Question Buying a reciever

[Landofshane]

Hi guys,

First post here, but I really need some advice on buying a receiver. (I’ve just moved back to New Zealand from the UK and the range here is awful).

We have always just had a lovely hifi set up (Arcam amp matched exceptionally well with Epos 12i Speakers) and don’t really want to go backwards in sound quality.

I’m looking at a range of options but the top options are:
Marantz 7008
Cambridge Audio 751R V2

Both are end of life, so the price has fallen significantly (both priced the same). The problem is I can’t really trial them anywhere near me.

One big catch is I have mismatched speakers for home cinema as I don't want to give up the Epos pair (So I'll have the Epos M12i's + 5 Kef Eggs + sub to play with). I’m not really sure whether the better base sound of the 751r is the best bet, or whether something like the Audyssey XT32 will handle the mixed speakers better?

I'll also be looking to run 2 or 3 zones around the house off the amp, but could by cheaper basic stereo amps to do this.

Or, am I overthinking this and might I be best to just find a cheaper 5.1/7.1 receiver with pre outs and keep the Arcam/Epos pair that works so well together?


Any opinions?

 

[Joe Fernand]

Hi-Fi vs. Surround Sound - do they need to be in the same room?

Hi-Fi + Surround Sound - would be a safe way to go knowing you like your Arcam.

Hi-Fi - which ARCAM do you have?

Room EQ - I think you are being overly hopeful about its capabilities.

Multi-zone - go SONOS, makes any multi-zone AVR seem prehistoric in operation.

Joe

 

[Landofshane]

I think after a lot of testing, I'm going to go for the Hi-Fi + Surround as you suggest.

I'm thinking a lower quality end of life Marantz 5008 for cheap, running the Arcam as an amp with hifi running directly into the Arcam.

The Arcam is actually just an old Arcam Solo so nothing amazing, but it matches perfectly with the speakers.

For multi room I actually have a custom squeezebox setup running through the house, but our new house has some built in ceiling speakers so I was hoping to use the zone 2 to run one set of these to avoid having so many different amps around the house

 

[Joe Fernand]

I use a Solo Movie 2.1 on a Daily basis -