GULP!! Huge confusion over AV refresh - what do I do?!!

fogster74

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Hey guys,

A duplicate entry of my post in the Home Cinema buying forum - I do hope that's allowed? It seems my post may be better answered here?

Haven't posted for ages, but could really do with some help. We've recently moved and we're now the owners of our first non-rented home - it's detached, so I can finally start enjoying some volume on the home cinema front!

I've always been a huge proponent of used kit over new - higher quality vs. more modern features. However, for the first time ever, I'm considering new kit as perhaps I think I may actually need some of the newer features, or could use them at least.

The house is smaller than our flat (which had a large 4x5m living room), and I want the new living room to have a cleaner look whilst, where, possible, improving the sound quality and video too. I'm after kit that can perform well musically (my current kit is ok for music, but I guess the speakers really hold it back and it never *sparkled* - you know that feeling of goose bumps in a listening room at an AV dealer? I've never felt I got close) and I want more balance in the AV set-up - currently I'm very aware of the surround channel as it's immediately to the side of the sofa (about 4 feet from the viewing position at ear height), and there's nothign I can do about that as the sofa sits in a corner with a wall to the right and immediately behind.

My current kit to be kept:
Panasonic TX-P50G20 (I'll be keeping this)
PS3 (to be kept as main Blu-Ray / CD / DVD source and for Netflix etc)
Sky HD

My kit to be changed (I'll be selling this lot)
DENON AVR-3802
Pioneer DV-737 but may retain as I loved this musically
Fronts: Eltax Linear Response 6.5
Rears: (don't laugh!) Eltax Millennium
Centre: some horrible Eltax thing

Not sure to keep or let go
SUB: BK Monolith DF (AWESOME! But HUGE and may nor partner with what I'm looking at speaker-wise, plus my wife would LOVE to see it go to a new home)

Why am I upgrading?
A number of reasons. The DENON amp is superb but doesn't do HDMI switching, which is an absolute must as I want to hide the kit away to one side and have just a single cable to the Plasma.

I used to think that upscaling would be big deal for me but, with the PS3 and Panasonic both doing a decent job of scaling, watching lots of content on Netflix, Bluray and SkyHD, I don't think this is so pressing anymore. Your thoughts on this?

However, it's the newer funtionality that's pushing me to consider new vs old in the amp stakes - for example, should I invest in something that does 4k scaling? Also, Airplay, DLNA etc - my TV is only a few years old but in that alone I can se how dated my 'smart' functions, DLNA handling etc are compared to newer TVs - I'm thinking I'll feel strangled with an older amp's handling. Also, there's AirPlay - we both use Android devices but my wife has an iPad and we may get a Macbook at some point but... I don't think this is needed, just decent DLNA handling - again, would appreciate your thoughts? Wireless is a no-no - the house has been wired for Cat5e/Cat6, so that's not a requirement.

Regarding the speakers - the current setup is far too dominating and the quality from them is dubious at best. I want something sleek, unobtrusive, integrated.

So what am I looking at?
I love the build of the Denon (I bought it 2nd hand off eBay in 2005 and never regretted it) but, of late, Denon never seems to be rated that highly compared to the class leaders. Models that have caught my eye included the NR515 from Onkyo or a secondhand / ex-demo version of Pioneer's SC-2021 or a used LX-series from yesteryear. eBay has lots of options at around £300-£500 including an open box TX-NR807 for £379, a TX-NR509 for just £279, a TX-NR616 for £480 etc.

Then there's the plethora of used Denon or Pioneer options. Denon's AVR-33* range is disappointing in build quality to me (it seems to be the follow-on from the AVR-28** series not the AVR-38** series), so that would probably mean a AVR-43* or 48* amp - or am I being daft there?

Finally, speakers. Do I keep the BK and simply add KEF KHT-2005 eggs, or replace with a complete set-up from KEF or something like Q Accoustics Q7000?

My total budget is no more than about £1,000 (no Sub) to £1300 (new Sub) to replace it all (including a sub if that's what I'm doing) so it's going to have to be clearance, used, ex-demo etc. I can possibly go as far as £1,200 without the Sub / £1,500 with a new Sub, but would love to spend much less than that.

Come on people, show me some magic here...!!!!:lease:
 
I would keep the monolith as it is one of the best subs for the money and will work fine with any speakers you get. If you wanted something as good as the Monolith you would need to be spending at least £400 (for a BK XLS400) but probably a lot more than this if looking at other makes.
Upscaling on amps is a bit of a gimmick with your TV or source (PS3) upscaling just as good if not better anyway. 4k is not really much of a bonus unless you plan on spending a lot of money on a 4k TV.
Your requirement for good musical ability but small size are somewhat at conflicts with each other especially since you do not have a massive budget. Small satelite speakers are always going to be compromised on music quality compared to a similar priced standmount or floorstander system. If it has to be small speakers then also look at the Monitor Audio Radius or Apex ranges as well as the B&W M1s. A Denon 28xx or 33xx would be somewhat wasted on the speakers you are looking at getting with both needing much better speakers to get the full benefit of the better amplification.
 

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