Can you say upgradeitis, lol

[glemay]

Hey guys,

Well, it seems I have been bitten by the bug, lol. I have the urge to upgrade right now, but not sure if I will or not. Regardless, I'm looking for some input. Currently here is what I have in my system:

Denon AVR-1803
Polk Audio RTi70
Paradigm center and rears
Paradigm PW2200

Those are the significant parts of my system. Well the other day I was playing around with my gear and just realized how limited I am with my current receiver. I should have bought one with pre-outs because now I want to see what my speakers will sound like with more power, lol. Is it not normal, lol?. Well, to add to that, I now wish I had more digital inputs, that way I could plug my computer, DVD player, and Cable box in through the digital input. But once again, I can't because I only have one input...

So after analyzing my situation, I think I have two options. 1. I sell my current receiver and buy a new one, maybe a Denon AVR-2808 or something along with maybe a nice 2 channel amplifier for my RTi70's. Or 2. I sell my current receiver and step into a preamp/processor and amplifier setup. Not really sure what I want to do right now, lol. What do you guys think???

Shouldn't really be spending any money right now, but its so tempting, lol. I want a new tv as well, but just can't get myself to go out and buy a new tv because then I'm gonna want a hd player and hd movies and what not...

Damn this hobby, lol. Cost lots of money, but is oh so enjoyable when you get to sit back, listen and watch it, lol.

[Kex]

I have been disappointed by the 1803 personally. It looks like very high quality equipment on the outside but does not sound as good as my harman/kardon AVR 147 IMO (rated at just half the output) and is much more restricted in set-up possibilities. However, the 1803 I tried had three optical and one coaxial digital inputs, not just one.

I would say that the 1803 is starting to show its age somewhat, and since I don't like it that much to begin with, I would want to upgrade if it were mine, especially to get the most of speakers such as the RTi70.

Whilst the 2808 is definitely more up to date, I'm not sure how much of a real difference you're going to notice at 110w compared to 80w in receivers that are most likely rated "two channels driven". For over $1,000 I see no compelling reason to go this route when there are separates that truly deliver 100w per channel such as the Emotiva Ultra Series Combo for $800 shipped.

I haven't got mine yet so I cannot speak from experience, but other Club members have this combo and it comes very highly recommended.

Pre-amp: http://www.emotiva.com/lmc1.html
Amplifier: http://www.emotiva.com/lpa1.html
Pricing (second last item): http://www.emotiva.com/store/prodpage.cfm?CFID=6450011&CFTOKEN=64323050

[glemay]

Kex,

You are right that it does have more than one digital input. I should have mentioned that I was refering to the digital coaxial, lol. And as far as the 2808 goes, I was thinking the same thing, not much of a step forward. That's why I come to you guys, lol.

Hmmm, that Emotiva gear looks pretty nice and decently priced. Who's had experiece with them?

Gerry

[treitz3]

This is just my opinion and only my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt.

If your priority is the end result as to what hits your ears and not so much video, then by all means go separates. The sonic improvements your ears will thank you for and once you go there, I feel you will never go back. My experience with all sorts of gear has taught me this and my ears thank me everyday.

Yes, this is a wallet consuming hobby. :eek:

As far as TV goes, wouldn't it be better to bide your time until all signals are sent digitally? [2009] I would imagine, and I could be wrong, that since the conversion starts to be in effect then that a boatload of TV's will be sold to the general public in order to make old TV's compatible w/o the use of a government supplemented box to do the conversions, bringing down the cost of TV's.

[glemay]

treitz3,

Well, as far as video goes, I'm really not too worried about it. The picture looks just fine on my old tube so to upgrade that wouldn't bring as much value to me as the audio side. Plus, as you mentioned, I'd rather wait till the whole conversion thing is done, not sure when thats gonna be seeing as these things take time, lol. But I'm in no hurry.

I'm really thinking the separates is the way to go. We'll see, like I said, I'm in no real rush to upgrade, it's just the idea is there. I want to take my time and learn whatever I can, that way I will have what I want in the end. I must say, I have already learned a great deal since I first started spending my money on this hobby, lol. And no doubt, thanks to Club Polk, lol.