7.1 Upgrade

maffs0

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Currently, we have a pretty good system that I am looking to upgrade. The current system has:
Oppo 83SE for BluRay, DVDS and CDs. It can stream but for some reason it is very poor performance (sounds like a bad FM radio signal). We use the mch and stereo analogue outs into the processor. HDMI video goes straight to the TV.
Amazon Fire TV. I think its 2nd generation, but might be 1st. HDMI straight to TV and optical out into AV9. I'm not sure if I am getting Dolby Digital Plus or just Dolby Digital as I can't find any information on AV9 capabilities regarding this.
Arcam AV9 Processor. I love this bit of kit and it sounds great for the pass through from the Oppo and deals with the Dolby Digital 5.1 from the Fire well too.
Arcam F7 Power Amp. Love this too, great dynamic sound.
PMC speakers. Two GB, a centre (can't remember the model number but matches the GBs) and wafers on the walls for surround.
55" Samsung Plasma TV (about 7 years old!).

My goal is to upgrade the system so that it can
  • play lossless 5.1 HD audio (DTS Master and Dolby True) on streaming material. The Oppo can do this through the analogue outputs, but the AV9 cannot. I would love to be able to rip my BluRays onto a NAS and then watch them over the network with lossless audio. The Oppo can't stream these and if I try it crashes. The Fire TV can't output this and even if it could, the Oppo doesn't have an HDMI input and the AV9 can't decode lossless. I'm not bothered about Atmos or DTS:X.
  • have 4K video with Dolby Vision and HDR+ available through both BluRay player and streaming.
  • have a 65 inch OLED display.
  • be very good as a stereo with CDs and also streaming music from my NAS. I also have a few SACD disks that I would like access to.
  • last me for 7-8 years and cost in the region of £2,500 over the next year.

The big question I need to answer first is how to I upgrade the audio for streaming. I can see two main options for sound.
  • The first is to upgrade my Oppo to a 205. I can't seem to find any other player out there with multi-channel audio outs that match the Oppo's performance. I also need a great stereo performance. The problem is that the 205s are being sold for a fortune (usually over £2000 on auction site) as there is no supply from Oppo anymore. Maybe there is another player in the £1,000 bracket but I've not been able to find one.
  • The second option is to upgrade the processor to one that can handle lossless 7.1 audio. If I get a good processor, then I wouldn't need analogue outs and could cut costs significantly on a 4k BluRay player using HDMI out for both vision and audio. Perhaps the new TV or the BluRay player can stream.
In addition, I am waiting for OLED prices to drop and hopefully get a 65" screen in the £1,200 range in the next 12 months?

So I'd appreciate any thoughts. I have been looking at the Arcam AV950 second hand as a replacement processor. There are a couple on auction site and could probably pick one up for £1300. An alternative is a certified refurbished Emotiva XRC-1. This might not sound as good as the Arcam but it has HDMI 2.0 and 7.1 analogue input as well as Dirac Live room correction. It would cost about £1250 to import from the US with a one year warranty.

It's good to see this written down.
M.
 

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