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Seeking input on HT problems/upgrades


winchester21

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Hi folks-been away from the forum for a while playing with sports cars and guns among other things. My present HT setup consists of K horn fronts which are have modded wood horns with JBL drivers, a lascalla center(stock)), a pair of modded belles(wood horns-jbl drivers), and a pair of industrial lascallas for the rear speakers My electronics are as follows. SonyDA4300ES receiver which I presently have setup as an HT preamp. I am running an older Carver A-753X 3 channel aprox 250 watts per channel . Amp is marked as THX certified if that means anything anymore by todays standards. This 3 channel power amp is driving the fronts and the center. i have a pair of B&K EX 4420 power amps driving the sides and the rears apron 200 watts per channel each. The Sony has recently lost the HDMI input 1. The thing is 10 or 15 years old so fixing it seems like a bad idea and I don't work on stuff except cars and guns. I need at least 3 HDMI inputs and this leaves me with 2. I am looking at the Emotiva, Outlaw, and Marantz HT 7 ch preamps as a replacement for the Sony. Also, would I be better off swapping out the Carver and the B&Ks and buying a more modern self contained 7 channel power amp?Also I am thinking about buying an Oppo blue ray player at 500.00 and moving my Sony Blue ray player to a bedroom or den? The Sony was the top of the line just as Blue ray came out. Sorry but I don't know the model number, Comments, opinions, and testimonials are gently appreciated. Thanks in advance. CV

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The emotiva gets more praise then the outlaw gets from reviews I've read. You don't seem to be looking for a billion bells and whistles so the emotiva would be a good option. I mean it should have good ccustomizaility.

Outlaw makes great amps. Not sure if upgrading will improve much for you.

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Also, would I be better off swapping out the Carver and the B&Ks and buying a more modern self contained 7 channel power amp?

CV,

Welcome back.

If the Carver and the B&K's are running fine with no issues, no need to "upgrade". I can personally speak for the B&K EX4420, it is a wonderful amp.

Bill

Edited by willland
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Yeah I say leave amps alone. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Going from the old sony to the emo should be a large upgrade. I think you would be happy with any of them. I'm just not sure how good any of thems room eq is. But I'm guessing with that sony you don't have room eq anyways. So who cares.

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The main reason to changed the amps would be to reduce the amount of gear. A good avr or preamp with room correction will give you the HDMI inputs and some other features. The Emo amp with the Heritage speakers could have an audible noise floor. Others may chime in on their use with Heritage speaker.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Emotiva pre/processor arrived double boxed and in excellent condition. Transfer of connections from the old Sony to the new unit was a snap. Very straightforward and idiot proof. I expected a full compliment of 4 HDMI inputs and maybe a slight upgrade in sound quality. What I got was a total night and day transformation. Even the news channels exhibited a noticeable improvement in sound quality. I made it a point to listen to a few last programs with the old Sony before retiring the unit. Moving on the the Dolby playbacks on the HBO and Cinemax channels The Dark Knight playback was true theater quality. Next I loaded a BR copy of Hurt Locker into the Sony 550 BR player. My system has never sounded like this Even at moderate volume the M-16 firefight scenes sounded like they were in the room with sounds of brass rifle casings pinging on the concrete floor. The helicopters sounded like they were landing on my roof. The IED explosions literally shook the floor and walls of my room from the KSW-15 powered sub. IMO this is not even the best example of a BR playback as I will explore some other classic action movies. Without further rambling , I can honestly say that the upgrade difference was very dramatic. I could not possibly be happier with my new Emotiva 200. Thanks for all the input as you guys were as usual dead on and exactly correct. Good to be back CV

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One other thing. I have decided to leave the amps strictly alone. They are pretty much noise free with tons of power to run the Heritage speakers. I am also having second thoughts about scrapping the Sony BR player unless i can get my hands on an Oppo loaner for a couple of days for comparison. I have not even set up the room EQ, I may just leave everything at the factory default settings. My listening area is a long narrow train wreck example of a listening room with tons of junk,furniture,and boxes of vinyl, but the system seems to have magically defeated the obstacles. i am afraid to touch it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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