should i upgrade?

[DTKF]

current system. 5.2.1 system. amp pioneer vsx 933. golden ear supersub x woofer. goldenear aon2 bookshelf speaker. wharfadale reva c center speaker. surround using kef.

my audio guy is recommending me to get the yamaha rx a3080 upgrade as he says it;ll make a big difference. but price is on the higher side. is it worth to pay the extra ? will the difference b huge? btw my mini av room is 12x10 feet. not very big. any advice will b appreciated. thx

 

[shug4476]

I think that amp is probably a bit too much for your needs and room size.

Are you happy with the sound of the Pioneer? If so I would probably only change it if I needed features it doesn't have.

 

[DTKF]

I think that amp is probably a bit too much for your needs and room size.

Are you happy with the sound of the Pioneer? If so I would probably only change it if I needed features it doesn't have.

im happy with the bass im getting .. but keep thinking i can get better dialoque

 

[shug4476]

Have you calibrated the system properly with an SPL meter?

 

[Mr Wolf]

im happy with the bass im getting .. but keep thinking i can get better dialoque

If you have dialogue issues it may be to do with your centre speaker and not your AVR. You may be suffering from SBIR or you may just need a better centre speaker. Either way, before spending big on a new AVR, if you can, I would test out some other centre speakers with your current AVR or otherwise take your current centre speaker into a dealer's demo room and compare it against some others.

 

[DTKF]

Have you calibrated the system properly with an SPL meter?

Not really. Only did it with the mic it offered. His argument is the Yamaha offers 150watts per channel whereas the pioneer is only 85 watts. That itself will make a huge diff. And my current speakers can handle up to 200watts

 

[Mr Wolf]

Not really. Only did it with the mic it offered. His argument is the Yamaha offers 150watts per channel whereas the pioneer is only 85 watts. That itself will make a huge diff. And my current speakers can handle up to 200watts

The Yamaha may sound a lot better simply because it’s a better AVR but this is unlikely to be due to having extra power. 150W vs 85W is less than 3dB more headroom so unless you’re currently driving the Pioneer very close to its limits the extra power is unlikely to make much of a difference.

 

[rccarguy3]

Yamaha avrs aren't that powerful when all channels are driven.

 

[shug4476]

Not really. Only did it with the mic it offered. His argument is the Yamaha offers 150watts per channel whereas the pioneer is only 85 watts. That itself will make a huge diff. And my current speakers can handle up to 200watts

I agree with the other poster that power is unlikely to be the problem you face.

Make sure you do the basic things first, before you spend more money on equipment. So make sure the SPL levels are properly calibrated with an SPL meter, and make sure the speakers are all correctly wired (in phase), and decoupled from whatever you have them placed on.

These are things you can do for not a lot of money. "Better dialogue" is quite a rare ask from a surround system and might imply some of the basics are not set up properly.

If having done this you are still not happy, I would suggest your money would be far better spent on changing speakers. You have quite a nice amp.

You don't need to spend big money. Very nice speakers can be had for under £100 on eBay.

 

[DTKF]

I agree with the other poster that power is unlikely to be the problem you face.

Make sure you do the basic things first, before you spend more money on equipment. So make sure the SPL levels are properly calibrated with an SPL meter, and make sure the speakers are all correctly wired (in phase), and decoupled from whatever you have them placed on.

These are things you can do for not a lot of money. "Better dialogue" is quite a rare ask from a surround system and might imply some of the basics are not set up properly.

If having done this you are still not happy, I would suggest your money would be far better spent on changing speakers. You have quite a nice amp.

You don't need to spend big money. Very nice speakers can be had for under £100 on eBay.

i did the mcacc calibration with the mic that came with it ... does that work ? overall everything sounds good.. im just itching to get more. humans are greedy. adding some acoustic panels to c if it'll help with the dialoque