A few questions to help me figure out what I need / want

[Hatfield101]

I have an old sony reciever thats ~20 years old. Its time to replace it and enter the world of home theater. I still listen to quite a bit of music and have CDs but would like to eventually use a computer and or NAS to send music to the receiver. One t hing this site has taught me is the speakers are by far the most important piece of the puzzle. That leads to my first question (and the rest):

1. Are my JBL L7s still quality speakers and to what (if anything) would they compare to today? They are in excellent shape - just wondering at what price point would i need to get to in order to upgrade?

2. Is sending music via a hard connection from a digital source better or worse than using a wireless network to do so? Will i lose any clarity or accuracy over a wireless connection?

3. In terms of converting my music (DAC) to listen to it, which of the following options would be best?
A. Oppo 103
B. a DAC in the $300 dollar range
C. A ~$600 dollar receiver (Marantz Denon) would essentially do the same level of conversion of the digital signal as either the oppo or the DAC mentioned above.

4. What would be the issues with using a 7.1 or 7.2 receiver to power a "surround sound" room with the Tower speakers acting as the front speakers and subs and adding only a center channel and 2 rear speakers? (so kind of a 5.0 set up).

Thinking of keeping the L7s if they are worth doing so and using them as front L and front R in a surround sound mode and only using the 2 towers when listening to tunes.

Sorry for rambling but the more i read - the less i know. The only thing i do know is that my first priority is deciding how good are my L7s.

Thanks for any help yall offer - you all are saints in helping us poor lost souls out!

 

[ImcLoud]

I recently heard a system using an oppo3 as their preamp and a simple marantz integrated amp with a pair of bookshelfs {quad 12L2's} and it was impressive, I am now an oppo believer, I like that setup... I like as direct a path as possible for music, I don't like an avr, and some people do or don't mind it, I want it direct and simple and the oppo seems to do that better than most other equipment available...

As far as your L7's that is totally up to you, grab another pair of speakers in your price range and compare them... But personally if you are looking to build a music only system, keep it as direct as possible and get speakers you like...

as for wireless or wired, I like wired, but my borther steams from his phone all the time and it sounds good too... A lot of people get hung up on what you can't hear {kind of like me and not using avrs for music, lol}...

 

[Hatfield101]

Thanks for the super fast response. I wish i could afford to have a music only system and a separate home theater system but i dont think i can. I spend about half the time in my chair just listening to tunes and half watching sporting events tv shows or movies. I reckon i could just get a sound bar for the tv and have all the rest of the budget for a music only system but it seems like i oughta be able to double dip some. Now i have even more questions to sort out in my head lol. I will say that I have pieced together some emotiva stuff based on alot of your helpful responses to folks on here. I need to do some soul searching i guess and decide how much i want to listen to tv and music vs listen to music.

 

[ImcLoud]

I'm sure you will get a lot more responses, there are a ton of opinions on here, all worth the wait...
A music only system doesn't have to be very expensive, if you are near field you can get a nice set of bookshelfs and a small integrated amp...
Amazon.com: Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Andrew Jones Designed Bookshelf Loudspeakers: Electronics
and
Amazon.com: Dayton Audio DTA-100a Class-T Digital Amplifier 50 WPC (Black): Electronics
you can find them even cheaper, but for a couple hundred bucks you can get a small direct system, set it up and get a decent critical listening station just for music, there is something pure about having it available...

 

[zieglj01]

You want music and you like JBL - well this is a serious good sounding speaker
for Both music and movies - and I remember the L1 bookshelf.
JBL Studio 530
Amazon.com: JBL Studio 530 Two-Way Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair, Black): Electronics

I own them - also check some other subjective reviews
Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: JBL Studio 530 Two-Way Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair, Black)

A Marantz or Denon receiver will be fine