Which reciever? HK 335 or Pioneer 1015tx..I need expert advice

P-Town Polk

Thanks for looking, I know there are some pretty smart people on this forum and was wondering what reciever would be the best for a price point of 500. I can get both for about 450.

1. Harmon Kardon AVR 335

2. Pioneer 1015tx ...THX cert.

I will be pushing two monitor 50's two monitor 40's two monitor 30's, CS1, and PSW10.

I would ask HK or pioneer but that would not get me any further...also what one would sound best with my polk monitor set up.

If I could pay for the advice I would, the only test site I have for the recievers is CIRCUIT CITY and they never have any thing hooked up right.

Please help.

BIZILL

how many watts do either claim? look at my signature. i'm goin' with hk...

P-Town Polk

Pioneer clamis 120 watt per channel. 7.1 with a MOSFET advanced amp. Its the top of the line reciever not including the elite line of course.The VSX-1015TX sends 120 watts of equal power to all seven channels. The Advanced Direct Energy MOSFET discrete transistor amplifiers offer high-power drivability, ultra-efficient amplification, stable imaging, extremely low energy loss, and ultra linear ouput to all channels.

Harmon Kardon AVR 335

• 7.1-channel surround sound
• 55 watts per channel
• Dolby® Digital EX

• DTS®-ES
• Dolby® Pro Logic IIx
• Two component input

I have been told by polk that all watts are not created equal, but I know pioneer is a quality brand.

ND13

Edit-get whichever one you like the sound of better

RichterCAG

Hi, P-Town Polk, and welcome to the forums.

My current reciever is a H/K330 with Rti10's coupled with assorted polks. I have demoed the Pioner 1015tx from a local best buy. Between the two, they are fairly well matched in terms of build quality and their ability to maintain the advertised wattage at high levels with out clipping/distortion.

The Pioneer 1015tx is literally, a Pioneer Elite sans the shiney bezel and a few hooks up on the rear port. Likewise, Harman Kardon is essentially an 'elite' in terms of quality, but with less sheer merciless power. 330/335 is ideal of r50's, monitors, etc where as large towers like the RTi10's demand a reciever with hgiher wattage.

Higher volumns on the 330/335 even at 8-9db reveal a shortcoming for power in large towers.

Finally, both recievers respectively produce a rich full sound; HK is on the warm side while Pioneer leans toward the bright.

2+2

Welcome P-town and Richter!

IMO, go with what mates better with your speakers....if Richter's assessment is correct re. Pioneer, I would think that HK would be better for your Monitors....

P-Town Polk

thanks RICH.

The retail price is 500 for the pioneer and 699 for the HK. Is there a difference for the money?

What about the THX certifcation....is it crap or something I need to have.

If you had to chose today with the speakers I have (monitor series) which one would you chose. also with price playing into.
I can get the pioneer for $406
and the HK for $449

I'm not really into Boomy sound I like very crisp and accurate sound with only boom from my sub. I like it crisp and ear bleeding loud. which one could deliever this?

RichterCAG

P-Town Polk wrote:

thanks RICH.

The retail price is 500 for the pioneer and 699 for the HK. Is there a difference for the money?

What about the THX certifcation....is it crap or something I need to have.

If you had to chose today with the speakers I have (monitor series) which one would you chose. also with price playing into.
I can get the pioneer for $406
and the HK for $449

I'm not really into Boomy sound I like very crisp and accurate sound with only boom from my sub. I like it crisp and ear bleeding loud. which one could deliever this?

THX Certification - there are basically two schools of thought regarding this aspect of a reciever feature list. The most commonly held opinion is that THX is superfluous, adding no perceivable no difference to the audio experince then children's ice cream. The other common opinion is that a THX reciever coupled with a THX movie (star wars/terminator2) produces a effect akin DTS. Larger, stronger, etc. After having demoed the Pioneer with a thx movie (revenge of the sith, tee hee), I would side with the later being that THX is a benefit.

Neither pioneer or h/k are boomy. Pioneer is more crisp/bright where H/k is warm/soft. Still, i would go with a Pioneer. Even the H/K 435 hase some problems with RTi10/12 and the LSI models. A problem such as the lack of power.

Mike682

Both are very good receivers. Best thing is to listen to both and make a decision. I know bestbuy carries the pio 1015, maybe you can head over for a listen. Also, I know the retail stores are horrible with having equipment set up correctly, but if you persist they can (may) help. If you have a bestbuy with a magnolia store inside, try asking the magnolia staff. They seem pretty knowledgeable.

aaharvel

both receivers are very nice. Like everyone says it depends on if you like bright or warm sound. Monitors can be a tad bright for music so take that for what it's worth. Go with what sounds best to your ears. H/K should have a higher current amp than the Pioneer, so wattage numbers can be misleading when comparing the two. imo THX means squat.

reeltrouble1

You H&K guys, gotta love ya, and believe it or not I am with ya on this one. BTW PTP the Pioneer can no way no how not ever never, nicht, nada, drive all channels at once at 120 wpc. However, the newbs expert opinion of what thx cert is or isnt is superflous and about three or four cents on a dime.

THX, its a very long long story but simply put really good gear does not need it, mass market its the good house keeping seal of approval. PTP you need to go do the research and make your mind up about THX cert.

RT1

P-Town Polk

OOhhh! so thats how things are done in Gerogia! Mass markets....your starting to sound like a liberal?

Reasearch I have done, opinons I do like.....some have been helpful and some sound like a rendition of 50 cents new cut.

cfrizz

Audition both & choose the one you like the best.

Welcome P-Town & Richter

aaharvel

P-Town Polk wrote:

OOhhh! so thats how things are done in Gerogia! Mass markets....your starting to sound like a liberal?QUOTE]

welcome to the forums noob. Unless you want your thread to lower itself to mindless name-calling, I suggest you not politicize (ahem) A/V receivers.

RichterCAG

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=495693

Official Pioneer 1015tx thread.
Enjoy!

BIZILL

[/QUOTE]
welcome to the forums noob. Unless you want your thread to lower itself to mindless name-calling, I suggest you not politicize (ahem) A/V receivers. [/QUOTE]

heya justin, wonder if ya opened up a new forum solely for the discussion of politics if everyone would go there to feud or just stay away alltogether. either way it would keep the political talk out of audio/video.

aaharvel

[/QUOTE]heya justin, wonder if ya opened up a new forum solely for the discussion of politics if everyone would go there to feud or just stay away alltogether.[/QUOTE]

That's a negative Ghost Rider.

P-Town Polk

Sorry, it was just a joke, I just was irritated how reel trouble was saying Ricks comment was worth nothing and his comments are empty? I dont want to start any thing but the guy just came really country like, and kinda insulted Rick who was trying to give me solid good advice. Maybe he was trying to be funny? To be honest I couldnt understand what the heck he was talkin about.
Ne ways thanks for the advice.

Liberal or Conservative, if you GOT POLK then your doing something right.

aaharvel

Good luck in your research. Both receivers are pretty solid. Again, welcome to the forums. :cool:

Mike682

Some review links on the 1015:

http://www.epinions.com/Pioneer_VSX_1015TXK_Receiver_Black/display_~reviews

http://reviews.cnet.com/Pioneer_VSX_1015TX/4505-6466_7-31426274.html

shiu

If you need more power, or current (Andrew may disagree) if you like, go with the 1015. HK rates their output conservatively and tend to use larger P/S, but its a long way to stretch from 55W to 100W plus of the Elite based 1015. Some say the 1015 sounds on the bright side but with those MOSFET amps, one would think that the opposite is true. If your monitors don't need much power, then it boils down to features, and sound (if you can tell the difference). I have not AB the two but I would guess they don't sound all that different.

WJE

I've had Pioneer Elite gear - one of their receivers. I've had H/K receivers, too. I tend to lean towards the H/K gear. However, you have to buy what sounds best to you and offers the features you want and need.

reeltrouble1

Its OK PTP. I got a good chuckle about you thinking I'm liberal and country, guess you think those are dirty words. I don't, I am just me, but if new me you would laugh at that too. And I did take it as a joke. Sometimes the older members like myself get a bit strong. We dish it out at times but we can take it too. Think about it, why come on the Polk audio forum and then go tell someone to look on another site after what two posts? So I gave him a little rasberry. In your poll on the other post how many folks thought THX mattered? He does. I would wager many of the older members here were bracing for my response, well, I think we need to welcome the newbies they will learn to swim in here or not.

Anyway, you asked for opinions. The Pioneer is pretty much low level, the H&K is a bit better. But for starter units either one sounds pretty good and will drive the R series monitor line. I am sorry I did not explain in detail, it was a long day. OK mass market is pretty much the entry level gear like Onkyo, H&K, Yamaha, Pioneer, some Sony, Panasonic and so on. The things you see at CC or BB. There are different levels of quality in these manufacture's gear. Under 300 or so is generally regarded as poor quality. Then you go to 500 a bit better but still a long way from being good, 500-1000 you are starting to see some better caps and circuits, its acceptable but not really quality. All of these receivers compete with each other and are about the same, for music there pre-amps sound thin, lack deep extention, clarity, soundstage, imaging etc. The wpc ratings you see, are with one channel driven. (That was my little 50 Cent rant) The amps in the receiver lack the current required to really drive a quality speaker at volume like the Polk LSI line or the higher end RTi series. The DACS are just not musical, their is alot of non-discreet circuitry. That is why when you get into these products higher end, you see pre-outs where you can hook a quality amplifier to the receiver. I guess these now start around 750.00 or so, used to be you had to go over a thousand before you saw this. Add the quality high current amp and you can go up a level. But your still stuck with circuitry which is just not that good. Now if you just want to do HT either of these units you are considering will be fine, if you want a musical system well many audio enthusiasts have a different 2 ch rig just for music. Another option is to get a musical sounding pre-amp with a HT pass and hook it into the HT system. Then of course you have source to consider and I could talk and type for a long time but its late for this. Its about levels and of course its about money and everyones budget. Afterall your just getting going here.

Just so you know Mid line audiophile receivers like B&K, Parasound, Sunfire, etc. are going to run you from 3-4 grand on up. Onkyo, Yamaha, H&K and Denon make some too but they dont concentrate on the music as much as they might.

Welcome to Club Polk. There are many good folks here, many threads for you to read and consider.

RT1 or Just call me Country!!

RichterCAG

I am not that new; this is not my first registration to the Polk Forums

For Pioneer 1015tx
here's some information
http://www.pioneer-eur.com/eur/help.jsp?editorial_id=15450
EISA Best Product of 2005/2006
so apparently this year the 1015 beat out a 3806
guess what got it the year before
Denon 3805
that's saying something..

H/K is good..but it doesn't have the high sustained wattage.
Be objective here, friends. H/K and Marantz make good equipment..but then so is a toilet brush.

halo

Outlaw Audio has a fantastic AVR link I think you get to have your cake and eat it too with this one - it does movies and music very well. Just My $0.02

reeltrouble1

http://store.yahoo.com/hypaudio/vsx1015tx.html

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-d9ScnrMYKvh/cgi-bin/prodview.asp?i=033AV3806B

Those EE's and other staff at Pioneer are amazing, being able to bring a product to market through a discount dealer at less than 1/3 the cost of a competitor's authorized dealer. Look the specs are just about the same. We all know here if the specs say it there the same and how well the specs sound. Yea, they got the EISA award too, trouncing this competitor. Oh, no wait for a "high end" (yea right) A/V component its a Denon!!!. Now that is the European Imaging and Sound Award folks. Esoteric, BAT, and Conrad Johnson better watch out, or at least go hire them.

For those who might care here is a link.

http://www.eisa-awards.org/awards.html

Shackdaddy and the other Denon guys here is your chance to upgrade, Ill give ya 200 for those 3803's and 3805's since thats over half of the cost of this Pioneer.

so apparently this year the 1015 beat out a 3806

Ok to be fair I'll go 250 for a 3806.


RT1

Thats my line now bite my hook.

RichterCAG

Heh.
Reeltrouble has completely overshot the mark of inquiry for this particular thread. Attempting to answer P-Town Polk's questions, Reeltrouble diffuses himself by trying to be too clever.

Your argument, Reel, seems to focus on omitting the fact a high quality amp from Pioneer based upon matching hardware to a 52tx Elite could ever be found sitting in the slove/groove rows of Sony/kenwood schlops. A similar point of view shared by a friend deduced the line of speakers offered by Polk audio must be of lessened accoustical quality because they are sold at Circuit City.

Rather slip-shot research research to assume that a name/price tag must determine the quality of any given product, in this case home stereo, dontcha think?

Lay asside your southern gentree and puffed chest; they are blocking the view.

ND13

RichterCAG, what was your old screen name???

aaharvel

ND13 wrote:

RichterCAG, what was your old screen name???

sounds like freakin Spydee reincarnated. :rolleyes:

reeltrouble1

They are both Entry Level and so are the R-series Polks. You should change your S/N again, you have zero credibility. Why? Everyone is chuckling over such a guru who does not know the difference between a watt and an ampre. Its about current not watts.

H/K is good..but it doesn't have the high sustained wattage.

You offer no substantial counter as to my statement about receivers. You insist on stating that Pioneer Elite is high quality and that this one you like is the same as the 52tx which is itself just an entry level 500 piece of gear available all over the net. The whole unit weighs in at what 30 lbs or so? Many here have 7 channel midfi amps they weigh in around 85 lbs for just the amp, why, you tell me. Forget about all the better quality parts just tell me why such a difference I mean they are both 7 channels amps right?

My concern to PTP was that he was buying off a marketing ploy that this Pioneer receiver was capable of putting out 120 watts to seven channels all channels driven and that is simply not the case. The H&K specs are much more accurate, gee, they cost about the same, amazing. He had legit questions.

You are trolling. Oh yes, your tongue is hanging out.

RT1

You keep biting I keep reeling.

ND13

I still haven't figured out how/why someone being southern has anything to do with anything in this thread whatsoever. :rolleyes: