Pioneer SC-LX83 vs. Denon AVR-3808A
I been fortunate over the past week to borrow a Pioneer SC-LX83 (and it's accompanying BDP-LX54) for the sole purpose of doing some extensive home-testing. Having heard a short demo last fall and of course reading all the positives about this receiver I became curious to see what advantages it would offer driving my new Apex-system. Especially being a more costly, more advanced and up-to-date system than my Denon AVR-3808A and DVD-2500BT.
I've yet to find myself very enthusiastic about any PIONEER kit, especially receivers, as they've never really been my cup of tea, sonically. I owned the old VSA-E06 years ago, and while it was fine at the time, it didn't really fulfill my audio-cravings in the long run. Ontop of that I tested the VSA-AX5i some 6/7 years ago and the MCACC didn't impress me in the least. In fact, in my set-up is worsened pretty much everything about the audio reproduction. So naturally it would be interesting to see what advancements and improvements the brand might have gone through over the years. Perhaps this time it would suit my tastes better? Expectations where high.
Upon installation I ran and re-ran the Full-Auto MCACC calibration and EQ system, set Full-Band Phase to work, along with the 32-bit DAC and enabled the jitter-free function PQLS via the disc-player. I did no changes in speaker-placement or settings of the AW-12 subwoofers, but rather let things be exactly the way they where while the Denon AVR-3808A was in charge.
The first thing that struck me had nothing to do with the receiver however, but rather the speed and razor-sharp images of the disc-player BDP-LX54. My Denon player is 3 years old and clearly not quite up to par, though certainly still great (with build-quality to rival a tank!). On the audio-side I was immediately struck by the wide soundstage and detail-reproduction within it, as the SC-LX83 delivered the first few scenes of the Blu-rays for 'Avatar', 'Sunshine', 'Toy Story 3' and 'Dark City' . I definitely heard more fine detail and slightly more neurality than my with my Denon-duo. But apart from that the Pioneer SC-LX83 came off as rather subdued sounding on the whole, almost anemic in direct comparison with the lively and more punchy Denon. Already after the first 10 mins I began missing the Denon, and it's more colorful and engrossing reproduction. The Pioneer is suppose to be way more powerful (on paper) than the Denon is, but in practice it didn't come off as such to my ears. With action-packed and atmospheric soundtracks alike the Pioneer was layered and delicately detailed, but there was no feeling of weight, punch or immersion when compared to what the Denon delivers. Surround-presence was also very different - it was too "light", and came off as "separated" - not at all up to the level of the Denon. It was not as seamlessly integrated with the front-channels as I've gotten use to, or indeed as I had expected.
One thing I found fascinating was the way Pioneer controlled the subwoofer AW-12. Without changing any settings on the subwoofer itself the LFE and overall bass-presence was a little restrained through the Pioneer. Almost as if it was held back. Not deep and forceful as I've become accustomed to with the Denon. Perhaps it has to do with how MCACC tackles it? But nevertheless, with the Denon the AW-12 display both grip and depth with plenty of low-level detail. The Pioneer felt lacking....and simply turning the level up didn’t help much either, but rather made the AW-12 stand out too much and failed on integration.
After these initial disappointments I ran the Full-Auto and Automatic (Expert) calibrations additional times and made slight adjustments thereafter. Small things changed, but no worthy improvements to my ear. Then I decided to turn MCACC off, and toggle between different modes and settings. No worthy improvements here either. Given, this is an extremely advanced calibration and EQ-system and thus without knowing exactly what you are doing, making too many changes can often turn negative, so I tried staying clear of that. I had high hopes that I should have been able to trust the full automatic settings in order to get the most out of my Apex. But obviously, there was not much joy to be had here.
Doing this A-B comparison with my 3 year old receiver resulted in a questionmark as to what exactly so many people (and reviewers) like about the SC-LX83, sonically. Obviously, we all have different audio-ideals and tastes, but perhaps I've just gotten so use to what the Denon delivers it's hard to encounter something so different. But switching to a top-flight feature-filled receiver that is not only more costly and up-to-date but also THX Ultra certified only to end up this disappointed was quite a surprise, even a let-down. Even though I was prepared for a different sonic character I atleast expected the Pioneer to deliver similar punch, weight, envelopment and grip that the Denon does. Especially since I've heard so many people mention those exact words when describing the SC-LX83. I know a lot of people say they are happy with Pioneer and it's MCACC and I would hope they experience amazing benefits, but I can't help wondering what they manage to get out of the Apex + Pioneer combo that I simply didn't?
In my humble opinion Audyssey MultEQ delivers far more convincing results in my set-up than what MCACC was able to do, despite the latter being more advanced. Perhaps Audyssey tailors the audio better to my listeningenvironment and simply suit my taste better. Naturally, no automatic calibrationsystem can do it all, and sometimes turning it off or carefully adjusting things yourself can yeild better results. But no matter what I did in terms of manual or automatic adjustments of MCACC things never really fell into place with this Pioneer. It seems my Apex (and ears) are better at home with Denon.
To conclude I must say I'm somewhat disappointed by this experience, even though it was fun and enlightening. This only yet again confirms my admiration of Denon coupled with Audyssey and how they seem to get the most out of my Apex. I'm certain some would not agree with that though. And yes, naturally there are better receivers and amplifiers out there. The AVR-3808A is only an upper mid-class receiver after all, not even of the latest generation. Can't wait to see what the newer more advanced Audyssey MultEQ XT32 can muster with these speakers, so I guess I'll remain a Denon-fan for a while longer. No more Pioneer for me. And before you ask, I did not receive a faulty SC-LX83 sample, as this one is normally in demo at my retailers store and in fine condition. The duo is going back tomorrow. Apart from possibly the BDP-LX54 it will not be missed.
(the doors of my new A/V cabinet have yet to be installed)
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