Upgrade for Bizarrely Shaped Room?

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

I'm afraid this is going to be rather a long first post! If you fear idiocy, look away now.

Around 5 years ago I had my first home cinema setup installed, over the years the equipment has given me vast amounts of pleasure but I feel that the time has probably come to think of upgrading. My primary concern is that the room I'm using is a rather "unconventional" shape. It's extremely long and thin with the television having to be placed at the end of the rectangle instead of the side. This had always meant that the distance between the fronts and rears is much much greater than between the left and right front and rear speakers which I think has really hindered the surround sound experience for me. I have seen the opening sequence of Gladiator with very similar equipment in a much more "normal" space and the experience was immense, it actually made the hairs on my arms stand on end. Sadly, I've never had this feeling with my equipment in this room. Whether this is because I haven't managed to fine tune my equipment for its surroundings or for any other reason I don't know.

My equipment as it stands consists of:

* Panasonic TH-42PA20 Television

* Panasonic DMR-E50 DVD Player

* Pure DRX-701ES Digital Radio

* Yamaha DSP-AX640SE Receiver

* B&W VM1s

* REL Strata 3

A part from the obvious omissions such as the lack of HD television and blu-ray player how does the rest of this equipment stand up to the more modern equivalents? The B&W VM1s are really sounding past their best but perhaps it's more likely that the Yamaha has had better days. Would any of this be worth bringing forward into a new system? I think out of what's there the REL Strata 3 may still be a "goddun" but I really don't know.

I think my questions would be:

Is my current system flawed or quite well rounded from a technical perspective?

Is it worth investing in any sort of upgrade for such a room of such unsuitable proportions? (I know technology has come a long way, can't some receivers even perform calibrations specific to your viewing space?)

If I was going to upgrade, is it worth upgrading components separately or is there more of an advantage in doing it all in one further down the line?

I have absolutely no idea what speaker cables I'm currently using, is it worth upgrading them too? I'm not sure how much they degrade over time or how much the technology has improved over the last few years.

Are receivers and standards easier to understand now? My current Yamaha has so many different modes within and outside the DSP presets often I'm entirely flummoxed as to what is better. The manual seemed to be very genetic which wasn't useful and sometimes there differences were barely discernible anyway. And that was when I only had the choice between Dolby Digital and DTS!

I apologise if I I've come across as a bit (or a lot) of a moron, the latest magazine really got me thinking...

 

[strapped for cash]

Hi, welcome to the forum (and no need to be apologetic)!

Technically your system is outdated, in the sense that there have been several advances in technology since you bought your kit, but it's really up to you as to whether you'll appreciate the advantages of new equipment.

With regard to the "unusual" or "long" shape of your room, you don't need to place the rear speakers right at the other end of the room. If they were placed somewhere (not too far) behind your seating position, that would seem ideal (though perhaps your seating is pressed right up against the rear wall).

If you're an enthusiast, then the upgrade to a full HD TV and Blu Ray player is certainly worthwhile. I would argue this would deliver the most discernible benefits over your current set-up. You could then look to build your system over time around these new components. If the Yamaha has multichannel analogue inputs, you don't even need to upgrade your receiver (just look for a Blu Ray player with multichannel analogue outputs and, bingo, lossless audio).

Perhaps, given the shape of your room, a 7.1 set-up would ultimately work well and help create a better spread of sound, leaving less of a void between front and rear channels.

 

[Anonymous]

strapped for cash,
Thanks so much for your reply. My rears aren't at the very end of my room but are quite close, this is mainly because I was rather limited as to what I could do from a wiring standpoint. The rears are mounted on a beam behind my seating position, so they're actually probably much higher than they should be with the fronts at the same level.

I'll certainly look into a nice television and blu-ray combination although that choice may be somewhat complicated by 3D. I must admit that although I really like the idea of 3D I haven't been all that impressed with the technology in cinemas but perhaps with a much more optimal viewing position it's well suited for home viewing.

Your suggestion of a 7.1 setup may just be the perfect solution for my problem so I'll most certainly do some research into that.

Thanks again.