Newbie here to this forum but am a regular on other enthusiast forums and have learned so much from the pros in other areas.
I am currently running a home theater built in the last 90s and early 2000s.
I currently have:
1. Yamaha RXV220 Receiver
2. B&W 601s (L/R)
3. B&W LM1s (2 Rears)
4. B&W 600 series center channel (don't remember the model)
5. Valodyne 1012XI Subwoofer
Blue Jean cables thought the whole system.
I am most interested in Movie sound but do use the system for music and am looking to upgrade (or I should say bring my system into the current state of technology). At the time of purchase I felt like my system was pretty good and I still think my speakers and sub perform pretty well.
My room is rather large (17x18) with and open floor plan and 18 ft vaulted ceilings. So bass is an issue.
I just put in an order for an 85" QLED (Q60t) and I want to outfit the sound and integrate some voice control, wifi controls, and multi room settings. In the near term I am planning on two zones but wouldn't mind having options in the future.
My plan is to (in the short term) bring my receiver into the current decade. I started looking around and the improvement in technology and performance at a reduced cost point seems incredible. My Yamaha which was 1200 back in the day can be matched at a much lower price point. Based on my research it seems like there's a lot of under $1k options out there that can provide great quality and maybe spending $2k or even $1k is more than is necessary (I would love your opinions here).
Through my digging, I found the NAD T 777 V3 that seemed to have a ton of bells and whistles that interested me (again that may be going overboard).
The things that peaked my interest in the NAD were:
1. Dirac auto correction: one of the biggest thing that bothers me about my current system is the change in performance when I switch between audio sources (I find my self changing the speaker levels so often and when my family is using it with out me and I walk in I can hear how off the system is. Plus my wife hates me starting a movie with a sound test).
2. BluOS: Which would allow me to integrate music into more rooms and actually start using my receiver more for music. (Understanding that there is others out there such as HEOS and Music Play that compete)
3. Full 80 watts per channel
4. 6 HDMI ports (although I don't know the everything really needs to run through the receiver rather than direct connect and then udio out to the receiver from TB - does this really matter?)
5. Ability to change cards and upgrade for the future.
I don't like that it's not 9 channels as it sounds like the adding of 4 channels to my system will really add quality.
All this sounds really good even though NAD (which seems respected) is a brand I have never heard of. Now I can afford it but this isn't cheap and I wonder if I'm just engulfed in the journey and getting more than I need.
At the end of the day what I really want is options to integrate new components, produce good consistent sound, ease of use, multi-source integration, and not have to replace it for another 20 years.
Other things I'd like to consider are:
1. What additions should I make for improved sound - I've read alot about adding additional subs but I think my wife will kill me and for proper placement wiring is going to be an issue. Additionally, is 9.1 channels really the answer and if so am I better off spending the money on speakers.
2. Is there really any need for improvement in my speakers and I just think they are good because they are a fancy name brand but old and technology has changed.
Lastly, since my audio knowledge is 20 years old are there features and technologies that I really should be considering since I'm updating to the connected world.
Thanks so much for your help and read of what is definitely a very long post. IMO I like when people do thoughtful research before asking for the professionals to tell them what to do.