What comes first, the player or the amp?

[admin_exported]

I'm not an AV buff and want to update and upgrade some of my aging components, specifically a Blu ray player and an amp.

Given waht's on offer at the moment, how fast things are moving, what I have and what I can spend should I buy the player or the amp first? And which ones?

For the amp I am looking to spend ~£250. I have read good things about the Onkyo TX-SR506, but have also read that it can't handle some sorts of HD audio and that the Sony STR-DG820 is a better bet. Because I don't know about the different sorts of audio and what Blu ray players can, and will do in the future, which amp (these or others) is the best bet?

Currently I have a Sky HD box, Philips DVP5960 (upscaler (correct term?) with HDMI) and a Sony RDR-GX700 (DVD recorder, no HDMI, only used to record from camcorder and Sky box) playing through an old Arcam Alpha AV50 to Tannoy FX5.1 speakers. TV is a Panasonic TX-32LXD700. Whatever I buy first will have to work with what I've got until I can afford the other bit.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and ideas.

 

[Anonymous]

If you join richer sounds VIP club (just enter your email addy on their website) or just tellthem you did 'wink wink' you can get the Yamaha AVX 763 for £299!! A cracking deal I think if you can stretch your budget? Even my Missus noticed the difference against my old Denon 1905 on dvd and sky!

 

[Anonymous]

Both of these are very good value for money. The Sony can be had for less than £250. Remember that the Yamaha only has 2 HDMI imputs & The Sony DG820 has 4. You may need to consider this for future upgradability of your system.

You will need to get decent speakers to hear the full poetntial of either receiver. On a budget, I would reccommend the Jamo A102 5.1 set with its 200W subwoofer at about £200

After that I would suggest you get a Blu-ray player. The Sony BDP-S350 can be bought for £169.

Boo