My friends...I just thought I'd let you know that as of late, at other forums which will go unmentioned...

I have been attacked on my stance towards seperates over high-end receivers. Has anyone else come across these attitudes?

Most of these people are obviously trying to justify their own purchase to themselves, and boy did I start a war when I brought that up, LOL

I am stunned to see that a LOT of people out there think the internal amps inside receivers, be it bestbuy/circuit city level, or high end receivers...that these receivers can match that of a seperate amplifier.

More then a few asked what a transformer was when I told them to look inside their receiver and find it. Some didn't know the term "headroom", yet they recently bought a $4,000.00 Sunfire receiver. It boggles the mind!

Then I started to state the prices of the 950/7100 combo and the 950/755 combo, and things really got heated.

I did open one gentlemens eyes, and he's ordering a combo before Christmas..but the rest just don't want to think about seperates. I have nothing against receivers..but when someone tells me his Pioneer from BestBuy will drive a speaker as good as 7100 amp, I jus't can't help to get a tad confused and upset.

True story here too..listen to this...

One guy thinks seperates are obsurd, because you need more cables, to go from pre/pro to the amp. Hahahaha!

Well, I just thought I'd share this with you, and wondered if I'm slow to realizing that most people think seperates aren't logical.

Happy Listening!

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Play it LoUd!!

[This message has been edited by SpOoNmAn (edited November 20, 2003).]

Yes, downright silly - goes to show you the power of the brainwashing machine-marketing departments. Seperates will always be superior at the high end of the performance spectrum. If not a lot is asked of a receiver (like high current capability from the power amps - especially with all channels running), they can be adequate for the mass market.

Seperates will always be better though for those more interested in pure performance than convenience.



[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited November 20, 2003).]

Hey, you should be proud. Just one convert is pretty impressive. Most of them would rather stay in the cave.

SpOoNmAn

I generally agree with you that seperates will out peform receivers, however I do think that some very high priced receivers will hold their own against some of the lower priced seperates. But other than convience, I cannot understand why someone would buy a $4000 Sunfire when they can purchase a 950/770 for almost half that price. Maybe its the easy of upgrading that justifies the price, or maybe they aren't aware of the Outlaw equipment. You raise a question of headroom, do you know the headroom of the Outlaw 770? I have not found a review that measured Watts Output at clipping, most only list Outlaw's published spec.

Very intersting.........then lets go farther.....mono amps........thats even better.

Barney

Lets go farther..........mono blocks...then farther.......active crossovers (example: http://www.mksound.com/s150Pthx.html)

Never look back.......unless you want to go back to "tubes"...then I'd love to hear SH's system........music first though & music last!

Barney

Even though I'm happy with my separates, I was also happy with my A/V reciever before. Sure it's easy to tout how incredibly great it is to have what I now have but, not at the expense of knocking someone elses integrated all in one system. There is no doubt that some AV recievers outperform some separates, and visa versa, and I will bet anyone that I can go out and find a better all in one reciever than what I have now, it's simply a matter of being willing to spend big $$$. I think it comes down to a question of personal preference, AND affordability...

You have a point, but the majority of people I run into are just plain ludicrous. These people say a $350.00 receiver from BestBuy will perform as good as seperate amp/preamp from Outlaw.

One said he was 43 and has been an audiophile since he was a teen. I know the term audiophile is thrown around way too much..but guess what he had powering his Bose/KLH speaker system? A KLH, Yes, a KLH 6.1 receiver from BestBuy. I was told that there would be no audible difference in dynamics if I put his receiver into my system. Ummm... I was speechless for quite a while after reading that.

Thats the sickening part. Ignorance is Bliss I guess.

They say there is absolutely no difference in power delivery, that an amp is an amp. AS long as it says 100 watts on paper, it's the same.

I ignore comments as of late, instead of responding to such people, I sit back and laugh at my monitor when I read their posts. It's gonna be a loooong winter.



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Play it LoUd!!

Some people have their minds made up long before any facts have spoiled their perceptions.

I have a friend who was looking for speakers and decided on a pair of Technics (Panasonic) speakers because (the high-end audio authorities at) Consumer Reports magazine rated them highly. He was readly to go online and buy them (for the princely sum of about $150) but I do not know if he did so.

I suggested that he actually listen to them before purchasing them but he was having none of that. If Consumer Reports say they are great speakers, they must be! Especially when combined with a top-of-the-line $150 to $200 receiver.

Paul

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the 1derful1

To a certain point, I can see the debate between separates and receivers -- some people may not want to added cost of even entry-level separates (there were days when a 1050 was the outer limit of my budget, either because of financial limitations or an unwillingness to spend much more on the stereo -- and times when even that was out of the question, and I was happier not knowing how much better a more expensive system might sound). Or they may not be comfortable venturing beyond the mass market brands (we may recognize the value of an Outlaw or a Rotel or an Anthem, but some people would wonder why you didn't get Sony or Yamaha or some other common name instead). Or I suppose they might even prefer a single expensive box in the equipment rack to two comparably priced boxes, for whatever reason.

Then you get to the point where logic is abandoned, and they lose me entirely. When the debate turns the corner that you describe, the best bet is to shrug, roll back from the computer, toss a good disc in the player (music or movie, whatever fits the moment), and enjoy your "no better than a cheap mass-market receiver" system. It's not like any combination of letters on a computer screen will dissuade them...

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

[This message has been edited by gonk (edited November 21, 2003).]