Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Pioneer Elite VSX-33 any good?

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.

Gordon, welcome. In its basic function as an amplifier the VSX-33 is certainly one of the modern receivers which has reached a high level of excellence. Silly comments aside, however, valid reasons exist for choosing other units. Examine the features that you want at the best price you can get. My own suggestions have usually been Denon or Onkyo models, since in my view Audyssey MultEQ setup and room equalization is a must-have for better overall sound.

I agree that there are few Pioneer owners out there, Denon and Onkyo are nice too. Nothing wrong with them. El Gato just likes to call names. Now those M80 owners, they may be snobs...

The main reason for getting the VSX-33 is the pre-outs, though I don't think I will need an external amp right now, I want to have the option to add it in the future and to get pre-outs on a comparable Onkyo or Denon I would have to pay around $300 more from what I have seen. Pioneer has MCACC which might not be quite as good as Audyssey MultEQ but is good enough for my setup I think. I like Onkyo and actually set my parents up with an Onkyo receiver which has worked great, but with the features I am looking for the Onkyo and Denon are more expensive than the Pio. I am definitely looking around and this forum has helped a lot! Thanks for your suggestions JohnK.

Nickboi...our resident Gangsta Rapper....

Oh my bad, Nickbuol haha I think I like Nickbuoi better though

Whatz up home skilletz?

Don't forget the harmon/kardon line.

Bentley, does the VSX-33 your looking at now have OSD and multi point X overs? Curious if Pioneer has added these features since I purchased a few years ago.

Cheers,

It has the OSD, I don't think it has multi point crossovers though.. Milford I haven't looked at the harmon kardon line as much as others, mainly because in the past when I looked at them they seemed to be pricier than the other brands. I could be wrong though, I'll take a look at them tonight.

HK are good if not better in regards to its power specifications but they have a history of being more expensive and most importantly don't offer IMO the bang for buck in overall features compared to Denon and Onkyo across the product line.

I was just reading an article on some of the entry level 2011 units on a bunch of different manufacturers and the Denon and Onkyo blow the HK out of the water and also in turn being $150-$200 less.

Yes I have found the same thing BlueJays. I looked at the HK units last night but they are just more expensive when looking at the same features on different brands. I pulled the trigger on the Pio Elite VSX-33 this morning, I think it should be a good step up from my entry level 2008 Yamaha Can't wait to get it set up and play with it!

Funny, back when I bought my H/K, it was definitely more bang for the buck than other brands. Especially Denon.

Make sure you run MCACC after you get it. I put the mic in the center of the room at seated ear level using a tripod.

Oh I will, my Yamaha has YPAO so I'm used to using auto calibration. I find it works wonders.

I found the standing wave correction from MCACC to make the most positive difference in my room. Used the 3 measurement point method across my 3 seater couch. The person sitting in the 4th single seater near the wall loses out! (I never sit there)

I have both VSX32 and VSX33, the VSX-33 is great because of the dual HDMI output. I also have the bluetooth adapter, so you can use the receiver as a sound card on the computer.

I also use both to stream internet radio. Pioneer also provide an iphone app to control the receivers.

The sound is great but I don't use the internal amps in the VSX-33, I have two emotiva power amps connected to it.

Yeah the connectivity on the VSX-33 seems very good. I want to hook up an Emotiva amp some time down the road, have you used it with the internal amp at all? Mine will be here tomorrow so I'll get to hear it then, just excited for the upgrade over this old budget Yamaha I've got