What to upgrade first?

Akshit2111

Active Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2017
Messages
630
Points
43
Location
New Delhi
So i am really confused as to what should i uograde in my home theatre first?
My current gear is pioneer vsx 831( entry level receiver) and polk audio rti a7( L &R) and csia4(C).
I wud be celebrating 1 year anniversary for my setup and looking for some upgrade. In this one year it turned out that my avr was used 80% for music and 20% for movies. And i was satisfied with movie performance but not with music.
I ran a thread earlier as to why m i not getting good musical performance but results have been more or less same.
So in short i want to know what should add first
1) a subwoofer
2) an integrated amplifier
3) a high end receiver like pioneer lx series

My receiver doesnt have pre outs.
I mostly play music through amazon fire tv ( through youtube and gaana app)
And i dont have any blu ray player as of now.

Thanks in advance!
 
Add an integrated amp to your set up, that will do the most justice to your music listening experience
 
So i am really confused as to what should i uograde in my home theatre first?
My current gear is pioneer vsx 831( entry level receiver) and polk audio rti a7( L &R) and csia4(C).
I wud be celebrating 1 year anniversary for my setup and looking for some upgrade. In this one year it turned out that my avr was used 80% for music and 20% for movies. And i was satisfied with movie performance but not with music.
Since you are more interested in music ...you should go for good stereo amplifier (with more RMS watts out is preferred.. where you get good clarity & clean music). Marantz amp is more talked about in this forum , you may check denon as well.

If you already have sub , i think it should be sufficient for music listening.
 
A subwoofer would be better for handling bass for both movies / music.. You may consider adding one / two identical subs based on your budget and if you can accommodate them in your room..

So in your opinion adding a subwoofer should be my top most priority for enhancing my music experience?
 
Since you are more interested in music ...you should go for good stereo amplifier (with more RMS watts out is preferred.. where you get good clarity & clean music). Marantz amp is more talked about in this forum , you may check denon as well.

If you already have sub , i think it should be sufficient for music listening.

Can you enlighten me on this amplifier thing a little bit. I have heard a lot about NAD, cambridge audio amplifiers. But when i was going through the specifications it said it is 50w per channel( the one suited to my budget) from what i have heard is that NAD often underrates its output performance. Now my AVR puts out 80w two ch driven.. so in terms of power i guess its more of a downgrade than an upgrade given the fact that an integrated amplifier would sound cleaner.. basically quite confused here.. budget is quite strict.. cant upgrade multiple things at once.. so need to know how to go about it..
 
So i am really confused as to what should i uograde in my home theatre first?
My current gear is pioneer vsx 831( entry level receiver) and polk audio rti a7( L &R) and csia4(C).
I wud be celebrating 1 year anniversary for my setup and looking for some upgrade. In this one year it turned out that my avr was used 80% for music and 20% for movies. And i was satisfied with movie performance but not with music.
I ran a thread earlier as to why m i not getting good musical performance but results have been more or less same.
So in short i want to know what should add first
1) a subwoofer
2) an integrated amplifier
3) a high end receiver like pioneer lx series

My receiver doesnt have pre outs.
I mostly play music through amazon fire tv ( through youtube and gaana app)
And i dont have any blu ray player as of now.

Thanks in advance!

Would have suggested an integrated amp, but if your current AVR doesn't have preouts, no point in getting it unless you want to run seperate stereo and HT setups.
I am tempted to suggest a good DAC and feed analog signals from it to the AVR but it beats the purpose since it will anyway not sound it full potential as they ll be limited by the AVR's Amp.
Maybe you should go in for a better AVR, usually high end AVR's do reasonable justice to music as well. (Maybe something from other stables, if the sonic quality is important)
 
Would have suggested an integrated amp, but if your current AVR doesn't have preouts, no point in getting it unless you want to run seperate stereo and HT setups.
I am tempted to suggest a good DAC and feed analog signals from it to the AVR but it beats the purpose since it will anyway not sound it full potential as they ll be limited by the AVR's Amp.
Maybe you should go in for a better AVR, usually high end AVR's do reasonable justice to music as well. (Maybe something from other stables, if the sonic quality is important)

I have no problem in having two different setups for ht and music. For the most part ill be listening to bt audio.. ill connect the speakers to my avr if and when i wish to watch a movie.. . Coz i have some limitations right now.. want to enhance my music listening experience ( thats my priority)
And if talking about AVR what good avr do u suggest.. which can cater to my needs.. name a few models if u can :)
 
I have no problem in having two different setups for ht and music. For the most part ill be listening to bt audio.. ill connect the speakers to my avr if and when i wish to watch a movie.. . Coz i have some limitations right now.. want to enhance my music listening experience ( thats my priority)
And if talking about AVR what good avr do u suggest.. which can cater to my needs.. name a few models if u can :)

If you can go for a dedicated Stereo setup for music, nothing like it. At any given price point, AVR's dont stand a chance against Integrated Amplifiers for Stereo.
There are many brands, sub brands...depending on your budget, you can take a look at few of them. Try to audition (preferably with your speakers) and take the call.
Don't worry about stated power ratings...they often mislead people ! There is more to those ratings than a simple numerical comparison
 
If you can go for a dedicated Stereo setup for music, nothing like it. At any given price point, AVR's dont stand a chance against Integrated Amplifiers for Stereo.
There are many brands, sub brands...depending on your budget, you can take a look at few of them. Try to audition (preferably with your speakers) and take the call.
Don't worry about stated power ratings...they often mislead people ! There is more to those ratings than a simple numerical comparison

Then which brands do you suggest? I have a friend coming from US i can ask him as well.
 
I think first of all you should upgrade your music source. Gaana.com really?? Atleast try Amazon prime music in your fire tv. You tube also has varied quality. Try to play some Flac/WAV music files if not already. You may definitely see some improvement. Find out what you are lacking. Speakers are full blown floor standers so bass should not be the problem. Try to tweak settings in your AVR as well.
 
Like @flute said. Upgrade both. Speakers and a stereo amp. You can look at used amps on this forum. You need to perhaps mention your budget while you are at it.
 
Wharfedale Linton Heritage Speakers in Red Mahogany finish at a Special Offer Price. BUY now before the price increase.
Back
Top