dcarlson

Hey Steve, I was drafting up my response before i got to see yours. Nice to see we're on the same page.

steveinaz

Hey bud, a good deal is a good deal! Cambridge Audio is hard to beat when you've got limited fundage; hell its hard to beat when you don't have limited fundage!

2Learn

Originally posted by steveinaz
Hey bud, a good deal is a good deal! Cambridge Audio is hard to beat when you've got limited fundage; hell its hard to beat when you don't have limited fundage!

The home theater packages they have or as separates?

dcarlson

Originally posted by 2Learn
The home theater packages they have or as separates?

I think he meant the integrated amp. See the Cambridge Audio link in post. I fixed it.

steveinaz

Yep..seperates. With your limited budget, don't try to do home theater (yet) ...you will not be statisfied with the outcome.

lonwa

I would recommend going with the better receiver.

I purchased a long time ago, a really crappy HT setup from Pioneer. It was only Dolby Pro Logic. The speakers did not sound good, and in general the system was crap. So, when Dolby Digital 5.1 came out with DTS, I went and purchased a Denon 2801 receiver (and still use it to this day as my HT pre-amp). But my point is, my crappy pioneer speakers sounded a lot better (like night and day) after I purchased the denon.

When I finally upgraded to Polk speakers, they did sound better than the Pioneers, but the jump in performance was not nearly as high as with the new receiver.

I am not saying you should skimp on speakers, but the receiver in my mind is one of the most critical components in your system. Start there, and work your way up. The Denon 2803 (or maybe 2804) is a great deal, and will last you a long time.

My migration path looks like this:

Crappy all in one HT box set from Pioneer
Purchased Pioneer DVD player (still use)
Upgraded to Denon Receiver AVR-2801 (still use as pre-amp)
Upgraded to Polk speakers (see my sig below)
Upgraded to a Parasound HCA-1205A dedicated AMP
Next upgrade will be subwoofer or possible SACD/DVD-A dvd player (not sure yet)
Next- Much larger TV (maybe front projection if the lady will sign off)
Next - upgraded pre-amp (will replace the Denon)

Hope this helps

Lonwa

TechChallenged

2Learn

What did you decide.

2Learn

I am leaning towards purchasing the speakers (high end) and slowly building up the systems... probably will buy units as budget comes up and end up buying the reciever, probably refurbished. I will learn a lot of patience in this process.