Personally, I'd rather have a current receiver with the latest features. I recently upgraded to a 7.1 HDMI receiver. The connectivity is simple and HDMI cabling is inexpensive. The fun factor with room corrected seven channel audio is well worth the change.
If you currently have a 5.1 system and you upgrade to 7.1 you will instantly understand that 7.1 is how it was meant to sound and not just two more speakers. Even older 5.1 media sounds better when it's matrixed through 7.1.
No room is too small for 7.1. If you have a small room use smaller speakers. The 7.1 effect will still work.
If you currently have a 5.1 system and you upgrade to 7.1 you will instantly understand that 7.1 is how it was meant to sound and not just two more speakers. Even older 5.1 media sounds better when it's matrixed through 7.1.
No room is too small for 7.1. If you have a small room use smaller speakers. The 7.1 effect will still work.