2. home-theater
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Starting and Home Theatre and need help

I am deviating from my world of 2 channel stereo to start a home theatre system. I have recently purchased a 50" Pioneer elite Plasma and Blu Ray player. I will be building the system around some small Totem speakers.

Where I need help is in the amplification. I am looking at picking up a used Arcam AVR300. Are there any disadvantages to going with older models like this? do the newer ones have different decoders which would make them sound better or be more compatible with audio from Blu Ray? i.e. for the same money, should I buy a new unit that has the newest features but maybe less power? What are the key new features I should look for?

I only plan on running 5 speakers and a sub. Am i better off to pick up an older power amp and buy a newer processor?

Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
audioman999

Showing 2 responses by audioman999

audioman999 OP
13 posts
 
Thanks.

I only brought up the idea of separates because you can get some inexpensive Rotel's, Lexicon's etc... which presumably are still high quality amplification and that this would provide me with the backbone of the system while allowing me to upgrade the processor side as technololgies change.

It appears that the Arcam AVR300 which was replaced in the last year or so by the AVR350 is now missing some key features for Blu Ray technology?

In a 5.1 system, what features are a must have on the newest units? I only have 1 source, the Blu Ray and therefore plan on going directly to my Pioneer elite for video but what about the audio side?

I currently have a B&W ASW2500 10" sub from a system I had many years ago. I will try that to see how it sounds with my Totem arrows and then decide if an upgrade is required.
audioman999 OP
13 posts
 
Thank you very much for all of this information. This would have taken me forever to find, understand and digest on various audio sites.

Now I need to determine whether to stick with the higher quality amps such as arcam or cambridge audio or go with the pioneers and yamahas which offer the additional convenience of surround sound processing capabilities.

Thank you again for all of the information.
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