Do I Need a New A/V Receiver?

Hi all,
I haven't posted here in a few years having gotten away from stereos and Home Theater etc. however I have recently purchased a New Panasonic TC-P55GT50 Plasma ( My Pioneer Kuro 5080 has the dreaded 12
blinking blue lights again after having been serviced for the same 2 years ago ) and having read that the sound is poor on the Panasonic's I am thinking of a new A/V receiver purchase to enjoy the new Plasma.
Whether I need to buy one is what I am hoping to find out here from the many experts that post here and if I should even bother at my late age and because once I'm gone I am not sure my lady could handle anything difficult to run.
At present I have an ( OLD ) Sony GX900 ES Receiver purchased in 1994-1995 not when and 3 NHT super Zero speakers up front with rear surrond by ?? and another pair of speakers Polk audio that are set in my
receivers b/switcher with the NHT'=S set on A I believe. Everything runs perfectly as I take care of my equipment and my GX900ES is in mint condition but it is 18 or 19 years old and does not have all the newer connections.
My question is can I make do with my set up or should I buy something new and if so what A/V receiver should I purchase not wanting to spend a ton of money but as I have an aversion to buying junk I would rather buy if necessary something in the mid-range price if needed.
I don't need a state of the art system but would like to know if my present receiver and speakers will do me or if I should purchase a new receiver and speakers if mine are obsolete and if someone could steer me to a
system that would work well with my new plasma, I have researched Marantz, Pioneer and have previously owned a Harman Kardon A/V receiver non of which had hook ups for both sets of speakers that run through A/B switching on my Sony using the Polk speakers for music because thy have bass and the NHT'S don't.
I am totally green on all aspects of Audio/Video in todays age so I am basically an old rookie.
Thanks for any and all help with this.
Popsvt
Edited by popsvt - 1/1/13 at 1:51pm

Hi JBWIII,
Thanks for the reply and suggestion and yes I have always had the A/B speaker connection hooked up with the NHT'S as my Surround Sound and the Polks for music when I use the receiver however I only use it sparingly as it is a pain getting it running right.
I am not adverse to buying something new it's just that I have not stayed up with the new systems and am at a loss as to which units to check out, so I am looking for advice as to which manufacturer would be a better option for me without breaking the bank, I am 78 years old and don't expect to be around for too long and don't want to leave behind a system that is inoperable for my lady to handle.
I was always under the impression that Marantz was a good product and I did own one Harman Kardon receiver that my nephew now has so the problem lies in what brand and maybe a spending limit of $1200.00 max.
Thanks again for the reply.
Popsvt

Don't know what the learning curve would be as I don't want to have to change out speaker connections so a different AVR would require two sets of connectors plus I really want a system I can leave behind and know that my lady will not need someone to manage everything, she is adept with a laptop and her iPad but she is not a Cut & Paste type and usually uses the easy way out.
I'm not sure a new receiver will be a cure for bad sound coming from a Plasma TV if the signal is bad to start with I wonder if I would just be increasing noise or bad sound with amplification.
Thank you for listing a few receivers however I notice that a Marantz SR6007 and the Yamaha RX-673 has the speaker hook ups for two sets of front speakers whereas the SR5007, and Denon AVR-1913 does not so I am not aware how you would set these up.

I took a little time out to refresh myself with amp classes and what I see on this forum regarding Class "D" amps and what I believe I have which is a Push-Pull A/B amp in my Sony STR-GX900ES with swapable power and a 8 ohm to 4 ohm switch.
After reading up a little I have found that I could make this a very complicated and expensive set up that would force me to upgrade not only my receiver but also my speaker system which I do not want to end up doing so I am now looking into something from Panasonic that I could use with my new TC P55GT50 Plasma and Panny does sell simple surround setups as well as soundbars. I presently use a soundbar on my computer with my Nec PA71W and it works very nicely.
Thank you for your imput into this old mans dilemma and your attempts to steer me in the right direction, my Panasonic Plasma is being delivered tomorrow so I will find out just how bad the sound is then.

Hi JBWIII,
I decided to take your advice and purchase the Yamaha RX-V673 AVR after researching it extensively but with an amateurs experience and I thank you for what I think is a fine receiver for what I need. I had always thought that Marantz products and Denon were great names but after reading up on the Yamaha I think it will do me fine. My next worry will be the speakers that I have now but I won'y know how well they will serve me until I actually buy the Yamaha.
Thanks for your help. Popsvt

After deciding I needed to upgrade my AVR and thinking that the Yamaha RX-V673 would be my purchase I ran across a Sony STR-DA 2800 ES model while actually shopping for furniture and decided that I would forgo the Yamaha and stay with a Sony ES receiver instead although for almost double the cost. The new Sony isn't up to the grade of the receiver it will replace so I would like some imput from anyone familiar with Sony ES AVR'S as my older model is the equivalent of the higher priced STR-DA 5800 ES model but at my older age buying the more expensive model would be more receiver than I need.
Not seeing much of or any threads regarding Sony models of any type here I am assuming that posters are more into other brands however since most of my audio equipment, carousel CD and Blue-Ray are of Sony brand i will stay with Sony and purchase the model I listed unles someone tells me that it would be a bad mistake. I am not looking for a state of the art AVR but one that will handle my Plasma TVS and the speakers that I use for surround which are NHT Super Zeros or 1995 year and acoustic suspension type so that I do need power to properly use them. Popsvt