Upgrade Dilemma - Should I upgrade AVR or start again

[Angling Mad]

Hi all I am a new member and my knowledgable is limited to old tech but my existing old setup now needs a major upgrade to accommodate todays technology as the core of my system, my trusty old Arcam Alpha10 dave/10p has decided to pack in. That leaves me with an old Sony TV circa 8 years an oldSony ST7700 DVD and a set of Ruark Epilogue, Dialogue, Prologue all bi wired with good QED cable and Log Rythm Sub which are 20 years old but in great condition. My question is do I start afresh or just upgrade piece by piece and replace the Arcam with say an Anthem mrx520 thereby retaining a reasonable balance of cinema and music or go for a lesser quality but more modern system altogether which my wife would like to get rid of the large speakers. I actually like them. The problem is the budget absolute max is £2K.

Thanks

 

[bigboss]

There are more options within your budget, like Yamaha RX-A3050 which are excellent for music. What speakers have you got?

 

[Q5]

There are more options within your budget, like Yamaha RX-A3050 which are excellent for music. What speakers have you got?

There in the OP's post.

Ruark Epilogue, Dialogue, Prologue and Log Rythm Sub

 

[bigboss]

Ok, never heard those speakers (never knew Ruark made passive speakers!), so cannot comment on performance. Best to demo the AV receivers before purchase.

 

[Leeps]

Just a word from someone who owned Ruark Prologue II's for nearly 10 years, got rid of them and two years later after 'upgrading' with 3 different kinds of speakers including Monitor Audio Radius, Apex and Golds, but bought Ruark Epilogues again later on because I hadn't realised how good they were till I tried other speakers, (following this so far?), whatever you do, don't get rid of them!

You WILL regret it. You have been warned. Nothing will be as good again and it'll keep on nagging you until you scour Ebay looking for some used Ruarks.

In my opinion they even outshine the revered KEF LS50's and most other speakers I've heard at dealers and shows. It's verging on a crime that Ruark diversified after making such an iconic design. And they're reasonably diminutive standmounts too - they're not exactly behemoths.

So by all means upgrade your AVR to something more modern, but try and persuade your better half to keep the speakers. I'd recommend Anthem or Arcam AVR's that can do the Ruarks justice.

 

[bigboss]

I'd recommend Anthem or Arcam AVR's that can do the Ruarks justice.

For the OP's budget, Arcam is out of question, and only Anthem MRX 520 is possible. It is important to demo, including Yamaha RX-A3050 and Marantz SR7010.

 

[Leeps]

I'd recommend Anthem or Arcam AVR's that can do the Ruarks justice.

For the OP's budget, Arcam is out of question, and only Anthem MRX 520 is possible. It is important to demo, including Yamaha RX-A3050 and Marantz SR7010.

Fair point BB. I have seen Arcam AVR450s and Anthem MRX510 / MRX710 heavily discounted at present which would bring it into budget, although admittedly if the OP's main aim is to bring the system up to date, then these models would already be outdated by current formats like 4K, HDMI 2.0 and HDCP2.2 etc.

For anyone more interested in sound than 4K though, they represent good VFM at the moment, particularly the Anthems with their room correction software.

I note that Arcam have also now gone the room correction route with 'DIRAC LIVE', but it has upped the ante price wise. The "entry-level" AVR550 is now eye-wateringly expensive. Nice bit of kit though.

 

[Angling Mad]

Thanks for your input gents and particularly Leep for your feelings about the Ruarks as that is exactly how I felt about them when i did the rounds on the original purchase and nothing has changed, I even still love the design and look of them, sort of part of the furniture. Yes I would dearly love to be able to afford the AVR850 and just slot it in place. I have found an old stock AVR750 at Sevenoaks but the want £2500 which is the same as the AVR550. I will be going to AudioT and Sevenoaks over the next couple of weeks to listen to both and some of the mainstream offerings but I think I will struggle a bit to decide as none will be through my speakers. For diplomatic purposes I will have to take my wife along and listen to some lesser systems. She is keen to listen to the Sonos stuff which is clearly a million miles away but the attraction of no cables for her is to great for me to kick it into touch without first having a listen.

 

[bigboss]

You can use a Sonos Connect which can connect to your existing system.

 

[Angling Mad]

I may have an opportunity to pick up an Arcam AVR750 immacualte new condition for around £1750 which I think will deliver all of my needs for a good few years as I dont anticipate move one from 5.1 for some good while. As you can gather I have a real leaning towards Arcam so I think it is a real steal but welcome any other views.

 

[bigboss]

That's a good price for the Arcam! *good*

 

[Leeps]

Just underlining a point made earlier, do be aware that all but the very latest generation of AV receivers are not really 4K compatible even if they manage to plaster "4K" logos on the front. So last year's models, while sonically they do represent very good VFM (if you're not fussed about Atmos etc) they do also limit you to current HD rather than the fast emerging 4K.

So those earlier marks I mentioned: HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2 and HDR are part of an agreed 4k standard that is becoming adopted by most AVR manufacturers this year.

My own feeling about this is more about compatability than anything else. I personally find Bluray HD definition very adequate indeed on my 42" plasma, so feel no particular desire to go 4K. However 4k does seem to be a standard that's gaining far more momentum than 3D ever did. So in 5 years time, will 4K be the dominant medium for streaming BBC iPlayer or Netflix etc? And will your 2015 AVR be able to cut the mustard at that point? There are practical workarounds, but that does often involve a more complex set-up with more cables.

For me I think HD would be sufficient for me, especially as the sound quality to me is actually more important than the picture, but it's worth asking yourself the question before shelling out £1800 on a 2015 AV receiver. That would actually purchase you a pretty good current model Denon, Marantz or Yamaha AV receiver that would support all the latest formats, although in pure sound-quality terms they'd definitely be stuggling to keep up with an Arcam AVR750, especially in 2-channel.

 

[Angling Mad]

I too am fine with HD currently but I have not seen the difference as yet versus 4K. As you say this is long term investment so throws another conundrum to way up in the grand scheme of things particularly as my next purchase within a year will be a new TV. I will be going for something about 40/42 . When I looked at the spec and saw this "4K (UHD) video compatible including upscaling" I thought it OK so thanks for the heads up.

 

[Angling Mad]

I did a bit of research today and thought hey I currently dont have a system, the AVR750 may not be the most up to date device but it will deliver far more than I could afford, it comes as new with full warranty and IMHO it is a deal I thought woould fit to well to pass up. Now I have to decide whetehr or not to raid the piggy bank to upgrade my DVD/CD maybe the Arcam UDPP411P that seems to be very well priced right now.

Thanks again guys for your help

 

[bigboss]

That Arcam does not have multichannel analogues, so you're likely to use HDMI. Do not expect performance improvement. Any blu ray player will give equal performance, simply bitstream audio for the Arcam AVR to decode. Unless, of course, you're buying for cosmetic reasons.

 

[Leeps]

I did a bit of research today and thought hey I currently dont have a system, the AVR750 may not be the most up to date device but it will deliver far more than I could afford, it comes as new with full warranty and IMHO it is a deal I thought woould fit to well to pass up. Now I have to decide whetehr or not to raid the piggy bank to upgrade my DVD/CD maybe the Arcam UDPP411P that seems to be very well priced right now.

Thanks again guys for your help

Do feedback how the Arcam/Ruark combo sounds when you get it set-up. It'd be interesting to see what the Ruarks are capable of on the end of quality amplification.

 

[Angling Mad]

I am sure it will blow the old Alpha 10 away on the movie front and be at least equal on 2 channel Stereo. I now have to quickly get up to speed with it all. At the moment I am selling the UDP411 to myself as at the new price Circa £795 it is compelling versus even buying a music CD and a separate Blue Ray but will hold off the trigger for a while. I need to learn about how these interfaces and protocols all work as will end up getting a smart TV as well. Not that I will be using it for while but as a future streaming is an area I need to understand much more about as well having finally just got BT Infinity. I think I will be able to stream effectively looping through the TV via ARC or HDMI pushing all the signals through the AVR750. Hopefully I am making sense but need to get my head round it all