Honestly the biggest improvement you could possibly make to that system is to trade out all the surround oriented stuff for good two channel, and add a slew of subs. The improvement in sound quality for movies will be astounding. The improvement in bass will be even better.
Granted this will be a sacrifice because his system will then be much, much better than yours. Sometimes to be a good friend you have to do stuff like that. In the long run, when you hear how much better his system is you can follow in his footsteps.
Side benefit, you both wind up with money in your pockets after the upgrades. Don't get that too often.
https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367
The idea of HT and high end audio being separate is a box they put you in. You just have to think outside the box.
Granted this will be a sacrifice because his system will then be much, much better than yours. Sometimes to be a good friend you have to do stuff like that. In the long run, when you hear how much better his system is you can follow in his footsteps.
Side benefit, you both wind up with money in your pockets after the upgrades. Don't get that too often.
https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367
The idea of HT and high end audio being separate is a box they put you in. You just have to think outside the box.