Falcon Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 Hi all, I'm getting the reference 35 bookshelf system, and I need a decent starter receiver. Since I'm pretty much blowing my budget on the speakers, I'm going to have to wait to upgrade to a great receiver. Looking around on crutchfield I came across the JVC RX-D302B. It has a nice little wireless connector that will let me stream from my computer to my HT, which I would use all the time, but I have no idea on how good (or bad) a JVC product is. Basically, I need something cheap to get me by for a year or so that has at least 5.1. TIA Aaron G Philadelphia, PA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 If I were you I would try to find a used Marantz or Denon. You can usually find them in good shape at very reasonable prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcon Posted December 21, 2005 Author Share Posted December 21, 2005 Should I be checking on ebay or is there somewhere else where audophiles sell their wares? Thanks. Aaron G Philadelphia, PA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_L Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 One school of thought (and plenty of peole will strongly disagree with me) is that electronics is electronics. All of the major players will publish their specs and regardless of how they rate their power outputs, their frequency repsonse curves are generally flat as a straight edge through the audio range. Remember one thing, if you are talking about streaming audio files from your computer, they are prolly MP3 or WMA files anyway and very compressed and not anywhere near the quality of standard CDs, never mind the newer high resolution digital sampling methods, so it's not like you really are going to need the very best electronics anyway. Still, if I were you I'd be looking at some of the nice product you can get sub $400 from a wide variety of manufacturers. The receiver has multiple functions, whatever one you choose needs to support all of the functions you require. They include pre-amp and signal processing; does the receiver support all of the new digital processing modes you need, especially DD5.1 and DTS, but also DDPLXii Switching; does the receiver provide for all of the inputs and outputs you require? Finally, amplification; does the receiver have all of the power needed to drive your speakers adequately? Answer those questions and you'll be all set. PS I don't own any JVC, but I like them as a company as they support the Newport Jazz Festival. So I think they're good people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted December 26, 2005 Share Posted December 26, 2005 I do disagree but I also feel that ones room plays more of a part than any piece of equipment, so in a way I guess we agree from my perspective. Bad room, who cares what equipment you have. Anyway Audiogon is another good source for used equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyT Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 The Apple airport express will stream music wirelessly from your computer to your receiver. And it is also a wireless router. Then you can get whichever brand of receiver you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Hi all, I'm getting the reference 35 bookshelf system, and I need a decent starter receiver. Since I'm pretty much blowing my budget on the speakers, I'm going to have to wait to upgrade to a great receiver. Looking around on crutchfield I came across the JVC RX-D302B. It has a nice little wireless connector that will let me stream from my computer to my HT, which I would use all the time, but I have no idea on how good (or bad) a JVC product is. Basically, I need something cheap to get me by for a year or so that has at least 5.1. TIA Aaron G Philadelphia, PA I tried to dig around the internet to see if I can find any reviews of the JVC RX-D302B reciever, and pretty much came up dry. I did see two not-to-positive consumer reviews on the CNET site, though. I guess for a quick, cheap solution, it'll work for now, plus the feature to stream music wirelessly is nice. I personally have a JVC DVD player, which I had for some 4 or so years now, and it has been a good, reliable piece, although I have experienced some skipping on DVD layer changes on some disks (which newer players are much better at). The suggestion to find a used Denon or Harman-Kardon unit is a good solution. Audiogon is one place to look, besides eBay. Also, check if there are any "refurbished" or "b-stock" or "open-box" units available at the usual retailers, as that is also a pretty good way to find deals on decent equipment. As for streaming music, yes, the Apple Airport Express that was mentioned does work, but personally, I much, much prefer my Roku SoundBridge M1000. This things is friggan AWESOME, and it sounds fantastic. With a good quality audio file (such as high bit-rate MP3), it sounds just about as good as having the original CD. Normally, I do prefer to listen to the actual CD, but there is something to be said to queue up a ton of MP3 music, and just let it all play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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