Best Receiver for “Mid-Fi” System?


Hey everyone…interested in your thoughts…

I’m putting together a decidedly mid-fi system for both 2 channel listening and 5.1 home theater.  I have Focal Aria Evo X No. 2 towers, center and sub, and also Focal surrounds.  I will be using an Eversolo DMP-A6 for streaming music.

Thoughts on the best receiver to power this system?  I’m looking for musicality from the receiver if possible as I have a more “hi-fi” system also and am a little spoiled with B&W 801 D4s in that system.

I know the limitations of the Focal speakers and am wondering if spending more on the receiver will really be worth it or not for this system?  Would like to spend $1,000 or less if possible but could be convinced to go a little higher if something truly provides better bang for the buck.  Prefer to buy new, usually.

Have only 1 sub and need only 1 coax input for the streamer so I’m assuming almost anything new today will suffice.

Many thanks for your thoughts and opinions on this!

nankaroad

Showing 4 responses by freediver

Those speakers have a minimum impedance of 2.9 ohms..Digging around a bit also reveals the phase relationship has several big swings,meaning these speakers are going to be a difficult load..
 ANY of the usual suspects from Marantz,Yamaha,Denon or Arcam will sound decent but IMO, no where near as good as those speakers are capable of & you absolutely need to confirm with the manufacturer that the amp is capable of driving a 2 ohm load!

@nankaroad since Outlaw Audio was mentioned it got me thinking..You can get a new 5 channel amp from them that should handle those speakers pretty well for about $800.00.....Then you should be able to go to USAM & find a decent older surround preamp/processor that was highly rated when new that now cost 60-70% less than it did then..
 I would be willing to bet there are pretty good 5 channel amps available today that won't break the bank & work with those speakers just fine..

For those recommending Yamaha,have a look at the specs..Yamaha rates their surround receivers at specified power,1 channel driven(NOT all 5 channels at the same time)& at ONLY 1Khz-20Khz.(NOT 20 hz.-20Khz.)..This smacks of a weak amplifier & even though they spec a "Dynamic"power output @ 2 ohms it is spec'd the same way..What happens to that spec when all 5 amplifiers are working under a 20Hz.-20Khz.load?I'm betting those specs fall flat on their face...
 OP:if you want a power amp that will do the job,at least get something that specs their amps with all channels driven under a full frequency load!