will a receiver upgrade make a enough difference

I think that most of the Japanese recievers sold today sound alike (and not good at all) regardless of cost. Listening to new front end components (dvd players etc.) is a lost cause through most of the mid-fi recievers sold today; most of them just do not have the resolution to hear a distinct difference and it can be difficult to turn off all of the effects. If you were to upgrade your reviever I would definitely look into the B&K products. These components sound more like hi-end components than mid-fi and are priced within many budgets. I like them much better than the current Rotel components that I have heard. Changing the speakers will make the most positive difference in sound at this point. If you are not set on a new reciever, I would look into some better speakers first, then the reciever, and finally the dvd player.

You don't say anything about owning a dvd player? You will need one. You could get the outlaw audio receiver for $499, it has pre out/amp in for all channels and crossover from 60-200hz for sub out. Down the road when you get some more cash you can just get a couple of their little monoblocks for more power to the front channels. Just going to DD/DTS will be huge increase in quality of movie sound over pro-logic, at $499 it makes a nice pre/pro even if you don't count the 6-65 watt amps you would have. The nice thing about pre outs for all channels which is very hard to find in a receiver in this price range, is that you can add as many high power amps as you think you need down the road and use the receiver for a pre/pro. On the other hand you don't say how much money you have to spend right now, if you have much more cash to spend, there are other ideas in other price ranges. outlawaudio.com has some of them on their web site.

ok, my current DVD player is a Pioner DV-333 I believe... it has optical and digital outputs (which my current receiver will not accept). It supports DTS and DD. I am looking at max of $300 if I were to buy a receiver right now, however I am not set on buying anything right now unless I come across a great deal. I am willing to wait till I am out of college (less than a year) and have my own place and then buy something better, maybe up to $500... maybe. And the only speakers that I plan on upgrading are the Bose, and maybe the polk if I can find a center at a good price. The subwoofer sounds good to me, and I really do not want anything more considering I will be in an apartment complex for a year or two, and the missions are great!

Hello,

For my home theatre system- I just change from an Onkyo Pro-logic unit to a Yamaha RXV 730 (it has dd and dts - this unit runs for around 430-599). It was a big postive difference for movies. I have a five channel Adcom amp doing the work for both systems and the speakers have remained constant.

The Yamaha makes movies much fun. The channel seperation from dd is very much noticable.

The Yamaha without the Adcom is a step down. The internal amp is supposed to be 75X5, but that is measured one channel at a time. I think the amp is only around <25 watts when all 5 channels are running.

You will have to move up the more upscale receivers (BK,Arcam, the big Denons, Yamaha etc.) Before you get the power needed.

For Audio, moderate priced receivers
will show you their problems. My Yamaha is a bit veiled. For audio, seperates are they way to go.

Will you notice dd with the speakers you have? The answer should be a resounding "yes." Having dd will give you the discrete channel seperation needed for movies.

Good luck and happy listening.