Pioneer 914 or the HK AVR230 (1 Viewer)

[john seitz]

VSXD914 or AVR230

I think its time to replace my old aging Yamaha 5250 and I am looking at two models:

Pioneer 914 or the HK AVR230


My setup:


Room - Medium/small bedroom converted to HT room

Speakers:
Fronts - AS-F2
Center AS-C1
Rears - AVS-100 (Mirage cubes)
Sub - Mirage FRXs-8 (would like to have no sub and use those F2's)


Used mostly for DVD and TV watching


what do you think? Does the Pioneer have a good power system (or is its 110wats x 5 -- the same as my old Yamaha 100*5 which seems poor IMHO?)



Also looking at the HK 1001 -- and I'm open to what you folks think in the $400ish range?

thanks for your help


John

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

For under $400 I would go with a refurbished Kenwood 6070 from www.ecost.com for $200 w/ free ground shipping. It's last year's model and has all the processing you'll need (including THX cert which isn't super important, but the logo looks nice). It was also tested to put out a TRUE 92 watts per channel with all 6 channels driven full range which is extremely impressive in this price range. It has DD EX, DTS ES, THX, PLII, and Circle Surround 2 processing, full pre-outs for all channels, and a great RF and IR remote (can control the receiver from different rooms). It retailed for $600 when it was a current model.

Either the HK or Pioneer would make very good receivers as well, but neither will probably offer the true power that the 6070 has. The HK will have a warmer sound which many prefer for music. The HK will probably also have the best build quality. The Pioneer is also a solid receiver and is very user friendly and the automatic calibration is a nice feature.

Hope this helps

 

[john seitz]

SH thanks for the insight on that kenwood. will it be able to "power" those F2's for HT use better then my Yamaha?

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

I would say much better. Yamaha has been known in the past for vastly over raiting their amps, especially on the lower end.

Hope this helps

 

[ChadLB]

John,
If you are still considering the Pioneer/HK I will note some differences of each:


HK: Power ratings listed are true , Triple Crossover - can set crossover for fronts, center, rears. It does have EZ setup but I think Avia and a SPL meter will do a better job. It has Logic 7(I don't think it is Logic 7 like on the Lexicon's but I think it is more like PLIIx)

Pioneer: Power ratings are usually not a true 100*6 channels. Lowest crossover is 100Hz for all speakers which I don't like. I have a Pioneer 811 and will sell it soon due to this. The Pioneer has MCACC which is a nice feature.

Either will get the job done. You just have to know what features you want.....