Hello,

Im new in the world of top-notch audio, so Id like to ask you a
question by email about system design.

I dont have a very high budget, Im looking at spending about $1000 on
infinity beta 50 speakers (Ive tried these with different pieces of
equipment and like the sound), and also buying a Hsu subwoofer, and
then a CD player and receiver. For watching movies, Ill just do
2-channel sound with a sub, at least for now, as I dont want to spend
money on all of the 5.1 or 7.1 speakers and whatnot.

But where Im really tied up is in the receiver and Cd player choices.
I have quite a few CDs, and a lot of MP3 music. I like a wide variety
of rock, soul, jazz and classical type music. I dont know if for a
newbie, Im better off buying a stereo receiver or an AV receiver.

The stereo receiver at the same price (Im thinking Yamaha RX-797) as an
AV receiver (yamaha RX-V659) should have better component quality,
design quality, and sound quality, right? But that said, am I really
just splitting hairs, especially since I dont have speakers that cost
thousands of dollars each, nor do I have a super high quality component
for doing anything else?

One example of a tie-up that causes me to be unsure is picking a CD
player and receiver. Do I want to buy a CD player that has a top-notch
DAC, and feed it into a stereo receiver, or would I be better off just
getting a cd player that has digital out, and using a good AV receiver
(the RX-V659 for example, has 24 bit burr-brown DACs on all channels).


MP3 is another good example... If Im playing MP3 files from my ipod or
computer, am I better off processing them on the computer, then feeding
RCA into a stereo receiver, or am I better off sending in some data
stream into an AV receiver, and using their compressed music enhancer
to 'optimize' the sound?

While I can be sure that at a same price point, a stereo receiver will
have better innards than an AV equivalent, is 0.06% THD really any
different than 0.019%? I am an engineer, so understand design
tradeoffs, but Im not an electrical engineer... will the amps and DACs
that have to do multiple tasks in an AV receiver have a shorter life
because they do more, as compared to the supposedly better designed and
laid out components in a same price stereo receiver? If the AV
receiver has a 'pure direct' option, wouldnt either using that with a
decent DAC from a good CD player, or else sending coax digital in and
using the internal AVR
's burr-brown DAC create as good a sound as any stereo receiver that Id
buy for roughly the same price?

Any insight on such situations would be most appreciated. I want bang
for the buck, but given that I will use my sstem 85% for music and only
15% for everything else... I want to make sure that I make the right
choice. The AVR gives me long term upgradability if I want to do the
home theatre thing... but is only a good deal if it can do hi-fi for
newbies half decently...

What do you think?

Thanks,

JMH