While beginning my research on reconfiguring my home theatre set-up, I just discovered this site. This first post is a long one (and I apologize for that), but I am hoping to get some input on the questions posed below. I'm thinking that this forum will provide me with objective responses (versus the answers that I am getting from people who are trying to sell me new equipment).
Background Information
I am converting a small (11' by 13') room into a home theatre. Of course, I am trying to salvage as much of my current equipment as possible, but I am willing to upgrade where necessary. I will have Comcast HD cable. I am interested in condensing the equipment as much as possible (i.e., eliminating any redundancies).
Current Equipment
I currently own a Hitachi Ultra-Vision projection TV. The television is nine years old, and I will be upgrading the television. I am deciding between three televisions---the Panasonic 50" Plasma; the Sony 50" WEGA LCD HDTV and teh Samsung 50" DLP Projection HDTV. Although I do not fully understand what it means---the Sony and Samsung are capable of displaying 1080P resolution.
My sound system consists of the following:
Yamaha RX-V795 receiver, Sony CD/DVD Player (DVP-S530), Anthony Gallo Nucleus Micro Satellite Speakers, Anthony Gallo Nucleus Micro Subwoofer, ASW1000 B&W subwoofer and Yamaha CD player (CDC-765).
Questions Regarding Elimination of Equipment
I am interested in your thoughts regarding these ideas to reduce some of the redundancies:
First, I am currently using two subwoofers! When I first purchased the speakers, the manual instructed me to connect the main (front) speakers first to the Gallo subwoofer and then to the receiver. However, I later purchased the powered B&W subwoofer, which I connected directly to the subwoofer port on the receiver. Everything seems be working OK, but I'm thinking that it would be most efficient to eliminate the Gallo subwoofer and connect the front speakers directly to the receiver. Is this correct?
Next, I would like to eliminate the CD player since it seems like I should be able to play CDs through my DVD player.
Questions Regarding Equipment Upgrades
First, my DVD player is nearly six years old. Is it necessary to upgrade this player in order to take advantage of my new HDTV? I'm beginning to hear more about progressive scan. What would you recommend?
One of the home theatre sales representatives told me that I should also upgrade my receiver. My Yamaha is about five years old---it supports 5.1 surround and DTS. He recommended going with one of the new Denon receivers (in the same approximate price range ($600 to $800). Does this make sense? I'm thinking about sticking with my receiver for now.
Second, I am assuming that some new cables will be required with the HDTV (both from the cable box to the TV and from the DVD player to the TV). Any thoughts on this?
Questions Regarding Speaker Placement
I've read the recommendations for speaker placement. The center and front speakers can be placed in the room as recommended. However, I have a small problem with the rear speakers.
The home theatre seating sits almost directly against the back wall. So, I am looking at two options for placing the two rear Gallo satellites. One is to use floor stands in the corners of the room. I'm concerned that this will move the rear speakers to a position more to the side than in back of the viewer. Another option is to mount to speakers to the wall. This would move the speakers back a few inches as compared to the floor stands. A final option is to place the speakers in the wall--Gallo offers matching in-wall mounts. Is this enough of an advantage to go with the wall mount rather than stands? Is the placement of the rear speakers that critical? Is it important to position the rear speakers towards the viewer? If so, that might be more difficult if they are placed in-wall.
Again, I apologize for the long first post. I would greatly appreciate a response to any (or all) of the above questions.
Thanks!