# Noob needs equipment help



## daddywoofdawg (Jan 2, 2012)

I have been out of the audio game for a long time,I have for the last 20+ yrs just using all-in one type stereos.I now am in a place that I would like to add a home type stereo to my motorhome,I don't have a need for a turntable,or top of the line components.I have some decent for the space speakers,and plan to DIY a sub.
Now The questions:I have forgotten what components I would need to set-up a decent stereo system,I.E AMP,pre-amp(do I need one?),CD player,FM receiver.
What are the decent budget brands?In the day,marantz,Sony,altec,Harman,Bose were the brands you wanted if you had money,who are they now and and model #'s if you could find a great deal.


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

*Re: Noob needs equitment help*

We love spending other peoples' money! Give us a budget to work with. :spend:

For a decent budget system (with an eye towards 2.1 video expansion), I would recommend adding this to your DIY woofer plans.

-Infinity Primus P163 speakers
-Harman Kardon 3390 receiver
-Sony BDP-S580 CD/DVD/Blu Ray player. Also streams Pandora and Netflix.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

*Re: Noob needs equitment help*

Hello,
I think those are some excellent choices. The Infinity Primus Series are one of the finest Entry Level Speakers Lines out there. Truly measure fantastically. As for BDP's, I would also check out Panasonic.
Cheers,
JJ


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## daddywoofdawg (Jan 2, 2012)

*Re: Noob needs equitment help*

What about an amp?how many wpc to run a couple speakers and a sub?I'm not planning to crank it,I will have neibors about 10' from me when I saying in an RV park.But I still like to rock out.what about the MARANTZ PM325 stereo amplifier?I saw one at a decent price.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

*Re: Noob needs equitment help*

Hello,
If looking for a 2 Channel Integrated Receiver, you are not going to find a myriad of choices. Off the top of my head there is the H/K that has been recommended and an Onkyo. There is also NAD as well. I am sure I am forgetting someone, but most companies are working on 5/7/9 Channel Surround Sound Receivers. You could always use an AVR for a 2 Channel Application. In fact, it would provide you with plenty of power as almost all AVR's use a Shared Power Supply where all channels draw from the same Well. When cutting off between 3 and 7 Channels, you will find plenty of power for your 2 Channels.
Cheers,
JJ


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

*Re: Noob needs equitment help*



daddywoofdawg said:


> What about an amp?how many wpc to run a couple speakers and a sub?I'm not planning to crank it,I will have neibors about 10' from me when I saying in an RV park.But I still like to rock out.what about the MARANTZ PM325 stereo amplifier?I saw one at a decent price.


I wouldn't worry about separate amp and pre amp in a mobile situation. Good receivers can be had for less money, and will take up less room.

There is the Marantz SR4023 stereo receiver, if you are partial to that brand. Compared to the Harman Kardon, it's power rating is the same, it has only one sub output and is twice the price.

If you really want separates, consider the Parasound Zpre2 and the matching Parasound Zamp v.3. Nice size, decent price, remote control and outputs for your DIY sub.


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

*Re: Noob needs equitment help*

*no* e*quit*ment allowed :bigsmile: :nerd:



> I.E AMP,


On the topic of amps, it's best to make this decision with mutual respect towards the speakers and room :T



> pre-amp(do I need one?)


Well, at the very least you need sometime to control volume with. If you listen to LPs with a turntable, then you'll also need a phono stage, otherwise the analog outputs on CD players have plenty of adequacy.



> ,CD player,FM receiver.


Many of us these days prefer silent HTPCs as the hubs of our sound systems, as they function not only as CD players, but also stream FM radio, as well as internet radio, and also allow us to put our entire music collections on one hard drive. Give it some serious thought. 



> What are the decent budget brands?In the day,marantz,Sony,altec,Harman,Bose were the brands you wanted if you had money,who are they now and and model #'s if you could find a great deal.


Marantz and Harman are still a go-to brand. My experiences have told me sony's a big no-no for good sound quality, and bose... i'd avoid Bose personally. Altec doesn't really have anything to offer.

A few brands I'd consider for integrated amps or receivers, would be

Marantz (however, I would stick to their surround gear... the stereo gear is a tad bit suspect in my opinion. An SR 5006 at accessories4less would be a great choice)
Yamaha (Their pro amps are a great choice, but i'm not sure how their lower end HT receivers fare)
Harman (their stereo receivers are nice stuff)
Outlaw (just rock solid)
Emotiva (they've got a nice little 60wpc mini-integrated amp to consider, and some nice separates for higher power applications!)
NAD (you can get some refurbished units at spearitsound)

Remember, due to economy of scale, at times it makes sense for a 7 channel receiver, even if the goal is stereo. It also allows for bass management and automatic set-up. In my opinion, whether you plan to use it or not, having HDMI capability can be a big plus. It lets you hook up virtually anything modern as an audio source - PC, Blu Ray Player, and even a Cable box if you've got a television. I recommend it if possible. The advantage of a dedicated stereo receiver might be cooler running temperature. It's a balancing act at lower price points.

As tesseract stated, a starting budget would really help us get a bit more specific. The aformentioned Infinity P363 is a smart option; the woofers, midrange drivers, and crossover are rather well-engineered and there's even some custom modifactions you can do (one being as simple as replacing the internal fill with a better absorption material) to improve SQ.

Another speaker I like, is the JBL Professional LSR 2328. This should cover the issues of amplification and speakers. You can run these largish studio monitors straight from your PC sound card.


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## daddywoofdawg (Jan 2, 2012)

*Re: Noob needs equitment help*

So then what your saying is I should go with a HT "amp"?What do I look for in one?I'm running some off brand 100W speakers,and I'm going to build a sub.My budget for an amp I would like to go used and get a better amp for the money.I'm only using the amp when I'm on the road about 4-5 months a year.SoI have no need to get what I would have if it was in my home.I'm just looking for some decent sounding tunes and if I can hook it up to my lcd that's a plus.
What is a silent HTPC?what do I look for in one.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

*Re: Noob needs equitment help*

Jack, Jack, Jack,... you forgot the Outlaw RR2150 :whistling:


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## jackfish (Dec 27, 2006)

*Re: Noob needs equitment help*



daddywoofdawg said:


> So then what your saying is I should go with a HT "amp"?


If you want a two channel or 2.1 system there is absolutely no reason to get a home theater or audio/visual receiver. There are more than enough two channel offerings available to make HT/AV receivers and their myriad of superfluous circuitry unnecessary.


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## gdstupak (Jul 13, 2010)

*Re: Noob needs equitment help*



daddywoofdawg said:


> I'm not planning to crank it,I will have neibors about 10' from me when I saying in an RV park.But I still like to rock out.


This is off topic but if you want enough volume to rock out but not disturb close neighbors, I would use bigger main speakers (floor standing if space permits) rather than using a separate sub (unless this sub is smaller that won't play much below 50hz). Even at lower volumes, those lower frequencies put out by a proper separate sub will travel right through your poorly insulated motor home and travel right into the next one.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

*Re: Noob needs equitment help*



nova said:


> Jack, Jack, Jack,... you forgot the Outlaw RR2150 :whistling:


Like a quite wise man once said, "I know I am forgetting someone"......


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

*Re: Noob needs equitment help*



daddywoofdawg said:


> So then what your saying is I should go with a HT "amp"?


As far as the amp itself is concerned, 7 channel receivers generally have large power supplies that lends well to good 2-channel operation. 

They're not foolproof though. Because they are in fact HT receivers, there's some brands that choose to overload a product with somewhat useless features like video upscaling etc.... specs and features are what sell after all! So you definitely need to exercize due diligence as far as quality construction and circuit design.



> What do I look for in one?


Well, since you're using a sub, I'd prefer bass management of some sort. Whether to use a crossover or not can depend on the room and speakers so it's nice to have quick flexibility. I find auto-setup to do a good job with subwoofer levels as far as as inconspicuous integration is concerned (many manual subwoofer configurations are very poorly set up in my opinion, with bass around 60-80hz as much as 15db too loud.) As I stated earlier, I do like HDMI inputs and built-in DACs. I listen to all my music via HDMI.

As far as the amps are concerned, I generally focus on two primary things

1) distortion at LOW wattages (IE 1W or 0.5W) because this is where many amps are poor. It's odd to imagine but many amps have more distortion when the volume is low, than when volume is high; and because of this it can actually be the type of distortion masking details or causing grittyness. A good sign that anything is sketchy is if it's inexpensive, has lots of features, doesn't weigh a lot (note: this last part does not apply to amps advertising as being class D, but certainly for something advertising class AB operation... this is normally found on the spec sheet)

2) stable output into varying impedance loads. I generally treat all speakers as being 4 ohm... true 8 ohm speakers are an exception even if that is their nominal impedance on the spec sheet. Many 4 ohm speakers can dip down to the 2-3 ohm range. So you want amps that don't falter driving real speakers. Much of the time spec sheets are useless for amps. It would take a _ perfect_ amp to deliver 25w into 8 ohms, 50w into 4 ohms, 100w into 2 ohms, and 200w into 1 ohm (and that would still be... a 25w amp at the end of it all) but generally you want some indication somewhere that the amp isn't a lightweight designed for a pretty spec sheet; but rather for driving real life speakers!

As far as preamps or receivers, I like something that can deliver a lot of clean, unclipped voltage. My Marantz SR6003 can deliver around 7V which I think is about right. A true preamp or processor should be outputting over 10V in my opinion. This ensures a low system noise floor, amplifier flexibility, and consequently, a huge soundstage :T



> My budget for an amp I would like to go used and get a better amp for the money.


Not a bad idea, but it's not always true that you get a better amp for the money just from going used. There's a lot of factors that go into the prices of hi-fi gear and a lot of the time it can even be paying for a name rather than paying for performance.

Just be careful and make your decision after gathering as much true knowledge about a product's performance (IE what I outlined above). If you don't understand a measurement, feel free to run it through the folks here. The main thing is just not to end up with a low end offering from a "brand that people say is great" but overall underperforms. You'll figure out what you want though :T



> I'm only using the amp when I'm on the road about 4-5 months a year.SoI have no need to get what I would have if it was in my home. I'm just looking for some decent sounding tunes and if I can hook it up to my lcd that's a plus.


Well, IMO Marantz unit:

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...V-Receiver-with-Networking-and-AirPlay/1.html

Should be an all-around solid performer, especially if limited to only 2-channel loads.

If you wanna stick to 2-channel gear / separates then there's some great choices out there, but my gut tells me you're looking for simplicity with great sound quality. and while it seems counterintuitive that something with more features could be more simple, i'd argue that's the case.



> What is a silent HTPC?what do I look for in one.


Well HTPC stands for Home Theater PC - basically a computer specifically put together with the purpose of audio (and video I suppose) so the parts should be carefully chosen for the application. The silent part was just refering to freedom from fan / power supply noise. I'm big on water cooled PCs. I still don't have a firm grasp on the overall goal/budget so an HTPC might be more convoluted than you want to go, however.


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