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SA-XR55, Should I upgrade?

post #1 of 8
12/27/07 at 2:23pm
Thread Starter 
Please be easy on me I am not an audiophile by any means. I'm just an ordinary family man trying to get a half decent home theater system.

My current configuration for 7.1:
RCA DVD Recorder
Samsung Upconverting DVD Player
Panasonic SA-XR55
RCA 52" Rear Projection HDTV (DVI/1080i, no HDMI)
Polk Audio speakers (two towers, four surrounds, 1 center)
Dayton 12" Powered Subwoofer

I just purchased a Toshiba HD-A3 DVD Player to replace the Samsung DVD Player and was looking for advice on whether or not I should upgrade my receiver to the XR57 for HDMI support. I am not stuck on the receiver but I would like to keep the receiver price under 300 dollars and I am open for suggestions on other receivers.

Is it even worth the effort to upgrade my receiver for HDMI audio support considering my low end equipment? I will be connecting the HD DVD player to the receiver via Toslink, but from my limited research , a HDMI capable 7.1 receiver is required to experience the full quality of sound that HD DVD has to offer.

Thanks.
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post #2 of 8
12/27/07 at 2:42pm
Are you dissapointed in the audio you get now?

I use an XR55 in my living room. The audio via the optical genuinely sounds fine and dandy and many consider me an audiophile. Not sure If I consider myself one or not though.

Hard call. If you do upgrade? Until Panny comes out with a new AVR or two? I'd probably be looking at other brands.
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post #3 of 8
12/27/07 at 4:34pm
Thread Starter 
The sound is good right now, however, I am concerned that I may not be able to experience the full effect of the high quality audio on HD DVD.
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post #4 of 8
12/27/07 at 5:59pm
Wow - I logged into this forum with a question regarding the EXACT same receiver, HD-DVD player, etc. I ordered TOSLINK cables for connections, but would also like to know if moving to HDMI would have any advantages.
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post #5 of 8
12/27/07 at 6:59pm
Which Polks do you have?
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post #6 of 8
12/27/07 at 7:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russdawg View Post

I would upgrade your speakers and sub if you want an immediate upgrade in the sound dept, you will certainly hear a difference if you can run HD Audio with your speakers but nothing like new speakers altogether. Your speakers in my opinion are your weak link right now (especially that Dayton sub). I could be wrong though depending on which Polks you have, but that's what I would be doing even if it's only a good pair of front speakers to begin with.....

My 2 cents.

:thumbs up:
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post #7 of 8
12/28/07 at 6:37am
Don't confuse fidelity and features. I'd bank the XR55 sounds better lossy than many of these lower end HDMI AVR's sound on lossless.
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post #8 of 8
12/28/07 at 7:52am
I dont know if this will help you or not but I too own an xr55 and I wanted to upgrade my audio for hd dvd. Alot of people kept telling me to get the onkyo 605 so I waited to catch it on sale and bought it. Needless to say, it was a really disappointing purchase. On comparison with dd and dts the panny sounded better. I ended up returning the 605 ad went back to the drawing board. I was then told to get an onkyo 805 and it would make me happy. Well, i kept pondering on what to do and then cicuit city had that sale where I could get the 805 for $629 so I reluctantly jumped thinking I would probably have to return it. Well, All I can say is I am very happy with the purchase. The 805 is great! The sound is superb(for HT-I dont listen to music) It is very heavy though, something like 60lbs. I dont understand why the digital receivers like the xr55 havent caught on becasue I can honestly say the xr55 was the best $200 I have ever spent on HT gear. It is now going up in my living room and replacing a kenwood I have. My comparison is my opinion, and my speaker setup is athena b1s for fron and surround, c1 center, and a 15" sub which I built with alot of help from people on this forum..
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