If you are a music buff, avoid going in for a stereo receiver. Receivers do not sound very good for the price. If you listen to music most of the time, you are best off with a pre-amp/amp combo or an integrated amp.

For a lower amount of money an integrated amp can sound much better than any receiver can. A lot of people today build systems based on audio/video receivers also called A/V receivers. The main reason being they want to build an audio system that is also a home theater system. Unfortunately, A/V receivers will never sound as good as a stereo integrated amp or pre-amp/amp. A/V receivers have to make compromises in quality to cram many features into one box for a particular price.

The more expensive the receiver, less the amount of compromises it has to make, but the compromises are still greater than what a stereo integrated amp or pre-amp/amp would have to make at the same price. The end result is lower sound quality.

So, what are you supposed to do? Two options. The first and the most obvious would be to live with whatever you have. The second would be to have separate audio and home theater systems. Unfortunately, in terms of extra cost and space, this is not an option for many. But, if space is not a prime consideration, I suggest you give this option serious thought.

Instead of allocating the entire budget on the HT system, you could use a portion to build a small 'audio-only' system. This could include just an integrated amp, and a small set of speakers. You can still play CDs using the DVD player on the HT system.

However, like the poet who said "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by", this route is apt only if you are genuinely interested in high quality music reproduction.

Amp/ preamp combination

This combination works better than a receiver does so far as sound quality and price are concerned. But compared to an integrated amplifier, these separates would be much more expensive.

Stereo preamps come from a whole lot of manufacturers. The only way to tell how good they are is to listen to them. The best way still is direct comparison in the same room and system. Magazine reviews and recommendations from other people are useful to try to narrow down the possibilities.

Some preamps offer a lot of features, and some offer bare minimum. Remember that some of the best preamps are the ones with the minimalist designs.

Amplifiers can range from a few watts of power to a few thousand. Some claim that every amp sounds the same as long as it is not clipping. Not true. Every piece of equipment in the signal chain has an impact on the sound. All amps have their own sound. So you need to audition amps just like you should audition any other piece of equipment.

But if the first watt sounds like din, who cares if you have 99 or 999 more. All amplifiers, under normal conditions, use less than one watt. Most people generally listen around 80 dB or so. This is below the sensitivity of all speakers (average speaker has a sensitivity of 88 dB). This means that at the 80db level you are not even using one watt of power. So listen first, and then decide on whether you need a large or small amplifier.

The larger amps generally don't have to be matched as carefully to speakers as a lower powered amp needs to be. Also, bigger amps will be able to handle even low impedance speakers. So, only if you are buying a low powered amplifier, make sure it is compatible with the speaker specifications.

Integrated amps

Purchasing your first stereo system or working within a small budget? Then this is your best bet. Integrated amps would still give you good sound but tend to be less expensive and offer more value than equivalent separates.
Many of the better-designed and reasonably priced ones are of English descent. The American brands are usually more powerful than their British counterparts but a lot more expensive. A general word of caution here would be to keep away from Japanese manufacturers.

Setting up the amp

• Let heat escape from the amplifier. This holds true whether the amplifier is a separate power amp, or is part of an integrated amp or receiver. If you stack another component on top of the power amp and block its vents, the power amp will be susceptible to overheating. This rule comes first because it concerns the protection of your equipment.
• Place the amplifier components on metal stands with hollow support tubes.
• Don't place the amplifiers in between the speakers.
• Try to maximize the component wiring and insulation as much as possible.

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