Hi folks,
I'm new here so apologies up front if I'm asking something obvious or stupid. Also feel free to direct me at the right part of the site to answer my stupid question ;-)
I currently own a Sony DAV-S800 home theatre system. This is a 5.1 system with satellite speakers rated at 50w and 6 ohm impedance (it doesn't have a 4/8 ohm switch like some amplifiers). Unfortunately, the output from the DAV-S800 for the front left speaker has stopped working. Reading around on the internet, this seems to be a common problem for which there is no real cure. I've had the system for just over four years; when I purchased it (for over £800 from an official Sony Centre) I took out an extended warranty of 3 years, to take the total warranty period to four years. So it's just out of warranty (a couple of weeks) but it won't be covered. This is why I need to buy a new AV receiver. As a small blessing, the speaker problem was also how I discovered this site, so sometimes good can come from bad.
I don't need the inbuilt DVD player of the DAV-S800 any more - nowadays I watch all my films via an xbox running Xbox Media Centre, using component output to my 43" Toshiba RPTV and optical audio output via a Toslink cable to the DAV. So basically I need a new AV receiver, ideally with a built in radio tuner (DAB digital if possible). I also have a Sky+ box and a Dreambox, both of which have optical sound output, and an SVHS vcr which has analogue sound output. So these are the devices I need to switch between.
The decoder I've been looking at is the Pioneer VSX-915S, available for £233.90 from
http://www.digico.co.uk/default.asp?Detail=Yes&ModelID=703 (price includes delivery to my door). It has three optical inputs (unfortunately one of them is at the front, but it's in a cabinet anyway so not that noticable). It can also feed through component video, which may be nice. I'm thinking I could plug the Sky+, Dreambox and Xbox all into the Pioneer and have a single connection to the TV, then use the Pioneer to switch inputs. Not ideal, because I'd actually be sending RGB signals through and into a Scart input on the TV rather than the component connection (as the Sky+ box and Dreambox don't have component out), but I could live with the Xbox via RGB instead of component if I had to. Ideally it would upmix the RGB signal to a component video signal, but I guess it doesn't (is there anything that does?).
The Pioneer has 7.1 sound, which I guess I will want in future and therefore want to purchase now. The real question (apart from can someone recommend a better decoder in the same kind of price bracket) is to do with the speakers. I have cabled up the speakers for the existing 5.1 system while renovating the room. The wires are all hidden in the walls, and come out at exactly the right points for wall mounting the speakers, which are on brackets (I'm not using the floor stands that come with the DAV-S800) at exactly the right height on the walls. The four surround speakers are in the four corners of the room, and the centre speaker is in the middle of the front wall, above the Television. When wiring up the room, I also left two loose cables in the ceiling at around 40% of the side walls (nearer the rear), with the thought that if they ever come up with a 7.1 specification then I'll have cables ready for side speakers (probably in the ceiling).
So, my questions are as follows:
1) Can I use the 7.1 decoder as a 5.1 system for now, rather than purchasing and installing two extra speakers to make it 7.1?
2) The Pioneer has outputs rated at 100W and 8 ohms. Will this work with my 50W 6 ohm speakers?
3) Is the amp I'm suggesting a reasonable proposition? Or is there something similar for cheaper, or better for the same money?
4) Did anyone ever work out how to fix the DAV-SX00 left speaker problem (meaning that I don't have to upgrade yet)?
Thanks muchly for any help you can offer ;-)
-simon