Thanks for the warning about the eBay offerings. If I go this route I will be careful and try to get as much video proof as possible to see if the Onkyo is still working. I will also look for used AVRs near so. This model I could check out in person.

I am also not fully certain if I need 7.2 Dolby Atmos and DTS X for various reasons. My room is not the biggest and I think a good 5.1 Setup will fix my needs perfectly. I need an AVR that can work with the earlier Blu-Ray sound formats and of course with most of the Sound Formats used for Laser Disc.
I also have only a few Blu-rays that would support these new formats.

I think I would also be very happy with an older AVR that does not support the latest formats and 5.1 system should be a very good starting point .

What do you think about my theories @laserfanhld-gb?

Well my dedicated HT room (building actually) is roughly 6x4m with a ceiling height of approximately 2.60m and 5.1 certainly seems to work nicely at least to my ears in there so you should be fine! I’m probably showing my age here as having been in the home cinema/theatre thing since the early 90s my idea of an older AV amp is probably something Yamaha/Denon/Pioneer/Rotel etc, circa 1993-2003 I still think of the above mentioned Onkyo’s as relatively recent But to answer your last question I would say your theorising is getting pretty much on the right lines although perhaps for now forget about an AV amp and focus on finding that nice LD player that is locally (ish) collectible then initially getting it hooked up directly to your TV, if you like what you see & hear then start looking to gradually develop a full AV system, taking it one step at a time is all part of the fun!

You got a point. Getting the right LD player is the most important thing now. as far as that is concerned I am working on it on daily basis. Checking out many places so I won´t miss any new offers popping up. When visting some relatives in Vienna next weekend I will also check out a LD player maybe. I found a cld 925 in Vienna and contacted the seller already. I am still waiting for a reply.

Getting the right amp is a universal project . Like I said I want to have good audio for upcoming new LD player and my current modern day set up the ps5 to enjoy DVD, Blu Ray and UHD movies. So it is no mistake to think about now now even before my new ld players arrives.

For that puposes the Onkyo 609 or 709 should fitt the bill. The 609 is from the early too mid Blu Ray erea so it is modern enough to support most normal Blu Ray audio codecs and it also seems good for classic content.

That would be the perfect middle ground or what do you think? Hoping to find a amp that has the latest audio features and still supports analog stuff is not very realistic or is it?

The Sony AVR 790 would be alternative as well. It seems to have analog inputs as well and a guy on youtube was using on them when showcasing LD movies.

Anyway thanks again you helped me a lot with your posts.

First of all great news regarding the 925, let’s hope it’s a nice example as that is really the player that would suit your requirements perfectly - arguably the best ever European both sides play PAL player, and even puts in a decent performance with NTSC.

If you did go for a current day higher end avr (I.e. Arcam, Yamaha, Denon, Marantz etc.) there would be absolutely no problem connecting the 925’s audio output as you would only need to use its toslink digital out to the av amps digital in, exactly as you could with a DVD player prior to HDMI more or less taking over with the introduction of BD players, unfortunately I doubt that the composite inputs (if even provided) on today’s AVRs will feature such high quality comb filtering as those Onkyo’s mentioned, but you could still run the video from the player directly to your TV display if it’s competent or if not this is where a separate video processor comes in.

Good luck with the Viennese 925

Thanks a lot for the good luck wishes. I hope I get lucky too because finding a 925 in working order would be like hitting the checkpot. Among the players I was considering, the 1850, 1950, 2950, and 925 the 925 is probably the best. The upcaling features of the Onkyo are also why I am interested in that model.

I already have 2 upscaler, the Framemeister und die Retro Tink 5x, but they are mainly for games. i am not sure if they will provide quality boast in Video content. So getting the Onkyo or something awesome like DVDO video processors might be the better choice.

For audio, the Onkyo 609 or 709 seems to be good enough. Only a few movies I have in my collection support Dolby Atmos or DTS X. As long as AVR is good with decoding the vintage formats th LD provides and the common stuff you find on DVD and Blue (Dolby Digital plus the HD versions of that codec, DTS plus the HD versions) I am set.

The only problem with Onkyo is to find a functional one in good condition. But I think it is worth the effort. Any means to improve the PQ is more than welcome and it seems that most of the modern AVR are not that great with analog sources.

I will report if I got the 925 or not.