Who uses ONLY Receiver with no amp/preamp? Is good sound possible?

[royphil345]

Yeah... To make Cerwin Vegas really sing at higher volumes, you will definitely need a little more juice. With enough power, you may not impress many audiophiles with the clarity, but you will have fun... LOL

A HT receiver with preamp outs and external amp for the 2 main channels is a great way to go for a decent (and loud) system on a budget. Unfortunately, the lower models of Yamaha receivers usually don't have preamp outputs when most other brands do. One reason I went with Harman Kardon instead. Sorry... As far as two-channel amps... I'd try to look for at least a used Adcom, Acurus, Arcam, NAD, Parasound, Rotel, etc... amp with around 200 WPC or so.... I like the Carver A-500X and A-760X. Most of the other Carver models seem to be either lacking in sound quality or old enough to need restoration to insure optimal performance. If you get something decent, you'll probably use it a long, long time no matter what else you upgrade. The Behringer or one of the more powerful AudioSource amps might be something to consider on a tight budget.

Even though they have 12" drivers, I've noticed Cerwin Vegas seem to be designed more for efficiency than bass extension. The 15" models go pretty low, the 12" models would still sound better with a nice sub IMHO. A sub would also fill out the sound from your smaller surround speakers and make home theater more "enveloping". CV makes subs to match all their speaker lines at reasonable prices.