Demo help, £2k Recievers

[admin_exported]

Right on Wednesday I'm going to go and have a comparison demo. I am looking for a new amp to match my system. I'm budgeting for £2000 recievers (although i'll get them cheaper) I have narrowed it down to two, the yamaha z7 and the pioneer lx82. Now from reviews the yamaha sound should pair up with my speakers well. However the pioneer will match the rest of my kit and I assume i can adjust sound to my liking using the advanced EQ. Also I hate the looks of the z7, and feel that I would be better with the newer kit......

my current system is-

Pio lx5090

Pio bdp-lx91

Monitor audio RS8/RSLCR/RS1/RSW12

Van den hul flat hdmi and chord silverscreen cables.

I really wondered the differences to look out for while demo'ing or others views!

 

[Deleted member 2457]

I was in WHSmiths this morning and had a read of what hi fi ultimate guide to buy ray magazine that has just come out.

They had the pioneer sc-lx82 amplifier partnered with the Monitor Audio Silver RX6 AV12 as a perfect partner.

I don't know how similar that is to your speakers?

 

[bigboss]

Demo the Pioneer, Yamaha & Denon receivers. It really boils down to personal taste. Even I wanted to buy a Pioneer receiver to match my entire system. But I hated the Pioneer with Monitor Audio Radius HD speakers as it was too bright for me. All receivers sound very different from one another. See what you prefer the most.

 

[Frank Harvey]

The RS range is quite different to the RX - the RX is much smoother and will go well with amplifiers like the Pioneer which have a leaner sound than the Yamaha. The RS's are on the brighter side, and will partner better with warmer, slightly smoother amplification, which the Yamaha will manage. Most amplifiers have adequate EQ facilities to tailor the sound to how you want it, but the Pioneer does have the X-Curve facility - extremely helpful for quick and easy HF control in any room. One of our rooms is quite lively and reflective, and the X-Curve calmed the HF energy right down, which will be a useful feature for many.

Personally, as many will know, my preference is the Z7 due to it's superior processing, but the Pioneer is easily the Yamaha's main rival.

 

[Anonymous]

gel:
I was in WHSmiths this morning and had a read of what hi fi ultimate guide to buy ray magazine that has just come out.

They had the pioneer sc-lx82 amplifier partnered with the Monitor Audio Silver RX6 AV12 as a perfect partner.

I don't know how similar that is to your speakers?

The RS speakers are slightly brighter but the RS8s have solid bass too. I'm thinking that with enough tweaking of the manual calibration that the pioneer can avoid harshness and flatten the speakers response in the treble (for movies)

Need someone with experience of the lx82 to clarify this. I'm not sure how much tinkering time I will get during the demo.

 

[Anonymous]

FrankHarveyHiFi:
The RS range is quite different to the RX - the RX is much smoother and will go well with amplifiers like the Pioneer which have a leaner sound than the Yamaha. The RS's are on the brighter side, and will partner better with warmer, slightly smoother amplification, which the Yamaha will manage. Most amplifiers have adequate EQ facilities to tailor the sound to how you want it, but the Pioneer does have the X-Curve facility - extremely helpful for quick and easy HF control in any room. One of our rooms is quite lively and reflective, and the X-Curve calmed the HF energy right down, which will be a useful feature for many.

Personally, as many will know, my preference is the Z7 due to it's superior processing, but the Pioneer is easily the Yamaha's main rival.

Superior processing in which regard can I ask. So do you think either would do with more tweeking?

Thanks everyone
James

 

[jetjohnson]

"I was in WH Smiths this morning and had a read of what hi fi ultimate guide to buy ray magazine that has just come out".

Is it just me or is that not a weird statement to make on THIS particular site??

 

[Deleted member 2457]

I have the pioneer sc-lx81 and I would say it was not as bright as say the pioneer vsx-lx70.

The bass is definetely not as loose. and being THX ultra 2 plus you are defintely getting an amp that should suit most systems.

There should be a lot of control there.

I would definetley say avoid the pioneer sc-lx72.

I would demo with lots of different discs and at quite loud volumes.

 

[Anonymous]

gel:
I have the pioneer sc-lx81 and I would say it was not as bright as say the pioneer vsx-lx70.

The bass is definetely not as loose. and being THX ultra 2 plus you are defintely getting an amp that should suit most systems.

There should be a lot of control there.

I would definetley say avoid the pioneer sc-lx72.

I would demo with lots of different discs and at quite loud volumes.

Thanks, ideally I'd go for the lx90 but I cant warrant the price so lx82 would be the lowest in the range I'd want. If only the arcam avr600 werent so unreliable! I will use plenty of blu-rays and cds in my limited time. (3 and a half hours to thoroughly test 2 amps........)

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Three and a half hours you are going to get a good feel for both amps in that time.

Something like Terminator 2 you should here levels of brightness if they are there.

Music blu rays rock music. should show any flaws.

 

[Andrew Everard]

jetjohnson:"I was in WH Smiths this morning and had a read of what hi fi ultimate guide to buy ray magazine that has just come out".

Is it just me or is that not a weird statement to make on THIS particular site??

No, apparently WHS don't sell magazines any more, but rather offer a public library service.

Actually, am surprised gel doesn't suggest you don't buy a receiver at all, but just pop into your local retailer with a disc every time you want to watch a movie...

 

[Frank Harvey]

JTD:Superior processing in which regard can I ask. So do you think either would do with more tweeking?Sorry, I didn't mean on the EQ side, I meant on the surround processing side

 

[Anonymous]

you definitly want to put the Denon AVR-4310 on the top of your list to demo , it,s easly the best sub £2k avr on the market. but don,t just take my word fot it , go and have a listen , it even beat the yamaha z7 , in some review i had read on the net. her is a link for that reveiw :
Or rather here isn't, due to House Rules - MODS

 

[Anonymous]

FrankHarveyHiFi:JTD:Superior processing in which regard can I ask. So do you think either would do with more tweeking?Sorry, I didn't mean on the EQ side, I meant on the surround processing side

Meaning modes for different height channels etc? Or better surround steering? On the Pioneer side, does PQLS make a huge difference to CD playback?

Marco_1 - I did ask about the 4310 but no-one seems to have heard it in person before (outside of that review that i dont think you can link on here!)

Mr E, do you have any views on z7 or lx82?

 

[Andrew Everard]

JTD:Mr E, do you have any views on z7 or lx82?

Nope, 'fraid I don't have much experience of either of them...

 

[Anonymous]

make sure you don't exclude pre-pro options

(Audiolab 8000ap @ 820 odd + power amp would come under 2k)

or 2nd hand options - if still under warranty - let someone else take the depreciation hit

if buying new - make sure you demo at HOME .... I've fallen down this trap of demoing at stores - and finding av amps then sounding very different when back at home, the room + speakers + av amp interactions are very important.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Hey Andrew I only bought the awards issue this week, what more do you want????

 

[Andrew Everard]

That you should actually buy the UGBR if you want to read it...

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Interestingly I had a read of another magazine at the same time, which I should proabaly not mention here but never mind Home Cinema Choice Magazine just reviewed the pioneer sc-lx82 and said it was identical to the 81.

Very interesting given your recent review and in light of what happen to the 81 against a certain sony amp.

 

[Andrew Everard]

You really are pushing my patience now, gel

 

[Deleted member 2457]

And Jetjohnson thought I was promoting the what hi if ultimate guide to blu ray mag - ha ha.

 

[Andrew Everard]

I don't think he did, somehow...

 

[Deleted member 2457]

That's how i read it

 

[Andrew Everard]

That doesn't surprise me at all.

 

[Anonymous]

Anyways....... I'm worried this demo will confuse me more. In most respects the pioneer is what I want (I dont want heigh channels or a second remote) and it will match up well with my kit. Likewise I am thinking the Pioneer might rob my speakers of bass and character, or is this completely dependant on how I tweak the Pioneer? If the Yamaha sounds better I will be confused even more as I hate the orange display.....

Also does anyone know what a dealer gets the Pioineer SC-LX90 for? I know my dealer sold me a BDP-LX91 for less than 3/4 the rrp when it was just released!