Clash of Titans

[jerryapril]

There has been a lot of talk about AVRs not to be up to a stereo integrated amplifiers sonic performance as to the music reproduction.

I wonder if anyone compared sounds of Pioneer / Yamaha / Marantz - Denon AVRs against their own brand integrated amps?

Just wondering.

 

[Ketan Bharadia]

We did a test a few years ago where we compared the performance of award-winning AVRs from £300 up to 2k against a budget Rotel RA10 for stereo music replay. While the Rotel didn't have the outright poke of the priciest AVR, we thought it was significantly better sounding in most other respects.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

I have an old Yamaha ax-620 set up for stereo (it's over 10yrs old) driving a pair of Mission 782se.

I've had home demos of amps from marantze, Rotel, AudioLab - I've had shop auditions of other brands.

Imo - its has good if not better than the stereo amps I've heard. Better than the audiolab and Rotel anyway.

It cannot be explained you'd have to hear it to judge for yourself.

I do use the DAC in the receiver from my CD player via coax.
But the 'synergy' with the Missions is spot on.

I'd recommend an AV receiver over a stereo amp any day.

 

[Laurens_B]

I tried a Yamaha RX-A2040 receiver against some stereo amps (not Yamaha though). Compared it against stereo amps of Marantz, CA, Rotel of around 1000-1500 euros. Tested them blind, friend of mine operated the switching between amps, and the switching was "instant", so during music playback. We were not able to identify the amps, also not the receiver.

 

[bigboss]

We did a test a few years ago where we compared the performance of award-winning AVRs from £300  up to 2k against a budget Rotel RA10 for stereo music replay. While the Rotel didn't have the outright poke of the priciest AVR, we thought it was significantly better sounding in most other respects.

I participated that test! 🙂

 

[drummerman]

I use a Sony STR DB930 Vintage AV Receiver as 2channel amplifier in one system.

I think it would stand up well to even good stereo only amplifiers of today.

 

[jerryapril]

I use a Sony STR DB930 Vintage AV Receiver as 2channel amplifier in one system.

I think it would stand up well to even good stereo only amplifiers of today.

My last pure stereo setup was a Pioneer A400 with a pair of Rogers LS5s on dedicated stands and bi-wired with QED Q79.

My Yamaha AVR with a pair of MA GX200 sounds much better. This can be more attributed to MA speakers because Rogers were not easy to drive. But still, overall sound is far superior to what I had before.

 

[jerryapril]

We did a test a few years ago where we compared the performance of award-winning AVRs from £300 up to 2k against a budget Rotel RA10 for stereo music replay. While the Rotel didn't have the outright poke of the priciest AVR, we thought it was significantly better sounding in most other respects.

Thank you both Ketan and bigboss.

Was Rotel RA10 better even when compared to your 2k high-end AVR?

 

[jerryapril]

I tried a Yamaha RX-A2040 receiver against some stereo amps (not Yamaha though). Compared it against stereo amps of Marantz, CA, Rotel of around 1000-1500 euros. Tested them blind, friend of mine operated the switching between amps, and the switching was "instant", so during music playback. We were not able to identify the amps, also not the receiver.

Thanks Laurens.

You chose B&W with your Yamaha. Did you listen to any other speakers as well or just picked B&W because you know how they sound?

 

[jerryapril]

Thank you guys for your thoughts.

When reading recent reviews of Pioneer LX88 AVR and A70 stereo integrated it is quite surprising that Pioneer LX88 gets five stars in WHF and 9 points out of 10 in AVForum reviews and Pioneer A70 amp gets WHF 4 stars and AVForum 8 points only.

Both reviews rate Pioneer flagship AVR sound wise higher than Pioneer flagship stereo amp.

 

[Laurens_B]

I chose B&W for the test because I own those speakers, as you can see I also own a similar Yamaha AVR. I also tested it with several other speakers in the same price range, but not very thoroughly. The point of the audition was for me to see what I would gain if I was to change from AVR to stereo amp. I still use the AVR.

 

[ID.]

Thank you guys for your thoughts.

When reading recent reviews of Pioneer LX88 AVR and A70 stereo integrated it is quite surprising that Pioneer LX88 gets five stars in WHF and 9 points out of 10 in AVForum reviews and Pioneer A70 amp gets WHF 4 stars and AVForum 8 points only.

Both reviews rate Pioneer flagship AVR sound wise higher than Pioneer flagship stereo amp.

No idea how AVForum reviews work, but for What HiFi at least, the star rating don't have the same meaning across all products. i.e. There is no comparison of the AVR and the stereo amp. The rating is given compared to other products in that class, meaning other AVRs or other stereo amps respectively in the same price bracket. The ratings are no indication whatsoever that the stereo playback capabilities of the AVR are better than the stereo amp.

FYI, this also means that a cheaper 5 star product probably won't sound better than a more expensive 4 star product.

 

[bigboss]

We did a test a few years ago where we compared the performance of award-winning AVRs from £300  up to 2k against a budget Rotel RA10 for stereo music replay. While the Rotel didn't have the outright poke of the priciest AVR, we thought it was significantly better sounding in most other respects.

Thank you both Ketan and bigboss.

Was Rotel RA10 better even when compared to your 2k high-end AVR?

The results were very close and we had to concentrate on sound. At the end, even though the "wattage" of the stereo amplifier was much less than that of the AVRs (including the high end one), it seemed more effortless in performance.