Pioneer or yamaha?

 

I'm looking at upgrading my current receiver, which was an entry level pro logic receiver quite a few years ago. My question is whether to get the Pioneer elite vsx-45tx or a yamaha, which could be the rx v1300, or the rx v2300. any comments or suggestions? thanks in adavance.
 

Craig McKerlie
I actually lean towards the Yamaha RX-V1300 because of price in the Yamahas. But look at the Denon AVR-1803. I think you will be more than pleased. Cost is around $330 from hometheaterphiles.com.

I am not a fan of Panasonic. Never have been, never will.
 

Hawk
James:

Again, I think I see someone trying to decide on two very different receivers based upon their features, yet over time it is the sound that will determine how much you enjoy your system. The two receivers you suggest, Pioneer Elite and Yamaha have very different sonic signatures to me, so I need more info. What speakers do you have? And what type of sound do you like? This will largely dictate what you should choose.

The Pioneer Elites are very warm and kind of fuzzy sounding, which is a very good sound if you have bright speakers (i.e., Klipsch, etc.). The Yamahas have a rather bright sound compared to most Japanese made receivers, which are a horrible combination with a bright speaker, but a good choice if you have some laid back speakers (like B + Ws).

Craig's suggestion of the Denon 1803 is a good one, but has a bit of emphasis in the mid-bass, which may put you off (or not!).

Not knowing what you have for speakers, I would also suggest you check out the harman/kardon AVR 125, which you can get at onecall.com for $325. I think it has a better quality sound than the Japanese audio companies offering in this price range, but that is a personal preference. You may also want to look at an Onkyo 600, which is being closed out right now in favor of the 601. MSRP is $499, but you should be able to get it about for about $350.

Good hunting!
 

Dane
There is only one way for you, James, to find out whether pick to choose Pioneer or Yamaha. Regardless what people in hear tells you to pick, it´s what sounds best in you ears. Everyone has their own favorite brand. Don´t let that influence your descision.

The best way is to bring home both receivers and test them against each other in your home enviroment - not in the listening room at the dealer. You need to test the receivers where you´re going to use it. That´s what I did, and I´m glad that I did it. Troublesome, yes, but well worth it.
 

mike
James,

Hawks point that the Denon 1803 emphasises mid-bass is absolutely correct. However, that was one of the reasons I bought it. If you have full range speakers than its not an issue but if you are using bookshelf speakers like me (Energy Take 5.2's), you'll notice that they dont handle much below 90hz. This is where I found the Denon to be a real help. The mid-range sound seems fuller, wheras with my older Yamaha receiver it sounded nice and clear, but very thin.

I really think though that you can do a lot better with your money than to go with Pioneer, Elite or not. I have personally found their quality lacking in recent years, both physically and sonically.

Either way, your ears and your wallet have the final say....

good luck!

-mike
 

Thank you everyone for your input. To answer hawk's question, I have jbl studio series II speakers: S312II, S-center II, and S 26II for the rears. But I have another question. What would you consider as bright sounding receivers? I currently have an Optimus stav-3690, which if I'm not mistaken is a pioneer knockoff. I tried a sony receiver some time ago, and it seemed brighter than the optimus, which I didn't particularly care for. So, basically what I'm saying is that I'd like to stay away from bright sounding receivers, but still get something with clarity. Thanks guys.
 

John K.
James, the receivers you're considering and the others mentioned will be audibly identical with your speakers; the receivers have no "sound" of their own. Get the features you want at the best price you can find. Of the ones you named, the Pioneer 45TX has the MCACC system to automatically calibrate your speakers to fit your room's acoustics and deserves strong consideration.
 

Anonymous
what are the main differences between the 43tx and the 45tx is there any besides the remote??
 

John K.
Anon, the 45TX has more power and automatic MCACC speaker calibration, while the 43TX has manual calibration.
 

Hawk
James:

I could not disagree more with John K.'s comment that the receivers are identical sounding. Absolutely wrong. Every company building receivers makes many choices about what kind of parts (such as DACs, DSPs, output transistors, etc.) it uses to build the receiver. Each of these have an impact on the final sound. As I do not own a receiver (I have separates), I am not flogging any particular brand. A number of years ago, I bought a receiver that had great features, but over time I didn't enjoy listening to it (it was bright sounding) and gradually, I just stopped listening to it. When I replaced it, it was like discovering all of my music all over again.

I have been very fortunate to have a dealer near me who is not embarassed to demo different receivers against one another, using the same speakers and the same source material. His attitude is that no receiver is particularly better than another; it is all in personal preference of the listener. Attending one of his demos, I learned that you can hear very different differences in sound between different companies receivers. They are not "audibly identical" particularly if you have already noticed that the Sony was brighter than the Optimus.

Your JBLs are very efficient and have what I would consider forward sounding and already have a bit of bass emphasis. I don't think either the Yamaha or the Pioneer would be a good choice IMHO. Yamaha is too bright and I think the Pioneer is a bit too muddy (Pioneer is trying to make their transistor receivers sound like tubes, but unless you go to their top of the line 49tx, they fail). I assume you like the sound of the JBLs, so I would then recommend the following receivers in the same price range as the Pioneer or Yamaha receivers but which mate better with the JBLs in order of my personal preference:

1. NAD 752 (MSRP $899 - Street $ 725): Best, most detailed sound. You will hear more of the program material, more clearly, than with any other receiver in this price range. Superb amp with more power than you will ever need. If this is too much, check out the NAD 742, which has the same sound as the 752, just fewer features and less power, but same quality sound.

2. Harman/kardon 325 (MSRP $799 - Street $550): Great power supply and amp. Warmer sounding than the NAD, but not as detailed. Excellent amplifier stage with gobs of power.

3. Marantz 6300 (MSRP $799 - Refurb $ 530): Warm sound, but without the fuzzies. Better power section than the comparable Denon 2803, with which is is otherwise comparable.

Good luck James
 

James Bigham~

My name is Bob I own the Yamaha RX-V1300 and its a beast for the money, Pioneer is nice too but when a company like Yamaha has its roots in making music instruments what more do you need to know?

~Bob
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