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October 20, 2011 - 10:59am
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Better upgrade alternative - replace speakers or add amp
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Tough call but it hinges on your feelings about the speakers. If they are loud enough and float your boat, you should keep them. The SR4003 is getting long in the tooth and will be due for replacement (a lot has happened in AVRs since 2008) and having external power amps would make your choices easier when that time comes.
All that said, changing speakers will almost always have the greatest impact on the sound...................................
As the other poster said, it's a tough call, but I think you would gain more by upgrading the front speakers. Perhaps the PSB Alpha B1s or Paradigm Atoms--they have had critical acclaim. There are some more in this range out there as well--check out NHT Super Zeros.
An interesting other thought might be possibly Audiogine 5+'s ($399), which are active and have 50 rms watts/ch built-in. You would connect these to your pre-out's and use their remote to control volume. You would, in effect, be getting a new amp and speakers this way. (You could still use your sub if desired). You could keep these along with your Polk's and use the AE's only when 2-channel listening. (They are small).
The difference between 80w/ch (of your Marantz) and 50 is not as much as you think since power operates logarithmically on the ear (i.e you need 10 times the power to get twice as loud).
jerry
Cranky Audio Guy, Inc.
What is today? Is it spam Wednesday?
I agree that you should get new front speakers as the most cost-effective way to improve your sound.
The PSB Alpha B1 should be the first choice there; amazing speakers for only $300.
The receiver you have is fine sonically; the only reason to change that would be if there are capabilities that you need that it doesn't have, which does not sound like the case.
By the way, are you sure that you have a VM20 center?
It seems like it costs 4 times as much as the VM10 speakers; seems like an odd combination. Whatever.