Hi all,
First a bit of a disclaimer. I wouldn’t call myself a noob as I spent a decent amount of time in my misspent youth playing around with car audio, etc. and have done all my own wiring, setup, etc. of my current home A/V system. While I enjoy HT and listening to music, I admit I am not at the level of most of the folks here. However, my long run goal is to improve as funds permit. In short, be gentle. ;-)
My current setup is as follows:
- Panny 58” V10 Plasma
- Denon AVR: an older 43xx that lacks HDMI switching and the latest audio decoders
- Cambridge Soundworks Speaker System: 7.1 surround setup with M80 bookshelf fronts, equivalent quality/full size center (not sure of the model), S300 sides/rears and powered sub. For right or wrong, I always thought they had a pretty good bang for the buck rating. I was young.
- Panasonic BD, xFiniti Cable, xBox, Wii and older CD/DVD player
Most of the system is about 10 years old. The TV is new as my Toshiba rear projection hopped the twig about a year ago. Generally, I’ve been ok with the results. Its no $25k, $50k or $100k system but it sounds decent to me. However, time has passed and I need to make a move. The primary drivers are:
- My components are in a closet located about 25’ from my TV. When I did all the wiring, HDMI was in its infancy and….showing my wondrous predictive powers…I decided it was a gimmick and went with only component cabling. I could rant here about the media companies causing me a lot of pain with the whole HDMI thing but who would care? Anyway, running HDMI cables after the fact was not practical. However, I am now engaged in a kitchen remodel which has finally allowed me to get into the ceiling and run Blue Jeans HDMI cables from the components to the TV. So, now I feel I need HDMI switching capability.
- BD, in particular, has exposed the staleness of my audio processing which is embarrassing, annoying and generally unacceptable.
I started getting my head around current product offerings a few weeks ago. As I was pretty happy with my Denon, I started with their current line and dialed into the 4311ci as that appears to be the newest model most comparable to what I currently have. As I am one to tend to analyze these types of purchases pretty carefully (or some might claim to death), I have looked at the comparable AVR solutions (Onkyo 5008, Marantz, etc.) and, of those, am still leaning towards the Denon. Note that I have no need for a multi-zone solution at this time and have no intention of running more speakers for a 9.1 system as my room just can’t support additional speakers without looking ridiculous (heresy??).
In my travels I have come across the Emotiva products (including some pretty glowing reviews on this site) and am sort of intrigued by the prospect of pairing the UMC-1 and the UPA-7. I have always been aware of going the separates route but its generally seemed out of reach financially. However, going that route definitely appeals to my inner-geek and to my frustration at having to pay to replace a whole AVR (which in my mind just combines the processing and amplification functions) as a result of connection/processing obsolescence when the amplification is still *fine*. It appears that going this route could actually be marginally cheaper than the 4311 in the short-run….not to mention more so in the long-run. And, I would expect (correct me if I am wrong) better clarity from this setup than the Denon. I note that setup is a tad less powerful 125WPC vs 140WPC but its unclear to me if this is a real world difference and also from what I have read it sounds like the Emo setup actually has a lot more usable power because of the way they rate AVR power. On the flip side, it seems like the UMC has some *issues* which might be ok with me but could cause current (and worse future) problems with the WAF. Also, I worry a bit that, in the long run, I might find the UPA lacking power at some point in the future. Again, not sure if I have my head on straight here.
So, I wanted to throw myself on the mercy of the court here and get some feedback on my current setup and which direction I should head in. Funds aren’t unlimited (did I mention a concurrent kitchen remodel?) but I have a long-term view as I intend to keep improving as time goes on. I welcome feedback on the whole system but am obviously most focused on the AVR/amplification part and whether I should be looking at something other than the 4311ci and whether the Emo route would be a stroke of genius or a regrettable error. Are there other things I should be thinking of? I am very willing to do additional research, etc. but need guidance.
Thanks for taking the time to read my story. I appreciate any feedback (no pun intended). Thanks!!
-D
