No Frills Receiver???

Early B.
Early B. Posts: 7,900
edited July 2007 in Electronics
Does anyone manufacture a no frills receiver?

I have a very basic setup, and I don't care about satellite radio, gaming, upsampling, or even HDMI. Hell, I don't even need 7 channels. I'm interested in more money being placed in the build quality of the amp section, power supply, DACs, caps, etc.

If not, should I consider a used older model receiver? Price range is $500 or less.

I thought many times about moving towards separates, but I'd prefer to stick with a receiver for a while longer.

BTW -- I love my Pioneer Elite. Just looking to try something new.

Thanks.
HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

"God grooves with tubes."
Post edited by Early B. on
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,217
    edited July 2007
    Outlaw for spanking new, probably over your limit and still has some of the bells you mention you don't want.

    Nakamichi for vintage, "SR" series are excellent sounding units. Bullit proof and can be found for much less than $500. The Sr 3 or 4 are what I'd rec. The 4 is remote and has a variable loudness control for low level listening. Both have tone defeat so you can listen w/o tone controls in the circuit. They use Nelson Pass licensed STASIS topology. Very sweet sounding rec.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • wingnut4772
    wingnut4772 Posts: 7,519
    edited July 2007
    I have a cardbard box with some knobs and THX stickers drawn on it.
    Sharp Elite 70
    Anthem D2V 3D
    Parasound 5250
    Parasound HCA 1000 A
    Parasound HCA 1000
    Oppo BDP 95
    Von Schweikert VR4 Jr R/L Fronts
    Von Schweikert LCR 4 Center
    Totem Mask Surrounds X4
    Hsu ULS-15 Quad Drive Subwoofers
    Sony PS3
    Squeezebox Touch

    Polk Atrium 7s on the patio just to keep my foot in the door.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 33,020
    edited July 2007
    Looking for a change??
    Exactly what do you think a 500 dollar receiver will be able to do that your pioneer can't? Waste of money bro,If you want to upgrade and stick with an avr,then go B&k or Anthem,anything else is a lateral move imho.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited July 2007
    tonyb wrote: »
    Looking for a change??
    Exactly what do you think a 500 dollar receiver will be able to do that your pioneer can't? Waste of money bro,If you want to upgrade and stick with an avr,then go B&k or Anthem,anything else is a lateral move imho.

    Every time I change receivers, even though they appear to be lateral moves, there's been an improvement in sound. I think some of it has to do with swift advances in AVR technology, increasing competition, and reductions in production costs of higher quality parts. I dunno, but it happens. I never would have thought my Pioneer Elite would have beat out the HK it replaced, but it did.
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,804
    edited July 2007
    Nuforce makes a PREAMP that is a no bells and whistles - just good sound...

    Not a receiver, but just throwing that out there.
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • tryrrthg
    tryrrthg Posts: 1,896
    edited July 2007
    Arcam AVR-100 or 200. Since Arcam is mostly a two channel company these receivers are focused on music reproduction first.

    I'd also look for a Rotel RSX-1050, I think that's the model number...
    Sony KDL-40V2500 HDTV, Rotel RSX-1067 Receiver, Sony BDP-S550 Blu-ray, Slim Devices Squeezebox, Polk RTi6, CSi3 & R15, DIY sub with Atlas 15
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 33,020
    edited July 2007
    The Pioneer and the HK have....well,a different sound.Not really better or worse than each other.Even used,500 clams won't get much better than you allready have.Sell all that crap in your garage that you think you need and do something serious in your upgrade path.Just my .02 but hey,wtf do I know.:D
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jayman_1975
    jayman_1975 Posts: 672
    edited July 2007
    NAD T752. Solid build and very musical. Make sure you look for one with all the recent upgrades. They have been going for around 500 -700 used. I heard one and was quite impressed with the sound quality. Not much frills but a helova great learning remote comes with it.
    Onkyo TX NR 5008 modified by The Upgrade Company
    Oppo BDP 93 modified by The Upgrade Company
    Arcam CD37
    Monitor Audio Gold GS 60
    Revolver Audio Music 5 towers.(surround)
    Vandersteen V2W
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • scottvamp
    scottvamp Posts: 3,277
    edited July 2007
    wingnut4772 wrote: »
    I have a cardbard box with some knobs and THX stickers drawn on it.
    LMFAO, THX would a be "frills". Welcome to 2007.:D Embrace technology!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • auto_pilot
    auto_pilot Posts: 256
    edited July 2007
    Cambridge Audio 540R V2...A little over $500...but this one has less frills, and more money into the amp section.
    Cambridge Audio AZUR 640R
    KEF IQ2C Center, Fronts KEF IQ1 , Rears KEF Ci302Q
    Sub Outlaw LFM2
    Panasonic Plasma 1080i (50u)
    Sony DVP-NS70H (DVD)
    Belkin Pure Audio PF31 Line Conditioner
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • AndyGwis
    AndyGwis Posts: 3,655
    edited July 2007
    No bells and whistles sounds like NAD to me. I think B&K makes some receivers with good amp sections, build quality, and sound as well, but I can't speak to their reliability.
    Stereo Rig: Hales Revelation 3, Musical Fidelity CD-Pre 24, Forte Model 3 amp, Lexicon RT-10 SACD, MMF-5 w/speedbox, Forte Model 2 Phono Pre, Cardas Crosslink, APC H15, URC MX-950, Lovan Stand
    Bedroom: Samsung HPR-4252, Toshiba HD-A2, HK 3480, Signal Cable, AQ speaker cable, Totem Dreamcatchers, SVS PB10-NSD, URC MX-850
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter