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stereo receiver recommendations

Hi folks,

A friend recently got me interested in this hobby, but I'm definitely still a newbie without much real world listening experience. A colleague at work knows I'm interested in audio and came to me for advice to replace a broken stereo receiver. Problematically, she was fairly coy about budget, so a few recommendations would be greatly appreciated... Lets go with <$500, $500-600, & <$1000 as the 3 price ranges.

She definitely wants to have a phono input for a connected turntable and to have a FM tuner built in so unfortunately we're stuck with stereo receivers rather than integrated amps, which drastically limits the options. She also definitely wants to buy new. She didn't know the model of speakers so I'm not talking about a serious audiophile but rather someone who just enjoys having music playing in her home and doesnt want to give up local radio or her vinyl collection. For that reason I'm thinking ease of use, functionality, and reliability are probably just as important as sound quality (I hope that doesnt make too many of you cringe), but I still want it to sound good. Searching through musicdirect & crutchfield, I've come up with the following:

<$500: Cambridge SR10 or Yamaha R-N303
$500-600: Cambridge SR20 or Yamaha R-N602 
<$1000: Outlaw RR2160 or Yamaha R-N803

Would love input from people with experience with any of these products or recommendations about something else that might be better. Any problems any of you have found with any of the above models? Anybody experienced both in a particular price range and found one to sound particularly better? 

Thanks!
ethos123

Showing 2 responses by mesch

mesch
3,529 posts
 
A couple things you (we) need to know to assist your colleague. What  is model and power rating of the broken receiver? Did it power her speakers to satisfaction? What speaker is she using and what are the specs regarding sensitivity and impedance for them?  

I do believe that in the $500-$1000 range the new Yamaha receivers are worthwhile contenders. That said, i would prefer the integrateds.


mesch
3,529 posts
 
The latest models of Yamaha integrateds and receivers have all the features the OP's colleague needs.

And yes, stereo tuners are easy to come by inexpensively when one is willing to buy used to use with an integrated. That is they way I would approach this. That said, if the OP's colleague wants a receiver that is what she should buy. What remains is to pick the model that will mate well with her speakers, sonically based on taste, electrically based on power.

For a $500-$1000 budget, the Yamahas have phono, digital, and line level inputs. They are well built for the price range and have a good rep for dependability. 

Not knocking the other suggestions, just have knowledge on the Yamahas.
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