New guy seeking advice

[willw]

Hello I joined the site earier this week and am now seeking advice. I'm thinking about upgrading our stereo AV Reciever. The one we're using now is a Sony STR DE875,a 5.1 reciever I believe rated at 100 watts per channel. Sounds pretty good using Mirage tower M-790 fronts, and Mirage M-290 rears. Our tv is a Toshiba 36" that still has a great picture and the wife wants to keep it till it starts to go bad before we invest in lets say a 50-52" plasma/LCD wide screen in the future. So my question is would buying another reciever now looking to the future be a good idea? And do you think Buying Pioneer, Onkyo, Denon, or Yamaha will improve in the quality of the sound comming out of the speakers we have? Thanks, Will

 

[Nomo]

Any of the brands you listed will be an improvement over Sony. Onkyo is the flavor of the year; for good reason.
Do you have a budget in mind?

 

[willw]

Brand

Well yes, the Onkyo SR-805 is the one that may be a good fit for us? Our room size is 25x25' Budget about 1k.

 

[Nomo]

The 805 is a great choice but depending on how long you plan to actually plan to keep your current TV, I'm assuming it is a CRT without HDMI, it may be a bit of over kill. The 605 is very good, however it lacks preouts for the addition of an external amp. The 705 is a step up with preouts, for a bit more money.
Both would be less than the 805 and possibly a better fit for the time being.
Just food for thought.
Best advice; don't jump into anything. Take your time and look around.

 

[willw]

Yes the TV is a crt. And the room size is 25'x25'. And I am in no hurry. Just thought it would give me something to play with new over Christmas vacation I have comming up.

 

[Nomo]

If your use is geared more towards music, here's another thought..

http://www.emotiva.com/products.html

 

[willw]

Ok took a look at the EMOTIVA DMR-1 Reciever and looks pretty awsome.

 

[Seth=L]

Your current speakers don't need the amount of power the TX-SR805 or the DMR-1 has, they are pretty efficient. The TX-SR705 is a safe bet.

 

[willw]

Thank you for your response Seth=L . Ok so I take it that the Onkyo 705 has plenty of power for us and is not as expensive. You feel that the sound quality will be every bit as good as the EMOTIVA?

 

[mtrycrafts]

Hello I joined the site earier this week and am now seeking advice. I'm thinking about upgrading our stereo AV Reciever. The one we're using now is a Sony STR DE875,a 5.1 reciever I believe rated at 100 watts per channel. Sounds pretty good using Mirage tower M-790 fronts, and Mirage M-290 rears. Our tv is a Toshiba 36" that still has a great picture and the wife wants to keep it till it starts to go bad before we invest in lets say a 50-52" plasma/LCD wide screen in the future. So my question is would buying another reciever now looking to the future be a good idea? And do you think Buying Pioneer, Onkyo, Denon, or Yamaha will improve in the quality of the sound comming out of the speakers we have? Thanks, Will

I am not seeing any complaint about the sound quality. There should not be a sound quality improvement with any of the listed components, period.
What is the capability of that TV, just standard analog?
What is the source for movies?
Do you have a subwoofer?

Even when you do upgrade the TV to hi def you need to upgrade your movie sources to it to take advantage of the hi-def video and audio formats. Then, you may need a receiver that is compatible.
As long as you are satisfied with your speakers now, I don't see a need outside of improving room acoustics.

 

[willw]

Just useing a standard dvd player right now and yes we are useing a JBL Northridge N- Center Powerbass 10 as a sub.

 

[Seth=L]

I am not seeing any complaint about the sound quality. There should not be a sound quality improvement with any of the listed components, period.
What is the capability of that TV, just standard analog?
What is the source for movies?
Do you have a subwoofer?

Even when you do upgrade the TV to hi def you need to upgrade your movie sources to it to take advantage of the hi-def video and audio formats. Then, you may need a receiver that is compatible.
As long as you are satisfied with your speakers now, I don't see a need outside of improving room acoustics.

Some very good points here, I am not rethinking my position. If you don't have HDMI why would you get an HDMI receiver?

A good subwoofer could really make your system sound better. A new TV could make your viewing experiance better too.

 

[Seth=L]

Just useing a standard dvd player right now and yes we are useing a JBL Northridge N- Center Powerbass 10 as a sub.

FLOP FLOP, get a new subwoofer. SVS, Velodyne, HSU, and many other great names are available. Time for some sub shopping.

 

[Nimrod]

Come on over, I have the 705 and SVS Sub = the joint is rocking

 

[willw]

Cool

LOL Ok so far I have the Onkyo 705 Plus the SVS sub and we can get this joint a rocking? That's doable for us. I've shopped the 705, now I have to go shop the sub. How about the SVS PB-12? I'm in OHIO and buying a sub made right here is that much better.

 

[Seth=L]

I'm in OHIO and buying a sub made right here is that much better.

You might even be able to waive the shipping and pick it up yourself.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Some very good points here, I am not rethinking my position. If you don't have HDMI why would you get an HDMI receiver?

A good subwoofer could really make your system sound better. A new TV could make your viewing experiance better too.

Yes, but that receiver is ready for the new TV when the current one will go belly up, in the distant future. With that thought, too early to upgrade for that far into the future.
Yes, a great sub, if WAF blessed, will go a long way.

 

[Seth=L]

Yes, but that receiver is ready for the new TV when the current one will go belly up, in the distant future. With that thought, too early to upgrade for that far into the future.
Yes, a great sub, if WAF blessed, will go a long way.

One thing is pretty certain, a similarly featured receiver in the future, when the TV does go belly up or the OP decides to upgrade the TV, will be less expensive.

 

[willw]

Thank you

Thanks for all the help everyone. Here's what I did. SVS PB 12 NSD sub on order to replace JBL. Also Mirage C-150 Center Channel speaker on order to replace the JBL Center Channel speaker. The Mirage center should go better with the Mirage fronts. The reciever upgrade is on hold as per advice till the 36" Crt starts to go.

 

[CaptainAudio]

Personally I think you made the correct choice. Having a matching center to those mains will certainly be an improvement.

If you haven't done/considered room treatments now might be the time. Check the forums on DIY panels as their is many different threads. This would also be an inexpensive improvement that wouldn't need to be removed or replaced in the future due to other upgrades.