Upgrade Old 2002 Pioneer VSX

[DennisCaad9]

So it has finally come to the point where my old Pioneer without HDMI inputs etc.. is going to need to be replaced. I have a budget under $500. I have been looking at the Sony DN1050 and the Onkyo NR636. I'm also open to other suggestions

I was wondering if anyone can help with the following.

So I currently have a 7.1 surround setup (F,C,L ,SR,SL, SBR,SBL, SUB) I would like to maintain. Although the ZONE 2 option for both the Sony and Onkyo sound like they will both give me added functionality for my outdoor entertainment.

The first thing that has me on the fence between the two is the Onkyo's support of Dolby Atmos and the 4K future proofing. Albeit I do not have Atmos speakers yet or a 4K source.

The other hangup is that I have seen/read the Sony OSD menu and it just looks clean an intuitive. Yet the Onkyo's menu is lackluster. Also from my reading and research the Onkyo has a button directly on the remote to get to Streaming services and the Sony's equivalent streaming feature is buried in on screen menus.

After reading both the Onkyo and Sony manuals I fully understand that ZONE 2 out is limited to Analog sources and I'm fine with that. It's also very rare that I will be running the Main Zone and Zone 2 simultaneously. Onto the last snafu I can't 100% determine

If my understanding of the manual is correct I should be able to do the following.

I can setup the Sony DN1050 as a 7.1 system and also send ZONE2 OUT (pre-amp) to my second zone. By this setup I would like to be able to use the Main Zone in 7.1 while Zone 2 is off. So when we have family movie night we can enjoy the audio like we currently do. When I am entertaining guests in the summer I would like to have ZONE 2 (pre-out) to my second amp for the outdoor environment and if the Main Zone were to be used it would output in 5.1 while Zone 2 is on. Is this a correct interpretation of the user manuals documentation??

The Onkyo clearly states that it can be configured as stated above. I also noticed the Yamaha's line-up can do this as well with their intelligent amp design

Also worth to note the Sony from various sources is running about $599 right now but for some reason two days ago when I was on Sony's site it was only $474. The Onkyo is $100 less.



Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

I can setup the Sony DN1050 as a 7.1 system and also send ZONE2 OUT (pre-amp) to my second zone. By this setup I would like to be able to use the Main Zone in 7.1 while Zone 2 is off. So when we have family movie night we can enjoy the audio like we currently do. When I am entertaining guests in the summer I would like to have ZONE 2 (pre-out) to my second amp for the outdoor environment and if the Main Zone were to be used it would output in 5.1 while Zone 2 is on. Is this a correct interpretation of the user manuals documentation??

I think the 7.1 or 5.1 with second zone thing only applies when the second zone uses two of the amplifier channels to power the Zone 2 speakers directly, not when they are powered by an outboard amp. Check the manuals for clarification.

One thing you don’t seem to be considering: How old is the gear you are going to plug into the new receiver? HDMI has had “upgrades” over the years (version 1.2, 1.3 et. al.) and old and new gear often don’t play nice which each other. I avoid HDMI like the plague for this very reason.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[DennisCaad9]

I will connecting my PS4, Samsung BD-H6500 HDMI 1.4 and our cable providers HDTV converter, I presume HDMI1.3. The HDMI out from the receiver will be going to my Samsung PN50C550 Plasma which is also HDMI 1.3 and unfortunately does not support ARC. which will be fine as all of my sources will be going to the receiver and the TV will essentially be a monitor.