Upgrade-itis

[hermand]

Hi,

I have a sony 336 dvd player and sony ht-k215 surround package, and I think its time to start looking at upgrading this - I quite like the sound, but sometime its a bit bright harsh and fatiguing - I think I'm looking for a slighlty warmer, richer sound.

I don't want to upgrade this all at once - partly as I don't have a lot of money to spend, and also because the girlfriend would have kittens if I replaced the whole lot in one go (its only about 6 months old)

So my question is - if I want to gradually upgrade - whats the best place to start

(a) New Centre speaker - if so what might be suitable?
(b) New Centre and fronts - if so what might be suitable?
(c) New amp - the ht-k215 is 25wpc - I think this is big enough for the room its in (17 by 10 foot) but maybe not
(d) new dvd player
(e) Anything else?

Lets say I have about £150 to spend this weekend - what would be the best thing I could buy to give me the most noticeable improvement on my system

The system is mainly for home cinema, but I use it for music as well, so this should be a consideration.

Cheers

Herman

[Bapapapa]

First up.

Does your amp have analogue connections? If so I'd try connecting up the DVD player that way for CD listening and let the DAC in the player do the work. Worth a try and it's cheap as chips.

IMO - It's hardly worth adding new speakers to that amp, so I'd be more inclined to suggest upgrading to a 'proper' AV receiver/speaker set up. Gonna cost more than £150 though. (Sell the hkt-215, maybe?)

[hermand]

Bapapa - Yes - you are probably right that in the long term I do want to upgrade to a proper recevier/speakers system.

However right now that really is not an option, so a piecemeal approach is what I am looking at.

Out of interest, what is wrong with the ht-k215 amp? Is it lack of power, just the fact that its part of an all-in-one system, or something else? (is your opinion based on first hand experience?)

IMO the harsh-ish sound I get is more to do with the very small speakers that come with the 215 - which is why I was wondering if upgrading them would have any significant effect.

Also thanks for the DAC tip - I'll give that a go. (But of course that will only make a difference for CD listening, not DD/DTS)

Cheers

Herman

[Gordon]

Hi Hermand

This is just my tuppence worth. The advice that I would give you would be to buy all your interconnects you will require first. I left it to last and ended up throwing money away because I only had enough to buy the cheapest of speaker cables & used an audio lead as a coax cable. I then had to go out and spend more to get the proper stuff.

You already have a system just now, so why don't you get good quality speaker cable, coax/optical and any scarts that you will need and put them past. If you get good quality gear (but don't go over the score), you'd be surprised at just how little change you have left of your £150. You will definately benefit from your decision in the end.

Gordon

[Bapapapa]

Out of interest, what is wrong with the ht-k215 amp? Is it lack of power, just the fact that its part of an all-in-one system, or something else?

The trouble with most sub/sat systems is they are all treble & bass with no decent midrange. That I would think is the main reason for the bright/harshness. Some people like it like that for movies (unlike yourself), but for music? Ouch! :D

Replacement speakers may help, but the amp might have trouble driving them as it's designed for the little sats it came with.

Did you demo it before buying? As when I've generally heard these systems the shortcomings become apparent almost immediately. :/

[hermand]

<b>Replacement speakers may help, but the amp might have trouble driving them as it's designed for the little sats it came with. </b>

The amp is rated at 25wpc, 8-16ohm - is there anything else which affects whether it would be able to drive larger speakers other than this? (for example, if I got appropriately rated speakers
eg - Mission M71 - 8 ohm impedance, recommended amp 25-75wpc - according to www.qed-uk.com, would there be any other factors that may cause a problem?)

<b>Did you demo it before buying? As when I've generally heard these systems the shortcomings become apparent almost immediately. :/</b>

Yeah I did, but at the time I did not have a lot to compare it to. Also I think the bright/harshness is a particular problem in my living room as it is all wood floors/no curtains. Maybe I should spend the £150 on a rug ;)