Home theatre upgrade

[gomike]

I have a relatively new system more focused on music than home theatre.
I would like to expand to home theatre as well. I listed all my components on the
equipment thread. I have a McIntosh MA2275, using a Denon PMA2000IVR as a pre-amp
and B&W 803 d speakers, with a B&W SW750 sub woofer. We use a Samsung 56in. DLP to watch
movies. We watched the remake of All the Kings Men last night and a couple of weeks ago the new
Pirates of the Carrabean movie. The voices sound muddled, not clear on the movies.
I'm using a Denon DVD DVM 2815, I have a better Sony DVPNS999ES which is out being repaired.
I'm assuming that since we're not using a true home theatre system that his may be the cause.
I'd also like to know iwhat I could do to add this capability to my system

Mike

[Eddie Horton]

What exactly are you wanting to replace? If you're talking about adding a receiver, my short list would include Yamaha, Denon, Pio Elite, and Onkyo. I'm a believer that receivers, processors, and amps add the absolute least to the sound of the system and that the speakers and room that they are in will impact the sound we hear more than anything else ever could. Check out some of the maufacturer's web sites, narrow it down to a few that have the features you need, then go out and listen to some. If you have any questions, feel free to post away!

[gomike]

I wanted to see what I might need to add for better home theatre capabilities. The system is really set up for music, no center speaker, no home theatre amplification.

[Sonnie]

You might not really have to replace anything other than the preamp and then simply add some speakers.

You could get the matching center and surrounds for the 803's and then pick up a 5.1 receiver to power those and continue to use the 2275 for the mains. Or you could look into a 5.1/7.1 prepro and add a three or five channel amp.

Would you like to stay all McIntosh?

What kind of budget do you have?

[gomike]

Sonnie,

Thanks, I think replacing the preamp and adding a center maybe the way to go. I like McIntosh, they responded with the suggestion of using their MX119, and using the MA2275 for the mains. It's pretty pricey, so I would be open for suggestions. It may be a while before I can purchase, as I have spent a lot on the system over the past 6 months.

[basementjack]

Given the quality of your 803's and the Mac amps, you'll want to keep those in good company.

The down side is that right now, most all high end companies are behind Yamaha and Denon - there are a lot of new features right around the corner. Most of today's high end products lack Dolby Digital plus, Dolby trueHD and the newer DTS decoders. They also lack the ability to pull the audio stream off the HDMI connector (some high end components do not even have HDMI connectors)

So this might be a good time to do some research, and possibly consider buying something used off ebay - something you could enjoy for a year or two until the likes of McIntosh can keep up.

I'll add that it would be a good time to start hunting for the center channel. If you have the older 803's you may want to create a saved search on ebay - and have it email you everytime a B&W center comes up for sale - ideally, you'd find the Center from that series.

Last I looked, the low end 800 series center was $1,000 - I'm sure they're more today.

[garcianc2003]

In the meantime, the muddled voices you heard is probably due to a lack of center channel and that information being lost.

It sounds like you might be using the Front L/R from the "5.1 channel" section on the DVM2815 going to the PMA2000IVR. That's what I would do if I wanted to take advantage of the DVD player's bass management. However, that throws away the center and surround channel on 5.1 sources (since you don't have anything going to those).

I am not sure if the DVM2815 downconverts 5.1 to stereo (it has a "virtual surround" mode, so it might). You might want to experiment using the "Audio Out" L/R stereo outputs (instead of the "5.1 Out" L/R) on the DVM2815 until you get a home-theater preamp. The drawback is that you might lose the "sub" out - I am not very familiar with your player, so you might want to test this. I don't know how you have your sub connected either, so that might not matter to you.

Hmmmm, if you really want a center channel right away, you could continue using the 5.1 analog outputs from the DVM2815, sending the "Front L/R" to the PMA2000IVR and the "Center" to the SAMSUNG DLP and use your TV as your center channel. I know, not very sophisticated, but it should work.

The "Sub" out goes to the SW750, if you choose to connect your sub that way. If you don't use the sub out from the DVM2815, you would need to go to its setup menu to turn off the sub, which would then send a full range signal to the Front L/R channels plus the LFE (.1) signal to the L/R inputs you are using on the PMA2000IVR. Then all you'd be missing are the rear channels.

I hope that helps.

[Eddie Horton]

I'd have to go with Jack. The receivers have really led the way on the new technologies. Pick up one that will get you by that is at least HDMI 1.1 capable, add a center and surrounds, and you're set.

[gomike]

Thanks, this all helps a lot. I haven't ever purchased on ebay. When buying electronics how do you protect yourself against damaged goods, like buying a center speaker that may not work properly?
Thanks again for everyone's ideas and comments

[basementjack]

I'd suggest you setup an account on ebay, and buy one small ticket item you need - like a CD, DVD, Cable etc... That will help you understand how it works, at minimal cost. It will also establish you on ebay.

Each Ebay user gets a point value - you get one point for every completed transaction that the other party felt was positive.

So when you search Ebay, the first thing to do is check the sellers pointvalue (called feedback on ebay)

read the comments left by others and also look to see if anyone ever left a negative.

Now in the old days, this was enough, but today there are scammers everywhere.
One thing you need to look out for is people who are using someone elses account.

This happens when a scammer, posing as ebay, sends an email to a legitimate user, and they unknowingly provide account details. The scammer can then use that ebay accout to buy and sell until the scam is reported. Usually there are easy warning signs that this has happened - it may seem 'too good to be true' - a little common sense can help. You can always send me a PM and I'm happy to give you my take on the Item number in question.