Say you have my currents setup. What do you upgrade??

[mario_capo]

Take a look at my sig and tell me if you were me with not a giant budget but an everlasting itch to upgrade, what you would upgrade first. Basically I mean the receiver or the front sound stage?? What's gonna give me the biggest difference? If I upgrade to an HD Audio Onkyo receiver or upgrade to some tower fronts and a new Center Channel??? I was loving the Polks at Fry's. They had the TSI400's there that sounded slightly better than the Infinity Primus P252's I originally was demoing. The salesman was pushing JBL balboa 30's on me! He said they sound better and usually are 300 a piece discounted to 90 bucks. To me they didn't sound anything special. But those Polks were nice! I dunno what single upgrade would benefit me most. I want to keep the infinity sub I have and the rears. I also might keep the 2 fronts and move em for a 7.1 setup. Not really too sure about that one though. Small living room. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! If I get those towers I would probably start listening to more music the techno stuff they were playing there sounded fricken awesome. I will probably upgrade it all eventually just don't have the funds at the moment.

[prankster]

i guess the biggest difference would come by upgrading your speakers. if i was in your shoes, i would upgrade my front l/r and center first with the receiver next. or, i guess you can always upgrade your receiver first to get the hd audio then upgrade your speakers shortly after. its really up to you

[rded]

Originally Posted by mario_capo

Take a look at my sig and tell me if you were me with not a giant budget but an everlasting itch to upgrade, what you would upgrade first. Basically I mean the receiver or the front sound stage?? What's gonna give me the biggest difference? If I upgrade to an HD Audio Onkyo receiver or upgrade to some tower fronts and a new Center Channel??? I was loving the Polks at Fry's. They had the TSI400's there that sounded slightly better than the Infinity Primus P252's I originally was demoing. The salesman was pushing JBL balboa 30's on me! He said they sound better and usually are 300 a piece discounted to 90 bucks. To me they didn't sound anything special. But those Polks were nice! I dunno what single upgrade would benefit me most. I want to keep the infinity sub I have and the rears. I also might keep the 2 fronts and move em for a 7.1 setup. Not really too sure about that one though. Small living room. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! If I get those towers I would probably start listening to more music the techno stuff they were playing there sounded fricken awesome. I will probably upgrade it all eventually just don't have the funds at the moment.

Speakers would make the biggest impact, but if you go bigger and better speakers, you need a better receiver/pre/pro and amp. So my advice is audition the 'right' speaker for you and that's within your budget and see if you can squeeze a new receiver with better current and power too.

[lojack1976]

If you swap out the front left and right then you should also swap out the center to match them up. Whether you go for the Polk, JBL, or Infinity towers you will need to get the appropriate center to match. You should audition each of those speakers with some of your own music to see which sound you like the most. All are quality brands, but everyone has their own tastes. The guy trying to sell you those speakers may like one set over the ones you prefer. His tastes may differ from yours. The only wrong option is the one that leaves you with speakers you don't like. Its also a good idea to demo those speakers with the receiver you will be using. Some speakers match up better with certain receivers than others.

[Galley]

Not everyone has sigs turned on. Perhaps you could copy your setup into a post.

[mario_capo]

Sorry galley I didn't know that. Still new to posting here...

Equipment:
Panasonic PZ5080u, ONKYO TX-SR602 SILVER
PS3 LAUNCH MODEL
XBOX 360 ELITE W/ HD-DVD PLAYER ADD ON
DISH DVR RECEIVER,NINTENDO WII
INFINITY MODULUS II 5.1 SPEAKERS SILVER

[mario_capo]

I alway wonder if Lossless audio or better speakers would make a bigger impact. Either way I do want to make both upgrades eventually. i like the sound of my speakers, but I bet some towers would blow the huge sattellites I have away.

[Sonny]

You might want an HDMI A/V? Or a player with analog outs?

[mario_capo]

And thanks prankster, you sound about as sure as I am with the decision. LOL. But it seems u lean more towards do the speakers now receiver later. I appreciate the input from everyone so far!

[Travis]

Speakers.

I'm not a speaker snob, but... JBL, Polk, Infinity and Bose aren't anything I'm interested in. Some of them get very pricey, so I know dollars doesn't decide what a speaker is or isn't.

Fry's, Best Buy, Circuit City(Goodbye, had a parttime job there once ) aren't the best places to go to listen to speakers or sales advice. Go visit a proper home theater/Hi-Fi store with informed sales assistants, you owe it to yourself to look and listen.

I want to have a speaker for 10-20 years, buy cheap(quality and $s) buy twice.

Brands like B&W, KEF, Wharfedale, Tannoy, and Mission may have something very nice ans also won't break the bank. Also take time to listen to some Spendors or other higher end stuff. You will enjoy it.

Before some tries to roast me: I know some good stuff may be carried by BestBuy, surpised to see Matin Logans there, but I'd still go talk to a professioanal and see what else is out there. I also know not everyone at Fry's is a pimpley-faced kid that doesn't know the difference between ohms and watts.

[Fors*]

I feel you need to do the speakers first, fronts and/then a center. What good would a really nice receiver do if you do not have the sound stage to hear it? With the new speakers, you may not hear the best they have to offer with the old receiver, but you should hear some improvement.

[jlynn33]

No matter what speakers you decide on, make sure they are all the same. They should all be from the same manufacturer and the same model. The reason for this is timber matching, seemless audio transitions, and matching power requirements per channel.

[cembros]

i see that your amp only outputs 85watts per ch. Before you can even upgrade your speakers you have to get a more powerfull receiver or amp. It is possible to damage speakers if they are underpowered. Even if you dont upgrade your speakers for a while after you get a more powerfull amp you will still see a big increase in performance with your current speakers with the increased power. Also if you do upgrade your receiver you will also have the benefit of hdmi inputs and if you get a nice receiver you should also go with something that will have higher quality dac's, this will give you a much better sound. Bottom line, you absoutly should not upgrade your speakers before you get more power, What is your budget

[kingofgrills]

Originally Posted by mario_capo

Take a look at my sig and tell me if you were me with not a giant budget but an everlasting itch to upgrade, what you would upgrade first. Basically I mean the receiver or the front sound stage?? What's gonna give me the biggest difference? If I upgrade to an HD Audio Onkyo receiver or upgrade to some tower fronts and a new Center Channel??? I was loving the Polks at Fry's. They had the TSI400's there that sounded slightly better than the Infinity Primus P252's I originally was demoing. The salesman was pushing JBL balboa 30's on me! He said they sound better and usually are 300 a piece discounted to 90 bucks. To me they didn't sound anything special. But those Polks were nice! I dunno what single upgrade would benefit me most. I want to keep the infinity sub I have and the rears. I also might keep the 2 fronts and move em for a 7.1 setup. Not really too sure about that one though. Small living room. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! If I get those towers I would probably start listening to more music the techno stuff they were playing there sounded fricken awesome. I will probably upgrade it all eventually just don't have the funds at the moment.

Looking at your gallery photos, I would definitely recommend updating your speakers first. That is your weakest link audio-wise right now. There's a lot of good speakers to audition before pulling the trigger, and two of my favorites I'd highly recommend that sound fantastic for the price are Monitor Audio's Bronze Reference line, as well as Paradigm.

Here's Monitor Audio's Bronze Reference Line. Check them out and then the review section on them:

http://www.monitoraudiousa.com/products/bronze-br

[Travis]

Originally Posted by kingofgrills

There's a lot of good speakers to audition before pulling the trigger, and two of my favorites I'd highly recommend that sound fantastic for the price are Monitor Audio's Bronze Reference line...

Monitor Audio Bronze BR2 has gotten good reviews.

Some poeple shy away from bookshelf speakers, and/or 2-way speakers, don't know why. I wouldn't trade my little B&Ws for any cheap tower, with 3-23 drivers running up and down the middle. A proper 2-way bookshelf can produce a nice clean, clear and genuine sound (that's what we want).


Warning: Old-timer reminiscing ahead
The speaker that did it for me was Spendor http://www.spendoraudio.com/HTML/S35R_main.html , I was in the Usher store in Taiwan and they showed us that their speakers and Spendors had similar drivers/style/whatevers. We listened to theirs and then asked if we could here the smaller Spendors. WOW! They lost the sale. They were great, 2 little boxes perfectly reproducing a French lady singing (on one note on the Ushers it was like soeone dragging a frozen knife up my spine) Couldn't buy Usher after that experience, couldn't afford Spendor, so bought some mid-range B&W bookshelf speakers. So happy.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Travis

Monitor Audio Bronze BR2 has gotten good reviews.

Some poeple shy away from bookshelf speakers, and/or 2-way speakers, don't know why. I wouldn't trade my little B&Ws for any cheap tower, with 3-23 drivers running up and down the middle. A proper 2-way bookshelf can produce a nice clean, clear and genuine sound (that's what we want).


Warning: Old-timer reminiscing ahead
The speaker that did it for me was Spendor http://www.spendoraudio.com/HTML/S35R_main.html , I was in the Usher store in Taiwan and they showed us that their speakers and Spendors had similar drivers/style/whatevers. We listened to theirs and then asked if we could here the smaller Spendors. WOW! They lost the sale. They were great, 2 little boxes perfectly reproducing a French lady singing (on one note on the Ushers it was like soeone dragging a frozen knife up my spine) Couldn't buy Usher after that experience, couldn't afford Spendor, so bought some mid-range B&W bookshelf speakers. So happy.

Off topic, Richteer has some very nice Spendors that he's selling at a reasonable price!

[fronn]

An 85 watt per channel receiver has plenty of power.

50 watt per channel has quite a bit of power to get extremely loud (louder than any reasonable person would want to listen).

The only reason he'd need a new receiver with new speakers is if the speakers are 4ohm or if he wants lossless. Let's not recommend he waste money on a 150+ WPC receiver when he has far more pressing upgrades to make.

There seems to be a misunderstanding around these forums as to how much power relates to actual listening levels.

A speaker with, let's say, a rather poor efficiency of 83db/W @1m and 8ohms is only going to need about 65 watts to get to 103db (generally 8ohms is around the low point - so it'd need even less power for much of time) - that's far louder than anyone should be listening to for anything but the briefest periods of time.

[got rice]

Originally Posted by mario_capo

. Basically I mean the receiver or the front sound stage?? What's gonna give me the biggest difference? If I upgrade to an HD Audio Onkyo receiver or upgrade to some tower fronts and a new Center Channel??? I was loving the Polks at Fry's. They had the TSI400's there that sounded slightly better than the Infinity Primus P252's I originally was demoing. The salesman was pushing JBL balboa 30's on me! He said they sound better and usually are 300 a piece discounted to 90 bucks. To me they didn't sound anything special. But those Polks were nice! I dunno what single upgrade would benefit me most. I want to keep the infinity sub I have and the rears. I also might keep the 2 fronts and move em for a 7.1 setup. Not really too sure about that one though. Small living room. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! If I get those towers I would probably start listening to more music the techno stuff they were playing there sounded fricken awesome. I will probably upgrade it all eventually just don't have the funds at the moment.

I would suggest upgrading the front stage first(L/C/R).Timbre match is quintessential. It doesn't matter how greatyour AVR is, it is your speakers that give the sound your listening to.The better the speaker the better it sounds.
Audition, Audition, Audition. You will know when you hear the speakers that are for you. There won't be a question about it. Its just a matter of finding that one that you just have to have.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by fronn

An 85 watt per channel receiver has plenty of power.

50 watt per channel has quite a bit of power to get extremely loud (louder than any reasonable person would want to listen).

The only reason he'd need a new receiver with new speakers is if the speakers are 4ohm or if he wants lossless. Let's not recommend he waste money on a 150+ WPC receiver when he has far more pressing upgrades to make.

There seems to be a misunderstanding around these forums as to how much power relates to actual listening levels.

A speaker with, let's say, a rather poor efficiency of 83db/W @1m and 8ohms is only going to need about 65 watts to get to 103db (generally 8ohms is around the low point - so it'd need even less power for much of time) - that's far louder than anyone should be listening to for anything but the briefest periods of time.

Question:

My AVR also puts out 85w/ch. I also want to upgrade fronts and center. For fronts (hoping for) B7W704s http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/displa...rid=1112&sc=ht or B&WCM7 (more likely) http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/displa...rid=1078&sc=ht would a 2ch amp bring out a better sound?

They both recommend a min. of 30 (or 50) to a max. of 150 watts into 8ohms for amp power.

I know specs aren't everyting, but it is all we can get sometimes. So what other specs are important at crunch time?

[fronn]

Originally Posted by Travis

Question:

My AVR also puts out 85w/ch. I also want to upgrade fronts and center. For fronts (hoping for) B7W704s http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/displa...rid=1112&sc=ht or B&WCM7 (more likely) http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/displa...rid=1078&sc=ht would a 2ch amp bring out a better sound?

They both recommend a min. of 30 (or 50) to a max. of 150 watts into 8ohms for amp power.

I know specs aren't everyting, but it is all we can get sometimes. So what other specs are important at crunch time?

I'd say worry about new speakers for now and upgrade your receiver situation later.

Adding a separate amp may make a difference for you and it may not. Electronics tend to make subtle differences and the worst thing someone can do is tell you it's going to change everything and make a world of difference - that either sets you up for disappointment or causes you to just hear what you want to justify things (which is dangerous and often expensive!).

The speakers and room placement/acoustics/treatments have the most audible impact, as they are most directly related to how you hear the sound. Amplifier and other electronics are, despite these companies best efforts, more or less all the same (after a certain point - you can certainly buy shit that does sound outright bad... for the most part you should be 90% there already - you really pay for that last 5-10%).

For now you should be fine with speaker upgrades. The receiver you have will work in the mean time. Upgrade the receiver when you're ready and got some more money to spend - don't think you have to upgrade the receiver right this minute because of the new speakers. Don't make impulse decisions on this stuff and do it in steps - that way you can more easily hear (or not hear) what each component upgrade actually sounds like.

edit: read next post: you'll need to check to see if your receiver can handle dips into 3 or 4 ohm