Stereo / Amplifier recommendations

[EmpirE231]

Looking for recommendations for a home stereo / amplifier. I will be connecting 4 ceiling speakers to it, and a subwoofer.....eventually might add 2 more speakers. I would like something that is easily controllable from our phone or tablet. would be nice if you can even turn on/off from the phone. Does not need to be surround sound capable.... just wanting to listen to music.

when I search online, I see some anywhere from 100-1k+..... not looking to break the bank on this, so looking to see what people recommend.

 

[69hondo]

Good post I need this info as well.

 

[Riverfamlee]

I went with a higher end Denon. Been happy and warranty is solid. I paid a little over $1500 but it had what I was looking for along with power to spare. They have a full line , I would check them out and start checking the boxes on what you need and don’t need. Sound quality is really good and they have a decent app

 

[poncho]

I went with a higher end Denon. Been happy and warranty is solid. I paid a little over $1500 but it had what I was looking for along with power to spare. They have a full line , I would check them out and start checking the boxes on what you need and don’t need. Sound quality is really good and they have a decent app

I'm on my second one, very happy. The first one circa 2007 the app would crash a bunch with this 2019 model hasn't crashed once.

 

[boatpi]

Go on eBay or craigslist and find a used Yamaha unit as long as the model stretch with RX you can hardly go wrong. -1000 W and I got it for $400 on eBay in a rock the neighborhood. Weighs about 45 pounds

 

[SKIDMARC]

I went will all Polk Audio with a Yamaha Aventage Receiver, it is surround sound for TV but rocks as a stereo also. I have have outdoor speaker run thru the receiver. The speakers are all flush mount wall type. I got a good deal and Volutone but still spend around 2k.

 

[sintax]

Go on eBay or craigslist and find a used Yamaha unit as long as the model stretch with RX you can hardly go wrong. -1000 W and I got it for $400 on eBay in a rock the neighborhood. Weighs about 45 pounds

solid advice, Yamaha makes great units. I know you mentioned you dont want or need surround, but you really cant buy much these days thats not at least 7.2 channels.

something else that you didnt mention was if you plan on using this for home audio / video (IE. HDMI switching), or is it simply stereo. If its simply stereo, i'd prob sway you away from an AVR, too much junk that you really dont want or need, and you can pick up an older (prob called vintage these days) stereo for pennies that would drive speakers better than most modern AVR's

 

[pronstar]

Most receivers aside from entry-level are gonna have an app so you can control it from your phone or tablet [emoji106]

I’ll add to the Denon love.
Been a fan of this brand for quite some time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Jay Dub]

If you are looking for a receiver, I would recommend some of the middle-end Yamaha. I have a Yamaha Adventege rxa-780 (mid $600's). If you are looking for multi channel/stereo (old-school) Look for Niles or Adcom. I have Niles SI-1230 powering my outdoor system Great deals can be had on Craigslist.

 

[HOOTER SLED-]

Costco has a good Yamaha one that has good features....wanna say its in the $400 range

 

[boatpi]

Do not buy a Costco Yamaha!! See these photos this is almost the king of the hill you can buy one on eBay for about $500,

they last forever and the sound quality is absolutely unimaginable. .004 thd,
140 W times seven channels=980
Watts. This amp is no joke.

I have a lesser model I picked up on craigslist locally for $100 it’s 600 W and powers multiple speakers and rock speakers in my half acre backyard. All Klipsch outdoor speakers.

make sure you get it with the remote.

 

[WhatExit?]

Denon, did someone say Denon?

I have an incredible Denon AVR-5700 HT Receiver with remote for sale in the "Everything Else" Classified forum
7.1 channels - 140 watts/channel all the info you'd want in the link:

denon avr-5700 - Google Search

Comes with the remote. Pre-HDMI connections as in no HDMI connectors

I am the original owner. It's in great condition. Guarantee it works as new.
Make offer

 

[EmpirE231]

Do not buy a Costco Yamaha!! See these photos this is almost the king of the hill you can buy one on eBay for about $500, View attachment 920956 View attachment 920957 they last forever and the sound quality is absolutely unimaginable. .004 thd,
140 W times seven channels=980
Watts. This amp is no joke.

I have a lesser model I picked up on craigslist locally for $100 it’s 600 W and powers multiple speakers and rock speakers in my half acre backyard. All Klipsch outdoor speakers.

make sure you get it with the remote.

can something like this be powered up from the app via cell phone, or do you need to use the actual remote to urn it on / off?

I was hoping to be more in the 200-300 range.... Crazy that you can get 65" LED TV's now for $450, but something to power 4 speakers and a sub is still $500+
At that point, am I better off getting a sonos amp for $600?

 

[sintax]

can something like this be powered up from the app via cell phone, or do you need to use the actual remote to urn it on / off?

I was hoping to be more in the 200-300 range.... Crazy that you can get 65" LED TV's now for $450, but something to power 4 speakers and a sub is still $500+
At that point, am I better off getting a sonos amp for $600?

$2-300 is gonna be a struggle, you MIGHT be able to find a 3-4 yr old refurbished unit on ebay.

expanding on this, most modern AVR's have smartphone apps, but bad news is they all suck. They offer very minimal functionality, and they are flaky at best. All should allow you to power the unit on, and switch inputs, and control volume though (with the exception of the shitty new pioneer avr i just bought which this apparently doesnt work. The volume is maxed out on the app, but is at 10% on the knob?)

as for subs, you wont be powering that via the AVR, I'm not really aware of any reasonably priced passive subs, beyond that your AVR wont have the balls to drive a passive sub. Most subs are self powered, and in the 300-800 watt range, so what you need is a sub line out on the back to feed the signal to your sub amp.

Sonos is not a horrible option if youre just looking for some noise. If you want the ability to pick and choose your speakers, and refine your listening experience you're better off rolling your own solution.

 

[Icky]

Is this for the same room you talked about the tvs? If so, you can get a Marantz or Denon AVR to run the speakers and the TVs. They have heos built it and you can operate with your phone or tablet. You can set it to stereo so its not in surround.
I have a Marantz 6013 running my family room tv and speakers and my outdoor TV and speakers on Zone 2, it can play a separate source or duplicate what's inside

 

[EmpirE231]

Is this for the same room you talked about the tvs? If so, you can get a Marantz or Denon AVR to run the speakers and the TVs. They have heos built it and you can operate with your phone or tablet. You can set it to stereo so its not in surround.
I have a Marantz 6013 running my family room tv and speakers and my outdoor TV and speakers on Zone 2, it can play a separate source or duplicate what's inside

The room will have TV's, but those will be just plugged into an HDMI splitter with a firestick. TV's are mainly there to stream youtube videos.

 

[boatpi]

Yamaha RX-V3800 140WPC Top of the Line Brand new - electronics - by...

I'm selling brand new in box Yamaha RX-V3800 receiver. 140W x 7 hight quality Amplifier, Top of...

orangecounty.craigslist.org

Smaller in amps, but look: https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/ele/d/orange-yamaha-rx-v-channel-network-av/7193288632.html

 

[EmpirE231]

Yamaha RX-V3800 140WPC Top of the Line Brand new - electronics - by...

I'm selling brand new in box Yamaha RX-V3800 receiver. 140W x 7 hight quality Amplifier, Top of...

orangecounty.craigslist.org

Smaller in amps, but look: https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/ele/d/orange-yamaha-rx-v-channel-network-av/7193288632.html

Thank you for those! any idea what some midgrade ceiling speakers can handle (watts per speaker)

 

[sintax]

Yamaha RX-V3800 140WPC Top of the Line Brand new - electronics - by...

I'm selling brand new in box Yamaha RX-V3800 receiver. 140W x 7 hight quality Amplifier, Top of...

orangecounty.craigslist.org

Smaller in amps, but look: https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/ele/d/orange-yamaha-rx-v-channel-network-av/7193288632.html

thats a ton of money for a 1080p avr. I'm sure it was a good amount of money when it was new, but i'd struggle paying so much for such a dated unit

 

[boatpi]

Check pricing on CNET, remember these are heavy units to ship probably $100 in shipping.

I often find quality used ones on craigslist out of orange county or Los Angeles I bought a total of three never had a problem one.

 

[EmpirE231]

Bump...

So I ended up with one of these from costco https://www.denon.com/en-us/product/av-receivers/avr-s750h
I have not got around to installing it yet... but is this a good choice? seems like more than I need for what I originally wanted, but not too many choices out there for connecting up 4-6 speakers and a woofer for a gym stereo controlled via phone.

 

[paradise]

Bump...

So I ended up with one of these from costco https://www.denon.com/en-us/product/av-receivers/avr-s750h
I have not got around to installing it yet... but is this a good choice? seems like more than I need for what I originally wanted, but not too many choices out there for connecting up 4-6 speakers and a woofer for a gym stereo controlled via phone.

You can use the built in HEOS for your main zone control and you have a zone2 you can add for your second two speakers. Should work great

 

[Havazoo]

Try Crutchfield their warranty and customer service for set up and operation is important.

 

[Havazoo]

Sorry incredible customer service

 

[DEEZNUTS]

Denon is always a safe bet.

 

[poncho]

Bump...

So I ended up with one of these from costco https://www.denon.com/en-us/product/av-receivers/avr-s750h
I have not got around to installing it yet... but is this a good choice? seems like more than I need for what I originally wanted, but not too many choices out there for connecting up 4-6 speakers and a woofer for a gym stereo controlled via phone.

That's the one i have, it rocks. I really like the Heos app, has never crashed once and real good range. I use zone 2 for a pair of Definitive Technologies outdoor speakers and it sounds really good. Wife is in the house watching TV on the surround and i have full control of zone 2 for my music outside.

 

[ATKpilot]

I picked up one of these Sony 790's price/performance are excellent https://www.crutchfield.com/S-4qLPDBWtpAB/p_158STDH790/Sony-STR-DH790.html

 

[EmpirE231]

That's the one i have, it rocks. I really like the Heos app, has never crashed once and real good range. I use zone 2 for a pair of Definitive Technologies outdoor speakers and it sounds really good. Wife is in the house watching TV on the surround and i have full control of zone 2 for my music outside.

awesome! good to hear that... hoping to set mine up soon. Can you power it on / off from your phone? or do you need to use the remote?

I am planning on having the receiver somewhere out of sight, and was hoping that wouldn't be an issue.

 

[poncho]

awesome! good to hear that... hoping to set mine up soon. Can you power it on / off from your phone? or do you need to use the remote?

I am planning on having the receiver somewhere out of sight, and was hoping that wouldn't be an issue.

You have full control on the app for power, choice of inputs etc. Certain nights i can be out back when the beers are flowing and i might have the volume up a tad and the Wife will shut me off and i turn it right back on.
The volume keys on your phone control the music or surround volume.
I have a cat 5 going to my receiver so the phone is going through the Wi-Fi network, it dosen't have to see the receiver.

 

[poncho]

This is what the opening menu looks like, i use Tune In mostly for local and national stations, thousands of choices. Kind of cool being able to listen to stations in another state i grew up in and know the DJ's.