Denon versus Pioneer

Rush Limbaugh · July 2003

I would like the most options, what say you?

VR3 · July 2003

Denon........BLEH!

Pioneer Elite..........*thumbs up*

Dr. Spec · July 2003

Originally posted by Vr3MxStyler2k3
Denon........BLEH!

Pioneer Elite..........*thumbs up*

:rolleyes: puuuleeeese

Sid "thinks" Denon sounds worse, but put him in a room with a double blind test and he won't be able to tell them apart.

Pioneer Elite and Denon.

Both are excellent and compare favorably at each price segment.

You will get a better pre/pro in the Denon at a lower price point.

You will get 4 ohm load-compatible amps in the PE at a lower price point.

Doc

VR3 · July 2003

I heard the Denon series.....

I dont care what high end, advanced chips it sports - but to me, it sounds like a beatin piece of Leather. Its so dry it just might break. I can't stand the sound of the Denon. Pioneer Elite ALL THE WAY. Jeez, opinion is opinion. Blind or not, i prefer PE over Denon. I would go PE/Adcom, cheap PE receiver, Adcom amps.

Rush Limbaugh · July 2003

I wasn't looking for a verbal fistfight here.

Thanks for being so well spoken on your points Dr. Spec. It's really impossible to say that one can't stant the sound of a certain reciever. Thats why I came here. I've heard both, and I happen to like both. I just can't decide. I don't know a lot about HT, but it seemed to me that Denon had more options.

Rush Limbaugh · July 2003

While irrelevant to this thread, I feel the need to mention that for the price, I would go NAD or ROTEL.

Why, I am interested.

Airplay355 · July 2003

funny how u recomend PE and adcom...isnt that what u have? interesting

VR3 · July 2003

Amazing how well it comes to mind to think that I know how my own rig soungs and likes it alot.

NAD, Rotel, AMC, ADCOM, PIONEER ELITE - all great brands. Can't go wrong. Now what is your point airplay?

NAD receivers seem to be a step above all other receivers in its price range. They use very high quality amps. They dont have all the hookups. Rotel seems to be good - I dunno. Outlaw Audio may be another brand -- www.outlawaudio.com -- AMC is pretty cheap and I hear it sounds good. I have only real personal experience with Adcom, therefore I recomend them - no biggie. Get off my back......

mantis · July 2003

It's really impossible to say that one can't stant the sound of a certain reciever.

I realy beg to differ here,but thats just me.......

Pioneer Elite and Denon are very close runners in the receiver market.As noted,the Denon does have more features,one being video upconverting.This feature is priceless when owning a Projector or Plasma.It makes it cleaner and nicer to send all video feeds to the display.
THX is also a golden feature.This can help bad rooms.Do alittle homework before buying one or the other.
I will agree with the statement that the Pioneer Elite has a tad better sound quality,it's personal taste I perfer the Pioneer Elite.They are also alittle more dymanic.Not much really but if you sit and do a VS battle between the 2(which I have done plenty of times)you will notice an increase in dynamics with the Pioneer Elite.

Really with these 2 here,you have to see which one has the features you need.Does it has the nessary inputs to support what I want to do today and what I want to do tomarrow???Answer that question and your answer is found.

jdavy · July 2003

I know many of you like Pioneer. I was a big pioneer fan in the days of my first Laserdisc player the CLD-1010. That was when Pioneer made only one good player. It also used an expensive red laser for reading the disk that was never used again. Player is from 1986 and still works great. But that was then.......

My next combo player was a DVL-700 a dvd and laserdisc player. Hey dvd was new, and not available yet. That machine will still play DVD's but not the Laserdisc. I noticed a huge number of "b" stocks. Items that were returned for repair and re-sold. Pioneer has had a quality control issue for a few years now. Say about 10+. They have some neat stuff. A combo DVD player that will play SACD and DVD-Audio for under $300. They have a nice 50" plasma that looks great.

I say to buy Pioneer now is a gambol. I am interested in other experiences with thier products and not opinions. How long have you had your product, what is it, and how has it fuctioned. (BTW I still think they have the best aftermarket radio for the car. I like the supertuner III.)

For home use, buy Sony ES, NAD, Rotel, and other high quality products.

My 2 cents.

hopr this helps.

Airplay355 · July 2003

i dont know i forgot, when i posted that something was making sense but i can't figure it out now, oh well.

NAD has been known to underrate them selves when it comes to watts...so 100 watts is what they say but you are most likely getting more. I heard a NAD integrated amp with LSi9's and it sounded amazing, very very clear. There wasnt much of an image but they were setup in the shittiest way possible and in the shittiest room possible so i can't blame that on the electronics or the speakers. I think you guys are right though, you probably won't get the most SPL from NAD, i had the integrated amp at about 11.5 oclock and it was loud, but still comfortabley loud, not havin a party and te whole neighboorhood can hear it loud.

I think your bet bet would be to try to find a stereo store with many of the brands you are looking into and listen to them side by side on the same set of speakers. Thats kind of a given but I think its kind of crazy to spend that much money on something based on what other people think, cuz when it all boils down who cares what other ppl think, if it sounds good to you then thats what matters. With the brands listed though, i think it would be hard for you to find something you were truly unhappy with.

Rush Limbaugh · July 2003

Wow! I'm really starting to see a lot of support for 'NAD'. You guys need to realize how confusing all of this is to me. I really appreciate all the help, but it seems like deciding has just gotten a lot harder. I'll be honest, when I went into the store to demo 2 of the reciever brands I mentioned here I went off looks for the most part. The setups in the store were just so bad! I don't know what it is, but it seems like I just don't have the ear for HT yet.

I think thats the problem with HT when you get up into the realm where whats better really is subjective. It makes it hard for people like me to make a decision. I just don't want to spend $500 on a sub-par reciever. I want to get a good one right off the bat.

Airplay355 · July 2003

usually....and i do mean usually...the plainer looking receivers will sound better. i walked into a a hi end stereo store with my sister and the first thing she told me was that everything in the store looked so old. they were selling brand new, B&K, NAD, Denon, Sunfire and Marantz. going by looks is the worst thing you can do, if you want something that looks cool and has flashing lights then go to CC and buy yourself a nice Sony boombox or whatever those things are with all the fancy crap.

i would first decide how much you are going to spend and then shop around, try to get the most for your money. obvious i know but i can't really tell you what to buy, there are so many different receivers for a good reason. everyone likes different things, so to make sure you will be truly happy demo as many brands as you can and then decide what you like.

i was looking for a new receiver for a long time, in my search i discovered brands i had never even heard of before, i finally decided on a Marantz sr7200. i considered NAD but they don't have all the bells and whistles the marantz had ie. the surround modes and the extra inputs and outputs, and the multi zone feature the marantz had. it took me forever and it took alot of thinking and i must have gone over my finances 6 or 7 times before i figured out what and when i could get things. just be patient and dont just dive in, theres alot of work to be done before buying a new receiver but its worth it.

VR3 · July 2003

First off Bob - Marantz, Denon, PE are all on the same level. I know your looks/flashing lights post is directed to me. I'm not entirely stupid. PE makes fine receivers, from their bottum line to the top. They are on the same scale as every receiver in its price range. Just because it looks nicer and has a blue light does not make it bad equipment. You cant go wrong with any of the 3 brands (Denon, PE, Marantz).
Receivers are receivers, no more no less. Unless you want to lay down mega bucks - it will always sound like that.....a receiver.
All together amps/receivers it cost me rounded to the nearest 10 around 1120. It was probally the wisest 1120 I have put into my system. The SQ of the Adcoms over any Receiver costing less than 2,000 - *******IMO******** is better. It is much better than most receivers costing less than 1,000. ********IMO****** Again!
I still say, buy a cheap receiver with preouts and get amps. IMO - ALLLLLLLLLLL DA WAY - Lights, High Gloss finishes, who cares. PE makes FINE stuff.

dorokusai · July 2003

I am biased towards Sony ES and NAD, due to owning them. Everyone has mentioned quality brands, you really do have to get out and listen to them. You will kick yourself in the rear if you buy one, and demo a friends one day, only to say.....hmmmm

I had demo'd Denon/Yamaha/Onkyo/Kenwood...all in the price bracket mentioned before $500.00. I still picked up the Sony ES. It offered more than they did in that price mark.

Airplay355 · July 2003

i like PE's blue light, i wish marantz had blue lights lol...im a sucker for blue lights, i even own a sony vaio lol...with a blue light. too bad marantz doesnt have blue lights

treys right receivers arent going to sound as good as seperates but everyones situation is different so seperates might not be for you right now but make sure your receiver has preouts that way you can always get them later.

2 more days till i order my marantz

wallstreet · July 2003

Originally posted by Rush Limbaugh
[B...I think thats the problem with HT when you get up into the realm where whats better really is subjective. ...[/B]

There you go. Do you see why your question has no correct answer?

PETERNG · July 2003

Generally, I prefer the Pioneer Elite, that's my personal taste/opinion a year ago. Now, I will look at both, and look at the back of each receiver, which one has the label "made in Japan" I will go with that one, if both "made in Japan", I will flip the coin..
My Pioneer Elite VSX 39 TX is still cranking great with no sight of getting old...damm, the side rosewood and glossy back finish are looking better everyday.

cheers

VR3 · July 2003

My PE is made in Canada.......:cool:

BeginnersLuck · July 2003

Originally posted by PETERNG
Generally, I prefer the Pioneer Elite, that's my personal taste/opinion a year ago. Now, I will look at both, and look at the back of each receiver, which one has the label "made in Japan" I will go with that one, if both "made in Japan", I will flip the coin..
My Pioneer Elite VSX 39 TX is still cranking great with no sight of getting old...damm, the side rosewood and glossy back finish are looking better everyday.

cheers

That's funny, I try to do the exact opposite...

-BL

Demiurge · July 2003

Denon

Airplay355 · July 2003

did you mean whichever one doesnt have made in japan?

BeginnersLuck · July 2003

Originally posted by Airplay355
did you mean whichever one doesnt have made in japan?

Exactly!

-BL

mantis · July 2003

PETERNG,
yeah.......how I love the vsx39tx...sweet looking piece.I was going to buy one way back in the day untill Denon released it's all in one box avr3801.The only thing I didn't care for on the 39 was just that,no built in amps for surroundback or 2nd zone.The M10x was cool,but i liked the Denon slighty more.......for features.The Denon also mated perfectly with the speakers I owned then(rt series)
One thing I perfer that Elite does extremely well is 2nd zone.I love the direct Ir input and the fact the 2nd zone works completely independant.

Dan

mantis · July 2003

And just for the record,there are flagship receivers on the market that can sound as good as some seperatres on the market.Affordable seperates and flagship receivers...gaps are closer today then ever before........again listen and you'll see.

VR3 · July 2003

hmmmmmmm........

Flagships range from 2,000+ to 3-4,000+

I spent 1120......wth are you talking about?

Airplay355 · July 2003

im guessing hes talking about you saying that receivers dont sound as good as seperates, and probably my agreeing with it.

VR3 · July 2003

Yeah, receivers can sound AS good as Seperates. But will never be AS good AS seperates without spending ludicris amounts of money. When you start paying 3-4,000 on a receiver you could have made one HECK of a Seperates system. IMO of course......

botany · July 2003

I have the Pioneer Elite VSX 49-TXi receiver and its a kick A$$ unit. The i.Link makes it possible to connect the receiver to my i.Link DVD player with a single cable. It also has the next generation THX standards (THX Ultra2 certified) and the new digital formts. And I don't want to forget about the Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration System (MCACC) makes setting up as easy as possible. This is what made me buy the Pioneer Elite 49-TXi and the weight of the unit is 70 Lbs.

Micro

Airplay355 · July 2003

holy **** i think that would brak my shelf

VR3 · July 2003

How does PE go from a measly 15 pound receiver to a gigantic 70 pounder? Must be bulletproof..........@_@

Dude 70 pounds of receiver is all my amps stacked.......sheat

Denon versus Pioneer

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