Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH with Monitor 60 & 50

m28matrix

Hi all,
I am a noobie with home theater systems. I have an Onkyo HTIB system for the family room, but now I am trying for the first time to piece together my own home theater speakers for my recently finished man cave (open basement room about 450+ sq ft. /carpeted/ drywall) I will be using the speakers for watching TV/ Movies 95% of the time.

I had been doing some home work and checked out the recommendations and reviews on this and other forums. I finally decided to go with the well rounded and budget friendly Polk Monitors series.

So far I have ordered the following:
Front - Pair of Monitor 60 (Newegg $120 each)
Rear - Pair of Monitor 50 (Newegg $89 each)
Center - CS2 (eBay Polk Direct $86)
Subwoofer - PSW505 (Newegg $249)

I know the recommended configurations for the Monitor 60 setup is to utilize the Monitor 40 for rear, but by the time I get the speaker stands it will cost roughly the same as the Monitor 50. I got the cherry color speakers because there are better deals for them and I can always paint them black if that color really bugs me. I am not sure why, but some people bid up the price for the refurb Monitor 50 and 60 on eBay to the point where they would pay more than the new ones sold through Newegg.

Anyway, I am shopping around for a receiver and I am leaning towards getting the Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH. (Specs: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/HomeEntertainment/AV-Receivers/EliteReceivers/ci.VSX-21TXH.Kuro?tab=B)

I was wondering if:
1. the VSX-21TXH receiver will sufficiently power the speakers?
2. should I get another pair of Monitor 50 to make it a 7.1 system since they are so inexpensive? Will that overload the receiver?

Thanks in advance.

Matt

cnh

WELCOME TO CLUB POLK!!


That Pioneer will do a fine job and it has Pre-outs for more amplification. SO you are GOOD to go...I wouldn't use another set of towers as back surrrounds since you want to get those up a bit higher and off the ground and they don't carry much info. The easiest mountable would be a pair of M30s..but if you can find brackets you could al so go M40s.

Ms are efficient, the Pioneer will not have any problems with them.

cnh

mantis

Let me tell you about the work horse of the Industry.

The Pioneer Elite VSX21TXH is exactly that. For the money there is no receiver made that is better. I have used it in so many different size rooms with so many different brands of speakers and never once felt I needed more power. This is my personal favorite budget receiver made.
The features and quality of sound is top notch. When you look over the features , you will see a unique connection not found on any other receiver line , the Ipod connection which also supports Iphone. You can record your music in Apple Lossless and have a audiophile calibre music server. you use the Internal DAC's in the receiver which are top notch compared to anything on the market anywhere near it's price class. Pioneer Elite receivers up and down the line I say are the best sounding receivers for the money. Nothing has that warm punchy powerful yet soft light and delicate transition of a nice separates system in a receiver. Nothing does. Compare any Pioneer ELite receiver to any in any of there price class and sound quality here wins every single time. Yes there are receivers with more features but not better sound quality.

This is a easy choice for your speaker package and one day you wanna step up to the RTia line , you can reuse the VSX21TXH as it has plenty of power to power the entire RTia line.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Is there any difference between this model and my 9040txh?

m28matrix

Thank you all for the warm welcomes and feedback. I will go with the Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH. Now I just need to shop around and get a good price from an authorized dealer. In addition, I will just stick with a 5.1 setup.

I am not sure if I will be able to stop shipment for the rear Monitor 50s in time to get the Monitor 30s instead. If I do keep the Monitor 50, do you think it is a good idea to custom build a 2ft tall table/shelf platform to get the rear speakers higher? I will build the table/shelf platform to be slightly wider than the M50s and the speakers will be secured to it with L brackets. Has it been done before? What do you think?

cnh

As far as I know there is 'almost' no difference between the Elite 21 and the Pioneer 9040...and if there are any...they are minimal and fairly insignificant.

The situation is very much like that between the entry level Elite and the 1018 in that year model....those AVRs were almost clones. Yeah the Elite has the amber display and a better face-plate...gold terminals, etc.

cnh

m28matrix

Just an update.

I went with the Pioneer Elite VSX-23TXH instead of the VSX-21TXH. I got a really good price from Valueelectronics. The speakers sounds great. It's like night and day compared to my old HTIB system. As far as I can tell the Monitor 50 works well as rear speakers. I did not build a base for it yet to raise it above ear level. That's on my to do list for the summer.

Matt : )

cnh

I'm not surprised because I own M70s and have also heard those Pioneer AVRs. Sounds like you're set for now.

Enjoy some tunes/blu-rays!

cnh

C_o_l_e

Hey man, congrats on getting everything setup. I'm in the process of setting things up with almost identical components so I'm glad things are working well for you.