Maybe Out of Line But. . .

[Fife]

I'm certainly not a knowledgable poster on this website. However, I am in the market for a receiver. I continue to believe that it may be better to wait a year until firewire is incorporated into receivers. Am I wrong in thinking this? I find this digital connection to higher resolution audio thing to be a real thorn in the side with regard to purchasing. I would love feedback on how others feel on this subject.
Thanks.

 

[vermintrex]

I just bought a Pioneer VSX-56TXi which comes with 2 iLINK (firewire) inputs. I haven't got a DVD universal player with iLINK for it yet cause I think they'll come down in price soon, but when they do I'll be ready. It's got a robust amp/cap/power supply section and after haggling plus a 20% off Boxing Day discount it was only ~ $100 more than a Yamaha RXV-2500. Sooo happy I didn't cave to upgrade-itis and buy the Yammy a month ago. Go give it a try-out, preferably with your speakers, this thing's a beast.

Good luck,

vermin

 

[JJNab]

Hey Vermin,

Congrats on your purchase. I've been thinking about that unit for a while too, and it seems like the only complaint I've heard relates to speaker connections, like that you must use banana plugs, or that space was tight for 12-gauge cables or something. Maybe you can tell us the real scoop? I'd also be very interested to hear how the unit's performing overall, whether you had an easy/hard setup, whether it seems like it has lots of power, how you like the features, whether it has a good/bad remote, etc.

Thanks,

JJ

 

[ericb]

go pioneer

I have the pioneer vsx 55tx which is pretty much the same. Setup was the easiest Ive seen in a long time. I brought the denon 3805 home at the same time and the pioneer was much easier to work with. especially the remote. I thought it sounded much warmer as well. Guess that depends on the speakers you match em up with. As for the speaker wiring, I have banana plugs and it was a breaze so I cant comment other than the fact that banana plugs are relatively cheap. Never thought I would become a pioneer fan, however this unit has blown me away for 6 months now and still dont have the upgrade bug. This is rare for me. definitely give it a try.

 

[vermintrex]

Hey Vermin,

Congrats on your purchase. I've been thinking about that unit for a while too, and it seems like the only complaint I've heard relates to speaker connections, like that you must use banana plugs, or that space was tight for 12-gauge cables or something. Maybe you can tell us the real scoop? I'd also be very interested to hear how the unit's performing overall, whether you had an easy/hard setup, whether it seems like it has lots of power, how you like the features, whether it has a good/bad remote, etc.

Thanks,

JJ

JJNab,

The speakers terminals are high quality, but yeah you can only connect via bare wire, pin terminations or banana plugs. I'd like to have been able to use spades as I find those the most secure but really this is a minor quibble IMO.

The set up was too easy, so easy in fact that I want to buy a laptop (the pc is too far away) so I can download the calibration software from Pioneers' website and muck around with the MCACC data.

The biggest bonus so far over my old Yammy (RXV-595a) is the power. Granted the old Yamaha isn't in the same class as the 56TXi, but wow, I had no idea how much more my speakers could do if driven properly. I know I clipped my speakers once with the Yamaha (when I was a noob, showing off the system to friends ) and I easily ran the volume past that with the Pioneer and got to a ridiculously loud level where turning it up anymore would not be enjoyable, even if the neighbours loved Tool, and not a shred of audible distortion.

I ran the MCACC setup and it really balanced the system. My surrounds (I'm 5.1 at the moment) have come to life, I was having more trouble with them than a Radio Shack SPL meter could fix. Overall music is warmer and less "peaky" than my Yamaha, if that makes sense. The most noticable improvement with movies is dialogue which is more intelligable. I don't think the Yamaha was the best match for my 6ohm PSB's which is fine with me since it looks like a speaker upgrade can be put on the back burner, at least until I need a change just for the sake of change

Feature wise it has all the usual suspects DPL IIx, THX Select etc. nothing ground breaking here. The iLINK is a big thing for me as a universal (dvd-a, sacd, dvd-video) dvd player is next. In fact I don't think I would have upgraded yet if this hadn't been available. The ability to re-assign and re-label inputs is a feature I never had before and I love it, now I can switch to the X-Box and not have it read CD.

The remote is nice and can control all my equipment. I may even use it over my Harmony 688, which is what I like to call a "wife remote".

The overall build quality is top-notch, all the terminals are gold plated and it has a dual-layer copper sheilded chassis. All the external screws are copper which just looks cool from an asthetic point of view. If looks factor at all, then this is by far the best looking reciever out there. The "piano" black faceplate just looks classy and gave it a nice WAF.

Hope this helps,

vermin