looking for upgrade advice (1 Viewer)

[NeelMehta]

Hi,

I currently have a budget HT setup and am looking to upgrade:

Current setup
Yamaha RX-V592 receiver with Yamaha DVD-s700 dolby digital decoder
Klipsch KG 3.5 fronts
Klipsch KV3 center
Klipsch KG 1.5 rears
Sony SA-WM40 (modified)

My feeling is that the receiver is the weak point, mainly the internal amp being only 75watts. My guess or plan was to make use of the external amp inputs and connect it to an outboard 5 channel amp.

Would this make sense or would it be more advisable to purchase an upgraded receiver. I am not too interested in some of the newer formats, i am happy with Dolby Digital and just want to see if a new amp can upgrade the sound.

If it is the correct move, any budget amps to consider? I wanted to spend

 

[ChadLB]

When i was looking for a 5 channel amp the lowest price is more like the $400 range. Amps to look at in that range:

Parasound HCA855a
Sherwood AM9080
Rotel RB-985
Carver AV-705
Adcom
Acurus

I would check ebay/audiogon on a regular basis.

I just added the Parasound HCA855a to my setup recently.
I mainly bought it because of the condition/price I got it for. I looked for 5 months but never saw a good price...

 

[Kevin McCurdy]

One 5 channel amp I can think of around the $300.00 range would be the Harman Kardon PA5800. Five channels at 80 watts (8 ohms). Pretty well regarded amp at it's price point, you'll have to search the used market because it's no longer made.

 

[ChadLB]

you could also look for a 3 channel and just run your surrounds off the recievers amp.

 

[Chris Sherman]

There's a 5 channel carver amp in the hardware for sale area for $200.00 . That is a bargain ,they go on ebay for around $300.00 . It's not the ultimate amp but will still beat your Yammys amp section. Check reviews on www.audioreview.com and no it's not my amp. I added an Outlaw 750 to my Onkyo 676 receiver . I just picked up a Marantz DD/DTS preamp for cheap . I'll be using this until I can scrape up the cash for an Outlaw 950. I'm in no big hurry though as the marantz actually sounds pretty good and comes with a terrific remote , the RC 2000 MKII . I actually prefer this remote to the one that comes with the outlaw, which is a decent but dated clone of the Home Theater Master SL9000. I had one of these a while back but couldn't stand the fact that there are no separate cursor/transport buttons for a dvd player. The MX-500 is a much improved design. I wish Outlaw bundled that one with the 950 but i realize they are trying to keep the cost down. Good luck with your upgrade search. Amps tend to hold their resale value better then receivers and once you get a decent one you can just upgrade your pre/pro to keep up with the latest technologies and get an improvement in sound over most receivers .