Stereo Receiver Yamaha or Sony?

[Indus]

Upon the advice of many people here instead of a powered speaker system for my comp like the klipsch 2.1 or logitech 2.1 systems, I bought bookshelf speakers and a small Lepai amp.

The speakers have been awesome but the Lepai Amp has been horrible.. its now outputting only 30% volume on the left side.. guess I should have expected that from a $20 amp.

So I'm looking for a stereo receiver 2.0. I found a few which are under $150.

So which is more reliable and better? Yamaha or Sony?

 

[mdram]

i would imagine they are close
wirecutter has this to say
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-stereo-receiver/

i would look for features i wanted
bluetooth? network?

or springclips vs binding posts

 

[WhiteNoise]

Yeah both make solid receivers. It boils down to features and price.

If you can find a used HK 3490 then maybe go that route. I own one for stereo listening and it is faaantastic. Of course you would have to up your budget though so maybe ignore my tip.

 

[lenjack]

yes on th HK3490.

 

[Thump553]

Don't be afraid of used ones, especially real old ones, that you find at tag sales and the like. Obviously test everything out before buying if at all possible. Personally I think they built this stuff better back in the 1970s through 1990s than the do today. This is especially noticeable in the quality of the FM radio section, which was important back then but now is treated as an afterthought, something added (as cheap as possible) in order to check off another offered feature. Get a good quality brand from back then, they were built like brick shithouses. Don't go tubes unless you want to become an "audiophile" that constantly fiddles with their system.

Obviously you won't get five channel, bluetooth or the like this way-but except for five/seven channel everything else can be achieved through the computer anyway.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I currently have a $300 Sony as the receiver for my living room 5.1 setup and it's worked well for 6-7 years now.

This is subjective but I'd say Sony gives you more features for the money especially on the cheap models like mine, while Yamaha might have a slightly higher build quality at the expense of those features.

I'd buy either brand again. I've had some annoyances with Onkyo receivers so they're currently on my do not buy list.

 

[Rifter]

Yeah both make solid receivers. It boils down to features and price.

If you can find a used HK 3490 then maybe go that route. I own one for stereo listening and it is faaantastic. Of course you would have to up your budget though so maybe ignore my tip.

Agreed on the HK3490, i have one powering 2 Polk Monitor 70's in my living room and its amazing. Ive seen them as cheap as $100 on craiglist.

 

[WhiteNoise]

Agreed on the HK3490, i have one powering 2 Polk Monitor 70's in my living room and its amazing. Ive seen them as cheap as $100 on craiglist.

If I ever see one on craigs for $100 I'd snatch it up. The cheapest I've seen a used one is over $200. I bought mine when it released. It's now used in my living room with a couple of Polk speakers just for music listening. It used to be my main stereo rig but over the years I have moved things around. It is a fantastic receiver and having digital inputs is a blessing. One of the best amps I have used for stereo listening for sure.

 

[capsulej]

If your using it near a PC you should consider a Marantz slimline due to the smaller size profile.

 

[rickon66]

I would suggest a small integrated amp or some basic amps have volume controls only, something like Audiosource, Carver, etc. They are quite a bit smaller than a receiver. I have an older Carver that has very cool twin analog volume meters on the front, fun to watch. Craigslist is your friend for these.

 

[rstrohkirch]

This is old. Curious if the OP when for a receiver or another amp. Personally, I would just bought another but better amp.

 

[Thebobo]

Upon the advice of many people here instead of a powered speaker system for my comp like the klipsch 2.1 or logitech 2.1 systems, I bought bookshelf speakers and a small Lepai amp.

The speakers have been awesome but the Lepai Amp has been horrible.. its now outputting only 30% volume on the left side.. guess I should have expected that from a $20 amp.

So I'm looking for a stereo receiver 2.0. I found a few which are under $150.

So which is more reliable and better? Yamaha or Sony?

I have two Lapai amps, one at home that is on 24/7 and one at work. Had them booth for about 10 years with zero problems.

I take you troubleshooted it by switching the R/L speaker wires and then the input R/L RCA source to see if it problem follows?

 

[Indus]

I have two Lapai amps, one at home that is on 24/7 and one at work. Had them booth for about 10 years with zero problems.

I take you troubleshooted it by switching the R/L speaker wires and then the input R/L RCA source to see if it problem follows?

Yeah it wasn't the wiring on my end. Works just fine with the new amplifier.

And now my other Lepai is having the same problem.

 

[Muadib]

What is your new amp?

 

[Indus]

What is your new amp?

I picked up a Yamaha RS-202.. more than enough for my Pioneer BS-22s.