My Home Theater may need update(s)...

G

Gatsby191

Audioholic
As I found out very quickly when I got into this great hobby, the top,most advanced,or Best pieces of AV gear, are usually only the top or best, until new better, more advanced gear,comes out...
So, rather than ask about The need or not, to replace every piece of gear in my home theater/Music listening room, I’m going to just list all of it, And hope for suggestions, that I truly need to make, if I wish to continue to be able to view or listen to anything that is Out there now, and hopefully in the future. Thank you for any suggestions or solutions in advance.
also, the picture and definition on my Samsung plasma, is still brilliant. So, I’m hoping to be able to still have it in my home theater, while still being able to watch any format of visual media on it. Don’t want to ditch the Onkyo either, if possible.
“The Gear"
Samsung-FP T6374 HDTV Plasma 1080P.
Onkyo AVR TX SR875.
Yamaha C750 DVD/SACD/CD Changer.
Audio Technica Direct Drive Turntable.
ButtKicker BKA 10004A Amp.
Tannoy Sensys DC 2's-Front L&R speakers.
Tannoy Arena Highline 500C-Center channel speaker.
Tannoy Arena Sattelite-side Surround-L&R speakers.
Tannoy Arena Highline 500-Rear L&R speakers.
Aperion Audio Intimus S-12 Subwoofer.
ButtKicker Mini LFE's- 1 under each Chair(4).
**Panasonic: DMP BD30 Blu Ray Player
Toshiba: HD A35 HD Player.

**-The Panasonic DMP BD30 Has been getting ‘stuck’ lately, and I don’t know if it’s due to not being able to handle a lot of the new stuff or not, seeing how it is 13 years old.(haven’t been able to find any firmware updates for it)
The HD player, still has a fantastic picture quality. But, we all know how that ended…
 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
What don't you like about your system? Nice Speakers.
Only thing I would look to upgrade for Maximum Impact would be the Subwoofer and the TV. Ya you think its still nice till you bring home one of these new ones. JMO


 
tmurnin

tmurnin

Full Audioholic
If you’ve got the upgrade bug, agree that replacing that Intimus sub with something from Hsu, SVS, Rhythmik (ideally with two subs) is prob your best bet. You don’t say what the room is like, but you could add Atmos in-ceiling speakers as well, though that might require replacing the Onkyo
 
G

Gatsby191

Audioholic
What don't you like about your system? Nice Speakers.
Only thing I would look to upgrade for Maximum Impact would be the Subwoofer and the TV. Ya you think its still nice till you bring home one of these new ones. JMO


We do have a pretty recent model, from the 7 series, Samsung OLED line, 55 inch, flat screen, in our living room. And, the Samsung plasma, that I have in my theater room, in the basement, is still far superior, in black levels, detail, and vibrance, in IMHO. But, with the HDMI cable that I have running from the back of the plasma, through the walls, into the back of rack enclosure,all the way in the back(the other side of the room)and into one of the Onkyo’s HDMI inputs, was/is a 25 footer, that I custom ordered and purchased from bluejeans cable, when the room was almost completed, back in 2012-2013, I think…
SO, with that cable, not being the most updated/format capable
HDMI cable, and my plasma being a 1080P plasma, and the Onkyo AVR-being the model that it is, is there any backwards compatible kind of connectors/converter/Doohickey, that I can, or need to use, in order to be able to still view any and all of today’s formatted media, and an updated DVD/Blu-ray disc/4K formatted, etc., player on my plasma, and also be able to use& run it to the plasma from and through my Onkyo AVR?
The room is 10 X 20, with the flat screen plasma mounted on one side of the room with a graphic ‘eye’ IR extender/sender sitting directly over the plasma so as to be able to control the the plasma, and all of the AV gear,that is on/in-the rack enclosure at the other end of the room and behind the two rows of theater chairs/loungers. It was the max. size, that could be allocated to my theater room.
But, I still managed to squeeeeze a pretty powerful 7.1 system into it.
so, I’m not sure that the subwoofer, needs to be upgraded with the room only being 10 x 20 with a 7 foot ceiling.
But, as always, please offer any advice, and suggestions, that I may still need to upgrade to and incorporate into my HT/music room, so any kind of new and older formatted ‘stuff’, can be viewed or listened to in it. Thank you in advance, for any and all suggestions, and answers, that you all can give me. All the best to everyone and their Families. Joe B.
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
How can anyone claim to have a home theater when they don't have a front projector?

Seriously? Get a projector! :)
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
How can anyone claim to have a home theater when they don't have a front projector?

Seriously? Get a projector! :)
That's how I feel even back 29 years ago. :D

Home Theater changed forever for me when I first saw my first demo of a home projector. There was no going back.

Even when I was a young college student, I had to have my home theater projector. :D
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
You're trying to start something in here.
Damn straight!!! Get off my lawn, and go buy a projector.

For those who have seen what a 150" image looks like with black levels that can be amazingly high, and an experience that is truly encompassing, the thought of a measly 85" TV is laughable. Anything smaller than 100" is just a 'big TV', it's not a home theater... ever.

 
Auditor55

Auditor55

Audioholic General
Damn straight!!! Get off my lawn, and go buy a projector.

For those who have seen what a 150" image looks like with black levels that can be amazingly high, and an experience that is truly encompassing, the thought of a measly 85" TV is laughable. Anything smaller than 100" is just a 'big TV', it's not a home theater... ever.

Well some would say:

Projectors have limited brightness for HDR, most of them can't do Dolby Vision. They don't have infinite blacks like a large OLED displays. With that said, projectors are lagging when it comes to the future of display technology.
 
S

SimplyEpic

Audioholic
With the Panasonic DMP BD30 getting "stuck" as you say you could look into updating that with something like the Sony UBP-X800M2 or other newer Blue Ray player with newer features and streaming capabilities.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
There are always new features and sound modes coming out, but if you don't need them the good news is, what was considered good back then is likely still good today. I'd say speakers have probably made the most advancements as far as actual sound quality goes. Newer electronics tend to be more lateral moves in most cases unless there are some features you want/need that you don't have currently.

I like the suggestions for you so far and agree that you don't have a terrible setup right now. A few opportunities, but your speakers ain't bad. I'll bet it sounds pretty good.
 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
Newer electronics tend to be more lateral moves in most cases unless there are some features you want/need that you don't have currently.
More Lateral??? I would agree only when talking about Amps.
But everything else in Electronics has Changed. Connectivity
Audio Modes
Televisions
Gaming Systems
Turntables
Phones
Soon CD Players will be considered Vintage
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
More Lateral??? I would agree only when talking about Amps.
But everything else in Electronics has Changed. Connectivity
Audio Modes
Televisions
Gaming Systems
Turntables
Phones
Soon CD Players will be considered Vintage
When I look at your examples I'm seeing a list of features. At the core (for audio) what sounded good back then likely still sounds good today, imo.

And vintage hasn't stopped the vinyl crowd, lol.
 
G

Gatsby191

Audioholic
Did the OP ever upgrade his Subwoofer?
no, the original poster, me, LOL, never got a chance to upgrade my subwoofer, unfortunately.
I’ve been plagued with a plethora of health issues for a while now. So, most upgrades, or other tasks, that require physical work by me, get delayed, and sometimes put off all together for long chunks of time.
Also, with the room, that I use as a home Theater/Movie and Audio room, being 10‘ x 20‘, with a 7 foot ceiling, I still wonder if upgrading to a more powerful subwoofer, or even a two subwoofer set up, is going to be as beneficial as it would be if my room was substantially larger, and with a higher ceiling.
Those room restrictions, are also why I didn’t put a projector in the room. Again, the ceiling is only 7 feet high, and I have two rows, 2 and 2, with the back row being on a riser. And, with that back row of seating on the riser being factored in, where would I mount a projector where it would have enough room to hang down and project the kind of image it needs to, while at the same time, not having anyone stand up on the riser and bang their head into the projector hanging from the low ceiling?
Sorry, I never really got to address all these suggestions, and comments about the lack of a projector in my room. Trust me, I really want one! Lol!
So, with that said, I’m still ISO a smart./streaming blu-ray player with a decent audiophile grade quality to it, and if at all possible the ability to play 4K movie discs on it.
BUT, is the ‘4K/UHD’ going to be able to be played/Viewed, or appreciated,on my Samsung-FP T6374 HDTV Plasma 1080P?
(BTW, I paid 5K for that plasma, and it was the best and biggest plasma on the market when I purchased it. Was…. Was when I could still earn a living)
Again, sorry for the run-on post, full of multiple issues.
All the best to everyone and their Families through these extremely trying times, that we are all facing.
Joe B.
 

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