AV receiver and speaker help required!

[HaleVale]

Hi - I'm looking for any advice and recommendations please! Currently running an Onkyo txsr608 AV with Kef Egg speakers and Kef cube subwoofer. Wanting to upgrade - the Kef cube has given up completely and the av is past its sell by date. Should I be looking to keep the kef eggs and replace the av / subwoofer, or replace the lot? I want a noticeable change in performance / clarity - mainly for music via e.g. Apple TV / streaming - but we use Netflix / sky tv (mainly for sports) too. Have been recommended the Denon AVR-X4500H, Yamaha RXA3080 and the Marantz sr7013. Also been recommended Dali oberon speakers - and to go for floor standers.....started to look around and it's overwhelming!
Any thoughts, inputs, advice very welcome! cheers

 

[cmclean]

If you want a ‘noticeable’ change then if your looking at those AVRs and can afford it you’ll really want to get better speakers too.

What are you running at the moment 5.1?
In my opinion a real step change is upgrading to Dolby Atmos. That depends on size of your room, whether you want to install ceiling speakers or have upfiring speakers, etc but if you want ‘noticable’ Then there’s a couple of options

Hope that helps

 

[Joe Fernand]

Room and Room Layout - will guide/dictate which direction to go in with loudspeakers.

Upgrade - changing 'just' the AVR and Sub is unlikely to deliver the upgrade in sound quality you are seeking.

Loudspeakers - full range can make a difference, esp. for Music, though your room and room layout has to be factored into your choice; which is why many 'Cinema' systems use limited range 'satellite' speakers which are easier to integrate and position in many rooms.

Joe

 

[gibbsy]

You have the Eggs, although you don't mention the actual model, but they could still serve you well in the surround positions allowing more of your budget to be spent on the all important front three. The receivers you have mentioned really do need good speakers to be able to get the best out of them, but as mentioned the room is all important and a little more information on the front would be welcome.

Floorstanders really do need the room to perform at their best and sometimes within a given price point that floorstanders can be outperformed by standmounts especially in a 5.1 system where a sub is going to be used anyway.

I had KEF Eggs and I gradually upgraded starting with the front three. KEFs are easy to integrate, I used my Eggs as surrounds for well over a year until my upgrade process was complete. I kept to the KEF lineout by at first getting R100s and the R200C. These outgoing models are available at Peter Tyson and are quite heavily discounted.

Eventually I upgraded the R100s to R300s and the R100s took over the surround duties from the Eggs and this has remained my layout. I would not get another KEF sub but look for something from BK or REL. The R100s really punch well above their weight.

KEF R100 Bookshelf Speakers
KEF R200C Centre Speaker
KEF R300 Bookshelf Speakers