Quote Originally Posted by BadAssJazz View Post
Not to sound like the sleep-deprived cynic, but...

It's too late. The thought to upgrade has already taken root. You know it. You feel it. You've already decided what you're going to do. You're just hoping that someone will give you a sufficiently compelling reason to quiet the cries to upgrade in your head. We call it Silence of the Yammies...or Sonys, Denons, Onkyos, or whatever your preferred brand happens to be. Good luck with that, sir! We already know how this will end. We cannot enlighten the path, only help you see why you chose the path that you are about to take.

There is not a significant distinction between using 7.1analog or HDMI as far as audio quality goes. Speaking specifically to that aspect, you're fine with what you have.

But as others have mentioned, there are plenty of inducements to upgrade a receiver these days that go beyond HDMI.

Never underestimate the power of the Dark Side, errr, I meant to say of bells and whistles. Hell, people invent reasons to upgrade. I know a man who upgraded just so that he could see a little blue light turn on and the words "Dolby TrueHD" flash across the display on the receiver's LED. Yes, for that reason alone he tossed out his tried and true Denon 5803 (a flagship receiver at the time of purchase).

Once the thought of upgrade forms, all is lost. You might as well concede now. Eventually, you will. You will! Muhahahahahaha!


I paid a small fortune for a Rotel RSP1098 processor about 7 years ago, and it's one awesome processor. I also paid about $300 to get their HDMI 1.1 upgrade about 2 years ago. That upgrade is for video only, so I have to use optical out to get my 7.1 fix. With Blu-Ray, I need to use RCA cables to all 7 channels to get the true HD audio, or whatever they call it.

I'm so tired of looking at all the cables being my rack that I'm actually leaning toward the new Marantz AV7005 processor. My wife will kill me, of course, but I got the Silence of the Marantz!

Aaeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiii!