Anybody heard the Pioneer Elite 53TX?

iluvmusic

Wondering if anyone has heard the Pioneer Elite VSX-53TX receiver. I was thinking of going by and looking at it (and listening to it) tonight after work. Also am going to consider the Denon AVR-2803, I don’t believe it has automatic calibration for surround like the Pioneer does though, and I’d like to have that feature. I think I can get a pretty good price on both. The Elite is about $150 more than the Denon.

I’m interested if anyone has heard these receivers, as I’m more interested in the way they sound – I pretty much know their features. I’m interested in opinions on whether they have good amp sections, stuff like that. Also am more interested in the stereo sound they’ll put out, than the surround sound as I feel the stereo musicality of the amp is more important than the HT sound, since I probably listen to 75% music, 25% HT.

They will be powering RTI8’s for mains, RTI6’s for surrounds, CSI3 for center, and 150 watt sub (of course they won’t be powering the sub!).

And, do you think either of those would be good enough to power a pair of RTI10’s, as I might be upgrading to RTI10s, and moving my 8’s to my other system? I know separates would be better, but a separate amp is coming down the road eventually.

Thanks for your input ahead of time. You guys really are alot of help!

dcarlson

Are you already running a receiver?

PhantomOG

what about the Denon 2805? it has auto-cal i believe and roughly the same price as the pioneer i believe

kingtut

I listened to both the Denon 2803 and the Pioneer Elite 53 driving the same pair of Polk RTi tower speakers (the ones that replace the RTi70, not sure of the model #) at Tweeter. I asked the sales rep to shut off the sub and had the bass and treble at 0 on both receivers. The 53 has very good clarity, but not much bass at all. The Denon matches the 53 for clarity, but 2803 has more bass. I liked the Denon 2803 much more than the Elite 53. The sales rep said that the softer bass is the characteristic of the Pioneer Elites. I'm not sure if that's true or not.

A friend brought over a Pioneer Elite 45(?), the model that was replaced by the Elite 53. After calibrated it w/the S&V disc & Rad Shack SPL and bass & treble at 0, the Pioneer 45 does not have much bass, even w/the sub turned on. At the same sound level measured by the Rad Shack SPL, the H/K 525 has better bass and clearer mid range.

Just my personal observance.

iluvmusic

Thanks for the input, so far..it really helps.

Someone asked if I'm currently running a receiver, and my current receiver is a Pioneer VSX-811s.

However, I've tried the Yamaha RX-V640 and the HK DPR 1001, and like my current Pioneer better (811s), or at least as well. On the DPR 1001 I was getting some distortion too, that I've not gotten on the other two receivers.

I want to get something that sounds good now, and will work good as a preamp when I eventually get an amp to power the mains. I mainly want it to sound good for stereo music (or even 5 channel stereo music once and awhile), and also want something which will allow my to adjust the bass & treble for each channel. My current receiver only allows adjustments for the main channels, unless I'm missing something (which is possible).

I like the sound of my Pioneer now, except that I'd like to get something that might give me a "fuller sound". I have a feeling something with a better amp section will do that.

dcarlson

I reread your stacking thread. If you're happy with the current performance of your HT setup and your receiver has preouts, get yourself a high quality integrated amp for 2 channel playback. You'll get much better performance from an integrated than you would with a receiver of the same price. At the price of the Denon, you'll be able to get a serious integrated on the used market.

iluvmusic

I decided against stacking. It didn't sound like a good idea.

I decided to probably upgrade to RTi10's in my HT listening area (which will be used for music alot too), selling my Rt800is, and moving my RTI8's downstairs to where my Rt800is were. At the very least, I will probably be replacing the Rt800is with 8's.

My 811s does have 7 channel pre-outs, but what I don't like is that I can't change the timbre of the other 5 channels besides the mains. Can I do that if I connect it up to a 5 channel amp (remember I'm a novice at this stuff)? Perhaps an amp like a used Parasound 850 5 channel amp (I think I have the number correct), or a Carver 5 channel amp that I'm looking at (can't recall the model number, I think it's 705).

I really don't like to spend more than a couple hundred dollars on a used amp. If I spent like $500 on a used amp and it conked out after a couple months...yikes....I'd rather have something with a warranty. I don't mind buying used speakers (paying $500 or more), as at the volumes I play them, they're probably not going to develop a problem.

iluvmusic

Guys, I think I've narrowed it down to the Denon AVR-3803, if it sounds as good as reviewed (and if they have one - they're supposed to). I'm going to look at it very closely.

What do you guys think of the 3803? Anybody heard it?

Oh, and when I'm auditioning these receivers, what speakers would more closely approximate the sound of my Rti8's? The store I'm going to has Def Techs, Klipsch, and Infinity, that I know of, but doesn't carry Polks. I used the Infinity 360s or Alpha 50's the last time I auditioned music there, I believe.

kingtut

Purchased the 3803 from Emlyn, who's a good person to deal with, to replace the HK 525. The 3803 is a very nice receiver w/lots of features. The 525 has better amp section, but the 3803 has better pre-pro/switching section. Midrange and movie dialogue is a little clearer w/the 525, but the 525 also has that annoying one second delay on the layer change-over. You won't go wrong with the 3803.

dcarlson

I have a Denon 2802 and it's great for surround and I couldn't be happier with it doing that duty.

On the other hand, I have a Musical Fidelity integrated amp that totally blows away the Denon for 2 channel music. I have the main preouts on the Denon going to the Aux in on the integrated for use in surround mode. 2 channel wise, I never touch the Denon anymore.

Next time you go auditioning, try and have a listen between comparitively priced receivers and integrated amps. If your handle is true, your ears will thank you.

(I'm a huge music lover)

As for used equipment, when you get into higher end stuff, people generally take extra care. It's a bit of a worry when buying, but once you have a used piece you forgot that it's used.

iluvmusic

I'd love to do that, but I just don't know of anywhere around where I live that I can go to listen to amps - integrated or otherwise. Heck, just to go to Best Buy, Circuit City, or Ultimate Electronics I have to drive 30 plus miles. That's why I go after work, it only adds about 15 to 18 miles to my daily commute.

By the way, I live in Bethalto, IL & work in St. Louis, MO. (By the way, I don't want to look at any in St. Louis, I'm happy to get out of town as quick as I can at the end of the day).

dcarlson

I think instead of spending money on a new receiver, you'd be much happier with an integrated amp of the same price. I'm sure St. Louis would have some killer audio stores. But that's up to you.

iluvmusic

Ok, you finally got my attention. I’m going to look at an amp or integrated amp.

But, being a newbie at this, I still have some questions:

If I get an integrated amp, will I still be able to use my Pioneer for HT?

Should I get a 2 channel amp or 5 channel, I’ve heard that all you really need is 2 channel, because not that much power goes to the other 3 channels.. Especially since I'm already pretty happy with the 5 channel performance of my receiver for HT. Just want better, fuller sounding music.

How much wattage should I be looking at minimum, say to drive RTI10’s – 100 wpc into 8 ohms/channel?

Will the tone controls from my receiver still work when going through an amp, or is that controlled on the amp end, or is it dependent on the receiver I’d be using as pre-amp?

Finally, and most importantly, do you have any suggestions for models and/or brands to look at for amps or integrated amps?

Thanks.

dcarlson

2 channel is all you really need if you want good stereo playback and you're happy with your receiver for movies.

An integrated amp has both the preamp section and power section in one box and you can plug in a few components like a CD player, DVD player, whatever and also in my case the main preouts from my receiver.

By feeding the main preouts from your receiver to an integrated, you will be able to listen to HT as you would now only, you'd select the AUX in on your integrated and set the integrated's volume at 12:00. And viola. you use your receiver to control the volume for movies.

When you want to listen to CD music, you'd have it going through the integrated only and select CD on the it and that's it for 2 channel. As for tone controls some have them, some don't. Mine doesn't and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Here's a model that's pretty popular around here. It's best if you have a listen to a few to make your decision on which you like best. Some others are NAD, Rotel, Musical Fidelity, etc.
http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=CAMB640A&product_name=Azur%20640A%20Integrated%20Amplifier

If you do go auditioning in some higher quality audio stores, tell the salesperson you'd like to hear the difference between a receiver and an integrated. And bring CDs you're very familiar with to play.

iluvmusic

Thanks for all your help...I think I understand.

I'll let you know what I end up with.

By the way, anybody know a real good quality CD player that's reasonably priced? I'm using my Panasonic DVD player now for CDs.

Thanks again.

mantis

They are both fine receivers.The Pioneer Elite series are very comparable to Denon.

Dan