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Glenflame
- Glen Mikensh
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- offline
- Joined: August 2009
- Post Count: 8
To day, I have gone through more than 8 Pioneer receivers and currently I still keep Pioneer Elite 29TX, VSX517 and VSX D458. From my point of view, most Pioneer receivers belong to low-end stuffs except for Elite. Normally, Pioneer receivers have too much noise so $100 does not make any difference. I am just being honest with you so sorry for my opinion (if you dislike it).
Receivers: now, Luxman R341, Pioneer Elite VSX 29TX, Kenwood VR 3090, Pioneer VSX 517, Pioneer VSX D458; before, ....
Amplifier: Luxman L525, Harman Kardon Citation 22
Speakers: Bose 601, Bose 501, Energy reference 22, Mission 701, 704, &732...
- Joined: August 2003
- Location: SF Bay Area
- Post Count: 2,349
The 819 has one more hdmi input, front av inputs, Sirius radio, ipod/iphone and an advanced MCACC auto setup vs. a "quickie" setup for the 519.
"Everyday room": Mitsubishi 52631 RPTV, H/K 520, H/K dvd-5, H/K 8380, H/K CDR 20, OPPO BDP-83 BluRay player, Dish-HD, Infinity Beta 20's-C250-OWS1's, Dayton HSU10.
"Movie/Music room": Toshiba 65HM167 RPTV, Pioneer Elite 59txi, Elite DV59avi, Elite CD-59, Pioneer PD-51FD BR, Dish-DVR, Swan Diva...
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Glenflame
- Glen Mikensh
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- offline
- Joined: August 2009
- Post Count: 8
With $300-$500 budget it is hard to buy a quality receiver. I am just wondering why you do not buy a used one.
For me, I grabbed a Luxman L525 for $40, which could beat the most recent receivers under $2000 Sunday night; I paid $50 for Pioneer Elite VSX 29TX last month; Luxman R341 was free from a guy; Kenwood VR3090 costed me $80...
Receivers: now, Luxman R341, Pioneer Elite VSX 29TX, Kenwood VR 3090, Pioneer VSX 517, Pioneer VSX D458; before, ....
Amplifier: Luxman L525, Harman Kardon Citation 22
Speakers: Bose 601, Bose 501, Energy reference 22, Mission 701, 704, &732...
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Dave Moritz
- Dave Moritz
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- Joined: July 2001
- Location: Whittier, California
- Post Count: 2,598
If you are set on Pioneer I would get the 819 as not only does it have the HDMI connections but it also decodes Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio, the 519 doesn't. The low end of Onkyo can be a good choice if you do not have alot of sources and do not need analog multi channel outputs or multi channel inputs. A few of the things that I am not crazy about is no Burr Brown DAC's and unless you are buying a Onkyo 876 or 906, the component video is only rated at 50MHz. How ever I find the amplifier sections on the lower end Onkyo to be better than the Sony's, Pioneer, Sherwood and JVC. How ever another thing IMHO to watch out for is that some of the Sony's, Pioneers and Onkyo's rate there lower end recievers amplifier sections at 1KHz only and not from 20Hz to 20KHz. In that price point it is not that you can't find a good receiver, but be willing to accept that there will be limitations and that corners have been cut here and there.
Depending on what your needs are and if you run a very simple system a $500 reciever could work very well for you. But if you want alot of flexability, power & performance and a number of sources, then you might want to seriously look at a higher end receiver.
Plan it out:
*How many sources will you be using?
*How many component video inputs will you need?
*How many HD sources do you currently have & how many might you add in the future?
How big is your room and how loud do you listen to your music and or movies?
*Are you a casual listener or a critical listener?
*Do I want or need lossless audio decoding? If you have Blu-ray I would make sure you have lossless decoding!
Make sure your current speakers can handle the power of the reciever you are buying. Think about future purchases and ask yourself will this receiver do everthing I need it to do today and at least 4-5 years down the road?
1080p High Definition SupporterLossless Audio Supporter Current Library: 221 DVD's / 70 HD-DVD's / 181 Blu-ray's (251 HD Titles)
