Kenwwood 8070 or Pioneer 1014???? (1 Viewer)

[richard stuber]

Hi:

Turns out I now have both. Going from a ten year old prologic to two 7.1 systems, I had to economize and bought the 8070 first and a few months later the 1014. Yes there was no discernable difference in HT but music there is. I noticed it to the point where I zeroed the settings on the 1014 and listed to my favorite CDs. The Kenwood heated up big time at these listening levels, the Pioneer just coasted but the 8070 sounds more "musical" for lack of a better word to me. I had the 1014 as my primary, but it might take a back seat. I'm going to listen some more....

 

[Leigh_M]

I had a similar experience. I bought the 1014 based on features/$ and the great reviews here and other forums. The 1014 was going to replace my Yamaha RX-V630 in my primary system. I had the Pioneer in place for a week and spent a lot of time listening to movies and music. No matter what I did with set-up, I could never get the Pioneer to sound as "full" as the Yamaha. Even though my system is primarily used for movies, the pioneer fell short due to sound quality in the soundtracks. I could really tell a difference with movies like Harry Potter, Big Fish, and Star Wars. All of which have fantastic soundtracks.

I know there is a lot of love for the Pioneer, so, I'll probably get responses saying I'm crazy. Sound quality is very personal, and the pioneer just wasn't for me.

The pioneer will get one last test with Axiom speakers in another system. Hopefully it will sound better in that system.

 

[John S]

I love the Pre/Pro/Video switching sections. The Power Amps not so much.. Well, at that price point, I think the power amps are sort of thrown in for free.

I returned the one I bought, but when I hooked it up to the power amp in's on my Denon 4802 it sure seemed much better.

 

[Jerome Grate]

I thought I read here, that Kenwood was going out of business. If I'm correct, I would stay away from Kenwood as a close out.

 

[John S]

yeah, I guess unless it was some truly remarkable deal on one of Kenwoods really highest end products.

A deal could always sway me to a manufacturer that may be or is going under.

 

[richard stuber]

Alright...last post on this but I ran the 1014 against a Sherwood 7108 in a bright speaker setup. Hate to say it but that Pioneer is too neutral for my ears. I love its
size/wt and power but it will live in a secondary role. My speakers are not expensive and I would have never believed I could hear the difference.

rich