Marantz 1504 vs Pioneer VSX 523 vs Yamaha YHT 299 vs Denon X500

great_guns

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Hi friends,

I'm going to ask something similar to what a million people here have asked already yet I haven't found the answer that satisfies my precise query.

I am looking to upgrade my current home theatre setup from the current Panasonic PT75 basic setup that I have. My budget is around 50K-60K overall for the entire setup. I have done the hard work of going through the threads and listing out the top recommendations and getting quotes for them.

May I request all you kind folks to please go through the list I made and offer your recommendations. It would be splendid if you could rate the models that I listed on 4 criteria (Features, Connectivity options, Sound Quality, Loudness). A score out of 10 for each of these 4 criteria would be splendid.

If you think that's too much work, even a simple recommendation would help. You may also suggest speaker setups other than the ones I've mentioned provided they fit in or are close to my overall budget.

You can find a PDF file with a better presentation of these options attached with my post.

Pioneer HTP 523 MK II HTIB Speakers 50,500
Pioneer VSX 523 MK II JBL Cinema 610 66,000
Pioneer VSX 523 MK II Harman K HKTS-5 56,000
Pioneer HTP 523 K HTIB Speakers 47,500
Pioneer VSX 823 K 40,990*
Denon X 500 HTIB Speakers 37,500
Denon AVR X510BT 37,000*
Yamaha YHT 196 HTIB Speakers 25,000
Yamaha YHT 299 HTIB Speakers 37,000
Yamaha YHT 2910 HTIB Speakers 40,000
Marantz 1504 36,000*

My current setup: Room diagram attached with this post. My living room is 10' x 17' with the viewing distance around 9'. I have the front speakers placed on the two far ends of the black wall on either side of the TV. The rear surround speakers are on the back wall right above the two edges of the couch, about 1' above ear height. Distance of ears from the back wall is about 1'. The center speaker is right under the TV and the subwoofer is below the center on the floor.
 

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Any help here would be really appreciated. I've tried to provide as much detail as possible to enable other users to make their recommendations easily.
 
Appreciate the efforts that you have taken to read thru the various threads...

So your room is 17 feet wide x 10 feet depth ?
 
My room is 17 feet wide, 10 feet long (this is the viewing distance) and 10 feet in height.

The HTIB speakers mentioned are the same brand speakers that come bundled along with the HTIB setup like Yamaha YHT299 etc.
 
Great.. Consider Pioneer VSX 823 and BA 2310 HT package if you can afford 10% more than your mentioned budget, would be much better than all the HTIB systems...

If you keen on building a good HT, then add components as and when your budget allows...
 
+1 to elangoas . I have auditioned this one and would say that its very good considering the Price point. Also I feel that you could get a denon or even a marantz for better movie and music experience. However your budget will shoot. But the final product will be much much better. Also don't forget that audition is the key. If you audition and like something go for it. Don't think that because someone else has suggested any and you don't like it then there is no point in buying that you need to listen to the speakers and hence you need to be satisfied. There is nothing like an audition.
 
Apart from other deciding factors, please check if OSD (On screen display via HDMI) is important for you - if yes, please check if the Pioneers support this. When I checked about 2 years back, VSX 523 did not have this.

Cheers
Athulan
 
i am not sure about the Yamaha or the denon. However I have owned a Pioneer 919 I want to say, and seriously I would if I get my hands on the clown that designed it, drag him into a field and beat him. The HDMI dies and the whole receiver is a paperweight.
OTOH, I have a Marantz 5003 which has a dead HDMI. But the receiver works otherwise.
Yamaha I have only had non HDMI mega sized tanks form pre HDMI era. Love those. RV-V1000 that is screaming away right now an RX-V1, several other HTR and RX series and my absolute favorite a yamaha DSP3090. No clue what their HDMI is like.
I just got a denon AVR1910. Never opened it up yet. So no idea what i would do if HDMI goes.
I dont like the denon 3300, 3600 series. Non HDMI. They have some serious design issues. Stuff runs hot, and runs into thermal meltdown. Hope they fixed those issues before they introduced hdmi and related problems.
Just my .02.
Marantz pre HDMI is great. Pioneer pre hdmi is average if you ask me. If you believe in extrapolating form there my order will be marantz>Yamaha>Pioneer>Denon.

Cool.
Srinath.
 
Well for budget 60 k or extendable u should think of as elangoas suggestion.Or else u can also check DenonX500/510 with BA speakers for good movie experience .
Since BA & denon/Marantz comes from the same parent company D&M Holdings they gels well .
 
Thank you all for your comments and the suggestions. I am however no closer to a decision than I was before putting up this post.

I'd love to hear some objective points listing exactly why one is better than the other etc., for example, what features does the Pioneer have better than the Yamaha or whether the Marantz offers deeper bass response than the Denon or whether the Denon does a better auto configuration than the Yamaha etc.
 
You first need to choose a speaker package first. Either bookshelf/fs+sub or sats+sub. The avr suggestions will be based on which speaker package hou will buy. Also generally the marantz is on the softer side and will have equal performance for music and movies. I think no avr matches the marantz for creating the sound which you would like for music via stereo amplifier. Denon is also a warm avr but a little less than the marantz. Denons are generally known for their punchy sound. I would say pioneer and yamaha are on the brighter side. Features wise and cost wise pioneer gives you the best features and it's quite affordable. Next up is yamaha with almost the same features but with a little premium added. These are exceptional for movies but not so much for music. Denon i feel offers not more features at budget price. Marantz features are good but the avr's are extremely overpriced. You need to have a good dealer who will offer you heafty discounts on the marantz.

Speaker Auto Room Calibration System:
Pioneer uses their own mcacc audio calibration system
YAMAHA uses their own YPAO systems
DENON and Marantz being from same parent company use AUDYSSEY calibration systems.


Finally i feel you should spend more on your speakers than on the avr. These avrs features will keep on changing but speakers can really last long. Audition is the key to your confusion. Also try going to the different websites of the products specs and try and compare the features.
 
Thanks a lot for the inputs. This kind of pointed comparison is exactly what I am looking for.

My usage is 90% movies and only 10% music.
 
Then consider building a 7.1 system....Will keep you happy :eek:hyeah:

It does make sense, yes but two problems.
1) There really isn't much (affordable) 7.1 channel encoded stuff available out there. DVDs (of which, I own hundreds) only do 5.1 channel sound.
2) I don't think I have the space to mount the additional 2 speakers that make the 7.1 setup. However it might still be a good idea to get a 7.1 system and run it in 5.1 mode until I have the space and money to set up a proper home theater room.

Cheers
Ganesh
 
I'm really thankful to all those who've taken the time to respond on this thread however I've purposefully done the homework and asked a very pointed question. I have listed down a set of combinations which I am interested in - I'd love to hear your focused opinions on which of those combinations do you folks think would be best and the reason why. If you'd like to recommend some other combination which might be better in your opinion than the ones I've listed, please feel free to recommend that as well as long as it is within my budget.

Thanks a lot once again to all of you for being such a helpful bunch! I really appreciate it. :)
 
It does make sense, yes but two problems.
1) There really isn't much (affordable) 7.1 channel encoded stuff available out there. DVDs (of which, I own hundreds) only do 5.1 channel sound.
2) I don't think I have the space to mount the additional 2 speakers that make the 7.1 setup. However it might still be a good idea to get a 7.1 system and run it in 5.1 mode until I have the space and money to set up a proper home theater room.

Cheers
Ganesh

I have a first hand experience of playing 5.x movies in 5/7/9.x speaker layout using surround expansion modes... The experience is more enjoyable than to complain...

Don't worry abt the lack of 7.1 content...You have DTS Neo: X (Surround expansion mode) that can expand 5.1 to 7.1...

Some pointers to help you...

* Since your room is 17 feet wide, adding front wide speakers to your room will enhance your listening than a normal 5.1 system...

* DTS Neo X supports a very flexible configuration, either Front wides (or) front heights (or) surround back in a 7.1 layout (or) greater...

* Dolby Prologic IIz supports Front heights (or) surround back channels in a 7.1 layout...

* I see that you are interested in 7.1 AVR, then choose an AVR that has DTS Neo X format....

* Pioneer VSX 923/1123, a 7.1 AVR supports DTS NeoX.. So check with dealers in your city on the best price & if you can get a good discount as it is last year model....

A 7.1 AVR will eat most of your budget... So update the thread here on the best price you get, then FM can suggest you speaker's in your remaining budget....
 
Elango: Did you feel any difference in terms of listening experience while using DTS NeoX vs Dolby prologic IIz with respect to front heights? SR5009 does not have DTS neotX, not sure if it would be available in terms of future firmware update (if it's something to do with hardware)
 
Elango: Did you feel any difference in terms of listening experience while using DTS NeoX vs Dolby prologic IIz with respect to front heights? SR5009 does not have DTS neotX, not sure if it would be available in terms of future firmware update (if it's something to do with hardware)

I used DTS Neo X in 9.0 (Front Wides + front heights) and Dolby Prologic IIz in 7.0 (Front heights)... I didn't try Neo X with front heights....

I think Neo X should do a similar Job to Dolby.... I am not sure if you can get DTS Neo X thru firmware update... Looks like a hardware requirement....
 
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