Upgrading advice

[david corker]

Kit:Pioneer PDP LX508D;Pioneer BDP 51FD; Denon AVR 3802; Rel Q50;
Centre-B&W CC6; Sats (6) KEF HTS 2001; Sky HD

Joined this Forum today so first post. System as listed has been built up over several years. Now considering next upgrade and have dilemma as to where to go next.

Thought of replacing my Receiver to have benefit of HDMI.Considering Denon AVR 1910 following recent What Hi-Fi Award but unsure whether this will bring noticeable benefit. My Blu Ray has an onboard HDMI decoder and as well as optical output to Amp I also have 8 indiv RCA which means for Blu Ray playback I can get 7:1 dedicated channel output. Also many discs are still in 5:1 and unsure whether HDMI benefit is worth additional spend? Additionally I suspect my AVR 3802 is generally a better build than the 1910 - it cost significantly more when purchased (back in 2002) and I remain generally well pleased with performance. If I am to replace my thoughts then turn to Pioneer for the obvious benefit of compatibility with TV/Blu Ray, reviews and because they simply look fabulous (know this shouldn't be a consideration but is is stuck in front of you all night!).Have considered Pioneer VSX-919AHk which appears a reasonable receiver but am concerned by the lack of weight (9kg vs my Denon at 17kg). Is even harder to justify additional cash to stretch to VSX-LX52 so left pondering what to do.

If I stick with my existing receiver then thoughts turn to upgrading my speakers. I like my KEF sats but replaced Centre for old CC6 I had and liked this better. Have considered upgrading the front left/right for some decent floorstanders. Again KEFs (in different guises) continue to win awards and not sure whether upgrading speakers without updating rest of system will make a significant difference.

So help would really be appreciated from anyone out there regarding whether I should upgrade the Receiver or speakers. Advice would be appreciated on which (or indeed if you would recommend something else?) and on best kit to upgrade to.

[MrBoylan]

Kit:Pioneer PDP LX508D;Pioneer BDP 51FD; Denon AVR 3802; Rel Q50;
Centre-B&W CC6; Sats (6) KEF HTS 2001; Sky HD

Joined this Forum today so first post. System as listed has been built up over several years. Now considering next upgrade and have dilemma as to where to go next.

Thought of replacing my Receiver to have benefit of HDMI.Considering Denon AVR 1910 following recent What Hi-Fi Award but unsure whether this will bring noticeable benefit. My Blu Ray has an onboard HDMI decoder and as well as optical output to Amp I also have 8 indiv RCA which means for Blu Ray playback I can get 7:1 dedicated channel output. Also many discs are still in 5:1 and unsure whether HDMI benefit is worth additional spend? Additionally I suspect my AVR 3802 is generally a better build than the 1910 - it cost significantly more when purchased (back in 2002) and I remain generally well pleased with performance. If I am to replace my thoughts then turn to Pioneer for the obvious benefit of compatibility with TV/Blu Ray, reviews and because they simply look fabulous (know this shouldn't be a consideration but is is stuck in front of you all night!).Have considered Pioneer VSX-919AHk which appears a reasonable receiver but am concerned by the lack of weight (9kg vs my Denon at 17kg). Is even harder to justify additional cash to stretch to VSX-LX52 so left pondering what to do.

If I stick with my existing receiver then thoughts turn to upgrading my speakers. I like my KEF sats but replaced Centre for old CC6 I had and liked this better. Have considered upgrading the front left/right for some decent floorstanders. Again KEFs (in different guises) continue to win awards and not sure whether upgrading speakers without updating rest of system will make a significant difference.

So help would really be appreciated from anyone out there regarding whether I should upgrade the Receiver or speakers. Advice would be appreciated on which (or indeed if you would recommend something else?) and on best kit to upgrade to.

Hmmm... I guess no one wanted to chime in here. Not surprised as a system upgrade is really a personal choice. But when it comes right down to it, a change in speakers makes the biggest, most audible change in a system's overall sound. So if you're fundamentally happy with the sound quality of your system, but are looking for slight improvements to the clarity and transparency of the sound (or an enhancement to usability), then look at the electronics, but if you're tired of the way the system sounds now then consider a speaker upgrade, but make sure you get to hear the speakers first so you can get an idea what they will sound like. Your system is certainly high enough resolution right now to make any speaker upgrades worthwhile and noticeable.

As far as electronics go, there are a number of advantages going with an HDMI-capable receiver. You don't mention which Blu-ray player you have but most are fairly limited in their speaker configuration and bass management options when using the analog outputs. Getting the bass level dialed in can be tricky, and also for those 5.1 channel soundtracks you mention, it can be tricky if not impossible to get a 7.1 channel mix out of them when using the analog outputs. Most receivers do no processing to the incoming multi-channel analog signal so you can't do PLIIx to turn 5.1 into 7.1. If you have a 5.1 channel system, then this is irrelevant but if you have a 7.1 system, then 5.1 channel Dolby TrueHD recordings will send no sound to the rear channels which can reduce the immersive effect of the soundtrack.

With an HDMI-capable receiver with on-board decoders for Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD MA, etc., you will be able to take advantage of the bass management and calibration options of the receiver, and also have the additional processing options like Dolby ProLogic IIx so you can turn 5.1 soundtracks into 7.1 when desired. Having good bass management and speaker calibration available in the receiver can make a noticeable improvement in overall sound quality.

The specific receivers you mention might actually be a step down, though, compared to your current Denon. If I were you, I would stay at that class, like with an AVR-3310 or something comparable. This way the amplification, features and DACs will be comparable to what you have now but you'll have the added benefit of the HDMI capabilities. The AVR-1910 is a fine receiver. We reviewed it and rated it excellent overall. But a higher end model might be a better fit for your KEFs.

Important caveat - if you are at all interested in 3D, which is going to be the big push for 2010 here in the US (not sure about across the pond), then you might consider waiting on a receiver upgrade. The new 3D Blu-ray players are going to use HDMI 1.4 outputs which are most likely not going to be fully compatible with current HDMI 1.3 receivers. Companies like Panasonic are offering dual HDMI outputs on the players (HDMI 1.4 for display, HDMI 1.3 for receiver), but if you want everything switched and routed through the receiver, then you'll need a new receiver with HDMI 1.4 passthrough capabilities.

Anyway... good luck and if you get a chance let us know which way you go.

-Chris