Pioneer Elite 54TX or Yamaha 1500???

[Stereoguy]

Hello it is me again I've come down to these 2 units can get both for about 45% off. Which one is better for overall sound compared to my Marantz SR-7000 or should I bang my head againist the wall to get rid of upgrade fever LOL. Listened to the elite 54TX on Sunday and heard a good improvement over my Marantz in stereo but in home theater mode hardly any sound from rear's???> Otherwise right now thinking the elite 54tx overall would be a noticeable step-up from SR-7000.

P.S I can get the Elite for about $850.00 CDN thanks for your advice

 

[Thunder18]

Did you listen to the 54TX at home? I ask because unless you've run the MCACC at your home then the surround set-up is not going to sound very good.

 

[Xsound]

Actually I disagree slightly with thunder 18. I have the 54 and it sounded good without the MCACC. I definitely prefer the MCACC for the full surround. There are sometimes when I still prefer the direct mode sometimes for 2 channel listening.

The staff here love the Yammies, and they have the measurements to back it up. I was looking at the 2500 when I bought my 54. there were acoupole of things that pushed me to the Elite. The beefiness of the Mosfet amp, the larger capacitors, the ability to bi-amp, the simplicity of the remote. To me the Elite cast a deeper, wider soundstage than the Yammie -- I repeat, TO ME. I also like the Elite look better.

On the positive side for the Yamaha, I felt it was more neutral in sound, while the Pioneer was a little warmer. I like the concept of the YPAO using a parametric EQ instead of the fixed bands of the Pioneer. At the time of my purchase I felt strongly that I would be happy with either. I still feel that way.

 

[ericb]

Pioneer

I agree. I like the pioneer slightly better as well. And if you do the MCACC setup at home the surround is actually quite awesome on the pioneer. It exceeded my expectations. And for $850, your getting a lot of receiver for that price.

 

[Takeereasy]

That's a great price on that Pioneer up here North of the Border. The 1015 is $700 at BB, and the 54 is a couple of steps up from that unit. Is the price low because they are making way for the new Elite models or becuase of a dealer hookup? If you can get the 45% off of the new Elite models you may want to look into that as well. Both of the units you are deciding between are awesome, and I don't think you'll be let down with either. I am surprised that more Yammie advocates aren't posting though. One thing I will say is that the Yammie seems to have a fantastic pre-out section in the event that you decide to add outboard amps at a later date. I'm not knocking the Pioneer's section, it is just that the Yammie is very noted for the pre-out section and I've never read anything about the Pioneer's. Like I said though, I think both are excellent choices.

 

[Stereoguy]

That's a great price on that Pioneer up here North of the Border. The 1015 is $700 at BB, and the 54 is a couple of steps up from that unit. Is the price low because they are making way for the new Elite models or becuase of a dealer hookup? If you can get the 45% off of the new Elite models you may want to look into that as well. Both of the units you are deciding between are awesome, and I don't think you'll be let down with either. I am surprised that more Yammie advocates aren't posting though. One thing I will say is that the Yammie seems to have a fantastic pre-out section in the event that you decide to add outboard amps at a later date. I'm not knocking the Pioneer's section, it is just that the Yammie is very noted for the pre-out section and I've never read anything about the Pioneer's. Like I said though, I think both are excellent choices.

It is both they are clearing the older elite models and I know the owner of the store thought they would give it to me for free LOL oh well.

 

[Thunder18]

Jeez guys!

I'm not knocking the Pioneer. I thought I read something derogatory in his first posting, but I guess I was imagining things. Anyway, there are plenty of guys over at www.avsforum.com that are using Pioneer Elite receivers as Pre/Pro's which I don't think they would be doing if Pioneer's pre-amp output stage wasn't up to the task.

Now that that's been said, you should cajole him into letting you have the 56TXi