New Receiver (1 Viewer)

[free02]

Hey im new here and have been trying to learn as fast as possible. Im looking to get you thoughts on the pioneer
VSX-520-K. Iv found it for 189 and am looking to buy it to power a 5.1 system.
Thoughts? or any other recommendations for a receiver under 250?

 

[gene c]

Take a look at the Onkyo-508. from Ac4l.com. It's a factory refurbished model but it comes with a one year warranty from Onkyo. It has Audyssey 2EQ room correction and Dynamic Volume and Dynamic EQ, on-screen display, Zone 2 and a stronger amp section than the 520 regardless of the specs. I like Pioneer receivers but the 508 factory refurb from ac4l.com is hard to beat for $179.


Others to look at are the Denon 391 and Yamaha 467 (the 367 doesn't decode TrueHD/Master Audio).


What speakers/sub woofer are you planning to get/use?

 

[Al.Anderson]

I don't think the 520 is as bad of a deal as the other guys. It has all the major features for a decent price. BTW, you can get it for $179 at Amazon.


Its biggest knock is it doesn't seem to have an auto-calibration feature. No doubt about it, this is a nice capability, but not a deal breaker to me - but I'm biased, as I have all older receivers that also don't have the feature and I get along just fine.


Yeah, the power specs are probably over-claimed, but everyone does that. If you assume it's closer to 80w you're probably in the right ballpark for comparison purposes.


I REALLY don't understand the objection to spring clips, I've been using them for 40 years without a problem. Bananna plugs are fine, but I wouldn't even consider basing a purchase on them, especially a price conscious purchase. You know what, I'll go further - I like them. I attached bananna plugs to me most recent receiver, and it was mostly a pin in the ass woth no obvious gain. If I were moving the the thing around a lot it would be a benefit, otherwise it was a wast of time. Screw-on is no advantage to clips, and less convenient.


In general, Onkyo has the best feature/price if you are just searching on price; but Pioneer makes a great product. So if the receiver has exactly the features you need and/or you like the aesthetics, I'd say go for it.

 

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[free02]

Wow thanks for the help. I was looking into the Onkyo as well but wasnt sure how much I trusted a factory refurb... I have a yamaha ns-sp1800 speaker bundle.. Its a 5.1 and I got it for an amazing price but I sot it without doing a huge amount of research and now i regret that. But until I can upgrade my speakers I want to get a solid receiver to build on.

Is the Onkyo worth it? I hear they have problems lasting for more than 2 years...


If i go with Onkyo is it worth it to get the 508 as opposed to the 308 for 30 bucks more?


Does the room EQ help a great deal? at least for the speakers I have now?


Or is it worth it to get a brand new pioneer for the same price?


Any help is greatly appreciated im trying to do as much research as possible but it helps to get advice from the people that have been doing this for a while now.

 

[CB750]

Welcome Ben


Your posts beg the question as to why you want to upgrade your current receiver. Has it died, or does it have connection or feature issues that you want to change.


I hope you realize that buying an new receiver is not going to improve the sound quality of your cheep Yamaha 5.1 speakers. For that you are going to need to upgrade your speakers.


What leads to to believe that Onkyo has had problems with their receivers for the past two years. I don't think they are any less reliable than other major brands in the same price point. However, if you have personal doubts about any product you should not buy it.


The room EQ and speaker set up that comes with toady's receivers do a great job of setting up any combination and quality of speakers. Not only does it take into account distances and room environment it will tell you if your speakers are correctly connected to the receiver.

 

[Al.Anderson]

It's definitely worth the $30 for the 508. (The 308 doesn't have the Audyssey; plus, the 508 has more connections and more power. The Onkyo site has a comparison page you should check out.)


To me, the best thing about the autocalibrate is that it adjusts for speaker placement. It also does crossover, but I'd rather set that myself based on my own preferences and some experimentation.


I have two Onkyos that I've had for many years with no problems. I don't have any experience buying refurbs, so no help there.

 

[free02]

I currently have a yamaha rx-v367 and I am beginning to realize its true short comings compared to other receivers. I feel that if I want a system that I can upgrade over the years I should probably start with getting a better receiver and work my ass off to save up for speakers because the yamaha that I have now is going to greatly limit my upgrades. Am i right?


I had heard about the Onkyo 2 year failures on this forum from a few members but I dont have any evidence to suggest that it is true. Any ideas on this? I know they run hot is this a problem over long term?


I see that you have to update your firmware by sending it in? Any other Onkyo customers have problems with this?


Does anyone have any experience with refurb Onkyos? Or am I better off buying new?

 

[gene c]

I've owned a couple of Onkyo factory refurbs from Ac4l but it's been a while. An Onkyo HT-500 and a 702. Both looked as good as new (but some cosmetic blemishes could be present) and performed as expected without issue. I've bought other stuff from them as well. If you feel better buying new then that's O.K. But I'd rather by a refurb from an authorized dealer with a factory warranty than a new one at a great price without a warranty (I've done that before too! ). And remember, new receivers can be DOA right out of the box too. It happens. Not much quality control at this price range.


I try to avoid recommending the bottom feeder of any receiver line. The 520, 308, Denon 391, Yamaha 367, etc. They really get out the ax to cut costs on those. If you really like Pioneer then look at the 820. Not that much more $$$. Marantz and H/K don't really have receivers in that category.


Nothing inherently wrong with spring clips per say. They might not offer the contact area of some other designs but they were used across the board for years. But it's one way of telling just how far they'll go to save a few pennys. Makes you wonder what else the cheaped out on.


As I mentioned before the 367's biggest issue is no TrueHD or Master Audio decoding. No YAPO room correction either. The 467 has both. If you really want better than what you have then look at the Pioneer 820, Onkyo 508, Denon 1611 and Yamaha 467. Otherwise, you're just changing the name on the front.

 

[free02]

Thanks very much for the help. Im looking into getting the 508.