what comes first, av decisions

[Marty Manich]

I'm new to the forum I just bought a pan 50" plasma and want to upgrade my audio system. My old system seems to have bitten the dust, after 30 years is should. Looking to upgrade over the next year (could be two by the time I'm done).

My old amp has seen it's last days, it's shutting off at less the half volume after about 30 min. speakers seem to be ok.

What I'm thinking about doing is buying a new receiver and using my old speakers until i find what i want and playing everything in stereo. then adding new mains, center, sub etc. I may buy speakers peicemeal also. One person has said I should decide on speakers and that will dicitate which receiver i should get.

Budget on this will be between 2500 and 3500. I'm thinking about spending between 700 and 1200 on a receiver and the differance on speakers.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Marty

We all know how budgets are, they are starting points. We all usally break them.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I'm new to the forum I just bought a pan 50" plasma and want to upgrade my audio system. My old system seems to have bitten the dust, after 30 years is should. Looking to upgrade over the next year (could be two by the time I'm done).

My old amp has seen it's last days, it's shutting off at less the half volume after about 30 min. speakers seem to be ok.

What I'm thinking about doing is buying a new receiver and using my old speakers until i find what i want and playing everything in stereo. then adding new mains, center, sub etc. I may buy speakers peicemeal also. One person has said I should decide on speakers and that will dicitate which receiver i should get.

Budget on this will be between 2500 and 3500. I'm thinking about spending between 700 and 1200 on a receiver and the differance on speakers.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Marty

We all know how budgets are, they are starting points. We all usally break them.

I am sure others will come in to recommend specific speakers or receiver.
However, what are you after? A 5.1 surround setup? A 6.1 setup? 7.1?
What will you be listening and watching, using this setup for? DVD movies?
The newer High Def DVD movies that are coming on the marketplace? Video games for the kids/grand-kids?

Your speakers are the main priority, that is what you will hear today, not a receiver or CD player etc. You may want to check your yellow pages for audio shops, Circuit City, etc and start listening to speakers. Are you considering a sub-woofer? That is almost a must today.

 

[mazersteven]

One person has said I should decide on speakers and that will dicitate which receiver i should get.


Marty

.

I totally agree. Shop speakers first, then receiver.

 

[skizzerflake]

I offer a different view. Since you apparently have a malfunctioning amp, you should replace that first. You probably have an overheating situation or a dying transistor. It's hard to imagine that it isn't having a bad effect on the sound. It probably has been creeping up for a long time so you have gotten used to it. I would replace the amp with a new receiver (assuming that you are going to move to a surround system) before it dies entirely, or, in the worst case, shorts out and damages a speaker. Most of the receivers on the market have similar performance and unless you come into the process with some well formed opinions about amplifier sound, you probably won't notice an actual sonic difference between amps. Shop for features and connectivity.

I suggest more care in the selection of the speakers. Try to find a shop with a decent enough environment that you can hear what the speakers sound like. I suggest taking some of your own music that you already know, so you have a standard of comparison. You can't tell much from auditioning in a big store like a Best Buy unless you're near one with small listening rooms.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I suggest the receiver first, but the receiver is dictated by the speakers....

Kind of.

That is, if you aren't in a big room with large tower speakers and aren't going nuts, then you can pick your receiver based on that. Quite often I see people spend a grand or more on a receiver that is completely overkill for what the size of the room is and the speakers they will be using. So, you don't have to pick your speakers now, you just have to narrow them down a bit.

Then you pick the receiver - and IMO, you likely aren't going to have any issues at all with most receivers in that price range. If you are looking at the major brands: Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer, etc. then you will get good value for your money and it ends up being personal preference as much as anything else.

The speaker budget may be low... or high... depending on what you are looking for. IMO, if you are a theater/movie buff, then a good subwoofer is critical and could easily run as much or more than any other single part of your system.

For speakers you have roughly ten billion choices and most of them are personal preference.