Help on Upgrading! please help. (1 Viewer)

[loganbarker8]

hello, i am looking to upgrade my surround sound using the lowest amount of money possible. We had everything installed about 10 years ago and i am not sure if it is worth upgrading. We have an old kenwood digilink III receiver rv-5030r. Labeled on it is Dolby Surround Pro Logic. From what i understand, this is very outdated technologically speaking. The receiver is hooked up to a Jamo center speaker, 2 in wall speakers located high on the walls facing the viewing area, and in ceiling speaker directly above the listening area, and 2 rear speakers facing each other on the left and right. I was wondering if buying a new receiver that supports Dolby TrueHD would make a dramatic difference in how good my surround sound is. Or do i need to replace all the in wall speakers too? Also, our current setup does not include a subwoofer... i dont know why it doesnt but is it worth getting one?

Thanks everyone

 

[Gary Shipley]

Wow! Yes, I think you may have some outdated stuff. You would notice a big difference between Dolby Pro Logic and Dolby 5.1, not to mention the newer Dolby TrueHD and DTS MA. And yes, I would most definately get a subwoofer. You are missing alot by not having one. And be sure to calibrate the speakers. The newer receivers have built in systems to do that for you. Not sure if I understand why you have a ceiling speaker above the listening area. If the left front, center , and right speakers are properly calibrated, I don't think it would be needed. You can probably find a nice receiver to fit you needs for $300-$500. I would check out Onkyo, Pioneer or Yamaha as a starting point for receivers in that price range.

 

[loganbarker8]

Thanks, Do all the new blu ray players support Dolby TrueHD?

 

[Gary Shipley]

As far as I know, yes. Brand wise, I would look at the Panasonic BD60 or the SonyS360. Both sell for around $300 and are nice Blu ray players.

 

[Stephen Tu]

Also look at the LG 370/390 BD players, especially if you have fast internet (3+ Mbps) and can make use of the Netflix feature.