Your inputs, please
- Thread starter venkatcr
- Start date
Congrats venkat, that's a great decision. On my part i'm gravitating towards the Onkyo 747 as i do not see a lot of interest from Marantz Bangalore dealer. I have a feeling the Pioneer 930 may not be sufficient for my needs in the medium term
Reading thru the manual, it looks like LX59 is a very well featured AVR.
Main zone + 2 additional zone preouts are a very nice feature. For someone thinking of using the AVR as a preamp with out board amps (SS/tube), it comes in very handy. Digital out is also good.
The one thing that still bothers me is that even in 2016 USB input supports only FAT16/32 sticks or Apple devices. Why not NTFS and Android FS? It is not rocket science.
For someone who has their music on an external NTFS HDD or wants to do a quick listen from an Android device, it is very limiting and frustrating.
One spec item stood out though (analog line level sensitivity):
Input line sensitivity = 390mV/47Kohm
Typically AVRs/IAs have higher sensitivity (200mV/47kohm) on analog line inputs. Wonder if Pioneer did this to bump up SNR on analog inputs.
Cheers,
Raghu
This is not an issue for me, as I am going to use my audio PC that has 6 TB of music. That will be connected to the AVR, and if needed, to a dedicated 2 channel amp. At the same time, if you take a 128GB stick, you can have enough music for a month or so. That is what I do for my car that only takes 16GB!!
Not sure about this. Have to read it up. But does not bother me as I don't have a single device that output analog signal. I am totally digital. IF I buy a TT, I think the AVR has a phono input. If not I will buy one. That is a very remote possibility as I don't like TTs. I love my digital music, and I have no regrets ignoring a TT.
The Onkyo 747 has great specs. BUT, if you can, listen to the Pioneer once. It blows most AVRs out of the water in terms of clarity and power. Pioneer has really done something with it's Class D amplification. The kind of sound I heard on the LX58 is something I have been dreaming about for a long time. I was particularly impressed by three things - accuracy, power and decay. There is no harm is taking a dekko before plonking your money.
Cheers
But does it not make you wonder, why all AVR manufacturers are only in love with Apple and/or a 25 year old file system?
Cheers,
Raghu
It is always a balance between effort, public demand, competition, and returns. Remember, these same guys have other products such as players. If they give too many options in AVRs, they will themselves kill the market for other products. The amount of technology in an AVR is so much, that today all one has to do is plonk a Blu-ray drive inside. In one shot it will kill the market for all DVD players, Blu-ray players and media players. Oppo will have to declare bankruptcy.
With RC on Android now, I will not be too surprised if AVRs don't provide any RC in 2 or 3 years. A $50 Amazon tablet can do all the jobs of an RC and more. The market for universal remote is dead. I have one lying somewhere that I have not even bothered to open. Technology kills a lot of products.
In another few years, technology such as Siri will allow you to control an AVR by speaking to it. There are already music players available that do that. It will also be linked to communication devices. Your phone sings, the pause button will auto execute. Someone rings a bell, pause again. Someone comes into the HT room, the movie will pause, and the lights will come on. Dinner time, ditto. You have an appointment or a plane to catch, the HT system will shut down at the appropriate time. Next time, you come back, it will start playing from the same spot. Why, with IoT, when you travel, the movie can continue from the same spot on your aircraft seat or hotel TV. How? All managed by a smartphone linked to a cloud that knows what you are doing.
Smart, eh?
I took a look at possible new features in the 2016 AVRs.
My plans are:
1. 7.2.2
2. 2 Audio zones
3. Complete networking at home for ubiquitous music across the home.
The LX59 meets all this. No additional feature is do or die for me.
(I) WHAT THE LX59 ALREADY HAS
IR Input
4 Ohm capable
4K Upscaling
7.2.4
9.2.2
HDCP 2.2
Dolby Atmos
DTS:X
DTS Neo: X
2 Audio Zones
RS-232C
(II) WHAT MAY COME THAT LX59 DOES NOT HAVE.
Auro 3D
Dont know what it is. Have to read what it is.
HDMI 2.0a
I would need this yes, but this feature is still a few years away.
HDBaseT Port
Dont know what it is. Have to read what it is.
4K / 60Hz HDMI Subout
Maybe but subs with HDMI is still far away.
Crestron Connected
Not needed.
DAC for remote zones
Dont need now. Maybe later. Will need extensive wiring of home.
HDMI HRD Extension.
Dont know what it is. Have to read what it is.
3 Audio Zones
Don't need it.
Thanks for all the help guys.
Cheers
Last edited by a moderator:
regeHA
Well-Known Member
It doesn't make sense to buy a top of the line receiver (for future proofing) this day and age. Makes a lot of sense to spend the most on speakers (as we don't need to upgrade them for years), but an AVR needs to be upgraded every 3 years or so.
I have not upgraded to Dolby Atmos, still limited to DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD. My reasoning was I don't have much content with Dolby Atmos anyways, and I'm perfectly happy with my 5.1 setup.
However, DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD already seen to be pass technologies, now with the world moving on to Dolby Atmos and DTS X. It remains to be seen how long or short of a lifespan they have seeing technology is evolving so rapidly.
Just my 2 cents.
Go to Reference Guides | Pioneer, download the article titled 'Reference Guide High End AV Receiver 2015'.
The amount of technology that has gone into the LX series is mind boggling. I am definitely going for the LX59.
Cheers
I spoke to DNI's Alex and he thinks for my room size and given my preference for movies only, the Pioneer 930 may be good enough and i may not hear a ton of difference with LX. For music though, he says is a different ball game. He also gave me a good offer on the 930. Great guy.
I'm going to audition the LX this weekend. Lets see what comes out of it. At the demo room, it is paired with Focal though. The local DNI outlet here in Mysore does not have 930 currently, though they have it in Bangalore. I now have good offers on Marantz 5010, Onkyo 747 and Pioneer 930. Let me see what i can audition.
That is my quandary exactly. One option is to amplify the movies and music separately. If I am doing that, then the 930 is an ideal choice. But I really want to see if I can use the same amp for both music and movies. At the end, both options will cost the same.
But the LX, IF it delivers good music as I heard, will mean less wiring and lesser complications of multiple units. In addition I am looking at installing speakers in my study and bedroom, and powering them as 2nd and 3rd zone directly from the LX. With DLNA and using a tablet, I should be able to choose my music from anywhere across the home.
We will see. I am curious to hear your views on the LX audition. Did Alex feel the LX will really DELIVER music?
Cheers
The amount of technology that has gone into the LX series is mind boggling. I am definitely going for the LX59.
Cheers
I spoke to DNI's Alex and he thinks for my room size and given my preference for movies only, the Pioneer 930 may be good enough and i may not hear a ton of difference with LX. For music though, he says is a different ball game. He also gave me a good offer on the 930. Great guy.
I'm going to audition the LX this weekend. Lets see what comes out of it. At the demo room, it is paired with Focal though. The local DNI outlet here in Mysore does not have 930 currently, though they have it in Bangalore. I now have good offers on Marantz 5010, Onkyo 747 and Pioneer 930. Let me see what i can audition.
That is my quandary exactly. One option is to amplify the movies and music separately. If I am doing that, then the 930 is an ideal choice. But I really want to see if I can use the same amp for both music and movies. At the end, both options will cost the same.
But the LX, IF it delivers good music as I heard, will mean less wiring and lesser complications of multiple units. In addition I am looking at installing speakers in my study and bedroom, and powering them as 2nd and 3rd zone directly from the LX. With DLNA and using a tablet, I should be able to choose my music from anywhere across the home.
We will see. I am curious to hear your views on the LX audition. Did Alex feel the LX will really DELIVER music?
Cheers
Last edited by a moderator:
I went to a local dealership and auditioned Pioneer LX 87 and LX 57. That's all he had. They were mated to Focal Chorus 7.1. I was not very impressed with LX57. The sound i felt was very bright and it was not filling the room as much as i'd have liked. I strongly suspect the auto calibration was messed up. The LX 87 on the other hand was terrific. It effortlessly filled the room and the dynamics were very good. The sound was natural and not bright. Bass was very tight and the kind of bass that the floor standers produced was amazing.
My test material was the "Dolby - sound of hd" blu ray, THX demo blu ray and the Krrish 3 dil tu hi bata song again from the blu ray.
The dealer is in the process of moving his demo setup to Yamaha. So he asked if i was willing to go for LX87 demo unit. I was interested if the price was tempting. He spoke to few people and quoted in the range of 1.2 L+. That felt ridiculous to me. I would have been willing if it was half that price.
So back to the search. I liked the Pioneer sound with the Focals but i'm not sure if it'll sound too bright with my Klipsch. After hearing out FMs here and doing some research it looks like Onkyo is out of my shortlist. It looks like it'll be either Marantz 5010 or Pioneer 930
My test material was the "Dolby - sound of hd" blu ray, THX demo blu ray and the Krrish 3 dil tu hi bata song again from the blu ray.
The dealer is in the process of moving his demo setup to Yamaha. So he asked if i was willing to go for LX87 demo unit. I was interested if the price was tempting. He spoke to few people and quoted in the range of 1.2 L+. That felt ridiculous to me. I would have been willing if it was half that price.
So back to the search. I liked the Pioneer sound with the Focals but i'm not sure if it'll sound too bright with my Klipsch. After hearing out FMs here and doing some research it looks like Onkyo is out of my shortlist. It looks like it'll be either Marantz 5010 or Pioneer 930
I currently have run them with a Yamaha 473 and looking to upgrade. I have had great experience with Yamaha, not a single problem so far and the unit just solid and works better than expected.
The problem is that Yamaha doesn't seem to have kept up with Atmos/DTS-X etc especially on their <1 L models. I can go till 80k but not any further. At the moment i do not see a Yamaha receiver that pumps out at least 90 W (2 ch driven) and supports Atmos, dts-x etc and comes for 80K
The problem is that Yamaha doesn't seem to have kept up with Atmos/DTS-X etc especially on their <1 L models. I can go till 80k but not any further. At the moment i do not see a Yamaha receiver that pumps out at least 90 W (2 ch driven) and supports Atmos, dts-x etc and comes for 80K
Atmos is not just placing speakers randomly on ceiling. To be honest, if you are not going to implement atmos in right manner, I feel this feature is total waste. Currently scenario is that dealers themselves not having atmos configured in desired manner so its like blind leading blind. Content coming but rather slowly, atleast another year down the line by then who knows what next will be next gimmick in its place.
How is that? We have a section on dealer feedback/review so I feel giving personal opinion should not be a problem. Unless, I suppose, you personally haven't had an issue.
Than would be breaking the forum rules.
Please read the forum rules. If you have an issue with any external entity, you are supposed to provide proof - communication, emails, etc. My impression is more in terms of what I saw. How he was short circuiting his own dealers. How, as a distributor, he was also a dealer.
Cheers
Sash, I am eager to hear your personal opinion of the 930. I am going to audition the Denon 2200 tomorrow. After I hear from you, I will be able to decide which way I go.
Thanks
Visited ProFx on Mount Road, Chennai today. Wanted to check out the Denon AVRs, particularly the AVR-X2200.
There is a lot of metro work going on on Mount Road, and reaching ProFx was a bit of an issue. I entered the wrong lane, had to reverse some 600 meters and go into the correct by-lane.
I had spoken to a number of people in ProFx over the last few days and briefed them on what I am looking for. I was hoping for a rousing reception. Was a bit disappointed as the people I met as I entered were more interested in watching some music video than even asking me for my name. Finally an young rookie kid decided to humour me.
I was taken upstairs to a demo room that had Denon 2200, Pioneer SC-LX87, and a Denon 3313 BD Player. The Denon 2200 was connected to a Cabasse speaker set while the Pioneer 87 was connected to a Polk Audio speaker set. In both cases, the fronts were large FS. Both sets were supported by large sub woofers. Display was through an Epson FullHD projector onto a 120 inch screen.
The ProFx sales guy was a little green. He seemed to be fumbling with the system. He then realised he did not have a player installed! He rushed down and got the BD Player. We started with the Avengers Blu-ray. Complete disaster! No vocals, and pathetic sound. I patiently waited for the first chapter to go through completely. The sound was weak and the bass nearly non-existent. I had to strain to hear Samuel Jackson's voice, and could not even make out what he was saying. When the Tessaract opens the gate heralding Loki's arrival, the explosive sound was weak and tinny. Moving on to The Hunted, the sound of waterfall (in chapter 3), did not have the depth and volume I am used to. As the hunters move away, the waterfall moves to the extreme left. At that time, I could not even hear the sound of the waterfall.
I was getting more and more disappointed. In a few reviews I had read that the 2200 had weak bass. To me it looked as if the 2200 was a complete disaster. Looking to see how it performed with music, I got the guy to play 'Rabba' from Heropanti. At first he played the music in surround sound format, and I requested him to switch to stereo mode. The sound was much better, but there was a tinny edge to Arijith's voice that I did not like.
Rejecting 2200 completely, I went to the equipment rack to see what else was there. I saw the Pioneer 87, and requested the kid to switch to that and replay the movies and music. What a difference!! The sound was full, lush, and, I could hear the gruffness in Samuel Jackson's voice and his breathing as he was trying to save himself from Loki. In The Hunted, I was entertained with the exact sound of the knife hitting the tree, the long echo of the shots reverberating through the wood, and the sound of hoofs clear as the stag runs away. This was the quality of sound I was looking for.
By that time, I had decided that I am going with SC-LX59.
As the rookie guy and I went down, I was accosted by Mr. Emmanuel who apologised for being late as he was stuck in traffic. He was interested in knowing whether I would be interested in the Yamaha 3030 that he was ready to offer at 70%. At close to 80K, I was getting a powerful AVR. But, it does not have Wifi, Dolby Atmos, nor DTS:X. So that was it.
We started talking, and I was telling him how I was disappointed with the Denon's sound. Asking me to wait for a few minutes, he called me again to the first floor, and requested me to audition the 2200 again. I reluctantly gave him my The Hunted DVD, and sat down to be disappointed again. Boy, was I in for a surprise? The 2200 sounded completely different. The sounds I was expecting were all there. I would hear the knife flying through the air, and thudding into the tree. The sound of waterfall was lush and heavy. Best of all, the sound of the gunshots was sharp and accurate. The reverberations through the wood was played faithfully by the 2200. In The Avengers, I could hear every sound, and the harshness was back in Jackson's voice. The sound of the Tessaract gate opening was sweet and powerful.
Curious as to what he had done, I looked at Emmanuel. With a smile, he said, he had just reset the AVR to factory settings. I believe someone had fooled around with the setting and had tuned it for some tiny speakers. All my doubts about the 2200 vanished and I was very happy with what I had heard. With music, the 2200 sounded wonderful, though I would say the Pioneer had a 5% advantage. That could be in my mind as the Sabre DAC keeps floating in my eyes.
Emmanuel offered the 2200 with a assured replacement with the 3200 if I find that the power of the 2200 is not enough. Through the second run, I was worried that the 2200 was playing at 70% of it's capacity leaving little leeway for headroom. Emmanuel has assured me that the 2200 is more than enough for me and my speakers.
I am now seriously considering the 2200 as a viable option.
I am thankful to Emmanuel of Profx for his knowledge and extremely helpful attitude.
Cheers
Thanks
Visited ProFx on Mount Road, Chennai today. Wanted to check out the Denon AVRs, particularly the AVR-X2200.
There is a lot of metro work going on on Mount Road, and reaching ProFx was a bit of an issue. I entered the wrong lane, had to reverse some 600 meters and go into the correct by-lane.
I had spoken to a number of people in ProFx over the last few days and briefed them on what I am looking for. I was hoping for a rousing reception. Was a bit disappointed as the people I met as I entered were more interested in watching some music video than even asking me for my name. Finally an young rookie kid decided to humour me.
I was taken upstairs to a demo room that had Denon 2200, Pioneer SC-LX87, and a Denon 3313 BD Player. The Denon 2200 was connected to a Cabasse speaker set while the Pioneer 87 was connected to a Polk Audio speaker set. In both cases, the fronts were large FS. Both sets were supported by large sub woofers. Display was through an Epson FullHD projector onto a 120 inch screen.
The ProFx sales guy was a little green. He seemed to be fumbling with the system. He then realised he did not have a player installed! He rushed down and got the BD Player. We started with the Avengers Blu-ray. Complete disaster! No vocals, and pathetic sound. I patiently waited for the first chapter to go through completely. The sound was weak and the bass nearly non-existent. I had to strain to hear Samuel Jackson's voice, and could not even make out what he was saying. When the Tessaract opens the gate heralding Loki's arrival, the explosive sound was weak and tinny. Moving on to The Hunted, the sound of waterfall (in chapter 3), did not have the depth and volume I am used to. As the hunters move away, the waterfall moves to the extreme left. At that time, I could not even hear the sound of the waterfall.
I was getting more and more disappointed. In a few reviews I had read that the 2200 had weak bass. To me it looked as if the 2200 was a complete disaster. Looking to see how it performed with music, I got the guy to play 'Rabba' from Heropanti. At first he played the music in surround sound format, and I requested him to switch to stereo mode. The sound was much better, but there was a tinny edge to Arijith's voice that I did not like.
Rejecting 2200 completely, I went to the equipment rack to see what else was there. I saw the Pioneer 87, and requested the kid to switch to that and replay the movies and music. What a difference!! The sound was full, lush, and, I could hear the gruffness in Samuel Jackson's voice and his breathing as he was trying to save himself from Loki. In The Hunted, I was entertained with the exact sound of the knife hitting the tree, the long echo of the shots reverberating through the wood, and the sound of hoofs clear as the stag runs away. This was the quality of sound I was looking for.
By that time, I had decided that I am going with SC-LX59.
As the rookie guy and I went down, I was accosted by Mr. Emmanuel who apologised for being late as he was stuck in traffic. He was interested in knowing whether I would be interested in the Yamaha 3030 that he was ready to offer at 70%. At close to 80K, I was getting a powerful AVR. But, it does not have Wifi, Dolby Atmos, nor DTS:X. So that was it.
We started talking, and I was telling him how I was disappointed with the Denon's sound. Asking me to wait for a few minutes, he called me again to the first floor, and requested me to audition the 2200 again. I reluctantly gave him my The Hunted DVD, and sat down to be disappointed again. Boy, was I in for a surprise? The 2200 sounded completely different. The sounds I was expecting were all there. I would hear the knife flying through the air, and thudding into the tree. The sound of waterfall was lush and heavy. Best of all, the sound of the gunshots was sharp and accurate. The reverberations through the wood was played faithfully by the 2200. In The Avengers, I could hear every sound, and the harshness was back in Jackson's voice. The sound of the Tessaract gate opening was sweet and powerful.
Curious as to what he had done, I looked at Emmanuel. With a smile, he said, he had just reset the AVR to factory settings. I believe someone had fooled around with the setting and had tuned it for some tiny speakers. All my doubts about the 2200 vanished and I was very happy with what I had heard. With music, the 2200 sounded wonderful, though I would say the Pioneer had a 5% advantage. That could be in my mind as the Sabre DAC keeps floating in my eyes.
Emmanuel offered the 2200 with a assured replacement with the 3200 if I find that the power of the 2200 is not enough. Through the second run, I was worried that the 2200 was playing at 70% of it's capacity leaving little leeway for headroom. Emmanuel has assured me that the 2200 is more than enough for me and my speakers.
I am now seriously considering the 2200 as a viable option.
I am thankful to Emmanuel of Profx for his knowledge and extremely helpful attitude.
Cheers
Last edited by a moderator:
elangoas
Well-Known Member
@venkatcr,
If the AVR was factory reset, it would erase all the calibration settings in the AVR...I think which is not the case. He must have used some movie preset mode (Or) may be he enabled Audyssey Dynamic EQ & Volume..
Did you observe the movie preset mode on the AVR when it was playing movie?
Glad that you liked & leaning towards Denon... Am sure that Marantz SR 6010 fully calibrated will outshine the Denon X2200... May be give Marantz a last shot in your audition & pick the one you like...
If the AVR was factory reset, it would erase all the calibration settings in the AVR...I think which is not the case. He must have used some movie preset mode (Or) may be he enabled Audyssey Dynamic EQ & Volume..
Did you observe the movie preset mode on the AVR when it was playing movie?
Glad that you liked & leaning towards Denon... Am sure that Marantz SR 6010 fully calibrated will outshine the Denon X2200... May be give Marantz a last shot in your audition & pick the one you like...
You are right, but that is what Emmanuel told me. What I suspect is that he must have reset the AVR for the speakers they were connected to.
I also suspect he did not want to 'confuse a customer' with too much technical jargon.
I did look over my shoulder once or twice to see Dolby and or DTS modes being displayed. For modern Blu-ray discs, he allowed the AVR to chose what mode was needed by the disc. For The Hunted, as it was ancient, he chose simple Dolby Digital 5.1 and it worked very well.
Hmmm. My wife and son are pressuring me to get the AVR installed within the next few days. My wife, wants to see a new movie on Tuesday or Wednesday. Ok. Let me see if I could audition the Marantz within today or tomorrow.
Thanks
The specs of 5010 and 6010 are very tempting. Let me see if Cinebells can demonstrate either one to me today.
Thanks
Cheers
Last edited by a moderator:
elangoas
Well-Known Member
Yes...5010 is comparable to Denon X 2200/3200 while 6010 is X4200...
I got the Pioneer 930 today. I will play my reference material on my Yamaha first and then connect the Pioneer for comparison. Will keep you guys updated. Let me know if you want me to do something specific and I'll try my best
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