Pioneer LX-81 vs Yamaha RX-V3900

[yiannis550]

As I mentioned elsewhere on the forums, I have finally managed to start building my Home Cinema. It currenlty consists of a Pioneer 5090H, a Playstation 3 connected via HDMI (soon to be upgraded to QED HDMI to replace the cheap one that came for free with the PS3. My next step is to buy an amp and speakers. The speakers will be B&W 685 theater. My dillema is the AMP.

Which one shall I get the Yamaha or the Pioneer? I have seen the group test that listed the Pioneer a winner, but I am not convinced as it is not clear to me why the one is better than the other. (By the way you can't imagine my joy when I discovered that the magazine is available in Cyprus too ) I like the Yamaha specs but since my TV is a Pioneer I thought there will be better communication between the TV and the LX-81 so I am wondering what to do. In any case what matters most for me is the sound quality and video upscaling cababilities.

My use for the setup will be about 45% movies, 40% music and 15% Games (I didn't used to play games but I got hooked to little big planet! I told my wife it worths buying the PS3 just for that)

Unfortunately I cannot get to listen to any of the above recievers. They are available only on order since they are very expensive and Cypriots don't spent a lot on surround sound...

 

[Anonymous]

I had the RXV3900 and was very happy with it. It has all the features you need. You won't go wrong with the Yamaha.

 

[Sc00bied00]

Both are excellent amps, it depends on what you want to spend. Both amps are capable if driving the B&W 685's and more expensive setups too. The Pioneer will allow you to use one remote for the amp and tv. I have the LX-81 so I am familiar with this, have not heard the Yamaha but the review by WHF gives it 5 stars. Price wise they are both about the same. The Yamaha also upscales, Pioneer doesn't. Pioneer has more power

Alternatively there are new models from Yamaha being released so may be worth waiting to see if any of these would be an improvement over the RV, not sure if Pioneer has any.

It's a tough choice, as the Yam upscales it may fit your requirements better. Pioneer does upscale - apology - It will upscale/deinterlace analogue video, but won't upscale HDMI inputs.

sc00bie

 

[Anonymous]

They both sound great but the Yamaha has more sophisticated video processing (state of the art, in fact). Show your TV the love it deserves.ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Sc00bied00:

tough choice, as the Yam upscales it may fit your requirements better. Pioneer does upscale - apology - It will upscale/deinterlace analogue video, but won't upscale HDMI inputs.

sc00bie

Is this really true? Clare, Andrew? It sounds a little weird that Pioneer with IcePower, DNLA and THX certy doesnt have hdmi scaling?

 

[Anonymous]

Mikey07:
Sc00bied00:ÿ

ÿtough choice, as the Yam upscales it mayÿfit your requirements better.ÿ Pioneer does upscale - apology - It will upscale/deinterlace analogue video, but won't upscale HDMI inputs.

sc00bie

Is this really true? Clare, Andrew? It sounds a little weird that Pioneer with IcePower, DNLA and THX certyÿdoesnt have hdmi scaling?

I think the LX81 upscales from both analogue and digital inputs. But you can download the manual from Pioneer's web site to make sure. The 3900 includes a feature called PReP (Progressive Reprocessing) which fixes problems with poorly deinterlaced video. There's nothing like this on any of the other popular video processing chips from Faroudja (which I think the LX81 uses), HQV etc. You might find this helps with DVD playback from the PS3. It'll certainly help if you add a Sky HD box or similar in future.

ÿ

 

[Sc00bied00]

beaverme:Mikey07:

Sc00bied00:

tough choice, as the Yam upscales it may fit your requirements better. Pioneer does upscale - apology - It will upscale/deinterlace analogue video, but won't upscale HDMI inputs.

sc00bie

Is this really true? Clare, Andrew? It sounds a little weird that Pioneer with IcePower, DNLA and THX certy doesnt have hdmi scaling?

I think the LX81 upscales from both analogue and digital inputs. But you can download the manual from Pioneer's web site to make sure. The 3900 includes a feature called PReP (Progressive Reprocessing) which fixes problems with poorly deinterlaced video. There's nothing like this on any of the other popular video processing chips from Faroudja (which I think the LX81 uses), HQV etc. You might find this helps with DVD playback from the PS3. It'll certainly help if you add a Sky HD box or similar in future.

Taken from page 133 in the manual

Also, the built-in digital video converter of this receiver makes both deinterlacing and up-scaling possible, and analog video signals being input are converted and output as digital video signals at the HDMI terminal.

 

[Anonymous]

but still I am confused is the upscaling made ONLY for analogue signals, even if the word in the text is AND... or is it just so hard to get it 'cause I am not native english-speaker

 

[Sc00bied00]

Hi Miley07, well pioneer have a way with making simple things difficult (IMHO) yes it only upscales analogue signals, anything from the HDMI input will not be upscaled. If you are using a DVD/ BD player then it must upscale when connected by HDMI. I don't have a BD player but my DVD recorder upscales to 1080p and is connected by HDMI to the amp. The amp simply acts as a passthrough for the picture.

HTH - sc00bie