Getting ahead of yourself. Needs clarification. Ceiling speakers and receivers are about as low-fi as you can get. Basically any signal whatsoever getting to them is as good as any other. For stereo however, huge difference.
So I would set aside everything having to do with the ceiling. Focus on finding the best stereo integrated you can. Because whatever that is you can always figure out some way to connect it to the garb, er I mean ceiling stuff. |
My Jolida Fusion pre comes with 3 variable outputs, 2 RCA and 1 XLR. It driving your Krell via XLR and a cheaper amp with RCA input for the 2nd zone would work. I am sure there are other preamps that have this flexibility. |
Definitely try to stay away from any receivers, everything about them is a compromise, sq being the first thing. As far as decent integrated amp, I really think you can’t get better than Schiit RAGNAROK, it has everything that you listed, a good dac, phono stage, multiple outputs - balanced and single ended even a headphone amp and most importantly it will sound good. It’s a little over your budget at 1800 but I don’t think you can get better for the price and features. I own a few Schiit pieces and they are excellent. If a tuner is important, you can always add one later for not a lot of money but you really don’t want it inside your amp |
Jolida Fusion looks very interesting, if I went that route, how could you control the "zone" i dont see that it has an a/b a+b control.
Appreciate all the feedback, narrowing down is not easy |
I also have the jolida fusion, it’s a preamp only. There’s no a/b switching, only source select. You can't control two amps separately with it |
In my opinion,I would scrap an fm tuner. With a Bluesound Node,you can get all the internet radio stations you would ever want. |
What kind of cartridge do you have? If it's a LOMC that might limit your choices.
I'd forget about getting something with an FM tuner in it, you can stream FM stations. If you really care about FM, get a separate tuner.
The Peachtree Nova 300 is a nice piece and you should be able to find one used around your budget. It has a very good DAC and includes a phono stage, but I believe it's limited to MM cartridges. It does not have any balanced connections. |
+1 for Peachtree but Nova 150 is more along his budget. The 300 is now at 2000$ |
Sounds like you just need a separate mid-fi system for anything related to ceiling speakers or background music. Toss a wifi receiver in the closet to run the ceiling speakers and stream whatever you want to it. Then you don't have to worry about multiple zones coming out of your hifi setup. |
Have to disagree on using a receiver. There is really no difference from an integrated amp as compared to a stereo receiver. The Yamaha R-N803 receiver has excellent sound quality, built-in streamer (Tidal, Pandora, etc), phono input, second room capability, IPad controllable. Sells for about $800. Gotten good reviews.
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The difference is built in radio tuner in every receiver. As far as differences go that's a pretty big one. RFI is a pretty big factor in deteriorating the sound quality so having radio tuner basically shoved inside your amp is not ideal. Having said that, there are some receivers that sound quite good. |
Most tuners are digital now-a-days. I’d be more concerned with an A/V receiver when they skimp on the power supply in-order to achieve the beloved 5.1 or 7.1 movie surround sound. The Yamaha I'm referring to is a dedicated stereo receiver and it meets all his requirements that he is looking for. |
A lot of these look really nice but lack XLR out, my power amp is 25' away in the basement, but directly underneath the full range speakers. I've been told that XLR over that length will be cleaner than an RCA run.
Cartridge is a Music Hall Maestro high-output MC.
We enjoy some local freeform radio stations that aren't available to my knowledge in normal streaming platforms (WFMU), would love to be proven wrong on that one.
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The Schiit Ragnarok I mentioned earlier has balanced (XLR) outputs. I wouldn't disregard this option as it's your best bet for the money imo. |
Why not continue using your current receiver as a stand alone tuner then? It seems to have a multitude of preamp outputs so you should have no problems plugging it into whatever integrated you choose. |
Ragnarok looks really nice, reading up on it, thanks! |
