10 years in an A/V time capsule - now a moron - help

[Rookhawk]

So ten years ago I was a moderate knowledge A/V guy. Jobs, moves, kids and my theater dream got put on hold.

Now 13 years later I finished my theater last week!

I have Ascent speakers in the front, a theater center, a REL strata III sub, and ML in wall rears. I bought a new HW-50ES projector and it is all powered by a Pioneer elite vsx-39tx receiver. Sounds like trash.

I understand the days of in-home calibration are now gone?

If I replace my receiver with say a Pioneer Elite Sc-77, will that microphone setup get my gear calibrated and sounding good?

My old receiver was 130w per channel, the new one is 140w, will other factors aid performance? Both have the same THD .08% it appears?

Any other ideas on how to get the most from my investment?

Ah, and for video I'm using a Boxee. I have a 24TB digital media library and I've given up on BD and DVD and CD. I like the convenience of digital media on server even though I realize I'm losing some fidelity and rendering issues with a media streamer.


Teach me, what did I miss this past decade? Any other ideas?

My theater is small, 13.5' wide, 16 deep, 84" screen, two rows of 3 seats. (Love the Palliser Pacificos!

Thanks for the education!

 

[jmschnur]

Latest marantz 8801 is very good. They have a deal with the companion amp. Look at the reviews. Still very expensive.


J

 

[amey01]

I realize I'm losing some fidelity and rendering issues with a media streamer.

Why are you losing fidelity? There is no reason why you need to be! In fact - it should be better than clunky old discs spinning in real-time.

 

[adamdpayne]

I would take a look at the Denon AVR-X4000. It has a much better auto-setup with Audyssey MultEQ XT32 and SubEQ. It also has pre-outs if you want to use an external amp. I believe that it is rated at 125 wpc but realistically, the difference between 125/130/140 is going to be next to nothing.