Home cinema system around Pioneer Kuro 5090

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I have just bought an ex repaired Kuro 5090 TV at Richer Sounds and I want to build a new home cinema system.

I currently have an Arcam dvd79 player and that's it.

I am hesitating to replace it by a Blu Ray player as I have absolutely no Blu Ray dvd.

Anyway I was thinking of choosing a Pioneer combination of:

LX 52 or LX 71 dvd player and a LX52 AV receiver in order to be able to synchronise the 2 devices.

Is it actually a good idea or should I go for a Denon 2310 receiver instead of the Pioneer?

Should I wait for the new generation of blu ray player and keep my Arcam a bit longer.

Regarding the 5.1 speaker package I am hesitating between the following:

Q Acoustics 2000 cinema

Kef 2005.3

Kef 3005 SE

Which one would give the best results with the receiver?

Thanks for your help.

HG

 

[scene]

Welcome to the forum! And also welcome to the lucky Kuro owners' club!

I have an Arcam DV79 and it is a superb DVD spinner and also no slouch as a CD player - so I wouldn't get rid of it (I've kept mine!). If you want to watch BluRays, get a separate Blu Ray player and don't worry about it's CD/DVD capabilities - that way you can get a cheaper one like a Sony BDP-S370 which should be fine for Bluy Ray duties and save the money for the Amp and speakers (and not forgetting the speaker cables).

As for the LX52 vs 2310. Depends on the price. Both are very good amps. You probably don't need to worry about upscaling, as the Kuro is very good. I would probably go for the Denon, which can be had for under £600 these days (e.g. £579 at HiFix - click).

I think your speaker choices may not do the Denon justice. I would look at B&W MT30, Monitor Audio RX or KEF iQ. Depends on budget and room size. But nothing compares to a demo. I would go for a demo of both the Pioneer and the Denon, with 2-3 different sets of speakers at your local HiFi / AV specialist with some of your own music and your DV79 and decide for yourself.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your advices it is very helpful.

I think I will keep my dvd 79 for the time being and buy a small blu ray player.

Regarding the speakers I thing I will try its but the room is not so big (4m to the screen) so I thing a smaller package like B&W MT 25 can be an idea?

Have you an opinion on Monitor Audio Radius HD speakers?

 

[Big Chris]

cortom: I am hesitating to replace it by a Blu Ray player as I have absolutely no Blu Ray dvd.

I mean no offence, but it always tickles me when I see/hear this kind of statement. I respond by asking them how many CDs they bought before their CD player, or how many LPs they bought before their turntable.

If you have no interest in BD, then don't worry about it. Just be aware that BD players can do a decent job of upscaling regular DVD, and send it digitally via HDMI. I'm not sure if your Arcam is able to.

The B&W MT25 will be great. Not heard it myself, but I have the MT30 and both systems share the same sat speakers. Awesomely good with movies.

 

[bigboss]

I've got MA Radius HD speakers........they're absolutely superb! They offer a highly detailed sound with terrific timing and loads of emotion. The sound is clean and free from distortion. Excellent performance for both movies & music.

Definitely audition them with various receivers. As MA Radius speakers are a bit on the brighter side, they're best paired with warm receivers like Yamaha & Denon, IMHO.

 

[scene]

Big Chris:
If you have no interest in BD, then don't worry about it. Just be aware that BD players can do a decent job of upscaling regular DVD, and send it digitally via HDMI. I'm not sure if your Arcam is able to.

The DV79 will send a picture via HDMI

but not upscaled

Having said that, it puts out one of the best 576p pictures I have seen and IMHO, that 576p output from th DV79 upscaled by my KRP500 is better than a DVD upscaled to 1080P from my BDP-S760. The pictures got slightly more depth and realism, it just seems to look more real. I seem to remember there are some slight differences between the upscaling engine on the 5090 and the KRP, but I may just be imagining that.

 

[Anonymous]

I would recommend the 2005's as i just got them but if you have the money which i didn't the 3005's are worth the price. I haven't bought a blue ray either for the same reason but i am still blown away by the picture quality i am getting just from my Xbox. I got the Onkyo 608 which is awesome imo, but the new Yamaha Amps which WHF have in their news section might be worth waiting for to see how they compare.

 

[hammill]

If you have gone to the expense of buying a Kuro (welcome to the club) I would be extremely surprised if you did not enjoy the superior picture and sound that blu-ray can provide.

 

[Anonymous]

I actually bought my first Blu Ray dvd today in order to compare with the normal dvd.

As you say I think if I buy a blu ray player I will also buy more Blu ray but only to a certain extend as I am more into old movies and small production that big blockbusters.

For me the upscaling capabilities of the player will be the key point.

So I think I will test the Pioneer LX52 to start with.

Any other idea of blu ray player that handle upscaling particularly well?

Many thanks for all your messages by the way!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I have the Pioneer LX52 bluray and it is wicked!!!!

Everything about it is good and don't forget if it's going to partner your 5090 like mine you have the Kuro link too!!!!

Make the most of it, the other thing aswell is the Pioneer's Blurays look the best too and the remote controls haven't got that nasty cheap feel to them either I personally think!! It all makes sense.....

You know you wanna!!!

 

[Sorreltiger]

As scene has already pointed out, you have invested in arguably the best TV ever produced - one of its strengths being upscaling. I don't mean to cause offence, but you don't need to concern yourself about whether a blu-ray player can do this. Most Kuro owners I know send all sources to the TV at their original resolution to be upscaled.

IMO, the most important factor (aside from aesthetic considerations which might lead you to choose Pioneer kit) should therefore be the quality of picture and sound when playing blu-rays.

BTW, I'm a bit puzzled, did you borrow a machine to play the disc you bought?

 

[Anonymous]

Sorreltiger:
As scene has already pointed out, you have invested in arguably the best TV ever produced - one of its strengths being upscaling. I don't mean to cause offence, but you don't need to concern yourself about whether a blu-ray player can do this. Most Kuro owners I know send all sources to the TV at their original resolution to be upscaled.

IMO, the most important factor (aside from aesthetic considerations which might lead you to choose Pioneer kit) should therefore be the quality of picture and sound when playing blu-rays.

+1

 

[scene]

Thanks for the vote of confidence in my posting guys

But as I said earlier, the DV79 is an excellent DVD spinner, and I've found that discs spun in it and upscaled by the Kuro beat my Sony BDP-S760 at upscaling. I'd try to do the following two tests (if possible):

DVD in DV79 upscaled by Kuro vs Pioneer LX52 upscaling

Bluray in Sony BDP-S370 vs Pioneer LX52 (played at 1080P/24)

I think you'll find that the picture from the DV79 will look more natural when upscaled by the Kuro, than when using the LX52 and that you'll struggle to see any difference between the Bluray picture from the S370 vs. the LX52 (you might even find the Sony better!). And finally, the DV79 is actually a very good CD spinner...

Let me know if you don't. But if you do, you'll save money to spend on a better amp and speakers...

 

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I have tested different equipment today, unfortunately none with the Kuro as it seems no shop kept one.

I first tried the Pioneer LX 52 Blu ray player and I was not impressed it does a good job with Blu ray but with normal DVD the Arcam was clearly better.

The salesman told me that if I was looking for good up scaling it was more the quality of the ampli that's matter.I start to try the Denon 2310 with B&W 25 and it sounded a bit flat with music, quality of picture was all right but not fantastic. At the end of this test we switch to the PV1 subwoofer and boy the change was impressive. What a difference it makes!! I was quite pleased with the speaker package with this sub.

I then try the Pioneer Ampli 52 and it gives better results with the picture and the sound as well. I was quite surprise as I did not expect such a gap between the Denon and the Pioneer but the Pioneer was doing better with old movies and even with Blu ray.

To finish I tried the Pioneer LX 82. I was curious to see the difference with the 52 . and I was blown away. It is a fantastic ampli, the dialogues are a lot clearer and the upscale of my old movie was quite impressive.

It makes me rethink what I want to do with my system. I think if I go for the extra money I should look at other speakers because the MT 30 seemed a bit under dimensioned for this amp (not the suboofer).

I then went to a second shop in order to test Monitor Audio speakers. The entire test was done with an Arcam AVR 500. The results with music were fantastic as always with Arcam (so is the price tag!). I really focus on the sound for this test comparing the MA RX6 AV12 and the MA Radius 270 HD.

Both systems are quite good, more musical than the B&W 30 but it is also probably du to the Arcam Amp. The RX6 seems a bit more accomplished also because the suboofer of the radius seemed a bit shy and flat. Actually the test was not made with the RXW 12 sub but with the AW12. According to the salesman the sound is the same only the AW12 is better looking.

So at the end of the day I get some answer to my questions but also a lot to think of.

I can go for a compromise solution with the pioneer 52 and the B&W 30 or go for something more with the Pioneer 82 but then wit what speakers?

I can take the RX6 AV12 but I am not a big fan of the sub (bulky and sounds ok but not great) and I believe they sell it as a package. I can go with the radius 270HD and change the sub for a B&W PV1. But will it work well together?

Any other speakers that can go well with the PV1 (giving a deeper sound than the MT 30 speakers)?

Am I missing some options in term of good amplifier between the Pioneer 52 and 82?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I have made my decision and bought the following:

-Pioneer LX 52

- Pioneer LX82

- Monitor Audio RX6

- Monitor Audio RX Centre

- Radius 90HD for the rears

- B&W PV1 for the sub

I will continue to use my Arcam DVD 79 for DVDs and CDs.

I am wondering if it make sense to use the stereo amp as I have a small Cambridge Azur 540A.

Do you think it would improve the sound for CDs compare to the LX82?

Thanks

 

[bigboss]

Have you demoed the Pioneer LX82 with the Monitor Audio speakers? Or did you demo the Pioneer LX82 with B&W speakers & Monitor Audio with Arcam, & decided on the combination? Personally, I found the LX82 to be bright sounding with my Monitor Audio speakers (as they're a little on the brighter side). I found the Yamaha & the Denon to be better sounding when paired with Monitor Audio speakers.

Or maybe you prefer slightly brighter sound then this combination will serve you well.

And yes, a dedicated stereo amplifier is superior to an AV receiver for music (check out last month's 'Big Question' in What Hi-Fi magazine....I was a participant: A £300 Rotel stereo amplifier was superior to a £1500 Sony 5400ES AV receiver).

Another tip: Play a DVD on your Pioneer LX52 & allow your Pioneer Kuro to upscale it (set the Pioneer LX52 to 576i in video options). The Kuro is one of the best upscalers around, but I don't know if it's on par with Arcam DVD player.

EDIT: Just realised you have RX6 speakers, one of the few speakers in the Monitor Audio range that actually pairs very well with Pioneer AV receivers

 

[Anonymous]

im not familier with your pioneer av receiver , but as bb has said its unlikely to do as good a job with music as a dedicated stereo amp , when i added one to my system (nad c326bee now changed to marantz pm6003) , the improvement in stereo sound was quite big , and definately worth the outlay

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Bigboss

I demo both sets this morning with LX52 and 72 (they did not have the 82 in shop).

Results were good with B&W CM9 and CM centre but better with the MA, particularly with music.

Then I try the MA with the PV1 and it was also an improvment (less aggresive for action scene in Kill Bill).

MA RX6 impressed me with music and it was the LX52 not my Arcam so I am confident I will get a better result for CDs.

I will try to use my cambridge Hiifi amp because I am going to spend more time listening CDs with this system.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I have questions regarding how to integrate the audio amp in my home cinema system.

Is best to plug it even with Blu ray and DVD?

What is the cable set up to have the video amp dealing with pictures and hi fi amp dealing with music? (I will have the pioneer LX82 bi wired to the RX6 for bi amplification)

Last question what cable should I use for CDs and SACDs to get the best music?

Thanks