Unless your receiver was some bargain no-name brand(which it's not)there is no reason to replace it over the speakers. What matters most is the sound of your source(DVD etc.) and the speakers. That's what I've always been told, and it makes sense since the receiver's main job is to simply distribute the sound to each speaker...
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Upgrade receiver or speakers?
I'm coming from a Yamaha home theater in a box...
Let's say I could only upgrade one thing- the receiver or the speakers- which should I spend the money on? I've been told the speakers, but then have also been told the speakers are only good as the electronics feeding into it.
What should I focus on?...or should I wait until I can upgrade everything?
Let's say I could only upgrade one thing- the receiver or the speakers- which should I spend the money on? I've been told the speakers, but then have also been told the speakers are only good as the electronics feeding into it.
What should I focus on?...or should I wait until I can upgrade everything?
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Normally speakers will do the biggest difference. Normally you divide your budget in something like 40% receiver and 60% for speakers. That said, when I change from my JVC SVX305 to a HK avr-635 and still using Insignia speakers I couldnt believe the difference so it all depends no which of your gear is weaker. In a HTIB normally the speakers are the weak link so I will bet getting better speakers will help a lot.
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Usually speakers, but it depends on the amount of dollars available and what you are hopping to accomplish with the upgrade and which is more important to you movies or music. I would hold off on making a recommendation until I had more info from you.
Nick
| Originally Posted by Trevor78 I'm coming from a Yamaha home theater in a box... Let's say I could only upgrade one thing- the receiver or the speakers- which should I spend the money on? I've been told the speakers, but then have also been told the speakers are only good as the electronics feeding into it. What should I focus on?...or should I wait until I can upgrade everything? |
Nick
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Speakers by far are much MUCH more significant.
However, the caveat is since you're using an HTIB, the HTIB receiver may not be that suitable, depending. Some HTiB have basically entry level "normal" receivers which you can change speakers just fine to upgrage. Some though, especially the really cheap HTiB, are sort of closed systems and have a passive subwoofer that they power etc, and may have internal crossovers that are not really adjustable to protect the small satellites etc. I do not know if this is the case with your sytem. If that were the case, then you'd want to get a new receiver as well as new speakers. If the receiver you have now is adequate and fully featured, then by all means you should upgrage the speakers.
| Originally Posted by Trevor78 I'm coming from a Yamaha home theater in a box... Let's say I could only upgrade one thing- the receiver or the speakers- which should I spend the money on? I've been told the speakers, but then have also been told the speakers are only good as the electronics feeding into it. What should I focus on?...or should I wait until I can upgrade everything? |
Speakers by far are much MUCH more significant.
However, the caveat is since you're using an HTIB, the HTIB receiver may not be that suitable, depending. Some HTiB have basically entry level "normal" receivers which you can change speakers just fine to upgrage. Some though, especially the really cheap HTiB, are sort of closed systems and have a passive subwoofer that they power etc, and may have internal crossovers that are not really adjustable to protect the small satellites etc. I do not know if this is the case with your sytem. If that were the case, then you'd want to get a new receiver as well as new speakers. If the receiver you have now is adequate and fully featured, then by all means you should upgrage the speakers.
This is a tough question to the answer without knowing the following:
1) What sort of receiver you have (make/model/power)
2) How much you are planning to spend
3) What size room
1) What sort of receiver you have (make/model/power)
2) How much you are planning to spend
3) What size room
Thanks for all the responses- I'll definitely be more specific this time:
1. I'm coming from a Yamaha HTR-5730. The speakers are, admittedly, small, and they give fairly good sound once calibrated with a sound pressure meter. It bugs me, though, that I could possibly get better sound with better equipment. Example: my father-in-law recent got a Denon receiver with Definitive speakers, the surrounds being bi-polar, and the whole surround experience blows mine away.
2. I am only using this for movies, not music. Strictly DVDs, TV, video games.
3. The distance between the TV's wall and the wall I'm sitting against is roughly 11 feet (with the back of the couch against the wall). The distance between the two front speakers is about 12 feet or so.
4. Budget is not as limited as one might think, but once we get over $2000 or so, I start putting on the breaks.
Suggestions? Again, the HTR-5730 seems like a great system. I don't need anything beyond 5.1, don't want multi-zone. The only upgrade I could think of is perhaps more digital audio inputs.
Thanks again!
1. I'm coming from a Yamaha HTR-5730. The speakers are, admittedly, small, and they give fairly good sound once calibrated with a sound pressure meter. It bugs me, though, that I could possibly get better sound with better equipment. Example: my father-in-law recent got a Denon receiver with Definitive speakers, the surrounds being bi-polar, and the whole surround experience blows mine away.
2. I am only using this for movies, not music. Strictly DVDs, TV, video games.
3. The distance between the TV's wall and the wall I'm sitting against is roughly 11 feet (with the back of the couch against the wall). The distance between the two front speakers is about 12 feet or so.
4. Budget is not as limited as one might think, but once we get over $2000 or so, I start putting on the breaks.
Suggestions? Again, the HTR-5730 seems like a great system. I don't need anything beyond 5.1, don't want multi-zone. The only upgrade I could think of is perhaps more digital audio inputs.
Thanks again!
With a $2000 budget, I would replace the entire system. The receiver is solid and is probably fine for such a small room, but you might as well get something a little more robust. You'll thank me later if you move into a larger place. 
A small room like this would be perfect for a set of Magnepan MMG-W's. They are bi-polar and radiate sound from the front and back of the speaker (if you look at them, you'll understand what I mean). They are slim and wall-mountable, so you won't have to worry about crowding the room (just hiding the wiring).
http://magnepan.com/_mmgw.php
If you have room for towers, you might want to look into a setup similar to mine, which consists of Polk RTi8 towers, CSi5 center (CSi3 would be better in your case), and FXi5 surrounds.
The Panasonic XR-55 would probably be a good match in terms of power and budget. The last thing you need is a powered sub. Due to the size of the room, you can get away with a smaller (8") unit from Infinity or Polk.
A small room like this would be perfect for a set of Magnepan MMG-W's. They are bi-polar and radiate sound from the front and back of the speaker (if you look at them, you'll understand what I mean). They are slim and wall-mountable, so you won't have to worry about crowding the room (just hiding the wiring).
http://magnepan.com/_mmgw.php
If you have room for towers, you might want to look into a setup similar to mine, which consists of Polk RTi8 towers, CSi5 center (CSi3 would be better in your case), and FXi5 surrounds.
The Panasonic XR-55 would probably be a good match in terms of power and budget. The last thing you need is a powered sub. Due to the size of the room, you can get away with a smaller (8") unit from Infinity or Polk.
Since it's movies only I will limit my audition as many speakers as you can lecture, which you really should do. Absent that I suggest an Ascend package with one of the Hsu subwoofers. It is as much of a sure thing as you can get buying online IMO.
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/
Nick
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/
Nick
The wife and I went out this evening to look at speakers...
Really fell in love with some Vienna Acoustics and realized we probably would listen to more music along with the home theater if we had decent speakers.
One thing they said was if that the speakers were good for music, they would be just as good for home theater- does that ring true with you guys?
Also, we were told we could wait on the surrounds (admittedly the VA's were not cheap). I've also realized that speaker selection is so objective, you really just have to go with your budget to a store, listen, and decide...
Really fell in love with some Vienna Acoustics and realized we probably would listen to more music along with the home theater if we had decent speakers.
One thing they said was if that the speakers were good for music, they would be just as good for home theater- does that ring true with you guys?
Also, we were told we could wait on the surrounds (admittedly the VA's were not cheap). I've also realized that speaker selection is so objective, you really just have to go with your budget to a store, listen, and decide...
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Yes.
Although I'm not generally a fan of vienna acoustics, they're not really strong values, IMO. They make good speakers though, just not good value.
| One thing they said was if that the speakers were good for music, they would be just as good for home theater- does that ring true with you guys? |
Although I'm not generally a fan of vienna acoustics, they're not really strong values, IMO. They make good speakers though, just not good value.
In terms of value, you're saying I could possibly get the same or better quality for a lower price, right?
Take a look at this 5.1 system, http://www.**********/products_produc...s&product=12.1
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