# receiver question....



## Susan Steele (Dec 19, 2018)

Is an HT receiver good for 2-channel music? Does all the riggamaroll for HT mess it up for using it as a good receiver? My Adcom system is dying on me..after 30 years of faithful service. I have a 2011 Denon HT Receiver that saw little use..I think it is the 1911..would it be good for 2-channel?
Susan in VA


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## AVoldMan (May 15, 2011)

I to have (actually my wife purchased it for herself in college) a 1980's Onkyo A-7 integrated stereo amp system. It's still working, however in a different room connected to the TV is our AVR to handle all the digital media - Blu-rays and streaming for the 7.2 speaker system. I would definitely give your Denon a chance at just a stereo setup. I have found that most well designed newer components seem to sound better. Maybe after all the years there are some real solid sonic gains!

The one issue that I have with AVR's and I believe you hinted at it. Does it mess things up? Well, after you decipher the controls and defeat the features you don't really need for your setup the sound may very well please you. It does allow for the trivial addition of a subwoofer if your system needs low bass reinforcement. I have found that with my smallish speakers the subwoofer addition makes a better 2.1 system than just a 2.0 (or stereo speaker pair).

Try experimenting, especially since you have an AVR on hand. BTW "Welcome to the forums!"


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## Woof633 (Apr 18, 2013)

Susan,

I too had a circa 1990 200 w/ch. Adcom system that was still working well, and although I only intend to listen to 2.1 sound, I wanted an AV receiver to be able to switch video sources. To get a feel for what that might sound like, I bypassed the Adcom system with a dedicated 2-channel receiver (Harmon-Kardon HK 3485), which is maybe seven or eight years old. To my surprise, the "problem" with my speakers wasn't with my speakers! The newer receiver sounded surprisingly better than the Adcom system. 

Based on advice from an HTS post, I found a used AV receiver (Marantz SR6008, about the same age as your Denon) that was pretty inexpensive. I was looking for something with preamp outs, in case the Marantz couldn't power the speakers adequately. Results: the Marantz again sounded much better than the Adcom system. Even using the 200 w/ch. Adcom amp instead of the Marantz receiver amp, results were not noticeably better. The real bonus came when I used the bi-amp feature of the Marantz to bi-amp my speakers. I can't explain this, but the L-R balance problem I was having in the room disappeared with the speakers bi-amped. So, in agreement with the previous reply, give your Denon a chance - possibly you will be pleasantly surprised.


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## 3dbinCanada (Sep 13, 2012)

Susan Steele said:


> Is an HT receiver good for 2-channel music? Does all the riggamaroll for HT mess it up for using it as a good receiver? My Adcom system is dying on me..after 30 years of faithful service. I have a 2011 Denon HT Receiver that saw little use..I think it is the 1911..would it be good for 2-channel?
> Susan in VA


The short answer is yes as I have 3 systems that play double duty as HT and 2 channel using Yamaha AVRs. Are your speakers full range or are you using a sub along with your mains? What are the sources for your 2 channel setup?


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## ericzim (Jun 24, 2012)

I agree that many HT receivers are more then capable of excellent 2 channel reproduction. I think a better question to ask yourself is will my speakers sound ok with an HT receiver. I switched from Denon and JBL which sounded great in surround mode and 2 channel but not so great when I upgraded to Yamaha Aventage rxa3040. The JBL speakers sounded quite dull so I ended the upgrade with Klipsch and the Yamaha. Of course that also could have been an upgrade bug infection which I catch at least every 4 or 5 years.?


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