If I were doing this comparison, I think I would set all the channels using an spl meter and leave the MCACC out of the equation since it changes the signal to the speakers. That way the speakers would be judged on their own merit at the same volume in the same room. Then I would probably send the Aperions back
. Just my 2 cents.
You wouldn't need to spend money on a SPL meter to do this. All you would need to do is spend a few minutes reading the manual to make an adjustment in the receiver settings to disable any of the MCACC equalization (the calibration/level matching would be still present).
I'm just not familiar with Pioneer. I'm a Denon and Onkyo guy.
