upgrade help! (1 Viewer)

Hi all!!! First of all, Hi! I have been an avid reader of this forum for a long time, but this is actually the first time I post. I have been a audio/videophile (on a budget) for a long time... but it hasnt been long since I finally settled down and begin to build my set up. (lot of travelling... lots of coming and going...) Now, finally I settled down and started putting together a modest Home Theater. Before I continue, Id like to mention that I'm still on a budget. I'd love to get the best gear available! but I mostly get good second hand gear so, availability may be limited! (so please, dont suggest to buy a $2000 Oppo player or a $5000 gold plated oled tv...) NOW! enought introductions... lets talk about gear! My current setup is: - Panasonic TH-P50X10z (720p - 768) - Onkyo 606 - Veon blu-ray player (house brand in New Zealand) - Wharfedale Diamond 9.5 + 9CM + 10.1 + JBL ES150PD sub - Marantz DV-4500 (used as dedicated cd player... paid $10! for it) - Sony DVPNS78 (just seating there, really....) - HTPC + NAS The fronts are bi-amp'd and wired with Audioquest Type 2 (DIY: there are 2 cables braided together (so 8 threats in total) going to each terminal) + Center bi-wired with the same Type 2 + Sonance Medialinq Gold 16/4 for the rear (Comments, questions, suggestions welcome) Now, I'm VERY happy sound wise... currently looking at upgrading the "little" Onkyo... but not in a hurry... and only if can get a good, decent deal. Image wise... im happy too... but, in the search for perfection, I can tell that is definitely the weak link. the Panasonic, being at the bottom of the line, does not offer a lot of tweaking options and being a few generations old, technology wise, its not up to today standards (some flickering, some edjing, some niose here and there) ... I have "calibrated" it with a THX setup disk and have achieved very good black levels, great contrast and decent accurate colors. the veon blu-ray player... paid $50 for it... and does an ok job with blu-ray but not the best with DVD upscalling. The only really good thing about it is... IS B-R REGION FREE! put in the code and watch any blu-ray zone! (tested!) so even after the upgrade, I'm planing to keep it.. as a back up... Now... the goal is to upgrade both TV and Blu-ray. TV, definitely 1080p plasma and hopefully, Panasonic... Blu-Ray: good upscalling, good as CD player, good looking.... have been looking at the Pioneer line BDP150 // LX55. The idea is to retire the sony and the marantz, using one good universal player (as I said, I '' keep the veon for multi-region purpose) The question is: I cant upgrade both at the same time. After the first one, it will be a while until I can upgrade the second. What would I get a better/greater inprovement from ? a better quality blu-ray player or a better tv? Another question... on a local auction site, there is a 8th generation 60" Kuro (PDP-LX608G) available... how will it compare with a ST30 or UT50? gear suggestions, ideas, comments all welcome... I know I have a lot to learn so please, give me the big picture and tell me why something is better than another (don't just say "get that. that other suck" kinda thing... ) thank you in advance!!

I would upgrade the TV first. 1080P from a $50 player or a $500 player is darn near "equal" all things considered. But any shortcomings from a $50 player can be make up in tweaking the TV anyway. And the TV will be your single biggest improvement...at the moment. Unless there is something drastically wrong with your 606...you don't need to update it at all...unless... 1. You "go 3D" 2. Want to take advantage of DPL IIz or Aud DSX(height/width) Ignore ARC(Audio Return Channel) as a feature as you don't have any need for it.

Hello Schan Thank you for you reply.... much apreciated... As I said, I'm quite happy with my 606... it goes well together with the Wharfedale's and bi-amping the frots they get plenty of power to fill the house with good quality, defined sound.... ... but I guess (like everybody in here) if we can get better gear at cheap prices, we'll go for it! 3d? not worth it... call me old school.... but... unless I'm in an IMAX theater, I think 3d is not worth the money (at least while the selection of movies available is not that great/extensive) I whish panasonic will drop the "smart" and 3d features from the VT50 and just release a "dumb" V50 with awesome PQ and half the price!!! ..... honestly... why do we all need to pay for the same features on every piece of electronic? network streaming/youtube/pandora/netflix/etc/etc on my tv... on a BD player.... on the receivers... .... whish the old Kuro tv's would be available.... PQ at its best.... no nonsence attached!

Yeah, well we can all dream of Unicorns and skittles poop(if you get the reference)... Hitachi tried that approach 5 years(ish...5-7 years ago anyway) ago. They made their Ultra-Thin LCD and Plasma with minimal connections on the display itself and you had to purchase the tuner(which had more HDMI and component etc) separate. It failed miserable in the marketplace...cause "Joe Consumer" was too stupid to realize he really only needs 1 HDMI and you aren't using your TV "as a TV" when you have pay cable/satellite in HD and have an AVR. But Hitachi's experiment led(in my opinion) to the death of Pioneer/Elite Kuro at the same time. Hitachi was tired of swimming with the likes of Samsung and LG and went to the same dinner table as Mitsubishi and Pioneer/Elite. Now Hitachi is dead(as an OEM, all their TV are ODM now) and we all know the story of Pio/Elite and Mits left the market this year. So, Smart TV are a stupid idea...but "Joe Consumer" are idiots...tanking the market for the rest of us. Long live Vizio and Samsung...TVs for the morons to buy.