2. amps-preamps
  3. 1016752529

Inexpensive Amp and Speakers

I'm really really new to home audio. I have done some audio stuff in my car, but nothing with home audio. I am currently just using some Cambridge SoundWorks $50 speakers haha, and I really started to notice that the sub and mids sound like crap. I checked out the Zalytron website and was thinking of getting the budget German 2-Way speakers. I would probably order all the parts and materials but put the box together myself to save some money.

Now I need a receiver and I am clueless as to what to get. The only audio place around me is Circuit City and they sell moslty crap, so I can't really demo any receivers and plus they wouldn't have the speakers I am going to use anyway. I looked a little on eBay for new and used equipment but I really didn't know what to look for. I need some suggestions on any kind of amp for around $150. It doesn't need to be anything fancy at all, because I'm ONLY going to be playing music out of my computer, so the amp just has 1 set of RCA inputs and a line-out for a sub it'd be fine. I think that about 100w per channel would be fine, but I'm not really sure how many watts those speakers can handle.

If anyone has any suggestions on other speakers and amps I could look into I'd be very greatful to hear what you have to say. I'm sure almost anything will be better than these cheap speakers I'm using now!
jcdem
jcdem OP
15 posts
 
Any specific model by NAD? I saw some on eBay but some are more than 10 years old and I don't feel right buying something that old and trusting it to work everyday. I also saw that a lot of them only pushed about 20-45w continuous and most were at 8 ohms. I might be wrong but I think that I need a bit more than just 20-45w per speaker, and I want to run at 4 ohms.
celtic66
1,653 posts
 
JC,

I would go in a completely different direction. The powered Swans might be found used for under $200 and unless you MUST have a tuner you would solve a lot of problems simply.
jcdem OP
15 posts
 
Wow Celtic66 that idea never occurred to me, but it seems like a very good one. Now... where can I find some of these speakers? I looked on eBay quickly and now I just did a search on google and didn't find much at all. Does the company have a website?
phild
603 posts
 
If I were you, I'd check out so called "vintage" receivers from the late 70s (or early, early 80s)...you know...the giant silver things from Yamaha, Pioneer, or Luxman. I think that would be your best bet for $150 (some of the nice ones cost close to $1000 back in the late 70s). I'm sure you could find a used audio shop (or even a repair shop) selling some. They were built much much better than most of the recievers in the 80s and 90s (even the ones made by the same companies), they sound much better too, and many are rated 60-100wpc. As an extra bonus, they usually have good analog tuners and phono preamps built in. If you prefer to look for something newer and more modern, try to find something by NAD, Onkyo, Harmon-Kardon, Rotel, Marantz, NAD, Luxman, or Yamamha...they sound better and they're usually built much better than the mass market Sony, Pioneer, Kenwood, Technics, etc (though there are exceptions). I have a 30wpc Onkyo receiver that I purchased in 1983 and my brother is still using it. I replaced it with a *bigger* Pioneer back in 1989 or 1990 and that reciever died in three or four years.
consttraveler
250 posts
 
One of the audiogon featured dealers, AV123.com, sells the Swan M-200 ($299 new). I have not heard them but they have some very good reviews. One of the reviews is on Audioreolution.com, and has a link to the web site.

Dave
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