Upgrading Pioneer VSX-LX55 AV Receiver

[Simon Pinkney]

I'll love Pioneer AV receivers so for the sake of this topic let's assume I am going to upgrade to the latest equivalent Pioneer model.

I know things move on very quickly in the world of entertainment equipment so my question is if I were to upgrade to the latest equivalent model do you think I would notice a difference in sound compared to what I already have? I think the latest model will be the LX59. Need to double check that though but regardless of that what I'm really interested in knowing is have things moved on so much I'll be able to tell the difference.

it will be paired with some Monitor Audio Apex speakers.

 

[bigboss]

Improvement, if any, will be small. You'll need to consider something like LX89 to really notice a difference.

 

[Q5]

Improvement, if any, will be small. You'll need to consider something like LX89 to really notice a difference.

Agree with BB, which MA speakers do you have.

 

[Simon Pinkney]

Improvement, if any, will be small. You'll need to consider something like LX89 to really notice a difference.

Agree with BB, which MA speakers do you have.

A set of Monitor Audio Apex Speakers and Sub and also a pair of Silver 8

 

[Leeps]

I think the main things that will have moved on is the move to 4K, Spotify Connect and perhaps a wider gamut of file types it can stream, but the core amplification won't have moved on too much. I know recent Pioneer AVR reviews seem to indicate they're a little less forward than AVR's of our model's generation.

Like you I love the Pioneer's sound balance and they really make the most of the Apexes. It's for this reason that I'd be less inclined to move to warmer bias AVR's like Arcam, Denon, Marantz or Yamaha (although they have their own strong devotees I know).

I'd probably only consider a Pioneer again, an Anthem (which has a similarly punchy bias) or perhaps add a stereo power amp for the front speakers, or an integrated with Home Theatre Bypass. I would imagine freeing up the AVR's own power supply from a couple of channels and adding a power amp with sufficient oomph would have a greater impact on sound quality than just moving to the latest Pioneer AVR.

Having said all that, this year is a good time to buy a Pioneer amp as it has all the necessary 4K, HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2 future-proofing. Future Pioneer models are an unknown quantity now they're owned by Onkyo.