[raztec]

Just bought the Strata Minis and am now looking for a decent receiver to drive them with.
I listen to 50/50 music/HT, but the musicality and lack of fatigue factor is a priority here.
My room is 22x11 with short 6'5" ceilings.

Thanks for any suggestions
raz

[JLM]

I've always liked Harmon Kardon electronics.  Musical sound, big power caps for lots of power reserve.  I tried a factory reconditioned stereo receiver years back and somehow it kept burning up diodes.  It was in a seldom used system, so after a couple of trips to the shop the 2-year warrantee expired.  Note that I had no trouble with HK honoring the warrantee, in fact they wanted to know who worked on it (to do follow-up?) and if I'd turned it in for servicing a 3rd time they would have replaced it.

[TRADERXFAN]

Hi,
I have the Strata Mini's and have used a Denon 3805. However, they sound much better run off of an Onix SP3. My question for you is why are you specifically looking at recievers?  You want to play off the air radio? Is this part of Home theatre setup?  Is there some budget in mind?

I find that even a nice integrated does a better job.

[Airborn]

I agree with Traderxfan.  I have Strata Minis and an Onkyo receiver as part of my HT set up, but they sound much better in my music only system with the Onix SP3 tube integrated amp at 38 wpc.  I am currently looking for higher powered amps such as Odyssey Mono Extremes, or similar, as I know the Minis will sound even better with more power.  Unless you really need to use a receiver only, you should look for better quality amplification to drive the Minis than most receivers can provide, imho.

[raztec]

Thanks guys for your responses.

I'm still a newbie and didn't know I could use anything else other than a receiver for HT.

The position I'm in at the moment, is that I don't mind paying a little bit more for a real solid amp (tube or solid state) that's got plenty of spare power and a real clean high end, and less for the video processor considering these are always being improved upon.

What combo will work together well and how much power should I look at to drive the Minis effeciently?

Of course, I'm tempted to just buy the Panasonic XR57 for now and then upgrade in a year or two when I have some more info on the Strata Minis. Anyone tried this combo?

Thanks for all your input. Really appreciate it.

Raz

[raztec]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, but I'm gonna stick to solid state. I'm still a newbie here and don't want to get into anything over my head. And the sales guy at AV123 said the Strata Minis sound better with SS amp, but that was his personal opinion.

I've narrowed it down to the Emotiva LPA-1 or RPA-1. Anyone have experience with these and the Strata Minis?

Thanks,
Raz

[JLM]

Do you have future plans for a full (5.1 to 7.1) HT?  The Emotiva LPA-1 and RPA-1 you're looking at are power amps for 2 or 7 channels.  You started out looking for a receiver.  If you want Emotiva they have a receiver for $1000 that does 125 wpc, offers up to 7.1 channels, and has a 2 channel bypass.  But your first post indicated that you wanted a non-fatiguing sound and the reviews seem to point towards the other end of the scale for the Emotiva stuff.  This could be more of a problem with the ribbon mid/tweeters of your Strata Minis.

How much power are the Strata Minis rated to handle?  (I couldn't find this information on the AV123 site.)  How loud do you listen?  The stated efficiency is only 86 dB/w/m (rather low) but the power hungry bass is handled by the built-in powered subs.  On the plus side your room isn't big.  By the numbers you'd need 200 wpc to reach 110 dB (damn loud, rock concert levels) or about 65 watts to reach 105 dB (still very loud classic/jazz peak concert levels) based on two channels in your room. 

Keep in mind that not all watts are created equally.  The typical big box vendors measure at 1 kHz under a steady resistance versus the much more demanding, dynamic, and relevent load of real music.  Amps that produce a more realistic wattage have large power supplies (or like tubes can soft clip to handle overload in a more "friendly" manner).  That's why I like Harmon Kardon receivers.

Do you need FM or 5.1/7.1 capabilities?  If not a 2-channel integrated amp is all you'd need.  FM is pretty dead for in-home use if internet audio streaming is available.  A $300 Squeeze Box could wirelessly provide internet audio streaming and all your music after being ripped onto your hard drive.  And Bolder can mod it to extreme sound quality levels.  Convenience (once your CDs are ripped) can't be beat.  Note that you do have to be somewhat computer savy to deal with a wireless network, etc.

Seems like you have to decide on number of channels, how many watts, need for FM, and budget.

[TRADERXFAN]

I found out the Denon could be modified. This should fit the bill nicely - if it would be in your budget. Here is a link
http://www.underwoodhifi.com/mod_denon.html

This should give you excellent surround sound processing and a good 2 channel experience.

Hope that helps.

[raztec]

Do you have future plans for a full (5.1 to 7.1) HT?  The Emotiva LPA-1 and RPA-1 you're looking at are power amps for 2 or 7 channels.  You started out looking for a receiver.  If you want Emotiva they have a receiver for $1000 that does 125 wpc, offers up to 7.1 channels, and has a 2 channel bypass.  But your first post indicated that you wanted a non-fatiguing sound and the reviews seem to point towards the other end of the scale for the Emotiva stuff.  This could be more of a problem with the ribbon mid/tweeters of your Strata Minis.

How much power are the Strata Minis rated to handle?  (I couldn't find this information on the AV123 site.)  How loud do you listen?  The stated efficiency is only 86 dB/w/m (rather low) but the power hungry bass is handled by the built-in powered subs.  On the plus side your room isn't big.  By the numbers you'd need 200 wpc to reach 110 dB (damn loud, rock concert levels) or about 65 watts to reach 105 dB (still very loud classic/jazz peak concert levels) based on two channels in your room. 

Keep in mind that not all watts are created equally.  The typical big box vendors measure at 1 kHz under a steady resistance versus the much more demanding, dynamic, and relevent load of real music.  Amps that produce a more realistic wattage have large power supplies (or like tubes can soft clip to handle overload in a more "friendly" manner).  That's why I like Harmon Kardon receivers.

Do you need FM or 5.1/7.1 capabilities?  If not a 2-channel integrated amp is all you'd need.  FM is pretty dead for in-home use if internet audio streaming is available.  A $300 Squeeze Box could wirelessly provide internet audio streaming and all your music after being ripped onto your hard drive.  And Bolder can mod it to extreme sound quality levels.  Convenience (once your CDs are ripped) can't be beat.  Note that you do have to be somewhat computer savy to deal with a wireless network, etc.

Seems like you have to decide on number of channels, how many watts, need for FM, and budget.

This is all great info thanks.

To answer your questions:

1. By loud, I mean at most 105db, but I like clean, non-fatiguing sound. I figure a 100w amp should do.
2. Yes, I will be needing 7.1 channel capability as I will be adding that in the near future.
3. No, I don't need FM. I'll get a squeezebox as per your suggestion.
4. I'm looking to spend around $1500

Of course there's the option of going for a clean, high powered 2 Ch amp for musc, and then a separate 7.1 channel for HT. But not sure if that makes sense.

[JLM]

As you look keep in mind that a receiver might cost less than a pre/power integrated amp.

Brands I'd look at are Cambridge Audio, Harmon Kardon, NAD, Outlaw, and Rotel.  I've owned HK, NAD, and Rotel receivers but only the Rotel as an A/V product. 

I'd look for HDMI, 100 wpc, and in "audio speak" a relaxed (not forward) presentation to get the non-fatiguing sound you're after.