For a variety of reasons, I have decided to invest in some better playback equipment and would love some recommendations.
I already have a nice pair of klipsch speakers with which I am VERY happy, and an AT record player for my vinyl.
I'm looking to spend $500 - $600 give or take on the following:
> a new amp / tuner / eq combo (or seperate components if necessary) that has THX or surround sound, and a DIGITAL input for iPOD (there's no point in using that cool compression scheme to go analog out / in; might as well use mp3 at that point)
> a reliable DVD/CD player that does not freeze up, overheat, etc.
I know my price-point means I likely won't be getting anything that sounds incredible to the discerning ear, but that's where I'm at at the moment. Any recommendations are much appreciated.
Thanks :)
fwiw, THX is just a branding ploy, dont hang to much weight on that. go to walmart and see how much crap has the brand. its worthless these days.
Have you looked at the the Oppo 83. Rave reviews and even Lexicon like them too ; )
http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-83/
For less dollars on a disc player they also have the model 80, gives you more left over for the other items on your list.
http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-80/
Have you considered switching to media-less playback, e.g. Squeezebox?
Depending on your home computer setup, it may require additional investment on top of the Squeezebox (networking, HDDs, redundancy, backups). Just a thought.