Suggestions for Audio & Home Theater combo?

[pedro78]

Hi

I'm hoping to slightly upgrade my (old/basic/cheap) home theater system and also add 2ch audio-only components to the same system, all driven by one receiver and sared speakers. I'm not sure if this is sensible/do-able, or if so what components might be suitable so looking for advice.

Existing Home Theater audio:
- denon receiver/5.1 speaker combo
- samsung blu-ray player (1), oppo dvd player (2), cable box (3)

Stereo / Home Theater audio requirements:
- turntable (4) (Budget: $200), cd-player (5) (Budget: $200), wireless / streaming audio from PC / home network (6)
- receiver, into which i can feed audio signal for all units mentioned above - 1&2 via coax, 3 via optical, and 4-6 via most appropriate means. Budget: $500-700
- upgrade front L&R channels to optimize 2-ch audio: Budget: $300-700


Many thanks!

[Mr Peabody]

Start looking at receivers with the Yamaha rx-v565 and Onkyo 507. In my opinion Yamaha will have a bit better midrange but Onkyo will have better bass with a more powerful sound no matter the power rating. No shame with Marantz or Denon either they are usually a bit higher price per feature. My personal bias I stay away from Sony and Pioneer receivers.

You might want to check for a receiver with preamp outputs so you can add a larger external power amp for main speakers later.

I don't know of any HT receivers with built in phono preamp for the turntable. There are budget external units to be found. Or, buy used. I had excellent results from a Creek
OBH-8 but there are cheaper units. If willing to cut corners on performance there are some turntables with built in phono preamp so they can be used with any typical input.

If HT sound is important your center should match your mains for best results.

Last but not least welcome to AR.

With speakers you should do some listening to see what you like. B&W and Paradigm have decent entry level. Not sure how low Dali goes in price but I've heard some nice bookshelf speakers for under $700.00. There are several others that members here will tell you about I'm not up on all the budget models.

[harley .guy07]

If I could add anything I would think about putting a dac on your existing oppo dvd player. I have a oppo bdp-83 with a ps audio dac and so far I love it and you will have one unit doing all of your disk playing. I am sure you have digital outputs on this unit and there are several dacs out there that are good and especially if you want to stream audio from a computer. I just picked up a ps audio digi link 3 and it is an awesome combo but with your budget there are other units out there that will work fine. the v dac from music fidelity seems to be rated well and has optical and usb ability so you could use your dvd player and pc for music and this unit rates pretty well for the price. I would as well stick with yamaha, onkyo, or denon for the best performance for the money setups and also with speakers I would look at paradigm monitor series, they are good for the money and can handle good amounts of power and dynamics. as far as turntables I would look at the used market on ebay or audiogon for a good used turntable from the 70's since they were built pretty well and sounded good with good setup. I happen to be working on a turntable form the 70's that my father owned that he gave me to fix back up. good luck with your system pursuits

[blackraven]

Which model Denon AVR do you have. If it has HDMI you may want to hold onto it and put the money into upgrading the speakers and CD player. If you must upgrade the receiver, take a look at the Onkyo 607 or 608 AVR's. You should be able to find both for under $500. http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=onkyo+607&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=13435368405159513170&ei=Ou3PS6yLBonOM-aZwdkM&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCEQ8wIwAw#ps-sellers

Here's a few options for CDP's but they will cost you more than your $200 budget. I would consider the Marantz 5003, Emotiva ERC-1 CDP or a DAC and use your DVD player as a transport.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=marantz+cd5003+cd+player&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=8100282562192477598&ei=f-3PS5mWIJLUNemQiIkN&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBkQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers


Here are some inexpensive DAC's- V-DAC (has a usb port to connect to a computer)
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=MFVDAC

DAC-AH http://www.pacificvalve.us/LITEDACAH.html

DAC-01 http://www.pacificvalve.us/XianshengDAC01.html

Another option would be to sell your Samasung BluRay player and buy the Oppo BD-83 and use it as a CDP and BRP.

[pedro78]

Onkyo 607 on its way. Will use Oppo DVD as CD transport. Paradigm speakers def sound like the way to go so going for a listen today. For Blu-ray will def think about upgrading my Oppo to the BD83 at a later stage.
Thank you all for your suggestions, very very helpful!!

[Mr Peabody]

Sounds like you are on your way Pedro. What did you think of the Paradigm?

[pedro78]

Sorry for VERY late reply on this one. To wrap this up: I eventually pushed the budget a little and went for Paradigm Studio 60s, and built the other channels around that (Studio Center, Ultracube10 sub, MilleniaOne surrounds). Found a dealer who was very helpful and patient - much testing!
The 607 never arrived, but ended up with a 608 instead. I realize this is probably a little lowkey for the 60s, but scope to upgrade in the future (and when I don't live in an apartment!). It all sounds fantastic.
Will def consider the bdp-83 in the future, but not yet into BluRay enough to warrant another player. Have just stuck with my old Oppo DVD player as a DVD/CD transport. This has the added advantage of being easily "multi-regionalized" (I moved from UK to US and have a huge library of region 2's).
Thanks all for your help - such a step up!