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Upgrade path blues:


kenratboy

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At work, while moving >500 boxes of Capri Sun's, I was thinking about how I am going to upgrade my home theater (I have recently decided that I would rather have a nice HT sooner, than a Z06 or 911, those will need to wait with the price of entry 2.gif ) It has dawned on me that I have NOTHING that is worth carrying over to my to-be system (I'm thinking Denon 3803, RF-35 system, PSB-Plus sorta stuff.) That would mean I would flat out have to buy all the speakers/subwoofer, the receiver, DVD player, and display device, otherwise there would be a HUGE weak link in the system, whether it be one or all but one component. Even my subwoofer isn't gonna work for a real HT, it has a 30 Hz. high-pass on it, which is pretty lame for movie.

Have you had this dilemma where you literally need to start over - as you have (well, had) nothing of value for the new system? I mean, if you have a Denon 3803, you could go from RF-35's to RF-7's or Klipschorns and it would be good at the worst, then you could go buy some SET amps later. As of now, hooking up Klipsch Reference to my Sony receiver would be a crime beyond all other, while hooking up my JBL's to a $1000 receiver would do very little (and the 3/8" tweeters blow somewhat easily...)

Just ranting... 1.gif

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I went through that this year. I had a Sony pro-logic (pre-digital) receiver that of course couldn't accept any of the newer style connections, I had crappy best buy bookshelf speakers, no sub, etc.

You have to deal with the weak links while you can unless you have more money than me and can buy everything at once. I got the DVD player, then a center, then some Rf-5s and moved my bookshelves to the rear, then a receiver, then a sub. Next will be a pre-processor, projector, etc.

One thing to keep in mind is if you are a nut like many of us, your theater will never be truly "done", you'll always be upgrading.

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Oh yes, Kenratboy I think you bring up something almost all of us (except the great mOOn) went through. When I first got to college 4 years ago, I suddenly became interested in HT. So I bought 5 Sony towers from bestbuy (and i still admit they sound quite good), a cerwin vega sub off the internet, the lowest-end-on-earth pioneer dvd player, and my 7 other suite-mates and I pitched in for a 27 inch tv. I figured the receiver was the heart of the system and that I couldn't skimp on that, so I went with a $500 yamaha.

1 year later I realized it wasn't giving me the enjoyment I craved. So I bought a 32" Wega, swapped out the dvd player for a $500 silver sony dvd player (which was, at the time, one of the very first silver components to ever come out, though now it sucks crap), and bought a cheap VCR from target.

During my senior year, I decided that wasn't gonna cut it. So I sold my sony speakers and bought 2 pairs of Klipsch RF-35's, and the RC-35. I threw out the yamaha for a Pioneer Elite 45TX. Sony DVD player got relegated for the Denon 3800. I got a JVC SVHS player, and figured I could neatly hook up the whole shabang with the Monster HTS 2600.

AND THEN I DISCOVERED THESE FORUMS. Klipsch, hometheaterforum, and avsforum. then it was all over...

I don't think it was even 3 months when I said screw it, I need the best stuff I can afford to last me years to come. So within 2 months and in one fell swoop, I bought the Parasound Halo C2 controller, A51 and A21 power amps, 51" Sony widescreen HDTV, 2 pairs of RF-7's, RC-7, SVS PB2+, Sony SAT200HD, Monster HTPS 7000 and AVS 2000, and a TON of monster cabling, interconnects, and PS audio powerlines and XLR cables.

And as Damonpayne correctly noted, I still want more. Anyways, sorry for sharing my little LONG story, but in your case, I think the TV should be first. That alone will probably make the impact of your system larger, since it is very hard to be submerged with a 27 incher. After that, it seems if you want to go with the best you can afford, the order of what you go with next is purely what you want first, since the speakers, receiver (or preamp and amp), dvd player, and any other niceties will all roughly be the same amount $$ in their own respective department.

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Receiver - $1000

DVD player - $500-1000

LR - $1000

C - $500

SURR - $500

Sub - $1200

TV - $2000 MIN.

All I can say is ouch. Better start cashing out my saving bonds now 9.gif - but the truth is, if I am single, have a good job, keep my Camry, don't go crazy, save (I am VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY good about saving cash), etc., $10,000 can come pretty quick, even if it is a year or so.

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On 9/4/2003 4:29:30 PM m00n wrote:

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On 9/4/2003 3:56:12 PM kenratboy wrote:

For me, material posessions > woman
9.gif

I like stuff more than people
11.gif

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Yeah...You just wait... Some special girlie will get your attention and you will become all fluttered.

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Yeah, I know, but I want to spend all my money BEFORE then 11.gif

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Ratboy-

First off I don't think that the Klipsch police will hunt you down for using your Sony Receiver.

Second -While you are living at home and in college, just make do as much as you can and save up for when you end up your own. You have already had a scare with a loss of scholarship funding, and if you continue on to "gradual school" the debt starts to mount up.

Third - By the time you finish school the technology will have evolved so far that you'll want something totally different.

Just my .01953643343.

2.gif

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On 9/4/2003 7:34:30 PM cluless wrote:

Ratboy-

First off I don't think that the Klipsch police will hunt you down for using your Sony Receiver.

Second -While you are living at home and in college, just make do as much as you can and save up for when you end up your own. You have already had a scare with a loss of scholarship funding, and if you continue on to "gradual school" the debt starts to mount up.

Third - By the time you finish school the technology will have evolved so far that you'll want something totally different.

Just my .01953643343.

2.gif
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1 - The ear police (and possibly EAR) would hunt me down. I could not justify using Reference gear with a $300 Sony receiver, it would suck

2 - The college money thing is not an issue anymore. Period. College $$$ is taken care of, DONE.

3 - Same goes with computer upgrades. Sometimes you need to bite the bullit and go for it. I do not buy the latest and greatest in computer stuff (well, I skip the Athlon 3200 for a ~2600, if you consider that not top-of-the-line 3.gif ) - good speakers will last forever, I don't need to have the latest DD/DTS format (I would probably go for good ol' 5.1 to start) so a good receiver will last a long time, and, well, like we have all said before, once you really get rolling in the hobby, it is a non-stop path of upgrades.

Bonus - This is stuff I am THINKING about right now, a $10,000 home theater is YEARS away. What I will do is get my current system up to 100%, and if I find a good deal on anything, I will act. Don't forget, I can tap into Best Buy's selection for cheap 2.gif

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