Pioneer Elite VSX-90TXV Receiver

[evident]

http://www.pioneerelectronics....iteReceivers/VSX-90TXV

I know it does not have hdmi audio features, but that doesn't concern me. Im more concerned with audio quality. is there anything that can come close to a pioneer elite at this price range?

 

[Chapbass]

i have the 91 model, i love it.

 

[Blurry]

IMO this is far better

Excellent sound quality, both DTS-MA and TrueHD Decoding - it'll last you much longer than the Pioneer Elite.

 

[evident]

Originally posted by: Blurry
IMO this is far better

Excellent sound quality, both DTS-MA and TrueHD Decoding - it'll last you much longer than the Pioneer Elite.

i was debating between, both and ended up getting the elite. i'll update on how it goes

 

[Snakexor]

Originally posted by: Blurry
IMO this is far better

Excellent sound quality, both DTS-MA and TrueHD Decoding - it'll last you much longer than the Pioneer Elite.

are you crazy? he said he didn't need hdmi audio features. for pure sound quality, that elite is much better than an onkyo.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: Snakexor

Originally posted by: Blurry
IMO this is far better

Excellent sound quality, both DTS-MA and TrueHD Decoding - it'll last you much longer than the Pioneer Elite.

are you crazy? he said he didn't need hdmi audio features. for pure sound quality, that elite is much better than an onkyo.

Well, look at it like this: with the Elite, he's limited to DD, DTS, and PCM-2.0. With the 606, he would have gotten access to DD-THD, DD+, and DTS-HD, not to mention PCM-7.1. The amp on the Elite might be a bit better, but he's missing out on a lot of the HBR audio codecs.

 

[evident]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: Snakexor

Originally posted by: Blurry
IMO this is far better

Excellent sound quality, both DTS-MA and TrueHD Decoding - it'll last you much longer than the Pioneer Elite.

are you crazy? he said he didn't need hdmi audio features. for pure sound quality, that elite is much better than an onkyo.

Well, look at it like this: with the Elite, he's limited to DD, DTS, and PCM-2.0. With the 606, he would have gotten access to DD-THD, DD+, and DTS-HD, not to mention PCM-7.1. The amp on the Elite might be a bit better, but he's missing out on a lot of the HBR audio codecs.

can someone explain to me why i will need those codecs? theoretically if i decided to get a blue ray player later on, couldn't i just hook the hdmi up to the tv for image, then another cable such as toslink or spdif coax to get my 5.1/7.1 playback?

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: evident
can someone explain to me why i will need those codecs? theoretically if i decided to get a blue ray player later on, couldn't i just hook the hdmi up to the tv for image, then another cable such as toslink or spdif coax to get my 5.1/7.1 playback?

Why do you want/need them? Higher bitrates = better sound (all other things being equal), and access to 7.1 audio. You can't do either of those with SPDIF (optical or coax). Depending on your BR-D player, you might be able to use the discrete analog outputs to plug straight into your receiver to bypass that limitation - but it won't work with the PS3, which doesn't have analog outputs. You also lose access to automatic lip sync, which can be _extremely_ handy in some setups.

 

[evident]

thanks for the reply. http://manuals.playstation.net...tings/audiooutput.html

looks like i can only get 5.1 through an optical connection. again, i don't know how much this i will really need this in the near future. my current BRD player is my acer laptop, which does not have HDMI output anyways, just a DVI output to the tv and i believe there is a SPDIF output as well for the audio. im going to be mainly using this as a 2.0/2.1 setup for the next year or so since my space is limited, and will be using my PC as source for audio, and movie playback.

 

[CubanlB]

I believe some of the DTS codecs (not limited to DTS Master Audio or the other HD audio codecs) support 6.1 and 7.1. What you get with the HD audio is a MUCH higher bit rate for the audio which for surround sound is going to be fairly evident. In terms of overall quality and audio clarity it is hard to beat pioneer elites (at least in av receivers, not separates) and for 300$ that receiver is a pretty great deal. PS3 will output DTS 6.1 discrete over toslink, I'm listening to it right now 🙂 For the PC side, just get a sound card that can output a decent 2.0 pcm signal. I think the HT Omega strike is a decent option that outputs 24 bit 96 khz pcm and it sounds great through my denon over digital coax but there should be a wealth of cards that are cheaper than the Omega that can give you decent sound off a pc because 48khz pcm is more that enough for most music.

 

[evident]

Originally posted by: CubanlB
I believe some of the DTS codecs (not limited to DTS Master Audio or the other HD audio codecs) support 6.1 and 7.1. What you get with the HD audio is a MUCH higher bit rate for the audio which for surround sound is going to be fairly evident. In terms of overall quality and audio clarity it is hard to beat pioneer elites (at least in av receivers, not separates) and for 300$ that receiver is a pretty great deal. PS3 will output DTS 6.1 discrete over toslink, I'm listening to it right now 🙂 For the PC side, just get a sound card that can output a decent 2.0 pcm signal. I think the HT Omega strike is a decent option that outputs 24 bit 96 khz pcm and it sounds great through my denon over digital coax but there should be a wealth of cards that are cheaper than the Omega that can give you decent sound off a pc because 48khz pcm is more that enough for most music.

Im pretty sure the my x-fi elite pro is capable of this... i'll start another thread once i get there 🙂

 

[Blurry]

Originally posted by: Snakexor

Originally posted by: Blurry
IMO this is far better

Excellent sound quality, both DTS-MA and TrueHD Decoding - it'll last you much longer than the Pioneer Elite.

are you crazy? he said he didn't need hdmi audio features. for pure sound quality, that elite is much better than an onkyo.

No I am not crazy because I was in the same situation as him - debating between a Pioneer receiver with an Onkyo receiver.

In the end, I felt that Pioneer's brand name and better looking bezel wasn't worth it for the extra $$ and lack of many features.

Sure, Pioneer may have better DACs, but to be honest, you'd prolly need really, really good speakers to hear it.

Anyways, to each his own I guess. Some people prefer the glossy piano finish on those Pioneers....

 

[Snakexor]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: evident
can someone explain to me why i will need those codecs? theoretically if i decided to get a blue ray player later on, couldn't i just hook the hdmi up to the tv for image, then another cable such as toslink or spdif coax to get my 5.1/7.1 playback?

Why do you want/need them? Higher bitrates = better sound (all other things being equal), and access to 7.1 audio. You can't do either of those with SPDIF (optical or coax). Depending on your BR-D player, you might be able to use the discrete analog outputs to plug straight into your receiver to bypass that limitation - but it won't work with the PS3, which doesn't have analog outputs. You also lose access to automatic lip sync, which can be _extremely_ handy in some setups.

He doesn't necessarily need those codecs. If the player can decode them and send them analog then he can play them no problem through the pioneer, best of both worlds.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: Snakexor

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: evident
can someone explain to me why i will need those codecs? theoretically if i decided to get a blue ray player later on, couldn't i just hook the hdmi up to the tv for image, then another cable such as toslink or spdif coax to get my 5.1/7.1 playback?

Why do you want/need them? Higher bitrates = better sound (all other things being equal), and access to 7.1 audio. You can't do either of those with SPDIF (optical or coax). Depending on your BR-D player, you might be able to use the discrete analog outputs to plug straight into your receiver to bypass that limitation - but it won't work with the PS3, which doesn't have analog outputs. You also lose access to automatic lip sync, which can be _extremely_ handy in some setups.

He doesn't necessarily need those codecs. If the player can decode them and send them analog then he can play them no problem through the pioneer, best of both worlds.

Congratulations, you just disagreed with me by repeating the caveat I put in the post _you quoted_. Remember, it seems like 90% of the BR-D players out there are of the PS3 variety, which doesn't have analog outputs.

 

[CubanlB]

Im pretty sure the my x-fi elite pro is capable of this... i'll start another thread once i get there

Yeah that card will handle whatever you are going to throw at it. You're just going to be limited by your rips and what your speakers can reproduce.

Sure, Pioneer may have better DACs, but to be honest, you'd prolly need really, really good speakers to hear it.

I've mostly found this to be not true. Once you get to the mid-range of speakers your amp starts to make more and more of a difference. Obviously really poor speakers wont be helped much by a better amp so its kind of a sliding scale.

And finally...

He doesn't necessarily need those codecs. If the player can decode them and send them analog then he can play them no problem through the pioneer, best of both worlds.

Very few players can decode all ,if any, of the hd audio codecs internally. I'm not up to speed on all the newer players but lossless over analog is always going to command a price premium in the stand alone player market.

 

[Snakexor]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: Snakexor

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: evident
can someone explain to me why i will need those codecs? theoretically if i decided to get a blue ray player later on, couldn't i just hook the hdmi up to the tv for image, then another cable such as toslink or spdif coax to get my 5.1/7.1 playback?

Why do you want/need them? Higher bitrates = better sound (all other things being equal), and access to 7.1 audio. You can't do either of those with SPDIF (optical or coax). Depending on your BR-D player, you might be able to use the discrete analog outputs to plug straight into your receiver to bypass that limitation - but it won't work with the PS3, which doesn't have analog outputs. You also lose access to automatic lip sync, which can be _extremely_ handy in some setups.

He doesn't necessarily need those codecs. If the player can decode them and send them analog then he can play them no problem through the pioneer, best of both worlds.

Congratulations, you just disagreed with me by repeating the caveat I put in the post _you quoted_. Remember, it seems like 90% of the BR-D players out there are of the PS3 variety, which doesn't have analog outputs.

I wasn't necessarily disagreeing with YOU, rather with I mistook evident (the op) for another poster asking why he would need th codecs..... slow your role...

 

[Snakexor]

Originally posted by: CubanlB

Im pretty sure the my x-fi elite pro is capable of this... i'll start another thread once i get there

Yeah that card will handle whatever you are going to throw at it. You're just going to be limited by your rips and what your speakers can reproduce.

Sure, Pioneer may have better DACs, but to be honest, you'd prolly need really, really good speakers to hear it.

I've mostly found this to be not true. Once you get to the mid-range of speakers your amp starts to make more and more of a difference. Obviously really poor speakers wont be helped much by a better amp so its kind of a sliding scale.

And finally...

He doesn't necessarily need those codecs. If the player can decode them and send them analog then he can play them no problem through the pioneer, best of both worlds.

Very few players can decode all ,if any, of the hd audio codecs internally. I'm not up to speed on all the newer players but lossless over analog is always going to command a price premium in the stand alone player market.

Is there any newer model blu-ray that doesn't decode the audio?

 

[CubanlB]

I may have been not quite up to speed with the latest generation of bluray players features but there are still a lot of limitations as to which hd audio individual players support and how they can output them.

Great chart of what bluray players do what Text

(I have to admit I recently found that thread, like after my previous post)

 

[Jinny]

i have a pioneer elite vsx-49txi

okay i guess not much help.
but it is an older model, no hdmi either .

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: Snakexor
Is there any newer model blu-ray that doesn't decode the audio?

The Sony BDP-S350 and the Funai player come to mind.

 

[evident]

well, this thing kicks ass, the sound quality is great! now i just wish it had HDMI audio support, LOL

 

[WraithETC]

I just watched the Transformers blu ray with my new 606 + PS3 and wow true hd was great. I think something was wrong with the sound track on the dvd version I rented since it lacked a huge amount of bass compared to the blu ray.

 

[SithSolo1]

Originally posted by: WraithETC
I just watched the Transformers blu ray with my new 606 + PS3 and wow true hd was great. I think something was wrong with the sound track on the dvd version I rented since it lacked a huge amount of bass compared to the blu ray.

There has got to be something wrong with the DVD and HD-DVD versions of that movie, its like they completely forgot to mix in the LFE channel and never told anyone.