# Do I really need to upgrade to HDMI Reciver?



## yepvegas (Jul 13, 2010)

Ok I just made the plunge and upgradded my old Mitshubishi Dimond Vision 50" to a LG 50" Plasma... yes I am a happy camper :bigsmile:. Now here is the question, I have Yamaha RX-V2092 Surround Sound Reciever. This was a flagship model in 1998 And I did pay a small fortune for it. Below are the specs. It works great and I have had no problems with it. I have Wii, XBox360, hooked up to it. I currenty stream my movies from the home server using Traversity to play on the Xbox, so I do not have a Blue Ray player yet or a DVD player for that matter hooked up since both game consoles will play DVD's. Ths Dish DVR is hooked up to the TV via the HDMI and then the audio out from the DVR to to the Yamaha. I have the standard component video feeding video and audio fromt the game systems to the Yamaha and then from the Yamaha to the TV. 

For surround am I going to missing much having it hooked up this way? Any suggestions would be helpful. I just ordered some HDMI cables so i can now have the Xbox connected to the TV via the HDMI cable. I just do not have the coin to purchase another AV Reciver since I am spoiled with what I have now.

The model number of the TV is LG 50Pk550



Power, Min. RMS Output power/ch., 8 ohms Main = 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 0.02% THD = 100W Center = 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 0.02% THD = 100W Rear Effects = 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 0.02% THD = 100W Front Effects = 1 kHz, 0.05% THD = 25W 
Dynamic Power Per Channel 8/6/4/2 ohms = 140/170/220/320W 
Damping Factor 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 8 ohms = 200 
Frequency Response 20 Hz - 20 kHz = +/-0.5 dB (CD) 
Total Harmonic Distortion (20 Hz - 20 kHz) CD = 0.015% (40W) Phono = 0.01% (1V) 
Signal-to-Noise Ratio, IHF-A Network CD = 96 dB Phono = 86 dB 
FM 50 dB Quieting Sensitivity, IHF, 75 ohms Mono = 1.55 uV (15.1 dBf) Stereo = 21 uV (37.7 dBf) 
FM Alternative Channel Selectivity, IHF 85 dB 
FM Signal-to-Noise Ratio Mono = 80 dB Stereo = 75 dB 
Harmonic Distortion Mono = 0.1% Stereo = 0.2% 
Frequency Response 20 Hz - 15 kHz +/-1.5 dB 
AM Usable Sensitivity 100 uV/m 
AM Selectivity 32 dB 
Dimensions (W * H * D) (435 * 170 * 477mm) (17-1/8 * 6-3/4 * 18-3/4) 
Weight 20.0 kg / 44.1 lbs.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Is it necessary? no. However you are missing many new features and the big one is auto room eq. YAPO and Audyssey are the two main players and are very helpful in making even the toughest speakers get along with a room that is not ideal. 
Another big plus is the surround modes have come a fair ways in the past few years and some are very useful. 
New receivers also employ much better DACs and that makes for a cleaner richer sound stage. 

Your receiver I do believe has multi channel inputs so you can (if you have a BluRay player the has analog outputs) receive the uncompressed audio from BluRay movies. Otherwise you are missing out on some better dynamics and clarity.


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## yepvegas (Jul 13, 2010)

is there another way to optimize the sound for the room with this reciever? If I was going to replace the unit do you have a model that would be a good choice? That will not break the bank. I have 4 children now so money is not as available as it once was in the past. But can deliver the power that my current unit puts out?


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## Guest (Aug 23, 2010)

I have a late 90s Yamaha AVR as well with 5.1 RCA inputs/outputs. It's currently still being used, hopefully soon as a pre-amp, and later, to support secondary HT duties. I'm more of a stereo guy, so 5.1 takes a back seat.

Anyway, on your AVR, you are pretty much stuck with the dolby surround, and all the room effects it can do. As far as I know, Oppo has the best player for 5.1 RCA playback with the best room setup options. Your Yamaha can probably only +-db and time delay, so you can correct some.

If you don't feel the need to upgrade, I wouldn't. Unless you got a hole burning in your pocket, I'd sit back and see what 3D and HDMI 1.4 does. I'm not holding my breath, but now would be a bad time to buy something really nice, if it went out of date next year.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

yepvegas said:


> is there another way to optimize the sound for the room with this reciever? If I was going to replace the unit do you have a model that would be a good choice? That will not break the bank. I have 4 children now so money is not as available as it once was in the past. But can deliver the power that my current unit puts out?


Fully understand the children thing, I have 5 daughters aged 3-17 and that can really be tough on the pocketbook. I personally would not go for anything less than an Onkyo 707 as they can be had for $399 and you can add an external amp to it later down the road.
If you want a top of the line receiver that does not break the bank this Onkyo 876 is a fantastic deal and sold for well over $1800 when it was first released.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
So long as you are happy with the SQ of your Yamaha, it really comes down to convenience. Using an HDMI AVR as a Switcher really does make it easier for your entire Family to operate your HT.

Moreover, if using Component Cables, soon they will not be able to output at HD Resolution when using Blu Ray Players. Soon as in after December 31 of this year, Blu Ray Players made after this date will no longer be able to output above 480 Lines of Resolution. Even worse, on a Disc to Disc basis, Blu Ray Discs used on legacy BDP's will be restricted from outputting above 480 Lines as well. All of this is leading up to December 31. 2013 when all BDP's will no longer have any Analog Video Outputs. This is the HDMI Final Adopter Agreement. 

I will say that the Room EQ's that are employed on almost all AVR's have made a very positive addition to overall SQ.
Cheers,
JJ


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## soundoff (Oct 3, 2007)

I think you just answered your own question by telling us you don't have the coin to buy a new AVR.
That being said you, as previously stated, will be missing the auto room eq that an HDMI system can offer.
Improvements are always sure to happen, upgrades to room EQ, surround sound codec's ect, ect, so save up and get a nice AVR when you can your system sounds too good to change to me


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## yepvegas (Jul 13, 2010)

Time to start adding some money to the Piggy bank and get ready for an upgrade
I will not make the leap until next year. hopefully i can sell the unit I have now to help cover the cost.


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## soundoff (Oct 3, 2007)

should be some decent sales this holiday season...maybe. Make a list of what options you like and once you find the piece that has them jump on it


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## Theresa (Aug 23, 2010)

I was quite happy with my Yamaha DSP-A1. Its rear channels quit working a few weeks ago. I hadn't used it in 6+ years because of personal circumstances and planned on using it but ... I liked the versatility of the DSP. The person who said you would have more effects with a newer receiver/control amp isn't familiar with the versatility of Yamaha's DSP. But, given the high cost of repair, I ordered a Emotiva amp and am very satisfied. I had just started using the Yamaha's six channel input with my computer as a source but that eliminated the sound field. I replaced it with a five channel emotiva amp, a emotiva UMC-1, and now the Emotiva UMC-3 for active crossovers. In some ways it seems better but the DSP sound processing is not as versatile.


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## Theresa (Aug 23, 2010)

I forgot something. The primary purpose of HDMI is to prevent copying. With HDMI 1.4 the noose got tighter and has made even adjustments to the sound almost impossible. Controllers are becoming little more than switches. This trend disturbs me. Whatever happened to fair use? If you want "hd" sound though, which right now is almost entirely restricted to 48khz/16 bit but does eliminate some of the compression in Dolby Digital and DTS but not like 24 bit would. It's a losing proposition for the consumer and win for the entertainment industry which maintains complete control over the use of what a consumer buys.


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## hibbs318 (Oct 30, 2010)

Look on the bright side,when you buy next year you will probably spend less money and have newer features than the rest of us have now.


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## yepvegas (Jul 13, 2010)

Well I have a blue ray player now. Still rockin the same unit. Since the LG have Three HDMI inputs I have the B-Ray, Xbox 360 running to the TV and using the Optical from the TV to the Yamaha. The Wii just runs to the Yamaha. I did run a spare HDMI from the TV to the stereo cabnet so i do not have pull the TV off the wall again if I add something else that needs an HDMI. So I will stick with what I have for now. Thanks to everyone for there input.

Phil


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