Opinions on the Pioneer Elite VSX-81TXV

[crashkelly]

Hi all,

I am hoping to gather a few people's opinions about the above AVR. Basically I bought it about 2 months ago based upon feature set, although at that time I really did not know much about anything audio but it has some (what I thought at the time) good key elements, and price, I paid $749CDN on sale from the regular $1243CDN.

I drove it home and stuffed it under my living room table as I had already started renos on my soon to be HT space. I have opened the box to read the manual and that is it, the actual receiver has never been out of the box or used.

I guess my conundrum (oh that hurt) now, after joining this forum and learning quite a bit (thanks much for that) is that I think I could have done a lot better for my money. I am thinking that I could sell off the AVR for at least what I paid, since it was on sale to begin with, for it and get something "better" (Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha, .....).

I am not in any way shape or form trying to say that this is a bad AVR as I honestly have no idea of its performance other than the spec sheet (I did "hear" it at the store before I bought it)

I don't have a lot of high end equipment, no hi-def DVD, no 1080p display, no projector (yet), but I do want to connect HDMI and the pioneer has it, but it is 1.2 and the spec is already up to 1.3a. I know you can't really future proof and I am not so intersted in trying to, I just want to ensure I am getting the best AVR for my money.

I do know of the LFE over HDMI issues and the firmware fix for it, but I yet have no idea if mine suffers from it. I found a post that discusses it and the firmware versions that have it as well as the fixed firmware versions and how to check it out. Link to 43 page post

Link for anyone who would like to look at the specs

Thanks for your time
Michael

 

[avaserfi]

In all honesty HDMI Spec 1.2 can do everything you will need as of now and there is no real reason to upgrade to 1.3a unless you can do it for free. The reason I say this is as follows:

1) HDMI 1.2 can handle Multichannel LPCM signals which are output by HD players meaning you can still get the full benifits of Full HD audio the difference is they don't allow for internal to the receiver decoding of the audio signal.
2) You get the full use of DVD-A/SACD so those are non-issues
3) Video wise you are missing out on Deep Color which has yet to be implemented.
4) It isn't worth it to upgrade with every version of HDMI we want them to stop updating it. These pointless updates should not be encouraged IMO.
5) Pioneer makes a good receiver and there are a few members who will back me up here.
6) This would likely be a horizontal upgrade where you lose money. Spend that extra money on a new projector or something that will give you real audible/visible results .

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I like the Pioneer Elite AVR and think you are just throwing away money if you replace it. Hook it up and have some fun!

 

[Seth=L]

A.) The Pioneer Elite is a good receiver, you didn't waste you money.

B.) Everything Avaserfi said, he puts things into perspective quite well.

C.) The VSX-81TXV has a suggested retail of $950 according to Pioneer's website, so reselling it may get you $400 max. It is not worth selling this unit to get a HDMI 1.3 unit when most all the features needed are right there in the Pioneer. I think your dealer gave you a decent deal, but nothing awe inspiring. If they where originally selling it for over $1200 they were ripping off their customers quite bad if you ask me.

 

[crashkelly]

Thanks all for the insight. When I am done my renos I will hook up the Pioneer AVR and be happy with it. As I said, I never thought it was a bad receiver, just maybe not the best I could have purchased for the money.

avaserfi,
Thanks for all your concise points. They all make sense and gave me a warm fuzzy feeling, well okay, maybe not, but they helped greatly with my choice to keep what I have

Greg Gable,
Thanks for your input

Seth=L,
Thanks for your input as well. Knew it was a good receiver, but I wasn't sure if it was good enough. Yeah, $1200 original price is pretty steep, but I am in Canada and regardless of the dollar, wasn't quite par when I bought, things are still more up here. I fell/felt good about the price I paid and still do, but you are probably right about what I would get for it if I sold it. Maybe I could ask $400 plus a nice cold case of Molson Canadian (beer)

Cheers and thanks again
Michael

 

[Seth=L]

Maybe I could ask $400 plus a nice cold case of Molson Canadian (beer)

Cheers and thanks again
Michael

Well you never mentioned beer.

We are glad to be of service.

 

[rnatalli]

I was never a fan of Pioneer in the past, but their Elite stuff is excellent so my opinion has changed. Do I get some beer now?

 

[crashkelly]

hmmmmmm.... guess I did forget to mention the beer part, sorry bout that but I guess I had to leave the best for last

We are glad to be of service.

The assistance, as always, is greatly appreciated. For this round of upgrades, I only bought the reciever before finding this forum. But I will be honest and say that I had my eyes on the Monster cables. Man that $300 THX Ultra certified directional subwoofer cable sure did look sweet .

Now, I am all better

Cheers and thanks again
Michael

 

[rnatalli]

Man that $300 THX Ultra certified directional subwoofer cable sure did look sweet .

You're learning

 

[bigbangtheory]

The Pioneer AVR you have is no slouch, but it sounds like you caught the audiophile bug - like others I know - and are looking for something...else. I can safely say that at that price point there are some very good competitors out there, but you need to make your own choice. My $.02 is that Pioneer does plasma best, and this is coming from a guy who owns pioneer speakers, oh...and a Denon receiver (*hint hint* )

 

[crashkelly]

rnatalli,

You're learning

Yes, yes I am. I am learning that this is going to be an expensive habit. I may not be prone to the Monsteresque purchases anymore, but I am still prone to buy. At least now I will be intelligently racking up my credit card when I get struck with upgraditis.

bigbangtheory,
Yeah, if I had it to do all over again, and I am sure I will very soon, I would go for a Denon or Onkyo or Yamaha or ..... soon my friend soon.

For the time being I think I will stick with my Pioneer. I definately have the bug but right now it is pulling me towards a 1080p projector and a 106" or 120" screen. No clue what to look for in that area but at least I will have something to keep the bug at bay for awhile (yeah right, who am I kidding )

Thanks again for all the input and opinions
Michael