Hello everybody,

My first post but have I been an Axiom owner/forum reader for a couple of years now. I have finally got a 5.1 Axiom system (Minus the SVS sub) and I love it. I am now looking to upgrade the receiver as it was the first item I bought and I was a full time student at the time so it was on a small budget. I have been looking at the Pioneer Elite VSX-33 as I can get it for $550 after taxes/shipping and is listed as $1599 MSRP on the Canadian Pioneer website. Should I jump on it or look for something else? My current AVR is a Yamaha HTR-6140. Oh and I do plan to upgrade to M80's eventually... Any opinions or thoughts are appreciated!

I have the smallest Pioneer Elite they made in 2009, the VSX-21TXH, and I love it. If it were me, I'd buy it. Mine was MSRP $699 that I got for $630 in 2009. Then they upped the MSRP to $799 about a month later. Used, it's only $289 now.

So far, no one has complained by driving M80's on an Elite model. I'm driving 2 sets of M22's on the Left and Right channel, and a VP150 and a M2 on the center channel, all wired in parallel, so I'm sure the OHM usage is much, much lower than one set of speakers per channel.

That is good news! Pioneer Elites don't seem to be that prominent around this forum and I couldn't find any real reviews on the unit so I wasn't sure. Thanks for the quick reply.

Yeah, this forum is full of Denon snobs, but there are a couple of us with Pioneer Elites.

I had a Pioneer Elite 54 until it was negotiated in to the sale of our house a couple of months ago. I have had great success with Pioneer receivers. As long as the unit isn't defective, it sounds like a good buy.

Oh, and welcome to the forums!

Welcome Bentley,
I too am a Pio Elite owner - I have the SC-05 circa 2009 I think. I do like my receiver very much, but always point out to people that there is only one universal crossover setting (e.g. can't do separate crossover for fronts vs. surrounds)and there's no OSD. Neither of those matter to me, but could be important to someone else. Other than those items I think they are fantastic and provide excellent wattage for the dollar. In fact when I was purchasing my system I bought the Pio because I could get more watts per dollar than the equivalent Denon which was my other main option. And they actually measure very well under load so the specs are not bloated at all.

For the record, count me out of your declaration. I enjoy my Denon. There are many fine reciever brands to choose from. Pio Elites would certainly be a contender if I were considering a reciever with features that would upgrade the 3805 I have (I may be in the market soon). There are plenty of regulars here who happen to own Denons, and to pin a moniker of "snobs" to all who own Denons on this forum is a bit much in my opinion.

Bentley, the Pio you're considering seems like a good deal and I would certainly keep it on my short list!

I'm on the Onkyo bandwagon these days with their current and upcoming models but Denon's are still great receivers.

I have two Denons, so that makes me a double snob!

I think everyone here is just after good audio, no matter what brand it is! I was considering all brands, the Pio just happens to be the best deal for me at the moment. Oh and to nickbuoi, it is a brand new receiver It has all the features I need and then some.