I came out of that same era, heard a lot of that same stuff, even pursued your same course for a while. At one point even hunted down a pair of K-horns to audition. More than once. So I totally get where you’re coming from.
Thing of it is, I wasted more than a full year searching around listening to stuff like receivers and other stuff that was in my head as the way to go simply because there was no one around to advise otherwise. More than a full year. Probably more like two years! Driving around listening. Dragging stuff home to audition. Reading reviews. Lots and lots of reviews.
Reviewers of course will never tell you receivers suck. Or anything else for that matter. Everything in reviews is just the greatest thing since sliced bread. Only some are even better! (At this point I am pretty sure you can cure cancer with a REL sub.) No reviewer ever came out and said look, you buy a receiver, you’re buying a pipe dream. Its not the brand, its not the designer, its just the physical reality of trying to cram too much stuff into one box. Me, I can say that. No one else here, either has the guts or the experience. Not sure which it is. Little of both probably.
But look, seriously, what you do is you get first of all some sort of plan. Because if your plan is to have a system like mine some day that is way different than if you want something complete and balanced in one fell swoop and then sit back and enjoy it for years. Its your system. I don’t care which way you go. Just need to know in order to give quality advice.
Because this is an area I know well, and one of the most important things I know is a system encompasses a whole lot more than just the three things everyone thinks matters- speakers, amp, source. That’s 90% of what you’ll hear but in reality accounts for only about a half - if that - of what makes a great system.
There are in my book three main approaches. One is you want a whole system now and know what you can afford to spend on it right now. Next is you know you want a truly great system some day and intend to keep at it rather methodically and as funds allow over the years. (That’s me.) Finally we have buy whatever catches your eye whenever you can afford it with no real overarching plan or guide. This is the worst approach by far in terms of value, and also the most popular by far and what many here will be goading you into.
There. Not sure how polite that was but at least now you know I don’t play favorites, I’m an equal opportunity insulter.
