Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Pioneer ELITE Receivers

I am looking for opinions on the Pioneer Elite series of receivers. I am curious how they stack up against Denon/HK/Yamaha. I am thinking specifically about the VSX-80.

Any comments would be appreciated.

You saw the sale too, eh ?

Exactly......any thoughts?

I don't know about the 80 but I really like my 84. Excellent receiver.

You really can't go wrong with this receiver for $Can600. Just remember that the HDMI is not upscaling...just pass-through. This shouldn't be an issue if your DVD player or monitor already upscale.

This receiver also has a built-in equalizer (which may or may not be that great but it's certainly better than no equalizer in my opinion), THX modes and a midnight mode. I posted earlier to find out if anyone can tell me anything about how these two modes sound. It also has "phase control technology". I don't understand how this works but if it does, it should really improve imaging. You also get a headphone surround mode, XM satellite readiness and optional iPod dock. The remote looks pretty good too.

I would have no concern about driving 4 & 6 Ohm loads with this receiver (like the M80s and VP150).

I would buy one myself but I just don't have enough reasons right now to upgrade from my el cheapo, 90W Denon.

If you do end up buying it, let us know what you think.

Are you driving M80s with it?

The 84 has 30W more, video upscaling/processing and advanced speaker calibration with standing wave control. Does this advanced calibration really work?

Also, can you tell us how well dialogue enhancement, THX modes and midnight mode work?

I do have M80s and I used to drive them with just the 84 and it worked just fine. At the moment I am using a couple of ATI 1502s in bridged mode for my 80s as I really like the extra power but the Elite drove them just fine.

The 84 has 30W more, video upscaling/processing and advanced speaker calibration with standing wave control. Does this advanced calibration really work?

I haven't really investigated the advanced calibration other than basic calibration with the included mic as I didn't really like the mcacc effects so just turned off the equalization. The video upscaling seems to work quite well though.

Also, can you tell us how well dialogue enhancement, THX modes and midnight mode work?

I haven't really used the dialog enhancement or the midnight mode at all but did try the THX settings and they work well I still prefer DTS with PLIIX layered over top as I have a 7.1 system.

The main reason I bought this receiver was because it had 4 HDMI inputs and it would upscale everything through HDMI, in that matter it did not disappoint.

Thats a good price for an Elete reciever .. I paid $500 for my vsx 1016.. Which from what I have read,mine has a lot of the same guts that go into a Elete.. Mine has the phase control, equilizer, midnight modes etc.. I'll dig the maual out tomorrow and try to give you some of the book specs .. I don't have a meter so I can't give you readings.. The equalizer does work, I belive it lets you have 3 progameable setting for different modes.. I have to check the rest to make sure I'm leading down the proper path..

Avdude..

I really like my Pioneer VSX-54TX. I've had it for about 2 years and it works awesomely well for me. Plenty of power, great sound quality, configuration is easy, yet can be very detailed to accomodate room accoustics, and it is built like a rock.... a very heavy rock.... Most of my receivers in the past were pretty light weight (in price, function, and literally in weight). This one has a lot of features and functions, is built well, and the price was pretty good for me.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Pioneer Elite product again if I was forced to do it, and when I end up upgrading (shhh, don't tell my wife that I even SAID that), Pioneer will be on my list to look at again.

I don't use midnight mode with the new theater, although I did use it a few times years and years ago when I had a cheaper Pioneer product. I don't recall if I liked it or not though...

As for dialog enhancer, I use it for all movies. My wife had some slight hearing loss do to a really bad ear infection a few years back, and it is right in the frequency range of dialog, so I can't just turn everything up louder as she hears everything else just fine. So dialog enhancement is great and works well. I don't know exactly HOW it does it, but it does increase the vocals in the center channel without making other center channel noises louder. Must be an increase in a frequency range or something..

Nick,

Thanks. How's the midnight mode and the standing wave compensation?