Kenwood VR507. Should I upgrade? (1 Viewer)

[Dan Fort]

I'm in the process of upgrading my HT in a box. I have a Kenwood VR507 receiver. I just upgraded my speakers to Polk rti100's for the mains and csi40 for the center. I'm saving for the next purchase and was looking for advice on where I would get more bang for the buck. An upgraded receiver or subwoofer. Would a different receiver make much difference? 50/50 movies/music ~$500 budget

 

[John_Williams]

With a budget of $500, that is a tough call. $500 would only get you a lower end Denon, Onkyo, etc. It would definitely be an upgrade, though. All of the major manufacturers are in the process of releasing new models, so you might get a good closeout deal. I went from a Kenwood VR-409 to a Kenwood VR-6070 THX select this year, and it has much more oomph, if you know what I mean. You might get a little better used receiver for that price. You might want to check the HTF Hardware for sale forum to catch some quality used equipment.

On the other hand, you add another $50 to $100 to that total, and you can pick up an SVS 25-31PCi I have it, and I think that was the most impressive upgrade I have done. SVS make arguably some of the best subs in the business.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best

 

[Dan Fort]

I guess $500 is not a firm upper limit, I just wanted to stay away from the $1K components. Do you think I would see more immediate improvement by upgrading the receiver or getting the SVS sub? I've read great comments on the SVS, but I don't know if I would notice a big difference with my current rcvr.

 

[John_Williams]

If I had to do it in a certain order, I would go for the sub upgrade before the receiver. The 507 will push your Polks just fine, plus it has Prologic 2, so it is not like you are losing out on any technical improvements by not upgrading the receiver first.

The SVS subs are just in a class of their own, for the money. I am all for bang for buck, and they are usually compared to other subs that are double their price

I say go get yourself an SVS, and be amazed by movies and music, both. You really will not believe the difference