bad stereo music on receiver.

[rklip]

I am in the ht world now for 1,5 years. I started to buy a sony 870qs receiver. and a standart dvd player. after that i bought a pair off large front speakers from elac (cls 14) and a center speaker. When i listen to movies its great, but when listening to music it isnt realy it. 2channel stereo is horrable so you must create a sort of surround sound with the dsp and equaliser(trying not to change the music allot but only getting a better sound stage etc).

so basicly i want to improve the music, if it is possible i want to listen to 2channel music. My receiver has a pre out. and i saw a pair of ma500 mono blocks from marantz(on the second hand market) for sale for 125 a piece, so for 250 euro i think it is a big step forward. what is your opinion? and are there things to look for if i want to buy power amps? And can i put everu power amp on my pre out? or is it better to get sony stuff? or maybe sell my receiver save money and get a other one? tanx for your help.

[markw]

When you went listening to select speakers, did you listen to mainly two channel music or did you simply listen to movies?

The reason I ask this is that many speakers (and receivers, but speakers mostly) sound fine on a multi channel source such as movies but when called on to play simple old two channel stereo, they fall down on their faces.

Wha tI'm getting at is that it might not be a case of an inadequate amp. Some speakers sound pretty much the same, only louder, with more power applied.

This is why I suggest when shopping, if music will have anuy place in your system, you select speakers based on their musical abilities. If a speaker does music good, it will do HT good as well. The opposite does not always apply.

YMMV...

[Beckman]

One way to find out if it is the reciever or the speakers is to go back to the store(or any store) and listen to the reciever hoocked up to the best speakers they have. I have listened to a lot of surround recievers hooked up to stereo speakers and they sound fine. Could be a matter of pushing a button on the reciever.

[Wireworm5]

I'm not impressed with the stereo mode on my Sony as well. If your receiver has the built in equalizer then you have to use it to get decent sound.

[rklip]

I'm not impressed with the stereo mode on my Sony as well. If your receiver has the built in equalizer then you have to use it to get decent sound.

That is what i mean, you must do lots of things with the equaliser to creat a bit of nice stereo sound. I heard from a local dealer that there are more people with the same problem. Thats why i am asking myself the question what will happen when i hook up a power amp( a decend one, if i read the reviews about the ma500 i think that would be nice).
A friend of mine has 2 quad power amps, i will hook them up on my pre amp exit and listen, if its nice i will buy those amps. If they do not then i think i will get another receiver.
I do not think that my speakers are the problem, i listen to them by hobo and i really liked them. They costed me 650 euro each so i really do not think that they are the problem

I will let you know what i hear.

[Wireworm5]

My Sony couldn't drive my Paradigms either. You will here a big difference with a power amp. I just hooked up a power amp using my Yamaha as a pre and it was significantly better. I also don't think the Sony will be that good as a pre but I'd use it for now and upgrade when you have the funds.

[RGA]

If it's an issue of powering the Elacs better then certainly a dedicated cleam higher powered power amp will help.

But the preamp is the part that actually impacts the sound quality of a unit - Sony and receivers in general have horrible preamp sections. Indeed, I hooked up a Bryston power amp to my old Pioneer Elite top of the line receiver and it was startling - that got me into high end - a better preamp was even more startling - but i could not afford that so I went with an integrated. Of course the integrated means loss of surround sound.

If you can try and run two separate systems - on for music in one room and one for movies in another.

This way you can also buy speakers that are built for music and not for surround sound - generally if a speaker is advertised for surround sound or the company has it geared with matching center etc it will be sh!T for music. There are some exceptions - bit not many from my experience.

[NickWH]

This way you can also buy speakers that are built for music and not for surround sound - generally if a speaker is advertised for surround sound or the company has it geared with matching center etc it will be sh!T for music. There are some exceptions - bit not many from my experience.

RGA, thanks for making (another) typical idiotic statement. Your conclusion is over-simplified and not justified. There are many, many speakers out there with matching center channels that are excellent for music. Either a given manufacturer makes good speakers or does not, center channel non-withstanding. What will you say when AN finally breaks down and sells a dedicated center speaker? What was that, I couldn't hear you....nothing?

[rklip]

I am going to buy 2 marantz ma500 monoblocks tomorrow. For 150 each, i think that this is the best solution for the problem. If i had 300 euro to spend and sell my qs, and buy a better receiver i do not think that it will give beter sound than this option. The price of these amps are very stable, so if they are not a big improvement i will sell them.

I think that a power amp is a good investment, better than a receiver(outdated wenn a new standart arrives at the market). But yes i do know that the sony preamp isn't the best in the world, but that will be the next step. I will show you the result.