Yamaha 3020 vs Pioneer lx86

[draenor]

I've had these in my sights for a while now, both at an excellent price point with the Yamaha £300 less. I will pair them with Monitor Audio's and I have heard praisals for both amps (I've spent weeks digging up all threads about them, english or not).

It's still an even battle for me to the point where I think I'll be happy with both. Neither has features the other lacks, at least of what's interesting to me.

Any last tips or recomendations? How warm do they get? I live in an appartment with wooden floor on top of, and surrounded by, concrete; with living room of roughly 25m2 (thus I try to reduce heat inducing equip where possible).

 

[abacus]

The Pioneer has been tuned by a professional music studio so theoretically should be top notch when reproducing music.

Heat output will be determined by how hard you push them. (Pretty sure they both use class D amplifiers so should be pretty efficient)

Have a listen to both with your own speakers and see how they interact with them, then choose which suits your ears. (Try them with auto EQ turned off and on)

Job done

Hope this helps

Bill

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

To my mind the Yamaha is the superior model - the Pioneer is good but I have more systems achieving a , "wow" with the Yamaha. I wouldnt worry about the heat output as long as you follow the manual.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Heat output from both will be relatively similar, so don't worry about that side of things.

I used to be a Yamaha owner for many years (various models) until the emergence of the Pioneer SCLX82 - which was a much better performer than I was using at the time (RXV3800). I then went on to own the 83, 85, and 86, basically because they suit the sort of sound was after. I still love Yamaha amps though and their ability to produce some of the best soundfields I've heard from any one box receiver, and the upcoming CXA5000 AV processor is going to be very tempting!

Both the 3020 and LX86 will be excellent, and I'm sure that you'd not be unhappy with either. I would probably recommend you the 3020 over the 86 though to match in a little better with the Monitor Audios (presumably Apex?).

 

[naughty573]

the first problem with the 3020 is that the 3030 has been recently launched and that means that selecting it will force you to be a generation behind (though that might not be a huge thing because apparently theres a pioneer SC-LX87 on the way to replace the SC-LX86 too)

also secondly most other manufacturers have standardized on dolby pro-logic iiz and you get front height and front wide additional channels but Yamaha are doing their own thing different from everyone else ie they are offering front presence and rear presence which could possibly be essentially rear height speakers

now its nice to be different but why be different over something that should be regulated by a standard - thats not being different and is more being stubborn ie their attitude is "because i did not think of the idea first i wont accept it and i will instead do my own thing" which by my reckoning takes them out of contention of my own personal choices

i really do want to try out an 11.1 configuration to see if the surround effects get any better ( i love the matrix effect of dolby pro-logic iiz because to me it extends 5.1 into 7.1 in an effective manner and ireally want to see for myself if i can get 11.1 to work as effectively as i got 7.1 to work for my own purposes) so this now means i have to preclude every yamaha item from my thinking since they want to be different and dont want to use dolby pro-logic 11z as the inventor (dolby labs) intended

 

[Boca]

Hi David @Frank Harvey Hi-Fi,

Do you recommend the Yamaha over the Pioneer because the Monitor audio's are a little on the bright side,Warmer side?

Thanks

 

[Frank Harvey]

now its nice to be different but why be different over something that should be regulated by a standard - thats not being different and is more being stubborn ie their attitude is "because i did not think of the idea first i wont accept it and i will instead do my own thing" which by my reckoning takes them out of contention of my own personal choices

i really do want to try out an 11.1 configuration to see if the surround effects get any better ( i love the matrix effect of dolby pro-logic iiz because to me it extends 5.1 into 7.1 in an effective manner and ireally want to see for myself if i can get 11.1 to work as effectively as i got 7.1 to work for my own purposes) so this now means i have to preclude every yamaha item from my thinking since they want to be different and dont want to use dolby pro-logic 11z as the inventor (dolby labs) intended

Do bear in mind that Yamaha were using front height speakers (presence) way before 7.1, 9.1, or 11.1 were even thought about. Even the DSPZ11, which appeared on the market some 4/5 years ago, had front and rear height speakers. Again, this was before any domestic sound format to use such speakers.

Yamaha have been held in high regard by the likes of Dolby labs in the past. Yamaha were the only manufacturer who were granted oermission to 'overlay' DSP settings onto Dolby Digital and DTS in order to change the basic sound formats.

What is it that you feel Yamaha are doing/not doing?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Hi David @Frank Harvey Hi-Fi,

Do you recommend the Yamaha over the Pioneer because the Monitor audio's are a little on the bright side,Warmer side?

Thanks

Long time no see - hope you are well

I personally don't find the Pioneer receivers to be 'bright', as many seem to claim. They do have a more 'forward' and 'vivid' presentation though, no doubt due to their excellent room EQ (much overlooked, I feel) and also the nature of their amplification. Yes, some Monitor Audio models can come across as bright to some people, and I think that the presentation of the Pioneers as mentioned above can exaggerate this somewhat. Having said that, the X-Curve feature works extremely well, and any excessive brightness can be tamed using this feature (usually don't automatically by MCACC). I used various Pioneer receivers with speakers that had an equal reputation as far as brightness is concerned for many years, and not once did I find anything unlistenable. Except for Rock Of Ages, but that's another story...

Yamaha receivers have a naturally smoother and warmer presentation. This does tend to marry up better with many Monitor Audio speakers for many people. Many people prefer this sort of presentation as it is easier on the ear and is never found to be 'offensive', as some may call it.

 

[bigboss]

The Pioneer has been tuned by a professional music studio so theoretically should be top notch when reproducing music.

Aha, but Yamaha manufactures the musical instruments these professional music studios use! So it's not alien to how music should sound.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

I've had these in my sights for a while now, both at an excellent price point with the Yamaha £300 less. I will pair them with Monitor Audio's and I have heard praisals for both amps (I've spent weeks digging up all threads about them, english or not).

It's still an even battle for me to the point where I think I'll be happy with both. Neither has features the other lacks, at least of what's interesting to me.

Any last tips or recomendations? How warm do they get? I live in an appartment with wooden floor on top of, and surrounded by, concrete; with living room of roughly 25m2 (thus I try to reduce heat inducing equip where possible).

Hi draeonor

The Aventage RX-A3020. In my experiience Yamaha AV amplification and Monitor Audio speakers have great synergy

Btw, Anthem's MRX300 snd MRX500 are also worth serious consideration. The MRX300 and MRX500 also form a great match with Apex speakers and the ace up their sleeve Anthem Room Correction (ARC) does a superb job at minimising room related issues.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

the first problem with the 3020 is that the 3030 has been recently launched and that means that selecting it will force you to be a generation behind (though that might not be a huge thing because apparently theres a pioneer SC-LX87 on the way to replace the SC-LX86 too)

also secondly most other manufacturers have standardized on dolby pro-logic iiz and you get front height and front wide additional channels but Yamaha are doing their own thing different from everyone else ie they are offering front presence and rear presence which could possibly be essentially rear height speakers

now its nice to be different but why be different over something that should be regulated by a standard - thats not being different and is more being stubborn ie their attitude is "because i did not think of the idea first i wont accept it and i will instead do my own thing" which by my reckoning takes them out of contention of my own personal choices

i really do want to try out an 11.1 configuration to see if the surround effects get any better ( i love the matrix effect of dolby pro-logic iiz because to me it extends 5.1 into 7.1 in an effective manner and ireally want to see for myself if i can get 11.1 to work as effectively as i got 7.1 to work for my own purposes) so this now means i have to preclude every yamaha item from my thinking since they want to be different and dont want to use dolby pro-logic 11z as the inventor (dolby labs) intended

If you can I would look to hear 11.2 the Yamaha way and then hear it from another amp - I am highly confident that both will be superb and the overall sound signature will be the deciding factor and not the placement of the speakers. I have very few clients with the full suite of speakers installed but those who do have excellent cinemas - the Yamaha DSP is a very powerful tool and I wouldn't rule it out without a listen.

 

[draenor]

Some great advice in here, thanks!

The great price point is due to the approach of the new models, thus a premise rather than a problem.

The speakers will indeed, by a clever guess, be MA Apex

 

[naughty573]

If you can I would look to hear 11.2 the Yamaha way and then hear it from another amp - I am highly confident that both will be superb and the overall sound signature will be the deciding factor and not the placement of the speakers. I have very few clients with the full suite of speakers installed but those who do have excellent cinemas - the Yamaha DSP is a very powerful tool and I wouldn't rule it out without a listen.

point taken ..... maybe i should go in and give the receiver a listen to give it a fair crack of the whip