Someone better jump...

[Buckeyefan 1]

on these. These are the equivalent of the Pioneer Elite receivers and were sold for a short time at Best Buy.

http://www.ubid.com/Pioneer_VSX-9100TX_100-Watt_7.1_Channel_Audio_Video_Receiver/a800714817.html

This is the one to jump on...

http://www.ubid.com/Pioneer_VSX-9300TX_100-Watt_7.1_Channel_Audio_Video_Receiver/a800718974.html

Here's some info on the 9300 (the specs are off at Ubid site)
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-12054.html

 

[Tomorrow]

on these. These are the equivalent of the Pioneer Elite receivers and were sold for a short time at Best Buy.

http://www.ubid.com/Pioneer_VSX-9100TX_100-Watt_7.1_Channel_Audio_Video_Receiver/a800714817.html

This is the one to jump on...

http://www.ubid.com/Pioneer_VSX-9300TX_100-Watt_7.1_Channel_Audio_Video_Receiver/a800718974.html

Here's some info on the 9300 (the specs are off at Ubid site)
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-12054.html

Ubid says the shipping weight is 21 lbs!??

 

[tomd51]

on these. These are the equivalent of the Pioneer Elite receivers and were sold for a short time at Best Buy.

http://www.ubid.com/Pioneer_VSX-9100TX_100-Watt_7.1_Channel_Audio_Video_Receiver/a800714817.html

This is the one to jump on...

http://www.ubid.com/Pioneer_VSX-9300TX_100-Watt_7.1_Channel_Audio_Video_Receiver/a800718974.html

Here's some info on the 9300 (the specs are off at Ubid site)
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-12054.html

Thought about posting these here, but I wasn't terribly familiar w/them, though they look pretty solid and spec out nicely.

Rrjbudz,
as far as their weight is concerned, I'm sure the uBid listing is a bit off from this aspect, the 9300 weighs approximately 44 lbs... -TD

 

[Craig234]

vs Denon 4306

Silly question probably, but what would you miss by getting this, instead of the 2.5x-the-price, excellent review Denon 4306?

Sometimes, it's hard to know the difference between improvements you can use and ones which you don't.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Silly question probably, but what would you miss by getting this, instead of the 2.5x-the-price, excellent review Denon 4306?

Sometimes, it's hard to know the difference between improvements you can use and ones which you don't.

That's the point - you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference in a blind test. That 9300 has an excellent amp section - almost impossible to beat at the price. There's not many AVR's that even weigh 44lbs, let alone one for around $500.

 

[Craig234]

Ok...

So the 'jaw dropping', to quote the review, Denon 4306 wouldn't offer anything worth mentioning over the Pioneer -

The other side of the question is probably even sillier, what the Pioneer would offer over the ancient Sony STR-AV1070 I have now.

I'm sure there have been some technology improvements, but I'm not sure what they are and how much improvement they would have.

I guess this is leading to - this is a great deal, but is it a 'so great, buy before you might have, no need to do a lot of comparing, get it now it's such a good deal' deal.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

So the 'jaw dropping', to quote the review, Denon 4306 wouldn't offer anything worth mentioning over the Pioneer -

The other side of the question is probably even sillier, what the Pioneer would offer over the ancient Sony STR-AV1070 I have now.

I'm sure there have been some technology improvements, but I'm not sure what they are and how much improvement they would have.

I guess this is leading to - this is a great deal, but is it a 'so great, buy before you might have, no need to do a lot of comparing, get it now it's such a good deal' deal.

Your old Sony had some impressive specs for two channel audio, but didn't offer much in the surround mode. I had a high end Sony from the mid 90's - the STR DE925, and it couldn't hold a candle to my Denon 3805. It was 120x5 compared to my Denon, which is 120x7. My Sony would play loud, but would overhead and shut down quite often. It didn't have the large heat sinks or power supply the 3805 offers.

Sony STRAV1070 Receiver (Pro Lgc) 1991 Power: apx. 133 watts per channel (15 surround, 15 pro logic); Dolby 3 Stereo; dual-source mode; front panel A/V input; numeric keypad; alphanumeric display; CD-mode disables tone settings; variable delay; graphic EQ, simulated surround modes

Let's just say if you could have this receiver (listed below) for $500, would you jump on it? It's the 9300 in disguise.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/product/details/0,,2076_310069789_123728213,00.html

 

[Thunder18]

Your old Sony had some impressive specs for two channel audio, but didn't offer much in the surround mode. I had a high end Sony from the mid 90's - the STR DE925, and it couldn't hold a candle to my Denon 3805. It was 120x5 compared to my Denon, which is 120x7. My Sony would play loud, but would overhead and shut down quite often. It didn't have the large heat sinks or power supply the 3805 offers.

Sony STRAV1070 Receiver (Pro Lgc) 1991 Power: apx. 133 watts per channel (15 surround, 15 pro logic); Dolby 3 Stereo; dual-source mode; front panel A/V input; numeric keypad; alphanumeric display; CD-mode disables tone settings; variable delay; graphic EQ, simulated surround modes

Let's just say if you could have this receiver (listed below) for $500, would you jump on it? It's the 9300 in disguise.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/product/details/0,,2076_310069789_123728213,00.html

Good call. I had the 9300TX before it got hit by lightning. It is the Elite 56TXi with 2 exceptions: The display is blue and it doesn't have I.link. That's it. It weighs 44.8 lbs out of the box. For $500 new in box there is nothing that can touch it. If you need a new receiver and it's in your price range, buy it now!!!! Don't wait till they're gone. If you want to know more about it you can check out a review I did here:
http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/47077/147132.html
Ignore the pictures on UBID, it looks nothing like those pictures. It sold for $1300 at bestbuy.com at one time. Definately worth $500 now! The 9100TX is the Elite 52TXi. Not a shabby piece of work, but not worth $400 if they're selling the 9300TX for $500.

 

[Craig234]

Thanks. That's the thing, I don't really have a 'price range', I'd need to determine one based on the things I need, which I haven't done yet.

I'm sort of poking along towards a home theatre/audio system, so far I got the Panasonic ae900u because it seemed 'about right' for features/price.

So the main thing is, I'd hate to get this and then find 'oh, but it doesn't do x', which I didn't realize I need; often I do the painstaking research.

The next best web price I see is $715; the $215 savings is a great deal if this is the 'right' receiver, and it's a bad deal if it isn't despite being a great price, if you know what I mean.

For comparison, I'm all over the map on speakers - 'those $13800 Milleniums got a great review' - 'but that new $10K Klipsch THX 2 set seems like *it*'.

I understand the sad (it was a gift) situation that the otherwise fine old Sony receiver needs an upgrade if it doesn't have surround sound.

Other than that, when I see the Denon 4306 review praise it so highly as an amazing value for the $1400 street price, I try to check before spending $500.

Thanks for the tips. The Pioneer is sounding pretty attractive with this feedback, if there are no surprises waiting in terms of better choices.

One other note, I saw the web site notes they are not an authorized reseller, so there is no manufacturer warranty - issue?

 

[Thunder18]

I've never had a receiver fail of it's own volition. I had a 9300TX and it got struck by lightning. I've purchased lots of items from Ubid...i'd see if it says on their site that they're offering an extended warranty. The warranties I bought along with a couple of Samsung HD-841 dvd players were dirt cheap and cover my equipment for 4 years.

Oh, the 9300 TX does not have HDMI if that's a hot button for you. Although I have to say, I helped a friend put together his home theater a couple weeks ago. He bought an HTR-5990 Yamaha and a set of Klipsch speakers. Anyway, the Motorola HD cable box won't send the video signal through both the receiver and the TV so he still has to connect the HDMI from the cable box directly to the TV. However, he is able to connect both his xbox360 and ps2 to the Yamaha and output those from the receiver via HDMI. My cable box is dvi anyway so i'd still have to send digital audio to my receiver somehow so I just use digital coax and connect the dvi to my tv via a dvi-hdmi adaptor.

Just keep telling yourself it's the Pioneer Elite 56TX(see how I left off the 'i') with now i.link. Truly a bargain.

 

[Craig234]

Hdmi

Thanks again. It's still sounding great, but you pointed out the lack of HDMI.

So I did a little browsing on the importance of HDMI, and the most relevant comment came from a CNET editor:

"High-def video coming from HD-DVD, Blu-ray, and in all likelihood, other future high-def video sources will be available only via HDMI outputs (which are copy-protected by a standard known as HDCP). The same video from those sources will be "down-rezzed" to sub-HD resolutions when output via the component-video ports. As such, you'll want products--video players, A/V receivers, and TVs--that can pass the full-resolution HDMI signals throughout your entire home-theater system."

With my panasonic that can do 720p, I'm thinking upconverted DVD's might be handy; the new Toshiba HD-DVD seems to get nice comments.

This has me wondering if the lack of HDMI might be an issue...

 

[Audioholics]

So the 'jaw dropping', to quote the review, Denon 4306 wouldn't offer anything worth mentioning over the Pioneer

Well, to start with, how about a terribly more robust amplifier section and a slew of features like Internet radio, USB and networking support... and I could not function with only 2 component video inputs and one out - but that's me.

The two receivers are in a different class altogether if you ask me, but if you want a deal, don't care about features and you don't need the power (i.e. you have very efficient or smaller speakers) than I'd certainly consider it. If you want the industry leader (bang for buck), you go with the Denon AVR-4306 or the Yamaha RX-V2600 (this week, haha).

 

[tomd51]

I wouldn't say the "4306 wouldn't offer anything worth mentioning over the Pioneer ", these two receivers are most definitely are in separate classes. The 4306 is at the top of the mid-level receivers and the Pioneer is right about in the middle. The $1,500 price difference between a new 4306 and the refurbished 9300 is a sizable number, however a refurbished/B-stock 4306 can be had for just about $1,500, bringing the difference closer to $1,000, which is still a fairly sizable amount.

Other than the stronger amp section, which is all relative to what listening environment your using it in and lack of another set of component inputs, the other features Clint noted are rarely used by most folks and are typically chalked up to "nice to have" features. Even with only two component input features, what devices are commonly used for the third set? The first two are often used for a DVD player and STB (e.g., cable, satellite, etc.) usage, so the lack of a third set hardly makes it obsolete from this standpoint. There are additional features that weren't noted, but only you can decide whether these features warrant the difference in cost.

I think it'll boil down to what kind of budget you've allocated for this. Even if you went w/the Pioneer at $500, you could still buy a 125-150 watt multichannel external amp, use the 9300 as a pre/pro and this would still keep you well below the price of a new 4306 unit and almost assuredly provide you with better amplification.

I don't think you'd be disappointed with either unit, but fortunately you've got quite a few options, which isn't necessarily a bad thing... -TD

 

[Craig234]

Those details are helpful. Thank you.

I'd like to figure out if the 4306 is 'better and the differences are useful tome' or 'better and things I don't need'.

The HDMI jumps out at me most based on the post above. Other features -

Internet radio - 'nice to have' currently'. I'm not quite sure of the feature - is it for any stream from the web, the way many radio stations over through a browser? Or certain special stations that are set up (I'mnot familiar with the selection in that case)? Or subscription services, XM/Sirius?

USB - not sure how I'd use this. While I'm planning to hook up a gamng PC to the system, I don't know what to send the receiver over a USB connection.

Networking - don't think I'd need this, for a projector/PC/DVD/(cable or satellite) type environment.

More than 2 component video inputs and one out - similar to above, I am not sure if I need more, but don't think I'm planning anything too fancy.

I guess one possibility is if I determine that the projector is not optimal as the only way to watch video signals and get a regular tv, too.

"The two receivers are in a different class altogether if you ask me, but if you want a deal" - I'd like a deal on the right receiver, not the wrong one.

"don't care about features" - depends which features, as noted

"and you don't need the power (i.e. you have very efficient or smaller speakers)" - the highest end I'm considering are the Klipsch THX 2.

Could go with something well below them, which I'm sure the Pioneer can handle. For a small house in a <300 sq. ft. room...

 

[tomd51]

Craig;
Check out this link for more information on the Denon AVR-4306's features and functionality... -TD

 

[brian32672]

I think it'll boil down to what kind of budget you've allocated for this. Even if you went w/the Pioneer at $500, you could still buy a 125-150 watt multichannel external amp, use the 9300 as a pre/pro and this would still keep you well below the price of a new 4306 unit and almost assuredly provide you with better amplification.

Great points...
Honestly, if you are thinking of getting a $1,500.00 or more receiver - I would look much harder at seperates.

Anyhow - need not worry, as one of the 9300's are sold about 2 minutes ago.

Also, someone said that this is a refurb.-UBid has it listed as

Standard Notice
This item is Brand New and Factory Sealed

 

[tomd51]

My bad, thanks for the correction, Brian. I just assumed (yeah, yeah, I know... ) that it was a refurb, as most of their receivers are.

Thanks again... -TD

 

[tomd51]

Just an additional note, there are two more of the VSX-9300TX units available back on uBid, see here... -TD

 

[brian32672]

Just an additional note, there are two more of the VSX-9300TX units available back on uBid, see here... -TD

Nope:: Click on the quantity. Only 1 is available...
I talked my mother into getting the other one - As soon as my finances are a little better, I will buy it off her.

 

[tomd51]

Nice grab! Didn't notice one was gone already.

I'd agree w/Buck that this is a great deal at that price, I'm sure you'll enjoy... -TD