I wanted to bring up for discussion something that has bothered me for a while and that is the lack of analog inputs on receivers today. [especially phone inputs] NAD,H/K and I believe Rotel only feature 6 analog inputs even in their top of the line models.This is nowhere near enough for my system and ridiculous for a $2000 model like the H/K 7200. The lack of a phono input tells me that this manufacturer does not want to sell their product to someone of my age group[40plus] who still has and enjoys lps. I know you can use a preamp but why should you have to. I think there should be at minimun 8 inputs on a good receiver. NAD,H/K etc. make great receivers but their lack of inputs makes it impossible for me to buy one of their units. Would like to hear some feedback on this issue. Thanks.
elitefan
Posted on
I of course meant phono inputs. God I wish I could type!
TWN
Posted on
Though I don't have a turntable in my system right now, but believe it or not, I do want to add a turntable in the future if my budget allows me to do so.
For the question of no phono input, I think it is a trend for making all the input on the receiver into digital nowadays. I don't think adding a phono preamp would be a problem at all. That's just the way it is. If the customers really want to go for the LPs, they maight just want to accept the trend of the "digital revolution". BTW, how much trouble for adding a phono preamp?
For me, how many inputs on a receiver is not a main problem, well, the truth is I don't have too many input devices. However, ever if I had a whole bunch of different input devices, there is nothing to complain about the lack of phono input.
If you want more, you pay more. It is a very simple answer.
And I believe that if the top of the line receiver cannot fulfill your need, why don't you just move on to the more high-end preamp and power amp catagory?
All I care is the sound that I want (well, within my budget certainly). For the phono input problem, it is just too easy to tackle with, just buy a decent phono preamp and everything is okay. And actually for the price of the top receiver, just adding one or two hundred dollars for the phono preamp is really not a big difference.
Hawk
Posted on
Elitefan:
I bought a Denon precisely because it had the phono input and now I wish I had gotten something different. I went and looked at a number of receivers--the one which caught my fancy is NAD, and I discovered that the NAD appears to have two audio only line level inputs labelled CD and Disk 2. Now, I assume disc 2 is either for something like audio laserdisk, or something for the future. Regardless, it is easy to add an outboard phono pre-amp for this input and use a turntable in that way.
Still, I would have much preferred that they include a phono input in the receiver. I also have a large LP collection that I have been rediscovering now that I no longer have "little hands" around the house trying to play with the cartridge stylus!
Interestingly enough, my 16 year old daughter is asking for a turntable. Seems the punk bands on the west coast that she likes to listen to are pressing albums as their demonstration of counter-culture. She has collected a half dozen already and is looking for more.
Derek
Posted on
I think the manufacturers are concentrating on where the most sales are - Home Theater. That almost requires digital signal proccessing, something the analog crowd has frowned upon. Hearing audio that hasn't gone through a digital conversion is getting rarer and rarer these days. Let's face it, CDs are more convenient (no portable turntables since Close n' Play) and produce a very consistent sound. Sales don't lie.
There's also a lot of demand for digital input and outputs for DVD and minidisk players. These are competing for real estate on the back of receivers too. The phone Pre-Amp seem like a good compromise.
I have a similar problem with receivers - Most don't come with two independent VCR loops. I have two Denons but, at the time, would have prefered the Onkyo 600. Look at the back of some Sonys, Kenwoods, Pioneers etc. I guess I was spoiled by my old Sony TAE1000ESD which had three and independent monitoring.. It seems no one is doing any video recording anymore.
Anonymous
Posted on
I have several hundred LP and close to 1000 45's. Been out of the audio scene for more than 20 years (since personal computers came on the scene). I wanted to buy a HK 7200 or 630 Receiver to go with my JBL S312 speakers. Much to my surprise I could not find any HK that had a phone input.
Now that I have discovered all these "discussion sites" and got some opinions, I will try to audition a Yamaha 2400 and an Onkyo 701, both have phono inputs.
As for my VHS tapes- I will convert them to DVD by using a MiniDV camcorder as a analog/digital converter.
A number of receivers have phono inputs. And to those that think you can use just any old analog input--wrong. Phono inputs have particularly sensitivities for MM and MC cartridges that almost never are usable with regualr analog inputs.
This makes receivers without phono inputs for people that want phono inputs in reality a lot more expensive. Separate phono inputs can be quite expensive--from $200 on up and up. Better off buying them used from audiogon or some such site. Even then a good quality one is rarely cheap.