reciever recommendation?

chickenwing

Hi everyone! I'm new here and new to home audio in general. I have a question.

I just got a pair of used Polk Audio S8 speakers. I'll be using them for music most of the time and occasionally for a movie. They will be my only speakers, so no subwoofers or anything.

I need a recommendation for a reciever in the 100-200 dollar price range used or new.

thanks!

mrbigbluelight

Well, I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't familiar with Polk S8 speakers but, as always, a search did locate a thread here with some answers from Russman:

"I'm looking through my archives, I'll update when I find it.

If I remember right, sealed box, passive radiator design. 1 inch soft dome, 6.5 inch midbass, 8 inch passive radiator. Somewhere along the lines of 35Hz-22KHz, 125 watts continuous. Late 80's I think.

The S series was short lived, if you have ever seen the Boston A series, the cabs were very shallow, and somewhat thin (build wise). My beloved mother is using a pair of S6 in her 2ch rig(same speaker, without the pr and ported, IF I remember the S8 correctly). The biggest **** I have with S line from Polk was the build of the cabs.

Hook up with your co-worker, and check em out, you will see/feel immediately what I am talking about on the build front. There is NOTHING inert about the S series, but for low-powered applications, they do sing rather well."

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9058


As for a cheap receiver .... hmmm ..... looked in the "For Sale" forum, and the receivers there are in the $400+ range.
So it's time for the old standby: Onkyo refurbished online.

http://www.shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?productid=TX-8222&modelid=18&group_id=1&detail=1&ext_war=1

They have the TX-8222 - High Fidelity Stereo Receiver (50 watts/channel RMS).
They show it for $119 (with no cost for shipping).
Join "Club Onkyo" (instructions on their website; it's painless and safe), and the price on the TX-8222 goes down to $89 (with no cost for shipping).

I don't know your personal situation, but if $100 is all ya got, $100 is all ya got .....

You might sit tight for a bit; I'm sure others might come up with some good sources for good, cheap gear. Don't be afraid of used, if you know the seller or the person recommending the seller.

Good luck !

chickenwing

Thanks!
I should add that I want to used it for a turntable, cd player, ipod, and movies. Would this work for all of those? Someone told me I need a phono jack to use my turntable. Is that true?

My budget goes up to $200 max.

chickenwing

Do I need to get an amp too, or is that optional?

I'm really pretty clueless about this stuff.

hockeyboy

You are trying to do a lot on a tiny budget. You really cannot afford separate amplification so get a good quality AVR (receiver) and build your system around it over time. Make sure the AVR has pre-outs so you can add an amp to it later. Part of how well your system will sound is based on how much quality power is going into the speakers. This is measures in WPC or watts per channel.

Big Blue is giving you good advice on the refurbished Onkyo for someone on a budget. You might even email them and let them know you are on a serious budget and what your needs are. I am not sure that any of those entry level AVR's have a phono in, but this would be a step up from the 8222.

http://www.shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?productid=TX-SR506&modelid=65&group_id=1&detail=2

The other option will be to start selling blood plasma every week until you can save up for a bit of a nicer AVR, which is what I would do