Outlaw RR2150 VS Cambridge 651A VS NAD C356BEE

[Jackson233]

Newbie seeking advice on purchasing reciever for my Polk Rtia 5s. Primary function will be listening to MP3s and loseless files of classic rock, live and acoustic performances via PC and DVDs. Based on my budget and the somewhat limited Canadian market I narrowed my choice to these 3 receivers, though I am still struggling to understand and accept the integrated amp advantage with such low wattage specs to power big floor standers.

Anyway, any thoughts, opinions and/or suggestions would be much appreciated!

Outlaw RR2150

Cambridge 651A

NAD 356BEE

 

[rainsoothe]

Hi. First of all, watts themselves don't matter as much as you think they do - a 100W amp will only sound 3decibels louder then a 50W one. Each time you double the watts you get a 3db increase.

Secondly, if your listening area is a normal room (meaning 16-twentysomething square meters) any of those amps will do imo.

Thirdly, out of those three options, only the Outlaw is a reciever, and a neat box of tricks - the other two are just integrated amplifiers. Since you wanna listen to music from a computer, then you need a DAC (digital to analogue converter) to make it sound ok, since pc soundcards are usually bad. The only one of those amps that has this feature is the Outlaw. It also has a phono stage if you later wanna add a turntable, AND a radio. And a kind of EQ. Sounds like a really neat sollution.

Now, your speaker's specs say they have a 90db sensitivity, which means they are pretty easy to drive speakers (they don't require a lot of power to sound loud). So you could look at any amp that tickles your fancy, provided your room isn't huge and you don't wanna make a disco out of it. But, for that price, you won't get that kind of functionality and features. Maybe Marantz MCR610 (or the new 611) - some people that use the Polks you have seem really pleased with pairing them with Marantz.

Other recommendations I would make, besides Marantz PM6005 (or 6004), would be Arcam A19 and Roksan Kandy K2 - but these would mean you'll have to get a separate DAC - such as the Micromega Mydac - in which to plug your laptop/PC and cd player. And separate radio of course.

Also, from reading around, the Polks seem to be bright-ish sounding speakers, so you should pair them with warm amps that have smooth highs - I would stay away from Cambridge Audio.

 

[matthewpiano]

The Cambridge 651A has a USB input and associated DAC. For full flexibility I'd be looking at the new Cambridge AX-A60. It should be at least as good as the very fine 651A, but has a full array of digital inputs.

You might also want to look at streaming receivers such as the Yamaha RN-501 and Onkyo TX-8050.

 

[Jackson233]

Hey, thanks for the education (Rainsoothe), and opinions everyone, much appreciated! I guess if I had waited to post I'd have had my options more narrowed down as I realize now that what I am after is an integrated amp with phono and USB.
Having said that I am now weighing the following options available to me here in Canada... Outlaw RR1250Marantz PM7005Yamaha AS801 Any thoughts on those models paired with my Polks?

 

[rainsoothe]

Hey.

Matthew is right, the CA A651 does indeed have a DAC (although limited at CD quality) but no phono stage. And of the newer CA models, only the top one (CXA80 or whatever it's called) has a USB DAC function i think. And still no phono stage.

About the three you mention, if you can, try to audition them all. I, personally, don't like the Yamaha amps, as I find them pretty wimpy, but others do, so if you can, do audition. I'm not very familiar with canadian brands - at least not ones that would help with your budget, I mean Bryston and Simaudio are great of course.

I like the Marantz sound a lot, so that would be my default recommendation out of those three, but the Outlaw seems like a capable amp as well. And, as in my previous post, if you don't mind going for a separate DAC (either Micromega MyDac or even a cheap but very capable audio interface, like Behringer UCA202 if you only require USB) + Arcam A19, Roksan Kandy K2 or Rega Elex R.