I know you guys are never short on opinions; my 19 yr old Sony home stereo failed over the weekend. I haven't shopped for home audio, well, in about 19 years.
What do I need to look for or avoid?
Brands to avoid?
What do I need to look for to be ready for the future? My current one is a dolby 5:1...
Sony soundbar with mini receiver and subwoofer.
Or a Bose system.
That is about all I would consider these days.
If you have speakers, they're probably still good. I'd say if you're replacing your receiver, make sure it has plenty of HDMI inputs. Also, there are a bunch of features that they come with these days like usb ports, wifi capabilities and 7.1 channel. Depends on what you want and how much you want to spend. Harman Kardon and Denon are good brands, I'd check CNET for reviews, they're pretty thorough when they test them. Whenever I talk to audio guys around here they make fun of Bose (I personally don't mind how they sound) and if you're doing home theater, a sound bar won't cut it. Sound bars are good when you don't have the space for a full set of speakers, but it sounds like you've already got a 5.1 system.
Do what Ron says.
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