The upgrades I'm suggesting have more to do with optimizing what you already have before dumping more money into components.

First upgrade if you haven't done so yet, is to verify your setup with a test disc and SPL meter. Also, reposition the speakers so that they're closer to the reference configuration (see below). Beauty of these upgrades is that they don't cost anything, but can often make more of an improvement than other measures like receiver upgrades or cables.



Your room acoustics are the second most important part of your audio system. Most people completely ignore this part of the system, yet it plays a huge role in determining what you hear. The acoustical problems in most rooms center on two primary areas -- the time domain and the boundary effects.

The time domain issue is caused by echoes that smear the coherency of the sound and make it seem harsh. You test your room by standing in the middle and clapping your hands together. If you hear a slap echo, then your room has a problem. Approaches to solving this issue include getting a thicker rug, adding cushy furniture, hanging draperies from the walls, or more focused approaches like acoustic panels and/or corner bass traps.

The other upgrade that I would propose for your setup would be to add a parametric equalizer to the subwoofer. The room boundary effects basically reinforce the bass frequencies at the low end. They also cause the bass waves to reflect and interact with one another, resulting in frequency-specific peaks and nulls at the listening position. The parametric equalizer deals with the peaks that make the bass seem overly boomy sounding at certain frequencies. By flagging the problem frequencies using a SPL meter and test tones (or RTA software and a microphone), you can dial down the boomy peaks and create a fuller sounding and more accurate bass. It's basically like listening to a new subwoofer because you can now set the levels more accurately rather than letting the boomy peaks dictate your subwoofer settings.

If you got the upgrade bug, try these approaches first. They might actually yield a bigger performance improvement than swapping out components.

If you're deadset on spending some money, the most logical place to start is always with the speakers. "7.1" will not matter one bit if your sofa is pushed against the backwall. If you got some space behind the listening position, then going with a "7.1" receiver might give you improved backfill on the surround effect.