Someone bought a house that came with a dedicated theater already built in the basement. Dated, but good bones, and he is not looking to spend heavily, just make it usable and reasonably future proof while he replaces pieces. What is in the rack now: a Marantz SR8002 with what sounds like a couple of failed amp channels, plus a Sony projector.
The receiver answer is easy and he will get it from everyone. An amp section dropping channels is not worth chasing down, and even if it were healthy, that generation predates every HDMI standard a current source expects. Replace it, move on, no debate there.
The projector is where I would slow down. Inheriting a room is not the same as inheriting a projector. What he actually inherited is a throw distance, a mount position, a screen size and whatever the previous owner did or did not do about light control, and those four things constrain the next purchase far more than the current model does. Measure the throw before shopping. People buy the well-reviewed projector for their budget every week and then discover it will not make the image size from the hole already in the ceiling.
Worth checking before any money moves: what is the screen, and is it decent or a builder-grade pull-down that came with the house? A good projector on a bad screen under a light-coloured ceiling disappoints in a way that reads as a projector problem and is not one.
If it were your limited budget in a room you did not design, where does the first money go - receiver, projector, screen, or fixing the room itself?
The receiver answer is easy and he will get it from everyone. An amp section dropping channels is not worth chasing down, and even if it were healthy, that generation predates every HDMI standard a current source expects. Replace it, move on, no debate there.
The projector is where I would slow down. Inheriting a room is not the same as inheriting a projector. What he actually inherited is a throw distance, a mount position, a screen size and whatever the previous owner did or did not do about light control, and those four things constrain the next purchase far more than the current model does. Measure the throw before shopping. People buy the well-reviewed projector for their budget every week and then discover it will not make the image size from the hole already in the ceiling.
Worth checking before any money moves: what is the screen, and is it decent or a builder-grade pull-down that came with the house? A good projector on a bad screen under a light-coloured ceiling disappoints in a way that reads as a projector problem and is not one.
If it were your limited budget in a room you did not design, where does the first money go - receiver, projector, screen, or fixing the room itself?
