Why do AV receivers sound so bad when playing music?

[Anonymous]

Andrew is absolutely correct here and I feel it is the best solution to getting the best of both worlds.

You can use an AV receiver or processor for all the surround sound and AV duties, but if you want "Pure Hi-Fi" then just use the front main pre-outs to feed an auxiliary input on the Hi-Fi amp. In this set-up, the AV amp uses the Hi-Fi amp for front main output when in use.

For Pure Hi-Fi, connect your source components directly to your Hi-Fi amp as normal, you dont even switch the AV components on!

In response to the sweeping statements above which I object to-

Most quality AV set-ups will play music to an acceptably high level for the vast majority of owners, try watching a surround sound movie on your stereo!

If stereo was as popular as home cinema, why is the industry on its knees and

Next Hi-Fi/AV show, do an anorak count between the stereo and AV displays, see where the industry is headed.

 

[Andrew Everard]

[quote user="richardjlarby"]May sound dumb, but whats the differenve between a fixed and a variable pre-out? Is one affected by the volume control where the other is effectively a line level output?[/quote]

Yes, a preout is affected by the preamplifier, and thus the volume control, while the fixed level one is simply a line output.

 

[Thaiman]

[quote user="Andrew Everard"]Connect the front channel left/right preouts from the receiver to a spare line input (Aux, Tape or whatever) on your stereo amp.[/quote]
and it should not damage anything? (sorry, I just want to make sure....not big on AV!)

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you everybody that replied, never thought of using the pre-outs (my AV amp has these). I just need to choose a good stereo amp, Benchmark seems to be Roksan Kandy MK L.III, anybody any other suggestions? Perhaps for a bit less money? My speakers are Spendor S5e.

Whilst looking around it seems that there is a view that the Cambridge Audio Azur 640R is a surround amp, within my budget, that works really well in stereo. If I could be sure that this would work I think that this would be my Wife's preferred option as it would mean no more boxes to stack up on the equipment rack.

 

[Anonymous]

I too have noticed this in newer receivers. Mind u, I do not use my multi-channel much for stereo music listening. But at times I did put in a CD and was not too thrilled with the results. Of course I did not expect a $500 - $600 receiver to compare to my audio rig in any way.

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