Lexicon receiver RV-8???

[andy13]

I mostly listen to 2-channel music. My wife likes movies. I want a receiver that doesn't compromise the sound of 2-channel stereo but still has all the bells and whistles. Can anybody recommend any? It will be running Monitor Audio speakers.

[woodman]

I mostly listen to 2-channel music. My wife likes movies. I want a receiver that doesn't compromise the sound of 2-channel stereo but still has all the bells and whistles. Can anybody recommend any? It will be running Monitor Audio speakers.

Yes - I recommend any one of the following:
Yamaha RX-V2500
RX-V2400
RX-V1500
RX-V1400

The 1400 and the 2400 have been replaced in the product line by the 1500 and 2500, so the former are now available at "closeout" prices. The original prices (which I believe the newer models maintained) were $999 for the 2400, and $799 for the 1400. Any of them will do just what you (and your wife) want and need. I highly recommend them to you.

I do not recommend that you spend $7,000 on an A/V receiver in order to avoid a "compromise" in the sound of your 2-channel stereo. The above listed Yamahas will not compromise the sound of your 2-channel music in any way, shape, or form, and they'll save you many thousands of dollars in the bargain! They also offer a feature that IMO is the most important feature to come along since surround sound first appeared on the scene. It's called YPAO and what it does is automatically adjust and equalize (parametrically) the signals from all of the speakers in a surround sound system to optimize the soundfield performance. I just checked the Lexicon website and found that the $7K Lexicon receiver lacks this feature entirely! A severe oversight on their part in my estimation. Since Yamaha introduced the concept last year, most of the other receiver mfgs. rushed to adopt it themselves as quickly as they could! It will probably become a universal standard feature in short order.

As an added bonus, they'll very likely prove to be the most reliable receivers that you could possibly buy (including the $7K Lexicon RV-8)!

Hope this helps you

[drseid]

I mostly listen to 2-channel music. My wife likes movies. I want a receiver that doesn't compromise the sound of 2-channel stereo but still has all the bells and whistles. Can anybody recommend any? It will be running Monitor Audio speakers.

There are only a couple receivers that I can think of that approach what you are looking for (absolute 2 channel purity and HT excellence)... They are the fabulous sounding Lexicon model you mentioned, and maybe to a lesser degree the Sunfire Ultimate Receiver at about 4K. I think Denon also just came out with a well-regarded model in the 4-5K price range displayed at CES...

I guess I will respectfully disagree with Woodman on the Yamaha models mentioned (not that I have anything against Yamaha -- I just don't think those models are in the same league as Lexicon (just my opinion though))... That said, depending on which MA speakers you have, the Lexicon may be overkill (in which case the Yamahas may work just fine).

If I were going to spend 4-7K on a super high-end receiver though, I would also look at getting a high quality pre/pro, coupled with a multi-channel power amp. There are a number of good quality brands of pre/pros... Parasound, Cary, Anthem, Sunfire... and in multi-channel amps you could look at brands like Cary, Coda, Krell, Parasound and Bryston (just to name a few).

If it were my 4-7K, I would go with a Parasound C2 Pre/pro and pair it to a multi-channel amp that mated well with the MA speakers you are using. I like going this route because it allows for more flexability...

---Dave