Pioneer VSX-819H-K

[denfred]

I am a newbie to this forum. I hope the gurus could offer me some advice.
I have recently bought a Sharp LCD TV (LC-42A77M Aquos Full HD) and using an old Sony STR-DE425 (Home theater in a box back in 1999) 5.1 AV receiver.
This set came with 4 satellite speakers, a front and a subwoffer. The speakers are 8 ohms (100W input max 120W). The subwoffer has a 160mm cone 50W power output.
I intend buying the Pioneer VSX-819H-K AV receiver. The receiver is also sold in a home theater package consisting of the Todoroki speaker system. The Todoroki speaker system uses two 3 way front tallboys, centre and two satellites and a 30cm active subwoffer. My Sony woffer has an on/off switch on it, is that an active woffer?
My question is can I just buy the receiver alone and use my old Sony speakers?
The satellites are very neat in the living room.
Thanks

 

[sholling]

I am really not fond of home theater in a box systems or the entry level Pioneers. The Pioneer Elite line is excellent but their entry level stuff is unimpressive. I think you'd be a lot happier with something like this Onkyo.

Give us a budget and room size and we'll try t come up with some speaker ideas.

 

[coverdrive]

I'm a newbie to performance audio as well. So maybe my view will not count much as the other folks. But while I'm sure that the Pioneer VSX 819 is great. But all the reviews I've read about the VSX 1019 and newcoming VSX 1020 have been awesome. A swith to a 1019 may be worth a couple extra dollars.

Sorry I can't comment about the speakers.

 

[Shock]

I'm a newbie to performance audio as well. So maybe my view will not count much as the other folks. But while I'm sure that the Pioneer VSX 819 is great. But all the reviews I've read about the VSX 1019 and newcoming VSX 1020 have been awesome. A swith to a 1019 may be worth a couple extra dollars.

Sorry I can't comment about the speakers.

I agree.

The x20 models are going to be widely available soon, and are priced very affordable for the average consumer. If you can wait until April I suggest waiting.

 

[denfred]

Thanks guys for your replies. Yes the reviews I have read about the 819 were all good ones. By the way the price of the 819 here in Malaysia is RM1999- whereas the 1019 is RM3599- see the difference, amp alone. So if I were to wait for the 1020 don't know what price. The price here are quite high for the top models and choices limited. I have surveyed the hi fi market here always looking at Onkyos and Yahamas but the models that I have come across were in the region of RM4000 to RM10000. The models that caught my eye, I was told are not brought in to the country. So I finally decided on the Pioneer 819 which was priced nicely and sounded good. If I had the cash to throw I will look for the more renowned models. Thanks guys once again, I'll have to decide according to my budget constraints. My Sony served me well for 11 years and now its outdated, so have to make the change. On this amp I'll mostly use AC Ryan media player to play movies in .mkv format which is Blueray quality as Blueray disc here are very expensive, RM130 for a normal movie and about RM200+ for really good movies.

 

[vxcalais01]

I know its a different Model, but i have the Todoroki Speaker set with the vsx519k and i am loving it ! At the moment i just got it at 2.1 channel. Will put in the other 2 surrounds soon. For entry level, its done everything that i need and want it to. I will learn on this one and in a couple years upgrade to something if need be. So far this is plenty for me. You will be happy with the 819. Yes they dont have the new high def codecs, but if you get a PS3 is does that all for you. And once PS3 release the 3D codecs, takes care of that side of things as well. Im just a newbie talking, and have nothing else to compare to though

 

[denfred]

I agree.

The x20 models are going to be widely available soon, and are priced very affordable for the average consumer. If you can wait until April I suggest waiting.

Thanks you all for your replies. Just call the shop and was advised to wait until April for the new line of Pioneer AV receivers. Yes Shock, I take your advice and wait till April for the new models. Shock, where can I read more about the new Pioneer lineup? Please give me the website. Just read a bit about it at Audioholics.

 

[denfred]

I agree.

The x20 models are going to be widely available soon, and are priced very affordable for the average consumer. If you can wait until April I suggest waiting.

Forgot. Just one more question. Noted that the 1020 uses HDMI 1.4, my TV uses 1.3. Can 1.4 be used with 1.3, are they interchangeable or are the plugs different? Don't know much about HDMI. Anywhere can I get more insight about this? Thanks Shock

 

[Shock]

Forgot. Just one more question. Noted that the 1020 uses HDMI 1.4, my TV uses 1.3. Can 1.4 be used with 1.3, are they interchangeable or are the plugs different? Don't know much about HDMI. Anywhere can I get more insight about this? Thanks Shock

There isn't a ton of new info about the X20 series at the moment. You'll most likely have to wait until they're released. As far as HDMI 1.4 and 1.3, you will have no problem. All HDMI specs are backwards compatible with all previous HDMI components.

There is a nice article on what are the new features of the 1.4 specification on audioholics.

http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/hdmi-1.4a-specification

It just adds new features to 1.4 series devices.