Help me choose a new HT Reciever!

[Regk]

Hi All,

I currently am using a 13-14 year old Pioneer Elite Reciever, the model Supports Dolby Pro Logic and Dolby Digital, and is thx certified, but that is about it. I believe rated output is around 100x5. Now the sound quality is great, But I would like to fast forward to 2011 and get something that would support HDMI Switching, as well as the plethora of decoding options available, (DTS, TrueHD, etc)

Any suggestions on a modern day equivalent to what I have ? I am Somewhat Biased towards pioneer due to the great experience that I have had with my curent model, but am open to suggestions. I would be driving a 5 speaker set of Energy Connaseur series speakers, Minus a sub.

Thanks!

 

[A5]

What's your budget? Even the most basic receivers will be able to replace the one you have (and add the HDMI features you want), but higher end receivers have new features that just didn't exist back then like network playback and automatic room correction.

 

[corwin]

A couple months back I picked up a Denon AVR-891 (~$400) and aside from a bit of a learning curve (came from a very old receiver myself) it's an amazing piece of equipment and should cover most peoples needs.

Looks like it's slightly under $400 now...http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-891-.../dp/B003H04QAA

 

[Howard]

What's your budget?

This.

If you can afford it, I would recommend a receiver that has automatic mic calibration with channel delay, parametric EQ and level matching. For example, the YPAO on my Yamaha RX-V867 happened to get me +/-2 dB (smoothed) from 35 Hz to 15 kHz or so, with only one null at ~60 Hz that I can take out with one (manually-added) parametric EQ setting. It helps if you have something that can measure frequency response though.

Also, Onkyo receivers seem to die the fastest.

 

[mshan]

I don't know buyer at all (so do your own due diligence and USPS money order for extra level of safety), but there is a Pioneer 1018 on AVS Forums for $200 + ship: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/vbclassified.php?do=ad&id=16623

It is supposed to be equivalent to Elite series that year (VSX 01 / 03), but doesn't have official THX certification and some other minor differences.

Don't know if it has all of the latest codecs, though since it is a few years old model.

Newer models may not have same beefy power supply unless you go up into official Elite level models (current release, I don't know if it is 1021, 1022, other) I think was $300 at Newegg with promo code recently.

 

[Reliant]

I just got a Pioneer VSX-1021-K on sale. I was looking at both and Was leaning to the Denon 1912 but a deal popped up on the Pioneer. It had a similar feature set and a Pioneer version of multieq that I hope measures up. I've had good luck with Pioneer so I'm sure I'll be happy when it comes. Excited about AirPlay !

 

[Howard]

I just got a Pioneer VSX-1021-K on sale. I was looking at both and Was leaning to the Denon 1912 but a deal popped up on the Pioneer. It had a similar feature set and a Pioneer version of multieq that I hope measures up. I've had good luck with Pioneer so I'm sure I'll be happy when it comes. Excited about AirPlay !

I played with that exact model and didn't have very good luck with AirPlay for extended playtimes. Though I was using the wireless adapter...

 

[Reliant]

I played with that exact model and didn't have very good luck with AirPlay for extended playtimes. Though I was using the wireless adapter...

Yeah, I will ne hard wired so I'm hoping it's pretty good. Also, I'm assuming there might have been an OS update or two (hoping) to iron out any Airplay issues. AirPlay and AirPlay mirroring seem to work pretty well at work, so I'm optimistic.

What were your impressions otherwise? I am not expecting the world, it is a midrange receiver. I'm just hoping it'll be a good upgrade over my 8 year old receiver and drive a 2.1 setup well once I get speakers delivered.

 

[Howard]

I am sorry I cannot say. It's my friend's unit and I was only helping him set it up. He's got no complaints so far, though, aside from the wireless AirPlay thing.

 

[Regk]

Probably looking to spend between 5-800 CAD

 

[CrimsonWolf]

Pioneer has a pretty wide price range in their Elite series. You could just stick to that. Even the less expensive ones would probably be a nice upgrade. I bought a VSX-21TXH a couple years ago that I've been very happy with.