Should I upgrade my Blu-ray player now?

Marty,

I discovered that I could compare the Oppo 105 direct to the amps or through the preamp by connecting one to the XLR and the other to the SE inputs of the amps, and switching between them. I left that arrangement connected so I can choose either. It occurred to me that I could do the same with a processor that had functional ARC if I could find one cheap enough to try. A used Marantz or Integra might do. Output from the 105 and 5400ES could be HDMI to the processor and analog to the preamp. I wouldn't want to digitize analog from the phono stage, so it would go only to the preamp.

Thanks for implanting the idea. Now to find an inexpensive processor.

db

Would a used Anthem AVM50 with ARC be suitable for implementation of acoustic room correction?

Shortly after the Cary Cinema 11a came out, an AVS thread was full of raves about its sound quality and hisses about the buggy implementation and inaccuracies of its acoustic room correction.

db

Db,

I was impressed by an early gen avm 50 I heard some years back, but I believe that there has been more than one version, so it's hard to say much with confidence. I think it was a fairly pricey piece (IIRC), so you might want to consider the Onkyo PR SC 5509, which IMHO is a very fine sounding unit (Audyssey xt 32) at $2k-ish, new. (They also pop up used for <$1500 from time to time.) I can't guarantee that you'll love it, but I do.

Good Luck with the experiment.

Upgrade your power. That's simple and very basic. You cannot' get good sound from digital w/o isolation---that's not complicated--is it????

Bob,

I don't have the HK 990, was only referring to it as the only stereo component I know of that has room correction.

Room dimensions are 17'8" x 15'6" x 8'. Speakers are along the long wall - PBN Montana XP (not the XPS) L/R and PBN Montana SPC center. Speakers are about 16 inches from the front wall, twelve feet to the listening position. That is a bit of a problem since the back wall is about a foot away. Room is carpeted and there are metal window blinds but no curtains so that is another issue

Current source is the Oppo 83 > Lector Zoe pre-amp > Butler 5150, but only for L/R at this time.

I had a Raysonic CD-128 also in the system but pulled that out for the downstairs system. When the Raysonic was in the system, the sound was OK, not great, but I am pretty sure it could get better with some extra work in positioning, maybe trying different cables. I'd like to try a higher current solid state amp with the speakers

Listening to CDs via the Oppo is a little more fatiguing over the longer term. Sound is very forward, detailed but maybe a bit too etched so my thought was getting a better DAC via the 105 would be a start.

Again, I just don't want to go with a pre-pro until I decide to either keep the PBNs and buy a couple of their mini-monitors to complete a five-channel system or sell them and try something different. There are some things I can do (trying them along the short wall, getting some window treatments, even trying power conditioning that has been suggested.

Fixing the room should be my first priority. There is a local guy who offered awhile back to come over and take measurements for me so I will reach out to him and see if he is still available.

Bob, you also mentioned a sub. I don't have one but how would getting one help with the etched nature of the sound I am presently hearing?