Pioneer Elite receivers

mantis

Sherardp wrote: »

When I initially installed the SC-07 I ran my setup off of it shortly just to see what it sound like. And I have zero doubts that the Pio could handle the load. However since I do have the D-Sonic IceAmps and the Outlaw Monos, I just went ahead stuck with them in my setup, if that makes since. The D-Sonic 1000S I have gives me 525 watts x2 to the Rti12s, the Elite cant give me that.

After listening to your system as it is, I would like to hear what you think with the built in ICE amps. I find them to be very very good. Strong and very clear. Much Dynamics especially with 8 ohm load speakers. You should pull all the external amps and try this out for a week. I ber we see your amps up for sale as I know you don't need all that extra power. Maybe you do , but my money would be on the Internal amps being shocking.

Dan

Berty

organ wrote: »

Thanks Dan. No Tweeter here in Canada. I found a dealer downtown selling the 01 for $799 CDN (that's the retail I believe). So I'm still gonna try to bargain. But problem is, they don't sell Polk. I'm gonna search for a dealer that sell both Polk and Pioneer.

I'll let you know how it goes when I get the system up and running. I'll post a thread here w/pics. I should have the money to get them by late Dec.

I bought my 01 at $725 but on another forum in Quebec a guy had it for $680

Sherardp

mantis wrote: »

After listening to your system as it is, I would like to hear what you think with the built in ICE amps. I find them to be very very good. Strong and very clear. Much Dynamics especially with 8 ohm load speakers. You should pull all the external amps and try this out for a week. I ber we see your amps up for sale as I know you don't need all that extra power. Maybe you do , but my money would be on the Internal amps being shocking.

Dan

I'll definitely give this a shot when time permits just to A/B the comparisons. I love the sound of Iceamps. My D-Sonic shines, trust me. Very clear and detailed.

organ

mantis wrote: »

Shame. But if you want to take my word on it, Rt series and Elite go together extremely well. I really like the sound of every job I do with this combo. The inwalls smoke man, with Elite receivers they really shine.

Dan

Change of plans. Gonna have to go Klipsch instead. Hope it works out great with the Elite. Reason is, I already have a pair of RF-35 not in use. So all I really need is just the RC-35 center and gonna get a pair of small surrounds. I really do love the sound of horns and the extra dynamic range they produce.

Don't want to de-rail, but just a quick question. My RF-35's are not magnetically shielded. Would this present a problem if they're placed VERY close to an LCD display?

Thanks

John K.

CRT TVs use internal magnetic fields to create the picture, so an external magnetic field, such as from a nearby unshielded speaker, can interfere with this and distort the pucture. LCDs and other non-CRT sets don't depend on magnetic fields for their operation and so aren't affected by unshielded speakers.

mantis

organ wrote: »

Change of plans. Gonna have to go Klipsch instead. Hope it works out great with the Elite. Reason is, I already have a pair of RF-35 not in use. So all I really need is just the RC-35 center and gonna get a pair of small surrounds. I really do love the sound of horns and the extra dynamic range they produce.

Don't want to de-rail, but just a quick question. My RF-35's are not magnetically shielded. Would this present a problem if they're placed VERY close to an LCD display?

Thanks

I did a dedicated home theater with all Klipsch reference in wall speakers and a in ceiling center channel. One Klipsch sub in the back of the room(which I perfer upfront but Prewired by someone else). The receiver was a vsx01tx with a Sony BDP350 Blu ray player and cablebox. Ipod source , AM/FM and thats it. We ran Indiana Jones on Blu ray and the blast scene was dynamic as I ever heard a system. Klipsch speakers are extremely dymanic and awesome for theater use. The only thing I found was the system is a bit ear bleeding at times. It kicks you right in the face and punches you out of your seat. When something blows up, so does the entire theater room.WOW impressive if you like it that way.

The Elite is a good choice for Klipsch speakers as when they are mated with yamaha, I can't stand the end results. Way over bright.

organ

Thanks again guys. I just have to get my receiver, center speaker and surrounds now.

I went ahead and placed my RF-35's beside my TV. Doing a simple 2ch set up for now. Wow, Dan, you're absolutely correct. These guys can really pound you when called upon. The sound is very raw just like what I hear in movie theatres. I love it.

Having a small bass issue right now. The RF-35's can be a little boomy at times because they have the rear ports and I can only place the speakers less than away 6" from the front wall. I don't see this being a problem once I get the Pioneer and cut off the LF at 80Hz or higher.

Glad to hear the Elite/Klipsch combo works out great.

organ

Sorry, guys, I still have some questions. I want to get the HT right the first time.

I"ll be using a PS3 as source into the 01TXH receiver. After reading the PS3 thread, I found out that the console won't bitstream Dolby HD. Instead the signal is processed in the PS3 and sent out as high bit rate PCM via HDMI.

Can the THX mode still be used for multi channel PCM input using HDMI? The THX feature is one reason I want the 01TXH. Also, the auto calibration feature should still work, right?

thanks

Sherardp

organ wrote: »

Sorry, guys, I still have some questions. I want to get the HT right the first time.

I"ll be using a PS3 as source into the 01TXH receiver. After reading the PS3 thread, I found out that the console won't bitstream Dolby HD. Instead the signal is processed in the PS3 and sent out as high bit rate PCM via HDMI.

Can the THX mode still be used for multi channel PCM input using HDMI? The THX feature is one reason I want the 01TXH. Also, the auto calibration feature should still work, right?

thanks

yes all features can still be used with the ps3 sending pcm to the elite. Auto calibration has nothing to do with your source and is in the software of the elite itself so youre good there as well. trust me you wont regret your purchase.

MADGSF

Got another question for you Dan. On my VSX54tx does the MACC apply to the multi channel inputs? I ask cause I am going blue ray later this year and am not sure if I need to upgrade my AVR or not. If it doesn't I will look at a new pre of some sort but if it does that frees up more funds for other stuff.

On an unrelated note what do you think of the BDP-51FD for blue ray and audio?

Sherardp

MADGSF wrote: »

Got another question for you Dan. On my VSX54tx does the MACC apply to the multi channel inputs? I ask cause I am going blue ray later this year and am not sure if I need to upgrade my AVR or not. If it doesn't I will look at a new pre of some sort but if it does that frees up more funds for other stuff.

On an unrelated note what do you think of the BDP-51FD for blue ray and audio?

Yes MCACC does apply to multichannel inputs. As for the 51 I would wait it out until April if you can and purchase one of the new Pioneer 2.0 profile BD players. Faster loads times would be the major reason, BD Live, firmware upgrades over Lan are bonuses that are included.

MADGSF

Thanks Sherardp, I think I will keep the pre I have and get a BDP with analog outs. I could not determine how those inputs wre treated and did not want to have to control BDP volume and channel levels from the player.

I am on the fence with regards to the BDP but saving money on a pre will help free up funds for a nicer one. I have read the later firmware for the 51 sped up load times and improved picture quality. Not very interested in the BD Live feature and there are some great prices on the 51 now. My current TV will handle 1080i and thought about getting one for up converting until I get a new TV.

Any feed back on how the Pioneer BDP are for 2 channel listening?

mantis

MADGSF wrote: »

Got another question for you Dan. On my VSX54tx does the MACC apply to the multi channel inputs? I ask cause I am going blue ray later this year and am not sure if I need to upgrade my AVR or not. If it doesn't I will look at a new pre of some sort but if it does that frees up more funds for other stuff.

On an unrelated note what do you think of the BDP-51FD for blue ray and audio?

Yes the Mcacc works for everything. It's a room calibration which is applied to everything.
The BDP-51fd is a nice player but the 05 is a bit nicer. We have both and the 05 sounds better running 2 channel . The Wolfson Dac's really make a difference. Big difference from the Burr Brown's of yesteryear.

Dan

mantis

MADGSF wrote: »

Thanks Sherardp, I think I will keep the pre I have and get a BDP with analog outs. I could not determine how those inputs wre treated and did not want to have to control BDP volume and channel levels from the player.

I am on the fence with regards to the BDP but saving money on a pre will help free up funds for a nicer one. I have read the later firmware for the 51 sped up load times and improved picture quality. Not very interested in the BD Live feature and there are some great prices on the 51 now. My current TV will handle 1080i and thought about getting one for up converting until I get a new TV.

Any feed back on how the Pioneer BDP are for 2 channel listening?

The Elite is like a reference cd player. This is nothing new with Elite Blu or DVD players. They use high quality DACs( Burr Brown) and now the Wolfson DAC's. Excellent players as I have been replacing deadicated players with these in 2 channel systems with excellent results.
Now if it only played SACD and DVD AUDIO.....

digitalvideo

If you want to buy a Pioneer I recommend the VSX01 which shares 90% of all the main features as the sc05/07 but will only cost around $550 on ebay where as the sc07 will cost over $1350.
All four receivers sc-05/07, VSX-03, VSX-01 do new lossless formats ("DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS-HD High Resolution, Dolby® TrueHD and Dolby® Digital Plus" ) and room tuning.
Pioneer®'s full line of A/V receivers work seamlessly with Pioneer's 2008 KURO displays and Blu-ray Disc® players to deliver the ultimate HD picture and sound performance for a truly emotional response in the living room.
The Elite VSX-03TXH and VSX-01TXH join Pioneer's leading receiver from 2007 - the VSX-94TXH - to round out the entire 2008 offering. All three models flawlessly pass a 1080p picture with full reproduction capabilities of all new high resolution audio formats.

That was from Pioneer's own official press release.

All the Pioneer recievers (sc-07/05, VSX05, VSX01 all share the same main most important features and foundation and the "few" little extra features the sc-05/07 add on is NOT worth almost $1000 more. The higher end sc-7/05 offers more HDMI ports and more s-video ports and a "few" other things that are not worth the price. How many HDMI ports do you need today since plasma/lcd's, blu-ray players, recievers now make it easier to connect with fewer HDMI wires as companies compete to simplify the connections for the consumer?

Here are the specs of the VSX01 and SC-07:

http://cgi.ebay.com/PIONEER-VSX-01TXH-VSX01TXH-RECEIVER-BRAND-NEW-FREE-SHIP_W0QQitemZ170295703485QQcmdZViewItemQQptZReceivers_Tuners?hash=item170295703485&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-Elite-SC-07-7-1-Channel-HT-Receiver-SC07-NEW_W0QQitemZ220352069516QQcmdZViewItemQQptZReceivers_Tuners?hash=item220352069516&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

digitalvideo

When it comes to which speakers to use, the best bang for the buck is the Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 system which gives you 7 big speakers and huge sound for around $280 dollars, people are raving about it on amazon.com and trading in their Boston Acoustics MCS100 and MCS130 systems for the Onkyo. The Onkyo is giving bigger sound than many systems costing over $1000.

For around $280 dollars look at what you get:
7.1 channel speaker package
130 watts total output on 2-way bass reflex front, center, and surround speakers
Bass reflex powered subwoofer with 230 watts output
Front and center 2-way speakers feature 5" diaphragm woofers and 1" balanced floating tweeter
Surround speakers feature a 3 1/8" cone woofer and a 3/4" balanced dome tweeter
Subwoofer construction includes a 10" cone driver.

Check the specs and reviews from people at amazon.com about the best bang for the buck for speakers -

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-SKS-HT540-Channel-Theater-Speaker/dp/B000GU78Z4/ref=pd_bbs_7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1234921827&sr=8-7

mantis

digitalvideo wrote: »

If you want to buy a Pioneer I recommend the VSX01 which shares 90% of all the main features as the sc05/07 but will only cost around $550 on ebay where as the sc07 will cost over $1350.
All four receivers sc-05/07, VSX-03, VSX-01 do new lossless formats ("DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS-HD High Resolution, Dolby® TrueHD and Dolby® Digital Plus" ) and room tuning.
Pioneer®'s full line of A/V receivers work seamlessly with Pioneer's 2008 KURO displays and Blu-ray Disc® players to deliver the ultimate HD picture and sound performance for a truly emotional response in the living room.
The Elite VSX-03TXH and VSX-01TXH join Pioneer's leading receiver from 2007 - the VSX-94TXH - to round out the entire 2008 offering. All three models flawlessly pass a 1080p picture with full reproduction capabilities of all new high resolution audio formats.

That was from Pioneer's own official press release.

All the Pioneer recievers (sc-07/05, VSX05, VSX01 all share the same main most important features and foundation and the "few" little extra features the sc-05/07 add on is NOT worth almost $1000 more. The higher end sc-7/05 offers more HDMI ports and more s-video ports and a "few" other things that are not worth the price. How many HDMI ports do you need today since plasma/lcd's, blu-ray players, recievers now make it easier to connect with fewer HDMI wires as companies compete to simplify the connections for the consumer?

Here are the specs of the VSX01 and SC-07:

http://cgi.ebay.com/PIONEER-VSX-01TXH-VSX01TXH-RECEIVER-BRAND-NEW-FREE-SHIP_W0QQitemZ170295703485QQcmdZViewItemQQptZReceivers_Tuners?hash=item170295703485&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-Elite-SC-07-7-1-Channel-HT-Receiver-SC07-NEW_W0QQitemZ220352069516QQcmdZViewItemQQptZReceivers_Tuners?hash=item220352069516&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

I agree with most of what you are saying here but the 01 does not fit the bill for all speaker packages.
The 05/07 have Ice amps as the 01/03 do not. They sound better and have better dynamic range compared. Taking nothing away from the 01/03 I perfer the 07. If I was building a new system with lets say Def Tech Mythos ST's , I would use the Sc07 (Hmmm I may like this for myself....) but if I was building a Rtia system, I would consider the 01 if I only needed 3 HDMI inputs. Now my personal needs are different , I need 5 HDMI inputs so I might want to get the Sc09. I could make due with 4 and go Analog with SACD/DVD audio but everything over HDMi would be very nice and clean.

mantis

digitalvideo wrote: »

When it comes to which speakers to use, the best bang for the buck is the Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 system which gives you 7 big speakers and huge sound for around $280 dollars, people are raving about it on amazon.com and trading in their Boston Acoustics MCS100 and MCS130 systems for the Onkyo. The Onkyo is giving bigger sound than many systems costing over $1000.

For around $280 dollars look at what you get:
7.1 channel speaker package
130 watts total output on 2-way bass reflex front, center, and surround speakers
Bass reflex powered subwoofer with 230 watts output
Front and center 2-way speakers feature 5" diaphragm woofers and 1" balanced floating tweeter
Surround speakers feature a 3 1/8" cone woofer and a 3/4" balanced dome tweeter
Subwoofer construction includes a 10" cone driver.

Check the specs and reviews from people at amazon.com about the best bang for the buck for speakers -

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-SKS-HT540-Channel-Theater-Speaker/dp/B000GU78Z4/ref=pd_bbs_7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1234921827&sr=8-7

This is a Pioneer Elite thread, Onkyo's are not welcome here. Make a new Thread about this.

MikeC78

mantis wrote: »

The BDP-51fd is a nice player but the 05 is a bit nicer. We have both and the 05 sounds better running 2 channel . The Wolfson Dac's really make a difference. Big difference from the Burr Brown's of yesteryear.

Dan,

From what I read there is not that much difference between the two, besides cosmetics. Kinda strange the 05 sounds better than the 51 to you.

Internal differences:
-05FD has higher quality analog component video DAC.
-05FD can use HDMI for audio WITHOUT using HDMI for video. 51FD requires you use HDMI for video in order to support HDMI for audio.

Cosmetic differences:
-05FD has touch capacitance controls vs. buttons on the 51FD
-05FD has glossy black metal front plate (likely to enable touch cap.) vs. glossy black plastic front plate on the 51FD
-05FD has gold plated rear terminals vs. standard terminals on the 51FD
-05FD has primarily gold highlights vs. silver highlights on the 51FD
-05FD has amber LED display vs. white LED display on the 51FD
-05FD remote has metal buttons vs. plastic buttons on 51FD - enter button feels cheap on both, however.
-05FD has Elite badge, 51FD does not.

Other differences:
-05FD has a 2yr warranty, 51FD only has a 1yr warranty.

Non-differences:
-Both have the same analog audio DACs
-Both have identical output quality over HDMI (Audio & Video)
-Both have the Pioneer-specific PQLS jitter-elimination circuit
-Both have a general jitter-reduction circuit
-Both support the same sound formats, have the same outputs, and support the same features in software
-Both are of the same general build quality
-Both use the same firmware

Source: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1054927

digitalvideo

Pioneer has some new recievers coming out in April that are affordable and they filtered down many of the features from the '08 Elite models which most companies do and added in some new features for '09. The new Pioneer VSX-1019AH offers 4 HDMI ports.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5125654/pioneers-low+priced-av-receivers-have-full-digital-ipodiphone-connectivity

Falcon01

digitalvideo wrote: »

Pioneer has some new recievers coming out in April that are affordable and they filtered down many of the features from the '08 Elite models which most companies do and added in some new features for '09. The new Pioneer VSX-1019AH offers 4 HDMI ports.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5125654/pioneers-low+priced-av-receivers-have-full-digital-ipodiphone-connectivity

NICE. Thanks for that info. These will probably be available in Bestbuy so I'll be checking them out. Hopefully the 1019 will have good DACs in it.