Upgrade assistance for my HT

[Tryguy]

Hi there,

I have about $500 to spend on upgrading something in my HT and wanted to get an idea from you guru's where my money would be best spent. This is my current setup, which I know is nothing compared to what most of you have, but it plays movies well (which is 90% of what it is used for):

Receiver - Yamaha RX-V530 (5.1, DTS)
Speakers - Energy Take 5.1's (with 12 ga Monster cable)
DVD - Panasonic RP56 Progressive (connected with Optical audio and component cables)
Projector - Optoma H31

Is there something that you think would be worthwhile upgrading? Thanks for your input guys.

 

[agarwalro]

How do you control all this ?

Your setup is great, you have selected all the essentials wisely... Now all your improvements, if not upgrades, should be towards improving your experience.

In that regard, I have 2 suggestions.

1) Do you have a good Universal remote for your HT. Believe me, one of these can make your HT experience that much better. A good one with all the options implemented well would put you back $150.00 - $ 300.00

2) How about upgrading your seating arangement? Make yourself even more comfortable as you enjoy that movie or music.

 

[Tryguy]

Now that is smart...

...here I am thinking about what hardware I could buy, but you are quite right it may be better to add to the overall HT experience.

Thanks for the smart advice.

 

[MDS]

I agree that a good universal remote is an absolute necessity. I would recommend the Home Theater Master MX-350 - about $125 at either surfremotecontrol.com or bluedo.com. You can probably find an MX-500 for about half that, but if you can swing it, the 350 improves upon the 500 in a few ways.

 

[j_garcia]

I think your system is good enough that you are going to have to spend a bit more than $500 to get a big improvement. I would upgrade speakers if it were me. Athena, which is a brand of the parent of Energy Speakers, has last year's models on sale at www.audioadvisor.com for good prices. You could pick up a pair of B2s for $150 or B1s for $100, and a C1 for $100, to replace the front 3 speakers from the Take5 package. That will give you a little more midrange performance. You then have the extra speakers to use elsewhere - perhaps down the road you could upgrade to a 6.1 or 7.1 receiver and use those speakers to fill in your surrounds.

You can get a decent universal remote for about $100. The URC-200 is $92 here. It's easy to program and easy to use. The 100, with a smaller display is just $62 from them!

 

[MDS]

Good suggestion. The URC-200 is very similar to the MX-350. The MX-350 is from the 'total control' line whereas the URC-200 is from the consumer line. Minimal differences like different color backlight and non-assignable RF on the 200.

 

[korgoth]

if yorue going to spend 100+ bucks on a universal, id bet the harmony 880 by logitech..

you can get it for 190 including shipping. best remote you can get for the price.

 

[AVRat]

I'm assuming there is a sub in the system. Do you feel (pun intended) it performs adequately? If not then that may be a good starting point.

 

[chas_w]

I'm assuming there is a sub in the system. Do you feel (pun intended) it performs adequately? If not then that may be a good starting point.

Though I'm not familiar with the Take system subwoofer, I would agree that a new $500 subwoofer might be worth considering.

 

[Kurt C.]

We were obviously thinking along similar lines when picking our systems. From source to ears, I have:

Avia HT setup disk
Panasonic RP-56 DVD/CD player
Yamaha RX-V650 receiver
Radio Shack SPL meter
Athena AS-B1 fronts/surrounds, AS-C1 center
SVS PB10 subwoofer
DIY Absorption panels

If you don't have a good setup disk and an SPL meter, that would be my first recommendation. Next would be acoustic treatment for the room (as needed) then speakers to improve the soundstage.

I notice J_Garcia recommended the Athenas. He's right, but to my ears the Athena Audition Series sounds only slightly better than your Energys. Consider going one step higher up the speaker ladder. FWIW, my next $500 is going to be spent speakers--three Ascend Acoustics CBM-170s for the front. A sub? Not a bad idea but your Take 5.1 sub will suffice if carefully placed.

 

[jcPanny]

<$500 upgrades

$400-500 - HSU STF-2 or SVS PB-10ISD sub
$500 - Yamaha RX-V1500 receiver
$306 - Yamaha HTR-5860 receiver
$100 - Harmony 520 universal remote

 

[ca_newbee]

I think your system is good enough that you are going to have to spend a bit more than $500 to get a big improvement. I would upgrade speakers if it were me. Athena, which is a brand of the parent of Energy Speakers, has last year's models on sale at www.audioadvisor.com for good prices. You could pick up a pair of B2s for $150 or B1s for $100, and a C1 for $100, to replace the front 3 speakers from the Take5 package. That will give you a little more midrange performance. You then have the extra speakers to use elsewhere - perhaps down the road you could upgrade to a 6.1 or 7.1 receiver and use those speakers to fill in your surrounds.

You can get a decent universal remote for about $100. The URC-200 is $92 here. It's easy to program and easy to use. The 100, with a smaller display is just $62 from them!

Just bought the URC-200 for $81 at amazon with free shipping