Need help planning/upgrading


Hello all, I'm a regular guy with a modest budget and "upgraditis". Fortunately, I recently discovered Audiogon and reading through the discussion posts somehow soothes my continual need to tweak my set-up. I'm sure many of us, myself included, have spent too much on tweaks or minimal upgrades--like putting banana plugs on speakers just for the heck of it; buying a "better" hdmi cable; or prematurely adding affordable, yet inferior, sources, components, etc. And, I think my wife is going to divorce me if she hears the white noise from the YPAO set-up again (for the tenth, make that eleventh, time this week).

I'm reaching out to you all because I want to be pleased with each (future) purchase without thinking, "Gosh, what was I thinking when I bought that AVR, and why didn't I plan better?" That said, I'm really just seeking some advice to better my current set-up so that in a year or two I'll be content with my purchases.

Right now, I'm about 50/50 music/HT. But, each time I upgrade something, I care less and less about floor-shaking bass and more-and-more about a breath approaching the microphone or the crispness of a guitar strum. So, with those things in mind, my modest set-up is as follows:

Yamaha RX-V863 (used as preamp for 2-channel with amp section powering the center and rears for HT)
Bel Canto s300 with Shunyata PC (used for front L/R)
PS3 (used mainly as BR source, but also for CD and very little streaming audio)
Airport Express (for the streaming audio)
Def Tech Mythos ST (L/R)
Def Tech Mythos Nine (C)
Def Tech ProMonitor 100 (Rear)
RGPC 600s
Misc. (TV, DVR)
Cables - Speaker cable and IC's are Monster; PS3 is HMDI=>AVR; AVR is RCA=>Bel Canto s300

I just kind of feel stuck, and don't know what to do next. My budget is around $1k right now, and probably around $300/month gong forward. Thanks in advance for any advice.
mikek1
I assume the HT has to stay.If you have another room,why not start setting up a good 2 channel system there?Be patient and you can find some really good equipment at good prices here on Audiogon.I think if you get on the "equipment roller coaster" you will never be happy.Whatever you do,map out a plan and stick to it.I wish I had done that when I started,it would have saved me a bunch of money!!BTW,I have heard great HT set ups but none of them have reproduced music to my liking.I know others will disagree,I'm just speaking for myself.Good luck.
do 2 channel. Any HT receiver is good enough for pleasing the movie bug. Not a deal really, you have your surrounds, center, sub...and you're good to go. TPreaves nails it with the 2 channel suggestion. After I started improving my 2 channel setup, my HT setup stayed right where it is. I only added a better center and sub.
Try a quality 5 channel source? A nice Denon DVD will play 2 channel or 5.1 very nicely. Play with SACD or DVD/A for some enjoyment. A nice turntable will get you going also.
I would advise to stay away from analog (vinyl). It will test the strongest marriage.
All jokes aside, there is no definitive path or answer. Everyone has different tastes as well as different rooms to reproduce recordings.
I have lost count how many times my rig has changed. Right now it's a simple 2 channel system with analog getting all the attention. A few years ago, the exact opposite.
1) Go to a 2.1 HT/Audio system.
-Use your current amp and Mythos ST Fronts.
-Sell everything else and use the money to buy an Oppo BDP 83 and a good preamp.
I suggest a 3.2 HT/Audio system. That is right, left, center and two subs. But before you do anything, read Tool's book 'Sound Reproduction'. Do some Q measurements of the room to find out what is happening to the room. If you want a quick divorce, move on to 'room treatments'.
Thanks to all of you for your responses/recommendations. I'm awaiting my new BDP-83 from Oppo, and I'm studying up on Q-factors. Thanks so much fellow Agoners!

I love it when a plan comes together.

Even if merely a concept after many years, hey at least that’s progress! After all it’s only hifi, not a matter of life and death. 😎