I want to upgrade my system

The specs I have seen on the Boston Acoustics AVP-7 make it comparable to the Outlaw 990 (no HDMI mentioned) and I saw one in Audiogon.com for $649. To be honest, it looks suspiciously similar to the 990, hmmm.....[/quote]

I have the Boston AVR-7120, same as the AVP-7 but with amps. It is the same as the sherwood newcastle P-965.
I would go more for the P-965 because of the updates that were made to the unit. Boston does not support these units anymore. Check AVS forum, there is alot of info there for the Boston recievers.

PUT AS MUCH MONEY INTO LOUDSPEAKERS AS YOU CAN.

I would agree with this with a caveat...

Now for the caveat. If you buy speakers that are notorious for high-resolution sound--Martin Logans, Magneplanars, Innersound, Finals, Carver ALS (which BTW, are all electrostatic or ribbon speakers), you might find your desire to upgrade the rest of your rig becomes a neccessity, because these sort of speakers will reveal EVERY deficiency in your rig--with annoying truth and detail...

But yeah, good speakers will give the rest of your rig room to grow, AND they will outlast just about any component in your rig if you treat them right.

--Richard

I too, am in agreement here. Spend the best part of your budget on truly great loudspeakers, you will never regret it....unless she gets them in the divorce. *I* think they can have the most impact on your system, in both the long and short term. In the short term a great speaker will bring out the best in your rig and support the gear changes in the long run.

ray

Yep, loudspeakers and room are most important.

With a new HD tv, you'll WILL want a pre/pro or receiver with HDMI support. Don't be afraid if it's the older 1.1 version and not 1.3. You can get discounted 1.1 stuff now and it will do everything that is currently available. Just make sure it handles multi channel pcm (LPCM?).

Jeff,
Look at the Yamaha RX-V1800 and 3800. I think these have everything (and more) that your looking for. You can still use your Carver power for which ever channel you want and the amps in the receiver are rated at 130-140 watts and sound very nice for theater use, if you decide to use any of them. I'm just thinking of you budget and this will give you a HUGE bang for your buck! 1 thing to always remember, your system is only as good as the weakest link, where ever that may be. My 2 cents.

Have Fun,
Bryant

Jeff,

I am a newbie here but you may want to check out Emotiva. Google it. I believe this might just be up your alley. As for sonic improvement, speakers first, lots of fast clean power second. I for one don't believe you can have too much power. If I had the money I would run 1000 watts per channel.

Good Luck!!!

I might be going out on a limb here but since the original post was
almost 2 years ago and Jeff has a total of 2 posts...I don't think Jeff is
around anymore.