Home Theater Upgrade?

[Stellatus32772]

Hello. Audio Enthusiast for many years, but have been out of the loop for a few years now.

Recently, I purchased a Hitachi 51F510 for the Living Room. Yep, I'm loving it...never had a TV so large, nor one that is HD capable.

In any case, I have been moved to look at the rest of my "aging" system & am curious as to what you would replace.

Present system is as follows:
Denon AVR-2400 Receiver
Denon AVD-2000 DD5.1 Processor
Pioneer DV-414 DVD Player
JBL L3 Mains
JBL L1 Rears
JBL SC305 Center

All in all, I'd say I'm pretty satisfied with what I have, but then again...I have been out of the loop & have not a clue as to what major advancements have come along in the last several years. Might there be something out there I must have? :P

I'm thinking the DVD player needs to be replaced...what do you think?

Thanks!

P.S. - Please keep in mind that I live in an apartment & must mind my neighbors (Hence, no SubWoofer.....the L3s supply more than enough base for my living arrangement) ;)

[hershon]

I can't believe you can get by without a sub. I live in an apartment and with my satellite Orb Audio 6 speaker system & sub, I can play my CD's at reasonably loud volume between 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM and listen to DVD's and TV 24 hours a day. I think you're being way to cautious there. I have a Denon 3801 receiver which I love and it sounds like you have good stuff. I'd recommend trying the Harmon Kardon 31 DVD player which if you don't notice an improvement in sound & picture for your CD's & DVD's, I'd then return if possible as its not to big or expensive item to ship back and/or sell it on Ebay where you'll get most of it back. It retails for $350 but you can get it on Amazon.com for $229 now from J&R including shipping. If you then prefer this, sell your other DVD player on Ebay. Good luck

[Stellatus32772]

Oh, I've owned subs (I still have an 8" Klipsch buried somewhere deep within the recesses of the walk-in closet :P ), but I'm tellin' ya...the L3s do just fine.

Thanks for the recommendation on the HK 31...it prompted me to do a bit of research. While it seems like a phenomenal player, it doesn't seem the have the DVI so I can get the 1080i. Wouldn't I want one with the DVI to realize the full video potential of my Hitachi? That HK does look like a beauty, though...

[hershon]

You might want to get on one of the other threads about the DVI (HK versus Marantz I think) as while I don't use one or even know what it is, it seems odd that HK wouldn't have one on this model as it came out fairly recently. Good luck in any case.

[drseid]

Oh, I've owned subs (I still have an 8" Klipsch buried somewhere deep within the recesses of the walk-in closet :P ), but I'm tellin' ya...the L3s do just fine.

Thanks for the recommendation on the HK 31...it prompted me to do a bit of research. While it seems like a phenomenal player, it doesn't seem the have the DVI so I can get the 1080i. Wouldn't I want one with the DVI to realize the full video potential of my Hitachi? That HK does look like a beauty, though...

The whole DVI upconversion is highly overated IMO. It is just a matter of your player upconverting, or your TV doing it. I would argue you would be hard-pressed to be able to tell the difference.

When Blu-Ray and HD-DVD come out DVI will be much more important, as it will carry the "real" non-upconverted HD signal, but until then for regular DVD component will do just fine.

All that said, if I were upgrading, I would look at your speakers first, as they will make the greatest difference in your sound... The DVD player could wait, unless you are disatisfied with its picture.

---Dave

[Stellatus32772]

drseid,

Thank You very much for the advice. I heard about the Blu Ray and HD-DVD a couple of weeks ago. (Yeah, I'm a little behind the times :P ). I understand they are competing for which will be the standard. I thought it was due out by the end of the year. If so, I may opt to upgrade my player now in anticipation of the new & improved DVD format.

If this is what I choose to do, would you have any recommendations regarding a reasonabley priced DVI unit that upconverts?

Also, about the speakers...I pondered this a bit last night and this morning. I think I will sit tight with my JBLs. Why? Well...the L1s were $500 and the L3s were $750 back in the day when I made the purchase. I realize it is fashionable to rag on JBL due to their mass market availability...but I feel these are near or at Audiophile quality. Sure...they may not have the best of everything...but overall, I feel they are an incredibley well-balanced speaker. JBL does and has put out high end stuff that will keep many a picky listener content. The L3s have very nice, full base when placed appropriately (too close to the wall gives too much of a boom). They go quite low and are pretty tight. They may have a little "tizz" in the high end (but not much and this can be negated with proper receiver/amplifier selection). The mids are very smooth & transparent as well (maybe not as sweet as say an Acoustic Energy Aegis...but whadya want? :P ). I have had my speaks hooked up next to a complete Gallo HT system...as well as an Acoustic Energy Aegis System. The owner of the Gallos stated "Your JBL's sound as good as my Gallo system...if not better" (yeah, he was shocked) & the Aegis system had better mids, but was not even close to as dynamic as my L series set-up.. Explosions & breaking glass, etc... was not nearly as exciting with the AEs... Pound for pound, I believe I'd have to drop a coupla grand on speaks in order to see a major improvement regarding sound for my Home Theater. Also, the L series are beautiful aesthetically. I get many a compliment on their looks in addition to the sound. That being said, I realize I have asked for any and all opinions on what to upgrade....& I appreciate your input. This was a decision I just came to this morning.

Thanks again and someone please give me a recommendation on a DVI DVD player! :)

[drseid]

drseid,

Thank You very much for the advice. I heard about the Blu Ray and HD-DVD a couple of weeks ago. (Yeah, I'm a little behind the times :P ). I understand they are competing for which will be the standard. I thought it was due out by the end of the year. If so, I may opt to upgrade my player now in anticipation of the new & improved DVD format.

If this is what I choose to do, would you have any recommendations regarding a reasonabley priced DVI unit that upconverts?

Also, about the speakers...I pondered this a bit last night and this morning. I think I will sit tight with my JBLs. Why? Well...the L1s were $500 and the L3s were $750 back in the day when I made the purchase. I realize it is fashionable to rag on JBL due to their mass market availability...but I feel these are near or at Audiophile quality. Sure...they may not have the best of everything...but overall, I feel they are an incredibley well-balanced speaker. JBL does and has put out high end stuff that will keep many a picky listener content. The L3s have very nice, full base when placed appropriately (too close to the wall gives too much of a boom). They go quite low and are pretty tight. They may have a little "tizz" in the high end (but not much and this can be negated with proper receiver/amplifier selection). The mids are very smooth & transparent as well (maybe not as sweet as say an Acoustic Energy Aegis...but whadya want? :P ). I have had my speaks hooked up next to a complete Gallo HT system...as well as an Acoustic Energy Aegis System. The owner of the Gallos stated "Your JBL's sound as good as my Gallo system...if not better" (yeah, he was shocked) & the Aegis system had better mids, but was not even close to as dynamic as my L series set-up.. Explosions & breaking glass, etc... was not nearly as exciting with the AEs... Pound for pound, I believe I'd have to drop a coupla grand on speaks in order to see a major improvement regarding sound for my Home Theater. Also, the L series are beautiful aesthetically. I get many a compliment on their looks in addition to the sound. That being said, I realize I have asked for any and all opinions on what to upgrade....& I appreciate your input. This was a decision I just came to this morning.

Thanks again and someone please give me a recommendation on a DVI DVD player! :)

First off, sorry if I came off as putting down your JBLs... Actually I have no problem with JBL at all (my Dad is a long-time owner of the LX-500s, BTW)... I would have made the same statement no matter what speakers they were (including my own).

As for a DVD player with DVI or HDMI, I should point out that these new formats (BlueRay and HD DVD) will not play on any of the current DVD players that have DVI or HDMI outputs... Those formats, will require their own format specific players (that are as yet unreleased in the US). The formats are also trying to find a compromise format that combines the two to avoid a Beta vs. VHS type war. If they are successful in avoiding a format war, then the next upgrade of a DVD player would make sense to wait for the new formats to arrive by early next year (and then upgrade to one of those players, as they will also play regular DVDs as well).

If you still are dead set on finding a current DVI *DVD* player, then I am affraid I can't be much help, as I just use my component outs (waiting to upgrade to DVI once the HD/BluRay player comes out). I can as a general rule recommend brands like Denon, Marantz and Panasonic. These tend to have some of the better players out there, measurement-wise.

Good luck,

---Dave

[Stellatus32772]

First off, sorry if I came off as putting down your JBLs... Actually I have no problem with JBL at all (my Dad is a long-time owner of the LX-500s, BTW)... I would have made the same statement no matter what speakers they were (including my own).

As for a DVD player with DVI or HDMI, I should point out that these new formats (BlueRay and HD DVD) will not play on any of the current DVD players that have DVI or HDMI outputs... Those formats, will require their own format specific players (that are as yet unreleased in the US). The formats are also trying to find a compromise format that combines the two to avoid a Beta vs. VHS type war. If they are successful in avoiding a format war, then the next upgrade of a DVD player would make sense to wait for the new formats to arrive by early next year (and then upgrade to one of those players, as they will also play regular DVDs as well).

If you still are dead set on finding a current DVI *DVD* player, then I am affraid I can't be much help, as I just use my component outs (waiting to upgrade to DVI once the HD/BluRay player comes out). I can as a general rule recommend brands like Denon, Marantz and Panasonic. These tend to have some of the better players out there, measurement-wise.

Good luck,

---Dave

drseid,

your post is of major help to me. I did not know one will need a brand new player to play the up & coming formats in particular. I guess I kinda suspected it...but wasn't certain. As you are waiting, so will I. Why dump a few hundred on an upgrade when I will only upgrade again once the new format comes out? I'll stick to the component hook-ups as well. Thank you for that bit of information...you just saved me a few hundred $$$

I do have one other question. My DVD player has always been capable of 96/24 audio w/ PCM encoding. This is for DTS, right? DD 5.1 uses only 48...correct? My receiver would either have to have a DTS decoder hooked up to it or I'd need another receiver all-together. At the moment I guess I am only capable of 48... What i would like to know is the following:

Is DTS much better than 5.1? Would it be worth it to look into a new receiver that has both 5.1 and DTS capabilities or is the difference in sound so negligible that it shouldn't be of concern. Also...does having a receiver capable of 96/24 assist in CD (regular old music CDs) playback? Am I missing out on some grand sound both with DVDs and CDs by not having 96/24 integrated into my receiver? I'd really hate to retire my Denon cuz it sounds so good for HT and is built like a tank...heavy as hell....but I'll consider it if there is much gain to be had by getting 96/24. Feedback, anyone?

[Mr Peabody]

My question is how do you connect your DVD player to the processor? If you are using the 6 analog inputs then the processing is being done by the DVD player and how old the player is will tell if you need an upgrade. If you have Progressive Scan, I'd say you are fine for awhile. If you use your digital out to the processor then you are probably due to upgrade into a new receiver that would offer you some much needed modernization in digital processing. If I've understood your setup it sounds like you have only a "Dolby Digital Ready" receiver with some type of add on processor. Actually, thanks to DVD-A & SACD this setup will still work pretty well with modern players with the built in decoders. The only problem is you don't have any DAC for other possible digital sources such as satelite or cable.

[Stellatus32772]

Thank You for the reply, Mr. Peabody. My Receiver has Dolby Pro-Logic only. I gain DD 5.1 by attaching the "6 channel ext. out" on the Processor to the "6 channel ext. in" of the receiver. The DVD Player is connected to the Processor via a fiber optic cable. I turn the DVD Player on...hit the "6 channel ext. in" mode button on the receiver ... then the "optical 1" button on the Proccessor. This is how I have been getting sound for the last half dozen years or so.

I think I'll retire this Combo to the bedroom. Time to get something a bit more modern that will keep me happy over the next half dozen years. I will most likely be ordering an HK AVR 435 from JR (or maybe even stopping @ JR on my way to Long Island on Friday). I have the fever anyway. Gotta buy something. Thanks again everyone for answering my bird-brained questions.