Better to upgrade AVR or Projector first?

[}Fear_Inoculum{]

I'm looking at upgrading both in the next ~1 year or so.

We were watching that new Zack Snyder movie the other night (Army of The Dead, don't both seeing it BTW), and my son commented that the picture was starting to look a little bit dated. I've got an Epson 8350 Projector that I bought in 2015. My wife chimed in that "it's all about the sound in here now" since I've been updating my sound stage over the last 4~5 months.

I was planning on upgrading my Yamaha RX-A2040 receiver first, but waiting until the summer when the new line up is out (looking at the RX-A6A or A8A). Now I'm thinking maybe the Projector needs an upgrade 1st.

What would you guys recommend 1st. AVR or projector?

@Pogre , @Movie2099, @MalVeauX, @lovinthehd @AcuDefTechGuy, @panteragstk

Cheers.

 

[panteragstk]

I'm looking at upgrading both in the next ~1 year or so.

We were watching that new Zack Snyder movie the other night (Army of The Dead, don't both seeing it BTW), and my son commented that the picture was starting to look a little bit dated. I've got an Epson 8350 Projector that I bought in 2015. My wife chimed in that "it's all about the sound in here now" since I've been updating my sound stage over the last 4~5 months.

I was planning on upgrading my Yamaha RX-A2040 receiver first, but waiting until the summer when the new line up is out (looking at the RX-A6A or A8A). Now I'm thinking maybe the Projector needs an upgrade 1st.

What would you guys recommend 1st. AVR or projector?

@Pogre , @Movie2099, @MalVeauX, @lovinthehd @AcuDefTechGuy, @panteragstk

Cheers.

That one is difficult. You have a good HDMI 2.0 receiver now and an older 1080p projector. Basically the same boat I'm in. My pj is much older though since I got it in 2011, but still.

I vote projector. It will be a HUGE upgrade over what you have now. JVC will always be my 1st choice. @AcuDefTechGuy can help you out all you need there and on the receiver end. My plan is PJ first, new receiver if I get something that can actually use HDMI 2.1.

Since you can go up to 9.x now, you can always do a 5.1.4 setup and not use the back speakers all the time. Would give you some room to experiment if you really need them or not. Then, when everything settles on the newer receivers and the fun that HDMI 2.1 has become, you'll be ready for the new receiver. You've got a solid receiver that isn't out of date, so you aren't missing anything but the extra channels.

EDIT: I looked a bit further into your receiver and it looks like one of the earlier models that got an Atmos update. Doesn't mention DTS:X. It also looks like it is only capable of 7.2.2 (which is weird) as far as the pre-outs on the back are labeled. I might have to change my vote to receiver first. This one is tuff.

 

[}Fear_Inoculum{]

That one is difficult. You have a good HDMI 2.0 receiver now and an older 1080p projector. Basically the same boat I'm in. My pj is much older though since I got it in 2011, but still.

I vote projector. It will be a HUGE upgrade over what you have now. JVC will always be my 1st choice. @AcuDefTechGuy can help you out all you need there and on the receiver end. My plan is PJ first, new receiver if I get something that can actually use HDMI 2.1.

Since you can go up to 9.x now, you can always do a 5.1.4 setup and not use the back speakers all the time. Would give you some room to experiment if you really need them or not. Then, when everything settles on the newer receivers and the fun that HDMI 2.1 has become, you'll be ready for the new receiver. You've got a solid receiver that isn't out of date, so you aren't missing anything but the extra channels.

EDIT: I looked a bit further into your receiver and it looks like one of the earlier models that got an Atmos update. Doesn't mention DTS:X. It also looks like it is only capable of 7.2.2 (which is weird) as far as the pre-outs on the back are labeled. I might have to change my vote to receiver first. This one is tuff.

I'm looking at the JVC. Ideally, I'd like to get into the realm of 4K. Holy smokes though. The jump in price to an entry level 4K projector is steep. Looking at 7~9k Canadian Pesos (after tax) to get in.

My wife is going to kill me if I tell her I want to spend that much to upgrade our projector. I'd better start saving my pennies.

 

[Movie2099]

I'm looking at the JVC. Ideally, I'd like to get into the realm of 4K. Holy smokes though. The jump in price to an entry level 4K projector is steep. Looking at 7~9k Canadian Pesos (after tax) to get in.

My wife is going to kill me if I tell her I want to spend that much to upgrade our projector. I'd better start saving my pennies.

I went from the 8350 to the JVC NX5. Wow it’s like a whole new experience watching movies. Having a true 4K projector is a game changer. Well worth the cost. I say go with projector first and avr second.

 

[Eppie]

I'm looking at the JVC. Ideally, I'd like to get into the realm of 4K. Holy smokes though. The jump in price to an entry level 4K projector is steep. Looking at 7~9k Canadian Pesos (after tax) to get in.

My wife is going to kill me if I tell her I want to spend that much to upgrade our projector. I'd better start saving my pennies.

I was going to vote projector as well, but holy cow... the JVC on Gibby's is $8k. Ouch! Are they really that much better than the Epsons? Even the Samsung Premiers are $5k - $9k, but if you're looking at the RX-A8A that's going to be close to $4k by the time they get up here. Tough choice indeed. Wonder if we'll get the new Yamis same time as the U.S.?

 

[}Fear_Inoculum{]

I was going to vote projector as well, but holy cow... the JVC on Gibby's is $8k. Ouch! Are they really that much better than the Epsons? Even the Samsung Premiers are $5k - $9k, but if you're looking at the RX-A8A that's going to be close to $4k by the time they get up here. Tough choice indeed. Wonder if we'll get the new Yamis same time as the U.S.?

I've pretty much got enough saved right now to get the AVR upgraded. By the time August rolls around, I'll have more than enough. Going to take me a bit though to save up an additional ~4k to upgrade the projector.

I guess I'll just play it by ear and see when the new Yamaha receivers drop here in Canuckistan, and where I am with my savings by then.

Atmos/height speakers are also on the list of upgrades, but until I get a new AVR that can run a 7.2.4, they're on the back burner and most likely my final upgrade to the HT room (for now anyway lol).

 

[Eppie]

I've pretty much got enough saved right now to get the AVR upgraded. By the time August rolls around, I'll have more than enough. Going to take me a bit though to save up an additional ~4k to upgrade the projector.

I guess I'll just play it by ear and see when the new Yamaha receivers drop here in Canuckistan, and where I am with my savings by then.

Atmos/height speakers are also on the list of upgrades, but until I get a new AVR that can run a 7.2.4, they're on the back burner and most likely my final upgrade to the HT room (for now anyway lol).

I'm in a holding pattern right now as well. I have enough saved to upgrade from my Studio 20v5 to Founder 80F but the room acoustics are driving me crazy lately. Need to step back and see if I can tame the room, otherwise new speakers will exhibit the same problem. A newer AVR with better room EQ would probably help in that regard as well.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,

Depends on your goal. If you use anything that needs the latest HDMI protocols, then wait, they're not out yet and no one has a good solution for the latest HDMI stuff like with consoles.

Mean while, projectors are ready to go. If you want a projector. So you could upgrade that and benefit from it now and later.

Very best,

 

[}Fear_Inoculum{]

Heya,

Depends on your goal. If you use anything that needs the latest HDMI protocols, then wait, they're not out yet and no one has a good solution for the latest HDMI stuff like with consoles.

Mean while, projectors are ready to go. If you want a projector. So you could upgrade that and benefit from it now and later.

Very best,

Yeah, seems like the projector is the way to go.

By next year, we'll be doing renovations on the house. Included will be new carpets for the HT room. That's when I'm thinking about installing the in ceiling Atmos speakers. Until that time, I'm pretty sure that my RX-A2040 will be sufficient for my needs running my current 7.2 channel set up.

Going to start pinching those pennies for my new projector now.

Thanks for the input guys.

Cheers.

 

[ryanosaur]

I wouldn't spend on an AVR or Processor until HDMI gets straightened out more. There is no guarantee that the Gen2 Chipset Yamaha is banking on is going to be a winner. We still don't know what SU is going to do this year, but if the Digital Board Upgrade to their respective D&M Flagships is an indication, we will be less than blown away.
Update the PJ and ride the wave with your existing AVR a little longer.

 

[Pogre]

I'm looking at the JVC. Ideally, I'd like to get into the realm of 4K. Holy smokes though. The jump in price to an entry level 4K projector is steep. Looking at 7~9k Canadian Pesos (after tax) to get in.

My wife is going to kill me if I tell her I want to spend that much to upgrade our projector. I'd better start saving my pennies.

Just get her a new iPhone. That usually works for me...

 

[}Fear_Inoculum{]

Just get her a new iPhone. That usually works for me...

I just bought her an 800$ Breville Espresso maker. But I also just spent 3700$ on new set of Paradigm Premiere L/C/R

 

[ryanosaur]

I just bought her an 800$ Breville Espresso maker. But I also just spent 3700$ on new set of Paradigm Premiere L/C/R

You need to get her a good grinder, then:

DISCONTINUED Lelit PL044MM Fred Stepless Doserless Espresso Coffee Grinder | 1st-line.com

Check out the Lelit PL043MM Grinder.

www.1st-line.com

With that and my Rancilio Miss Sylvia, I'm pulling better espresso than most of the local baristas do!
(Never figured out how to get the steam wand working right, though... Big problem with single boilers... probably need to step up to at least this

Rancilio Silvia Pro X Dual Boiler Espresso Machine | 1st-line.com

www.1st-line.com

 

[}Fear_Inoculum{]

You need to get her a good grinder, then:

DISCONTINUED Lelit PL044MM Fred Stepless Doserless Espresso Coffee Grinder | 1st-line.com

Check out the Lelit PL043MM Grinder.

www.1st-line.com

With that and my Rancilio Miss Sylvia, I'm pulling better espresso than most of the local baristas do!
(Never figured out how to get the steam wand working right, though... Big problem with single boilers... probably need to step up to at least this

Rancilio Silvia Pro X Dual Boiler Espresso Machine | 1st-line.com

www.1st-line.com

Sweet googleymoogley man. Don't let my wife see those. Only I'm allowed to have expensive hobbies, she does enough clothes shopping, hair, makeup etc etc etc already lol.

 

[lovinthehd]

So she's more a videophile and you're more an audiophile, sounds like a good team and rationalization to upgrade both projector and avr The grinder too

 

[ryanosaur]

So she's more a videophile and you're more an audiophile, sounds like a good team and rationalization to upgrade both projector and avr The grinder too

Unless its one of those espresso machines that grinds for you.





(no judgement. promise. )

 

[}Fear_Inoculum{]

So she's more a videophile and you're more an audiophile, sounds like a good team and rationalization to upgrade both projector and avr The grinder too

Both are on the list, but baby steps..........

 

[lovinthehd]

Unless its one of those espresso machines that grinds for you.





(no judgement. promise. )

Did just look at the Breville Barista Pro....but he seemed to think a grinder was still in play....

Did you ever know Emilio Mitidiere, used to be primary guy and a customer of mine in SF bay area for imports/maintenance of a variety of Italian brands of espresso gear (but think he got out of that before you were likely to run into him?).

 

[ryanosaur]

Did just look at the Breville Barista Pro....but he seemed to think a grinder was still in play....

Did you ever know Emilio Mitidiere, used to be primary guy and a customer of mine in SF bay area for imports/maintenance of a variety of Italian brands of espresso gear (but think he got out of that before you were likely to run into him?).

I didn't do much back in my SF days but get into Espresso before Blue Bottle sold to Nestle. Those were the glory days. There was Four Barrel too, but I couldn't get their Baristas to pull me a decent shot to save any body's life. That said, there was Dynamo Donuts that opened up on 24th St and Harrison(?) (IIRC) and they pulled better Four Barrel than FB did their own coffee... AND the Donuts were bonkers good.

Anyway, I do not know your acquaintance.

From the perspective of a person who learned to do Espresso as a non-trained barista, I will say that the proper grind is the most important aspect of the equation. With a good grind, you can get an imperfect espresso machine to perform better. I used to have a Delonghi that was an upper level intro machine. Once I got a competent grinder and got it dialed in, it made much better espresso. Fast forward 12 years when I did my own Barista training, and it was a piece of cake because I had already learned to do the hardest part.
Learn to grind, learn to tamp... enjoy great coffee!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'm looking at upgrading both in the next ~1 year or so.

We were watching that new Zack Snyder movie the other night (Army of The Dead, don't both seeing it BTW), and my son commented that the picture was starting to look a little bit dated. I've got an Epson 8350 Projector that I bought in 2015. My wife chimed in that "it's all about the sound in here now" since I've been updating my sound stage over the last 4~5 months.

I was planning on upgrading my Yamaha RX-A2040 receiver first, but waiting until the summer when the new line up is out (looking at the RX-A6A or A8A). Now I'm thinking maybe the Projector needs an upgrade 1st.

What would you guys recommend 1st. AVR or projector?

@Pogre , @Movie2099, @MalVeauX, @lovinthehd @AcuDefTechGuy, @panteragstk

Cheers.

You mean the Picture looks a little dim or not as bright and pretty like when it was new?

Of course, it also depends on the movie itself. Movies shot using 2K-8K digital cameras (starting around 2009) will probably look a lot smoother and nicer than movies shot using analog 35-65 mm films.

But IMO with probably all lamp-based projectors, somehow the PQ seems to not look as bright and pretty later compared to new. And that’s why I personally prefer laser projectors.

I think the Epson 6050UB PQ is excellent, but not as good as the NX5. Some people even prefer the Epson 6050UB over the $5K Sony 4K PJ.

Is the higher priced PJ worth the money? You already know that you are the only person who can answer your question.

When I used to own both the NX5 and NZ3, I actually used the NZ3 99% of the time. So to me, the higher price is not worth MY money.

Is the NZ3 as good as the NX5? No, it is not. Most people would put the NX5 > 6050UB > NZ3. But we’re all different.