AV Receiver good enough for high end audio?

Hifihvn,

If we're going to paraphrase in a forum as common courtesy the least we can do is to quote another correctly.

I've emphasized that
A) I used the Ultimate in the context of a home theater setting
B) that I found its performance good enough to stand alone on its own merits and therefore good enough to be used in the context of a 2 channel system and
C) I don't give orders or recommendations what decisions others should make regarding their purchases.

I've only commented on what my personal experience was with this receiver, which by the way cannot be compared or categorized with a run of the mill Pioneer or other traditional type receiver. The Ultimate is anything but a standard receiver.

It may only be my experience but I've discovered components have a way of convincing themselves to us rather than requiring others convince us of their merit. But one has to actually own or in the least have long term use of a component to establish its actual merit.

However, it's quite interesting that so many posts later you're now attempting to establish that you've at least "heard" it, almost as if to attempt to establish credibility to your obvious biases. But we'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you've at least heard it. So, you've heard it, and didn't experience it to your liking. I owned it and found it an excellent standalone choice to which one could base their entire system. To each their own, and that's as it should be. As a personal habit I always operate a discrete 2 channel system separate from HT, but if I didn't I could live very happily with the Ultimate all on its own.

Another case solved :)

Enjoy!

No,
ummmm, what, ummm no!

Larry

Ive ran aeon i's and scripts on receivers in a 6 channel setup. No issues. If a old yamaha flagship RX-V1 with low power output could do this, I'm sure there are many current receivers that can also.

I prefer seperates. Even cheap Emotiva....but receivers can sound nice too.

I've owned an avr600 for almost a year now, and I have to say it has some go. It actually is a true 120w/ch over 4/8ohm. 150w for 2ch stereo direct mode. There are test results proving that its a true 120w, but I don't remember where I saw it.

Sound wise though it is pretty damn good for the money. I've compared it directly against a Simaudio moon integrated i3.3, and it sounded pretty much identical to the avr600. Pretty nice considering the i3.3 is $4k for 2ch and the avr600 is 7ch with 5ch bi-amping with a ton of features for $5k. It is a remarkable feat that Arcam has achieved. I even thought the avr600 sounds better than alot of seperates out there. Don't hate me, but I think it sounds better than krell, and rotel seperates. My $.02

I own and use a sunfire ultimate (first edition) in a HT context and with a VAC Avatar Super in pass through mode. This receiver is tremendously powerful and I can believe it would drive multiple difficult speaker loads. As for sound quality for music through the main speakers it does not compare to the VAC and this is consistent with two different sets of speakers.

When I go out of town I often hook the speakers directly to the sunfire so that when my family is watching tv or movies they are not using the tubes up in the VAC. I sometimes forget and will instantly notice the difference if I forget to get the VAC back in the game. I have also tried to listen when my VAC has been out of action, waiting for new tubes, etc. and I don't even bother anymore.

Although this is a narrow sample, it has convinced me that there is a big difference between components designed for 2 channel and for HT applications and the best overall configuration is a good receiver used in tandem with a high quality 2 channel with pass through gear.

Sunfire is great for HT but if you are a serious about 2 channel then I would recommend 2 channel gear.