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What would you upgrade next?

post #1 of 8
2/18/12 at 6:43pm
Thread Starter 
OK I'm upgrading my home theater and need suggestions/advice.
What do you guys thing?

I think the receiver needs upgraded for sure and then possibly the screen, Sub, and the rear speakers.

My main usage is Movies 80%, HDTV OTA Football games 10%, and PS3 games 10% (kids 95% )

I will be doing this in baby steps Say spend $500 to $1000 soon then the next spend would be late summer to next winter.

I think the upgrades should go like this receiver first, screen second, this would be a better quality one and/or go bigger Say 150". Then the subwoofer. I could also get rid of my columns and use the wall behind and paint a screen, this would give me three more feet of viewing distance. How big of a screen size would work for THX quality at a viewing distance of 17 feet?


Here is what I currently have;

Room is 22' front to back and 19' wide, carpeted, couch is cloth. Ceiling is smooth sheetrock. Back wall has a double window with very heavy blackout drapes 6' wide by 7' high. no other Acoustic treatments

Screen
120" Diagonal 16x9 mustang electric screen 1.0 gain, Matte white, http://www.mustangav.com/images/pdfs/SC-E120D169.pdf hangs 3' off wall in front of columns.

Viewing distance is 12' to 14'. couch is 3' off back wall so it can be moved back.

Projector
Panasonic PT-AR100U 1080P
Receiver
JVC RX-D302 http://store.jvc.com/product.asp?Model=RX-D302B
Blu-ray player
PS3 (original)
Power management, Monster Power HTS2600
Front main speakers
Polk Audio RTi8
Center speaker
Pinnacle Widescreen center http://www.pinnaclespeakers.com/acwscenter.html
L/R surround
Polk Audio F/X i3
L/R Rear surround
Polk Audio RM7500SAT Only using the 2 rear speakers
Sub
JBL PSW1000 100 watt 10"

Link with photos
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post21739971




By sgmccool at 2012-03-05
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post #2 of 8
2/18/12 at 8:40pm
Ok,

My .02 worth of info.

If I were you here is what I would do and in this order.

Upgrade your receiver. Priority ONE! Look to the Denon's, Onkyo, and Yamaha's. I have both a Yamaha and Onkyo receiver and like them both.

Upgrade your sub. Priority two. Look at offerings from SVS, eD, Epik, Rythmik, Lava, and HSU. Any one of these will kick your JBL into the weeds.

I would then look at upgrading to matching speakers all around (from the same line or family of speakers). Look at some of the same companies as above. Each company has a line of speakers that are great performers at prices you won't have to get a second mortgage to get them. Then I would look at your screen/projector combo at the last of the "upgrade cycle".

Obviously as many people who chime in here that is pretty much how many opinions are going to be presented.

When I chose my equipment for my theater, I put the most money into my audio portion (speakers/sub), as my opinion is that speaker technology has not changed in major ways for years and typically speakers can and do last 20 years or longer, where every year new receivers/projectors/bluray players etc. change models and see improvements almost yearly.

Regards,

RTROSE
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post #3 of 8
3/4/12 at 12:54pm
Thread Starter 
OK so I'm ordering a Yamaha RX-A1010 as the second item. Bought the Panasonic 1080P projector and now ordering the Receiver. Next item not sure but probably a better Sub say in the $500 range.
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post #4 of 8
3/5/12 at 9:22am
Thread Starter 
I added a drawing of the room for reference to the OP. Any ideas on making this room better? Move seating up, move speakers back, get rid of columns and move screen back, move wet bar out(rearly gets used)

Any ideas
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post #5 of 8
3/7/12 at 4:29pm
Thread Starter 
I added a link to a post I have with several photos.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post21739971
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post #6 of 8
3/8/12 at 6:50am
I echo RT's suggestions on receiver and sub. I would also consider upgrading the BluRay player. The PS3 was a good player in its day, but most recent players will be faster, provide a better picture and have better access to streaming media. They are also relatively cheap these days.
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post #7 of 8
3/11/12 at 6:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgmccool View Post

OK so I'm ordering a Yamaha RX-A1010 as the second item. Bought the Panasonic 1080P projector and now ordering the Receiver. Next item not sure but probably a better Sub say in the $500 range.

Would be great to see actual pictures. I have Polks all around, as nearly do you. The Polk psw-505 is a 380-watt great sub
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post #8 of 8
3/15/12 at 8:27am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cme4brain View Post

Would be great to see actual pictures. I have Polks all around, as nearly do you. The Polk psw-505 is a 380-watt great sub

lots of pics here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post21739971
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