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Blu-Ray HD Audio Coding, worth $1000 Upgrade?

Just when I thought I had it all I realized that with the rise of Blu-Ray there are now new Surround Codings such as DTS-HD MASTER AUDIO that my tuner won't process to the full capacity of the coding. DTS-HD can, "This bit stream is so fast and the transfer rate so high that it can deliver 7.1 audio channel, 96k/24-bit sound identical to the original studio master." (From DTS.com)
I currently have a Pioneer Elite VSX80-TXV with 110 watts a channel (AB amplifier) running Paradigm Studio 60V2's bi-amped, Titans in the rear, CC170 Center, and a JL Audio Fathom 113 sub with PS3 doing Blu-ray duty.
I am considering the Pioneer SC05 Tuner with is 130 watts Class D amplification, and of course it does the DTS-HD as well as a couple of other new codecs that I don't know about. It also can upscale non 1080P source information as well, whereas the VSX is only 1080P video pass through.

It is about $1000 upgrade after selling off my old tuner and Pioneer Elite DVD player that I don't use anymore.
My system is used 40% Movies, 40% HDTV, 20% Music.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or alternative theories are gladly accepted!

christian_coach

Showing 2 responses by iplaynaked

iplaynaked
193 posts
 
When you think about it, there's so much "gray area" for the average audio enthusiast to consider, regarding everything from they type of equipment he should consider, to the best connections, best decoding options, best scaling options, best settings, yada, yada, that's it's almost a total crap shoot, basically! I mean you make your choices, guess your connections, set your settings, tweak your parameters, and hope for the best, seems. Don't it though?!
I bet you could even ask 100 different people with the same exact basic system, how to connect the gear, which conenctions are best, and with what settings and parameters they should use, and you'd get 80 different answers, easy!!!
Simply amazing. It's gotten so confusing that even the experts are not so sure, often - lol.
iplaynaked
193 posts
 
"Iplaynaked, you make a good point. That is the exact reason I post here! I want more than one opinion. I like to collect a good amount of information from a variety of sources then make an "informed" decision."

Actually, I'm stretching it a bit, saying even the experts are confused. Yes, no one knows it all. It's always a constant learning curve. Yet, many many experienced professionals in this industry have a solid fundamental grasp on all important aspects of audio/video systems - quite a bit more knowledge and experience than the average enthusiast. So, trying to sort through all the opinions is like listening to all the different opinions expressed in the audience of the Oprah Winfrey show, and trying to resolve the truth! Basically, if you really want to learn something, in the end, you're better off getting expert advice, doing a bit of studying, and then doing hands on tinkering yourself. It's all good though. Like you said, It's fun.
Still though, now and then, there's some new thingy that pops up that throws ya for a loop a little bit. You combine all that with all there is to learn and it can get very involved trying to do these systems for the best possible results, given all the changing variables that are constantly being presented to system designers.
It's like a never ending class room learning the facts, and keeping up with every changing technology and product selection. I tell ya...
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