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

[royphil345]

Oh dear. The most discriminating audiophiles I know wouldn't even make that claim - maybe "expect a slightly clearer, tighter, slightly more detailed, somewhat better bass weight, and a few dB's louder"...yeah, that's more like it.

The most discriminating audiophiles I know wouldn't smack a rat in the a$$ with that 60 WPC Yamaha HT receiver. You're rude, obviously lack real-world experience regarding this guy's question and you're wrong. I do hope you're not playing audiophile God with a 60 WPC Yamaha HT receiver in your rack.... LOL I''ve been around awhile. I know what similar receivers are capable of doing with Cerwin Vegas... Not much... There is more than efficiency to consider in what kind of load a loudspeaker presents to an amp.

You want a night and day difference? Run just about any pair of full sized floorstanders with the 60 WPC Yamaha receiver and then with a quality 200 WPC amp (or even a QUALITY 60 WPC amp). Try to play 'em loud... Night and day? YES!!!

This guy's issue is with the sound turning to mush at significantly lower volume levels than he thinks the CVs should be capable of. He's absolutely right. They are capable of more. A quality amplifier is the cure. Yep...

The specs on the CVs are likely exaggerated. The specs on the Yamaha are likely exaggerated. CVs have been well known to require decent amplification for best results, possibly something about the load they present... This guy came here with a specific issue he did an excellent job of describing. An issue that just screams insufficiant amplification is the cause. Are you telling him it isn't really happening because theoretically it shouldn't be? Your textbook knowledge is quite impressive. But, using it to confuse this guy when the solution to his problem is very simple and contrary to what you're telling him??? Trying to make people look foolish because they just can't agree with you due to what they've seen in real-life experience??? I don't know...

The CVs may lack some refinement, but I think you greatly underestimate what they're capable of. This poster's only complaint about his system was reduced performance at higher volumes. His system's weakness is actually what should be it's best attribute. CVs can do loud if nothing else... That's a well-known fact. Better amplification is the key here.

The guy didn't ask what kind of speakers you would have bought. He basically asked if he was getting the most out of his speakers by driving them with the 60 WPC Yamaha receiver. The answer is definitely not.


If he took your advice and bought "audiophile" speakers... I think he'd still find the receiver a substantial bottleneck in the system and eventually replace it. To tell you the truth... I wouldn't even bother with anything that said Yamaha on it and claimed a power output of anything less than 100 WPC .... for driving ANY loudspeaker with a reasonable amount of authority. This receiver is not capable of bringing out the best in ANY loudspeaker. Money spent on better speakers would be wasted without replacing the Yamaha. Money spent replacing the Yamaha would unquestionably acheive better performance from the CVs. So... Which is the better upgrade path???

Still say a decent HT receiver with preamp outputs and a quality amplifier for the mains (or just a very high-quality receiver with more power) would be the best way to get the most out of these CVs on a budget while retaining HT capabilities. Unfortunately, that Yamaha doesn't have preamp outputs...

A sub capable of playing low, loud and clean enough to properly compliment the CVs at higher volumes wouldn't hurt.

About the power meters on amps... I think they're often just too slow to show peak power output. I use mine as guage of average power output and estimate the peak power output to be significantly higher.