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Upgrading to Higher quality on a budget (1 Viewer)

Mark Hoelscher

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Hello i am new to this forum and not quite sure how it all works. with saying that if anyone has any tips on how to post better and clearer please let me know.

My largest issue i have is i keep wanting to upgrade my surround sound and stereo

Currently i have an onkyo Tx-sr506 receiver which sounds fairly decent but i want to upgrade to something that will be able to run the audio through and hdmi audio return. I am currently running optical audio from the tv to the receiver and i feel it is loosing sound quality from when i run it directly from my Playstation 3 and my U-Verse box, there are two optical inputs but i like to use one of them for audio from my laptop. I am primarily watching my movies on Netflix but i notice the audio is much clearer from blu rays on my playstation.

My speakers currently are Boston Acoustics MCS 160 5.1

And i have a VIZIO E420d-A0 42 inch led smart tv

however i also have two sets of bose 301 series IV and a set of series III 201

i am a college student so i have a fairly restricted budget but i am also willing to sell some things to upgrade my current system

any advice?
 

schan1269

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HDMI audio return(I assume you mean ARC) is not meant for what you want, unless you want to buy a newer AVR and still have audio issues.The TV is not meant to be the hub, period.The 606 that year took audio off the HDMI. Every AVR made since that year takes audio off the HDMI. I think you can still find Yamaha 375, Denon 1513 And Onkyo 313 on A4L.
 

Mark Hoelscher

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I am looking to upgrade my avr and i have been looking at the Denon AVR-X1100W because i have some credit on amazon. but my set up is currently in a bedroom and it is going to be moved to an apartment shortly. my biggest question is do you think i will notice a difference in sound quality, and do you think it is worth it to have onscreen interaction with your receiver and run all of your HDMI cables through it. because currently i just see my receiver as a way to switch from HDMI inputs and see no upside of running them through it.
 

ArmSC

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The on screen display is a nice feature as it helps with navigating the menus and settings. However, once everything is setup it's not that big of a deal but I wouldn't turn it down if I had the choice. As far as your setup why wouldn't you want to run everything to the AVR? It doesn't make sense to have your TV filtering the audio back to the AVR when you can just go straight into it from the sources.
 

Mark Hoelscher

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Thank you both for your responses. The only reason I don't currently run hdmi through my receiver is because I do not have the original remote and thus I have limited control over what I can actually do(basically volume and muting) however I do run the optical from the source to the receiver and not through the tv. I can still access most of the settings through the receiver other than the zone 2 setting which doesn't really seem that useful anyways. But really I think my biggest problem when looking at newer receivers is knowing what's actually worth the money or not and if it is worth it to get a receiver that is over kill for my current speakers and upgrade in the future.And determining a brand to buy I had a rough start in the beginning and became fairly attached to Bose thinking since it was so expensive and marketed so well that it must be the best. Though I soon realized that it was cheap speakers in over engineered boxes that cost 15 times more than they should. The point I am getting at is I usually like to stick with what I know I like the onkyo receiver I currently have but it is missing some key features I would like and I'm not sure if the newer models have.Features I would like An auto standby mode that kicks in when no signal is going to the receiverObviously a remote but something that is not like solving a cryptic puzzle to change settingsAirplay or Bluetooth would be nice to play music wirelessly though sometimes I think it is more of a pain that a convenienceBut I am still new here if I'm not being fully clear or any tips on how to make better posts let me know. Other than that let me know what features you find useful and maybe what you feel is not needed.
 

schan1269

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You have to realise the shortcomings of a non-audio HDMI AVR. The OP has to realise the shortcomings of running things "The wrong way".To the OP, you already said you experience audio loss(cause the TV is the hub).Buy a newer AVR, connect it the right way. Problems solved.
 

schan1269

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Mark Hoelscher said:
Features I would like An auto standby mode that kicks in when no signal is going to the receiverNot going to find that. Onkyo remotes(starting with 7X7) have "activities". Totally removes this "need". Besides, most AVR can be set for "master power". In other words, you turn it off...everything else turns off.Obviously a remote but something that is not like solving a cryptic puzzle to change settingsStay away from Pioneer and Sony then.Airplay or Bluetooth would be nice to play music wirelessly though sometimes I think it is more of a pain that a convenienceObviously not used either.
 

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