Pioneer elite 49tx / Parasound 2205 combo review (1 Viewer)

[BobRoulier]

First I want to say thank you to all on this forum for directly or indirectly helping me choose my dream system. and secondly I am not trying to continue any debates or push anything on anyone I just want to share my expirence
First off I am pretty picky and whenever I purchace something I always think "maybe if I spent a couple hundred more I could have got the latest and greatest" (sound familar?) anyways with that said about 4 months ago I bought my first reciever a Pioneer elite 36tx great reciever but i wanted more power, more processing, more everything! I had heard about the 49tx but wanted to look other places first. So I home demoed a rotel 1095 amp and 965 processor then the 1066 as well great for ht but it seriously lacked in music, I thought the 36tx sounded better in music the 1066 had a slight improvement but not much. So I decided to give the anthem avm20 a try a big difference in music compared to the rotel 1066 very close in ht giving the anthem a slight edge. Although a great processor it lacked some of the current bells and whistles that I had heard so much about.
After reading so many great reviews on the 49tx I decided to give it a try Scott at soundpros.com was awsome $2550 shipped great price anyways I recieved the reciever double boxed in perfect shape my expectations were quite high so I was pretty critical when I unpacked this beast it was quite heavy thats a good thing though first thing I noticed was on the bottom of the unit it was solid copper the finish is very nice anyways I coulndt wait to set this thing hooked up to my new Paradigm studio 100s and cc along with the rest of the family of speakers and svs 20-39 plus the sound was very impressive for a reciever. the auto calibration was next, I placed the microphone supplied with the unit at my listening area and the reciever did the rest WOW! for like ten minutes the speakers were talking to the reciever and visversa it was like all of avias test tones on the disc plus more all done for you in like 10 min. it was impressive and the best thing is you can fine tune afterwords. In moveis and music its stunning of course there is a lot of modes that are useless but I really enjoy ultra 2 for movies, 5 or 7 channel stereo and direct stereo for two channel music with the eq on or off. The internal amps are good but when I hooked up my new parasound 2205 (220x5) amp the base really intensified and the sound stage opened up the parasound is a fantastic amp. I feel the studio 100s need at least 200watts to bring them to their full potential. Im no expert but I dont think there is much on the market at this time that can touch the Pioneer 49tx as far as processing and features and by the way I got sick of waiting for the outlaw. I am very happy with my choice maybe next year something better will come along but for now I am very happy hey its just one mans opinion and this man couldnt be happier
see ya Bob

 

[RajeeK]

Excellent. I really love the 49TX also. For the price, I think it is a absoutely wonderful unit, with or without additional amplifiers. Pioneer Elite have recieved somewhat so so recommendations in the past, but the 47TX and the 49TX are IMO absolutely the recievers to beat in it's price class w/o a doubt. Glad to hear you have joined the happy family. And yes, the unit is one damn heavy mofo.

Oh, and about your Outlaw comment, I agree with you 110%.

 

[John Tompkins]

Congrats Bob !!

How does the 49tx mated with the 2205 used as a pre-pro stack up to the anthem/rotel pre-pros in music and movies ? I would love to hear your comparisions as you have had all three..thanks a bunch

 

[John Morris]

Wow! I think Bob said that he preferred the 49tx to either the Rotel 1066 or even the Anthem AVM-20 for music. That is one heck of an endorsement.

 

[Richard Burzynski]

Another receiver as a prepro convert. Welcome aboard and enjoy the ride!

Rich B.

 

[BobRoulier]

Thanks guys!
the anthem and the rotel are very nice units, especially the anthem but with the upgrades for the anthem to give it current status push far beyond the pioneer and I do not think it is a superior unit particularly the MCACC calibration its an awsome tool that is hard to beat!
my thoughts
rotel 1066 movies A
music B-
Anthem movies A+
music A
49tx movies A+
music A
MCACC A+
If you guys get a chance to check out the 49tx be careful you might get sucked in too!

 

[John Morris]

Rotel 1066 - Music B-

Ouch!

Bob: Was your 1066 one of the original production run units, or one of the second run units? Did it have the DD-EX logo on the front panel, or not?

Thanks!

 

[John Tompkins]

Bob, Does the 49 tx have analog bypass ? also what would you charecterize the pioneers sound as, warm, neutral, bright etc..versues the others? also compared to your old pioneer is it the same charecteristics?

 

[Ricky T]

Bob,
You said the Elite sounds better than two current prepros? How can this be? Aren't the Elite's internal amps degrading the sound quality and noise floors?

 

[John Morris]

You said the Elite sounds better than two current prepros? How can this be? Aren't the Elite's internal amps degrading the sound quality and noise floors?

RickyT: Apparently not. Maybe that's because of all that copper shielding. Maybe it is just because of the circuit design. Whatever the reason, the 49tx sounds like a very nice piece!

 

[Evelio Figueroa]

I really like how the 49TX performs. It has more than enough power for my speakers. I'm using small Klipsch SB-3 speakers all the way around except for the front center.

 

[BobRoulier]

Damn guys questions! to bad you guys are so far away otherwise you could stop by with a 12 pack of sam adams and you could take this puppy for test drive
Sorry I havent figured out the quote thing yet so be patient
John Tompkins, analog passthrough I think but im not sure I havent ventured into those waters yet but I can check the manuel, the sound does compare to the 36tx very warm,but detailed too when I hooked up the parasound wow the base intensified on the those studio 100s and the soundstage opened up huge almost like you could see it sounds funny but thats how can describe it.
John Morris, I think it may have been one of the first units so I guess its not completely fair to rule it out but It was my first impression! and not sure about the logo?
Ricky, John Morris pretty much summed your ? up Pioneer spared no expense in building this unit and it shows
The other weighing factor for me was the additional channels at my disposel with the 5 channel parasound Iwould have had to purchace another amp for the rear and the sub this way I get high quality amps in reserve.
The only problem now is the movies and music sound so good my wife keeps asking me when Im coming to bed?
Thanks a lot guys see what youve turned me into
thanks Bob
ps now I just need to figure out how to mount this stuff to my jet ski and ill be good then

 

[RajeeK]

WOW. I'm really glad to hear such a positive review on the 49TX. I have been ecstatic with mine, but I didn't do any comparisons against the other big boy pre/pro's out there, so this is a very refreshing and infomative review. Good job and thanks for the info.

 

[PaulKH]

Another 49TX fan... way to go. I LOVE mine. It get a bit to get used to sound after MCACC calibrated things (some say it sounds bright), but I now leave it on all the time on all sources because it's SO GOOD.

This receiver rules. I'd given up listening to regular CDs on my home theater, but with this receiver and DPLII they sound excellent.

I never thought my speakers could sound this good but it's clear that MCACC evens them out to make them give their best.

 

[John H]

Interesting review. I have been thinking about testing a 49TX as a prepro. I have been using a Parasound AVC-2500 pre/pro HCA-2205A/HCA-1500 combination for a couple of years now.

The AVC-2500 is a little sound format outdated but still a very nice pre/pro. I am still going to wait to demo Parasounds very soon to be released "Halo" line controllers before I make a decision.

Aren't the Elite's internal amps degrading the sound quality and noise floors?

Some receivers disable the internal amp channel once a plug is inserted into that channels preout making it impossible to use that channels preout and internal amps binding posts outputs simultaneously.

Does the 49TX operate this way?

Also when a receiver operates this way is it shuting down that channels internal amp or is it just making that channels binding posts inoperative with the amp still idling?

John

 

[BobRoulier]

Thanks guys! some tough questions for me ill refer you guys to the 49tx forum were all your awnsers should be and you can download the manual if you like
good luck Bob
Link Removed

 

[Juan_R]

I am glad to hear positive reviews on this receiver since I just ordered the 47TX with out even hearing its sound. I will be adding a 3 channel amp in the future as well for the front stage. I would have gone for the 49TX but the wife would not have agreed spending the extra $500.00 for it.

BobRoulier,

I was a JetJam a few years ago and saw a 96 SeaDoo XP with a good sound system on it, it even had a subwoofer in it. They put the speakers where the mirrors go, it sounded really nice for a jetski. I almost tried to do something like that but I did not want the extra weight on my ski.

 

[BobRoulier]

Jaun, I think I saw something like that in one of the mags on the ski with tunes, thats a little much for me I go to fast to enjoy music! hope you know I was kiddin
By the way the 47tx is no slouch it seems to be right up there with the 49tx less a few goodies I think you will be supprised at how good it is. make sure and post your review after you spend some time with it
one more note when you do the auto calibration you wont be able to get the grin off your face your first time seeing it operate good luck Bob..........surfs up!

 

[Juan_R]

BobRoulier,

I know you were kidding about the jetski thing, I just wanted to let you know that somebody did it. I know what you mean about going to fast to hear anything.

The reason I ordered the 47TX is because I did not need some of the features on the 49 and the wife thing. I will give a review when I get the 47TX but the only thing I have to compare it to is a Sony STR-DE 845, I know not much of a receiver but that is one reason I am upgrading. That and the fact that the Sony is not doing justice to my Divas. I can't wait to get it.