You are just SOL on a FM stereo receiver. Same with the Yamaha, no FM. I think you would be better off with a nice powerful integrated amp and a separate music streamer. Can I recommend a Musical Fidelity M6si paired with a Cambridge streamer. The MF M6 is a real powerhouse with beautiful sound.
Yamaha RN-2000a
I'm looking to replace my MAC6700 receiver with something that sounds as good, but is a bit more reliable. (I could insert a paragraph here about my McIntosh experiences but that's not the purpose of this post). I've always preferred the integrated approach to hi-fidelity, but the selection of really good receivers that can be purchased new is pretty thin. I still listen to FM and currently use a laptop as a music/streaming server. I also have my TV and Beogram turntable attached, so the MAC is really the center of my system. I've looked at NAD, but I'm a bit old-school and prefer not to go class-D. The Yamaha RN-2000a is about the only thing left that I can find. I'd like to hear of any experiences good or bad that folks on this forum might have had with this unit. Also, if someone knows a viable alternative, I'm happy to learn about it. Best to all.
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Thanks, Russ69 But according to Crutchfield's site" Product highlights:
Also, thank you wbs I've read about the Outlaw unit. It looks like a good secondary unit for a office or family room. I wonder of anyone on this forum has purchased one and can comment on its performance / dependability. |
Why not get a cheap vintage tuner and have better sound than from a receiver? I have 3 tuners and use them daily. One is the great Magnum Dynalab 108T and the other 2 are vintage units that have either been modded or updated. The vintage tuners are really good and not that expensive. My Sansui TU9900 cost $750, but it was upgraded. You likely can find one for 1/2 the price and there are places that are dedicated to refurbishing them. My Accuphase T-101 was redone by someone in Santa Monica, CA. The guy seemed like a tuner genius and after listening to unit for a few years makes me think he was. I bought this one on Audiogon for $1500. Expensive for a vintage tuner but I have 0 regrets on that one. Another tuner that is good is the Sony XDR- F1HD. I gave this one away since I did not need 4 tuners (I do not need 3). It had the best reception of all my tuners and with a good RCA cable the sound was good. Repairs, upgrades, and sales of Sony XDR-F1HD HD Tuner (xdrguy.com)
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This may be below the level that you operate in, but Emotiva makes a unit (TA2) that checks many boxes. It is an integrated amp with phono.DAC and FM tuner. 135/200 wpc into 8/4 ohms. Currently on sale for $899. I have no vested interest in them, but I did purchase an amp and preamp from them that I'm pleased with.
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These are some great responses and you've all shined a light on possibilities that I hadn't known of or considered. There were a few suggesting that just servicing my MAC6700 may be the way to go. Here's the story: I had a milestone birthday 11 years ago. I had always wanted a McIntosh system and the 6700 was newly introduced just then so I thought it to be perfect gift to myself; I was delighted with my purchase - amazing sound in every dimension. The unit came with a 3 year warranty; one month past that, the right VU meter quit. Mac was good enough to pay my local service guy for the repair so no big deal. Not too much later, Microsoft stopped Windows 7 support so I had to upgrade my music server to Windows 10. It turns out that Win10 is incompatible with the Mac hardware driver - the system crashes after about 5 minutes. I think I may have been one of the first to alert Mac of this problem - there is no solution nor does Mac intend to work on a fix. In desperation, I had my service guy upgrade the Mac firmware; no luck. So I've been using an outboard DAC (Schitt modi); huge performance drop. (btw - I also tried to make the onboard DAC work with Win11 and IOS, no good). About 2 years ago, the dials stopped working. I called Mac, and arranged to ship it to Binghamton for a thorough going-over. 11 months later and $1000 lighter the unit returned with many, but not all of the issues I had identified resolved. Mac also fixed a few things that I didn't know about. Not long after, the tuner started fritzing again and the remote stopped working. I ordered an updated remote from Mac...it's OK, but is not a complete match to the original. Bottom line: the legendary McIntosh quality that I thought my $6700 would buy 11 years ago is not in evidence. As they say: "this is not your father's McIntosh". In short, I'm reluctant to spend any more money on Mac stuff. An aside: the HK 880 VXi that I bought sometime in the 80's and that the Mac replaced is still running strong in another location. grislybutter: the "box of nails" sound is not what I'm looking for. Thanks for that. Message received. yyzsantabarbara: a good used tuner is an interesting suggestion. I've come to really like HD fm; my MAC6700 has that feature enabling really good fidelity and some additional sub-band stations. In my view, it's a technology that hasn't been pushed effectively. It's curious that later production MAC6700 units do not feature HD nor does the MAC7200 (at least when I last looked). I do appreciate the suggestion, however. One that I hadn't considered....maybe I will. lig98ljk: I'll look into Motiva, I think it's class-D though. yogiboy: I'll look into Magnum Dynalab. There's a dealer near me. I have to admit I've not heard of them before your suggestion. Thanks and best to all!
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Friend has the Outlaw receiver. It has been surprisingly good in reliability and sound especially for $900. He bought it to replace an old NAD integrated. It is driving some dynaudio monitors and previously drove Roger's LS3/5 A 15ohm model. I think it is better quality than lots of $1500 units. Class AB not D. I am not a lover of it's vintage look but have considered it for a backup unit as it sounds way better than it looks and costs. I belive it has a trial period program too. It's direct to consumer. |
