Onkyo 705 or Pioneer Elite vsx-72?

LandShark

I have owned a Onkyo TX sr705 for a couple years now. I have a friend selling his Pioneer Elite vsx-72. I was wondering if there would be enough of a difference to risk buying it and selling mine? He said he would sell it to me for $200 and it's in mint condition as is my Onkyo. Thanks!

pietro944

LandShark wrote: »

I have owned a Onkyo TX sr705 for a couple years now. I have a friend selling his Pioneer Elite vsx-72. I was wondering if there would be enough of a difference to risk buying it and selling mine? He said he would sell it to me for $200 and it's in mint condition as is my Onkyo. Thanks!

$200??......buy it and don't look back.....I've had the Elite 74TXVI-S for 4 yrs and it runs cool and is bulletproof.

mole'

that 72 looks just like my Pioneer Elite VSX 84TXSi

killer deal for $200 IMO 130Wx7 7.1

leadfoot1

I'd take a Pioneer Elite over Onkyo any day of the week. Buy it!

mantis

leadfoot1 wrote: »

I'd take a Pioneer Elite over Onkyo any day of the week. Buy it!

Ditto!

ViperZ

I would look beyond brand name. Yes, Elite might sound better, but 705 has way more bells and whistles. 72 is an old receiver, which cannot process sound through HDMI (just 2 HDMI 1.1 or 1.2 inputs). It also cannot process High-Definition sound, period. So your only for HD sound would be to do the processing onboard on that Sony blu-ray player and bitstream sound via 6-channel analog cables.

Onkyo, on the other hand, is much more modern receiver. It has 3 HDMI 1.3 inputs, so it can switch and process all modern audio and video signals on-board.

So if stereo music quality is much more important to you, get the Elite. If home theater experience is more important, keep Onkyo.

djperez81

I agree with Viper.

cnh

Hi LandShark!

Does anyone know what 'year' this Pioneer is? Because it only has two HDMI inputs (what versions would those be)? The Onkyo has version 1.3 and, if I'm not mistaken, it has 3 HDMIs and support for Tru HD Dobly and DTS decoding? If the Pioneer has less than version 1.3 it will not be able to decode bitstream signals but (1.1 and 1.2) will allow you to send LPCM over the HDMI and have the receiver decode that if the Blu-ray player you are using can unpack the HD Dolby and DTS signals as LPCM?

(I went back and looked at the product page for that Elite...the Onkyo has more advanced HDMIs, one more HDMI and can decode the new Audio Codex which the Elite cannot do. The Onkyo, I believe, the 705 might also have Burr Brown DACs similar to the Elite, I know the 805 does?)

That's the only major flaw I see in the recommendations above. Otherwise the Pioneer will be a bit superior in sound. Although "I" wouldn't trade my Onkyo TX-SR 805 for that Pioneer because the 805 'dwarfs' the Pioneer Elite in its amplification prowess at near 51lbs! The Elite is a mere 35.1 lbs?

Don't get me wrong...I like Elites; but for me, only the SC series with its ICE amps would be a potential upgrade for my unit. The 705 is a slightly different story because it is not as powerful as the 805 and lighter than the VSX-72.

cnh

mantis

Why not bring it home and compare it. Keep the one that sounds better and has the connections you need. If the Elite sounds better but lacks in connections , now you have a mission to carry out.

Lietuvis91

mantis wrote: »

Why not bring it home and compare it. Keep the one that sounds better and has the connections you need. If the Elite sounds better but lacks in connections , now you have a mission to carry out.

That's what I was thinking! I'm sure your friend will let you test drive it. If you hear $200 worth of difference, then buy it, otherwise, why waste time with old gear?!