DO I need a new receiver?

krabby5

hey all..

it's been awhile!

I have an old Pioneer Elite VSX-72 from 2006 that I still use to this day..never had any problems with it..love it. However with technology moving so fast, i was wondering if I am missing out on newer receivers? The Pioneer only outputs at 720p if I want to use it as an HDMI passthru (which I dont)..doesnt have any of the newer HD/Blueray codecs, or network capability. I have a PS3, an Xbox, Apple TV, Blueray, HDTV, HD satellite, etc..none of which go through the receiver for video passthru..i just use optical from the sources to the receiver. So im stuck with Dolby or DTS(which is still awesome to me)

I also see that a lot of the new Pioneers/Denons, etc are $500-$700 instead of the $1200 I spent on the Pioneer.

Would it be worth it for me to drop $600-$700 for a newer receiver with the newest technology..or do I have to spend over a grand to get better than I have now?

krabby5

I guess i should add that I have a 5.1 setup with Polks and a SVS sub

chumlie

I would keep what you have. Nothing in the 6-7 range that's gonna top it IMO.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Whether or not you should upgrade depends on if you're willing to change other things as well. Using a regular digital output you're not going to get the higher resolution audio of Blu Ray, you'd need to use HDMI or multi-ch analog for that. The sound on Blu Ray I'd argue alone is worth the switch, but if you're not going to make other changes to get that sound then a new receiver is kinda pointless, like buying a high end sports car and putting cheap low octane gasoline in.

In your price range you can find a Pioneer SC, would be used at that price buy very good units.

sponger

Like AsSiMiLaTeD said, it really doesn't matter unless you want that lossless audio from blu ray discs. For me that is a major selling point, but only because I'm something of a concert dvd / blu ray collector. I know that my collection probably pales in comparison to those of other forum members, but I do have more than a few.

However, just because a recording is lossless doesn't mean it's gonna sound great. It still boils down to native recording technique as well as the talent /skillset of the person who did the mixing.

Just recently I purchased Iron Maiden's latest concert film, which is Maiden England. It was released on DVD despite being a recent release. Well, it's actually a re-release of a film that was originally offered on VHS many years ago. But, it's a recent re-release none-the-less.

It's not like Iron Maiden fans don't have blu ray players. Their "Flight 666" concert film was released on blu ray, so the market exists. I think the problem is that the recording itself doesn't have the native video and audio quality to justify an HD format release. Releasing it on blu ray isn't going to make it sound or look any better as far as I can guess.

Other than that, the USB port on newer AVRs is what I find most handy about them. Plugging a thumb drive into my AVR and being able to navigate the files via the receiver with the menu being displayed on the TV screen makes this AVR phenomenally more appealing than my old Marantz SR5600.

Auto-calibration is one more excellent feature that my previous AVR did not have. I don't know if your current AVR has that feature, or that you even feel that you would need it.

Not to mention, AVRs go on sale every so often. I paid $700 instead of $1200 for the one I have. It's buggy and I don't recommend buying it, but I think those issues were solved for the 3313, which is now $799 at crutchfield.

rpf65

There's a Pioneer SC-61 at Rythercamera for $709. Don't know if it will work for you, but really close to your price.

Bob in WI

".never had any problems with it..love it." I think you're making a problem where none exists. You're happy, the rigs not broken. Put the money in your 401K.

jbooker82

I would make the switch so you can go lossless audio, and have everything hooked up to the AVR. That way you can use the AVR as a switch board, and your tv strictly as a monitor. Your tv stays on the same input and the avr does the audio, and video switching.

sponger

Instead of using the ARC feature on my AVR, I just run an optical audio cable from the TV to the AVR. This allows me to use the AVR for different things like USB and tuner while the TV is still playing cable channels.

Strange things have happened while listening to music from the USB port as I'm watching TV. For example, when I switched to a documentary on bald eagles while listening to "Diary of a Madman," the changes between flight scenes of the eagles seemed to match the rhythm changes of the song. So, when the song went to chorus, a different flight angle appeared on the screen.

Also, while I was listening to "Sheep" off of "Animals," a commercial for the movie "The Avengers" appeared on the TV. At the end of the commercial, there was a just a blank screen with the word "Avengers," on it. This lined up perfectly with the word "avengers" in the lyric "wave upon wave of demented avengers..." I was flabbergasted to say the least. I was sure call my bro and tell him all about it.

krabby5

Bob in WI wrote: »

".never had any problems with it..love it." I think you're making a problem where none exists. You're happy, the rigs not broken. Put the money in your 401K.

you're probably right. I also didn't mention that the Blu-ray player I have has multi-channel analog outs, so I can get lossless sound if I want...I havent had my player hooked up for awhile, since I usually just rip 1080p movies and use my Apple TV to play them..although you can only get DTS or Dolby using that method.

Although it would be more convenient for me to have a newer receiver, I'm not independently wealthy, so I'll be happy with what I have now:cheesygrin:

sponger

krabby5 wrote: »

you're probably right. I also didn't mention that the Blu-ray player I have has multi-channel analog outs, so I can get lossless sound if I want...

While that's true, you're still at the mercy of the BR player's DACs. In most cases, that's not an advantageous scenario. Judging from the frugal tone of your commentary, I'm going to guess that you didn't splurge on a player with DACs worth mentioning. I could be wrong, however.

tonyb

The new surround codecs like DTS Master Audio blow away the older DD, DTS. It's worth it just for that.

krabby5

sponger wrote: »

While that's true, you're still at the mercy of the BR player's DACs. In most cases, that's not an advantageous scenario. Judging from the frugal tone of your commentary, I'm going to guess that you didn't splurge on a player with DACs worth mentioning. I could be wrong, however.

I bought the Sony S550 awhile back..it used to be a good player..in it's time.

sponger

krabby5 wrote: »

I bought the Sony S550 awhile back..it used to be a good player..in it's time.

Sony BR players are great, IMO. I have an S790 and it exceeded my expectations. However, that would not be the case if I was relying on analog outputs for audio. It doesn't have 7.1 analog outputs, but I wouldn't use them anyway if it did. That's because Sony to my knowledge does not make BR players with analog outputs that have DACs comparable to the ones in my AVR.

Same can said be about your AVR. The DACs in your Pioneer Elite are what would be considered "premium" for most intents and purposes. I think they're Burr Browns in your AVR. By relying on the analog outputs from your BR player, you'd be experiencing audio quality that is not on par with the sound quality to which you have grown accustomed to hearing through your AVR.

One quirky thing about Sony BR players that I should mention is the "mix" vs "direct" setting in the set-up options. By default, the player is set to "mix" which precludes the player from playing the audio at its fullest potential. FYI.

tonyb

I would say the analog output stage on a low-mid line AVR isn't much better if at all than a good BDP like an OPPO. For video, Sony is pretty good but never been a fan of their audio quality unless it's a stand alone SACD player.

Don't put too much weight on dac chips, there's more to the final sound than chip sets. Get a new receiver OP, the sound signature is more open and detailed on newer receivers.