Here is my story.

Till a month ago, I did not have any of the audio systems. I moved to a bigger place and thus went to quite many garage sales. Saw the Pioneer receiver SX 1900 without price tag. Bought it for $10. FM radio worked well when I connected it to a very cheap small speakers. So I was looking for speakers. Saw an ad in craigslist and bought this Klipsch Forte from 1988 in great conditions including boxes and manual. No defect at all. I bought the Sony CD player CDP-C545 from the same guy for $50 ( now I think I overpayed).

Here is my question. Can any one mention about my Sony CDP-C545 and Pioneer SX 1900? I am satisfied with the quality of the CD player. Though it was made in 1994, it still works perfectly.

Not sure about the pioneer receiver though. I think it probably has 40 WPC, not sure though. I don't know whether I should keep it or upgrade. I websurfed a lot looking for stereo receivers. Now I think stereo receivers with enough power such as 100 or 120 WPC might be a good choice. I am thinking of

HK 3490, Onkyo tx 8522 or 8511, Sherwood RX 4105 or Sony STRDE 197

Can any one comment on the receivers above.

One more question I have is:

What is the difference between having a receiver and having a separate preamp/amp. Is integrated preamp/amp the same as stereo receiver?

In fact, I just found out that my in-laws have audio system consisting of McIntosh, Marantz, Denon and Kenwood. I don't know which one is amp, receiver, speaker, CDP etc. yet. I asked my mother-in-law to send me a mail with the model numbers of each. They are not using it and are willing to give those to me for free.

Sorry for my probabably stupid question. But understand that I did not know any about audio system, not even the famous names like Klipsch or Onkyo or HK unitl several days ago. Any comment welcome. Please

Welcome....

While I am not 100% familiar with the receivers you have mentioned....the SX 1900 does have a good reputation.....As with all vintage gear, with time some of the components start to wear out thus degrading sound quaility....some will go strong for 30 years, it's a crap shoot!

Your fortes are great speakers and have a high DB sensitivity so 40 watts is plenty to make them sing.....I'm not positive of the math but tripling your WPC will only give you 2-3 more decibels of output ...so what you want is quaility , in spec amplification, not just raw power......plenty of us are using flee power amps with these type of speakers to ear shattering levels.

the first serious upgrade you may want to consider (I think it's a must) is to re-cap your crossovers in the Forte's Bob Crites BEC here as well as others do them very reasonably, and they will sound like new speakers .....

Vintage Mcintosh (expensive) is a wonderful compliment to your fortes....as far as separates go a MC 250 ( $500 is average) is a great way to start and 50 WPC is more than enough....just know that you will need a pre-amp.......

An Integrated amp/preamp is an excellent choice...the Mcintosh MA 6100 is great...($750 ish)

I personally love sansui...An Au7900 can be had for $200 and will blow you out of the water....

******* BIG CAVEAT ***** all this vintage stuff must be serviced and not just buy some Ebayer who claims "refurb" when all they did was clean it up....they need to be done by an expert tech....Sooooo Your pioneer is a good reciever and may just need to be refurbed, that will cost $200-300!!!!

I dont know what your budget is but there is plenty of new product on the market that will sound great.....Some of the digital Chip amps are amazing for very low price....(do a search on here "Digital amp"...lots of threads)

Conclusion.....Recap recap recap your cross overs........Bigger isnt better.....don't rush as long as you have a decent sounding system......

Good luck and welcome to the madness.....

Mr. Fenderbender,

Many thanks for your great comment and suggestion. Now, I'll probably wait till my in-law send me an e-mail with the model number of McIntosh and in the mean time will plan to recap the crossovers. Many more suggestions still welcome. Have a great day!

dr925:

HK 3490, Onkyo tx 8522 or 8511, Sherwood RX 4105 or Sony STRDE 197

Forget the Onkyo ................ Skip the Sony, unless its an ES model ............... Don't know about sherwood, pass, ....... HK wins !!!!!!!!!!!!

Adcom GFA 545 is available locally. Looking at Audioreview.com, it's filled with great comments. Anyone know whether it matched well with Forte speakers? Thanks in advance to anyone for any comment.

Great buy for the money, I've owned a lot of their equipment over the years. You may want to check to see if it is the original GFA545 or the newer GFA545II. The second version is supposedly quite a bit improved.

 One cautionary note is that this older stuff usually costs more to fix than it is worth, so don't pay a lot. You kind of have to look at it as a disposable purchase unless you just blow a fuse or something.

I use an older Adcom GFA-1a with my Fortes and love it.

I find all the "all the older (SS) stuff needs this and that..." fascinating.  I've never been exposed to any SS gear that worked that did not sound about as good as day one.   I have a vintage 1976 DBX 117 that sounds precisely like when I got it in 1977.  

Just my experience...which is that SS generally works or it don't.

Dave 

Just to fill you in on component names.... A preamplifier generally takes input from your sources--CD player, turntable, etc., and provides switching between the sources so you can select which you want to listen to. Pre-amps also provide control over balance, volume, older ones may have "tone" controls--treble and bass boost or cut, etc. They usually do not have speaker connectors and don't generate enough wattage to operate speakers. Older ones will likely have a "phono section" with inputs for a turntable. The other inputs (for CD players, tape players, etc.) are called "line-level" inputs. Thus, an L.S. or "line stage" preamp would not have turntable connections. The pre-amp sends its signal to a power amp that "drives" the speakers. Power amps generally have one pair of connectors that are connected to the preamp's outputs to receive its signals, and connections for a pair of speakers. A preamp and power amp together in one component is called an integrated amp. A receiver is basically an integrated amp with a radio AM-FM tuner added. There are also "A/V" receivers for home theatre that have video connections and support more than two speakers. An all-separates, two-channel stereo system might consist of these sources; CD player, turntable, tape player, tuner (for AM-FM radio), etc. connected to a preamp. The preamp is connected to a power amp that drives a pair of speakers. All separates are generally costlier than integrated amps or receivers, and allow the audio enthusiast more control over the individual features of each component in the system. They are generally considered more "high end" products though some integrated amps can be quite good at lower cost than separates. Hope this helps, George

Someone(search) I will look, looking for a Pioneer 1980. Been looking but so far zilch. Pioneer should rock the Forte's! http://community.klipsch.com/forums/t/44734.aspx?PageIndex=1

Good stuff:       

Thanks you all for help and valuable information. I finally got the model number of the audio systems that my in-law has. They are not using it and are willing to give it to me. Could anybody tell me which combo will be the best to fit or serve my pair of Forte speakers? Currently I have Pioneer SX1900 receiver and Sony 54CD Changer/Player as mentioned above. Below is the list of the audio systems that I may have.

KENWOOD - KD -76F - LP PLAYER
 
MCINTOSH - MA 6200 - AMP
 
KENWOOD - KT 880D - AM-FM TUNER
 
TEAC - R-919X - CASSETTE PLAYER
 
PIONEER - CLD 1030 - CD, LD PLAYER

 

I would grab the Mac.  After that just sit back and enjoy your new speakers.

James

I'm with James!  "Grab the Mac"

It will also retain more value! Mac has an outstanding reputation among among Klipsch enthusiasts!

Being a tube man myself I can tell you the Mac's are some of the closest SS to tube gear there is and are just plain "Sweet"

SET12

 

 Grab the McIntosh.......run.......

dr925:

Thanks you all for help and valuable information. I finally got the model number of the audio systems that my in-law has. They are not using it and are willing to give it to me. Could anybody tell me which combo will be the best to fit or serve my pair of Forte speakers? Currently I have Pioneer SX1900 receiver and Sony 54CD Changer/Player as mentioned above. Below is the list of the audio systems that I may have.

KENWOOD - KD -76F - LP PLAYER
 
MCINTOSH - MA 6200 - AMP
 
KENWOOD - KT 880D - AM-FM TUNER
 
TEAC - R-919X - CASSETTE PLAYER
 
PIONEER - CLD 1030 - CD, LD PLAYER

As everyone said, definately get the Mac.  While you are at it, grab the tuner and turtable.