Yamaha RX-V4600 vs. Pioneer VSX-56TXi

[team_canada]

I recently purchased the Pioneer Elite VSX-56TXi. I opened the box to check the receiver out. It has never been hooked up or used. I now have the opportunity to purchase the Yamaha RX-V4600 at an amazing price.

I have never owned or used a Pioneer or Yamaha so I have to preference over one or the other.

What should I do!!

Any help is appreciated!!

[Mike682]

You'll get more connections with the yammie at the cost of the amp section...I heard really good things about Pioneer Elite receivers. Tough call but in the end, I would keep the Pioneer Elite...

Anyway, here's a link to a review of the yammie:

http://www.sdinfo.com/volume_12_3/ya...05-part-1.html

[mantis]

Honestly I 'm not happy with the Yamaha line. I feel there quality is getting worse.

I used to think they where excellent choices. Now I feel differently.

Pioneer Elite on the other hand is very nice. It's a keeper.

Dan

[team_canada]

Much appreciated gentlemen. I value your feedback. mantis, do you own any Yamaha products?? Thanks for the link Mike682. I was looking for a new review on the Yamaha and I always look for reviews from Secrets Of Home Theater And High Fidelity.

[Mike682]

I had a yammie reciever for about 10minutes....

[team_canada]

What are u using now Mike682??

[Mike682]

Hk Avr235

[aaharvel]

i'll take a receiver with less features and a higher quality amp section, higher current in the stages and a larger power supply anyday of the week. Yamaha's design philosophy doesn't float my boat.

I would take Pioneer Elite over the Yammie in a second

(edit) read the review on the Yamaha. "130x7".
Right... when just 5 of the 7 channels were playing, the testbench reported 40 watts a channel. If you do the math and have all 7 playing, that figure drops to about 25 watts X 7. That means that thing is putting about HALF as much power as my Harman Kardon that cost $1,550 less. Pathetic. That's even worse than Onkyo and Sony receivers.

Consumer rights activists should push for a standard in reporting and advertising wattage specs for receivers- this is fn' absurd.

[team_canada]

How about Yamaha DVD players??

[mantis]

team,
no I don't own anything Yamaha anymore. I used to own the rxv992 many years ago. I felt that it was a solid performing receiver. Up in to the rxv995 , after that model I felt Yamaha was losing quality.

I Install Yamaha when we sell it. Denon kinda rules the receiver market.

The new Pioneer Elite ( and for many years ) are high quality well built receiver with good quality sound.

Dan

[TrappedUnder Ice]

I have 4 yamaha recievers...Ive compared them to Denon and Yamaha. Maybe I like the Yamaha sound- but my new one RX-V675 is great sounding. I have no power issues. Heck...I have 7.1 on my RX-V2400 and have no power issues.... Its your call though. Ive never been a fan of Pioneer myself.

[team_canada]

Thanks TrappedUnderIce. Nice HT room and set-up. I saw your pics. I wasn't sure if anyone liked Yamaha. I know that Pioneer makes a excellent product and have not heard too many bad things about Yamaha. I purchased the Yamaha DVD-S2500 this week since the DVD-S2300 MK2 had such great reviews. Also, it has HDMI and i-Link. The Pioneer I purchased, Elite VSX-56TXi has i-Link but no HDMI. I have never used my new receiver that I purchased in June/05 as I am finishing my HT room so it is new. It was removed from the box, that's all. With the new releases such as the RX-V4600 that has both HDMI and i-Link along with new Pioneer products, I am tempted to sell the Pioneer and upgrade to either the Yamaha or newer Pioneer with all the newest connections. Where the Yamaha is so new there are few consumer reviews, I have read two editorial reviews. Obviously this is the same for the new Pioneer products.

I guess the million dollar question is, is it worth it to sell just for the upgrade to HDMI from a receiver stand point??

I will also be purchasing a projector this fall which I will make sure it has HDMI or DVI/HDMI conversion.

It sucks being addicted to HT!!

[gregure]

The new Pioneer Elite VSX74XVI will be out this month. That is this year's 56, only with HDMI switching. If it's really that important to have HDMI switching (I don't think it is), then you may want to upgrade. The 56 is an excellent unit, though, and you should consider keeping it. Just run DVD off component instead of HDMI, or Satellite off of component if you really want the upconversion. Upconversion is kind of a lot of smoke and mirrors. For instance, a lot of Plasmas have excellent scalers/de-interlacers built in, and yield an excellent picture for DVD through S-Video, because it allows the TV to do the processing. Unless you have a DVD machine with an excellent scaler, then you will be getting comparable results from HDMI or Component video.

The 56 has an excellent power supply, capable of running 4 ohm speakers easily, and has more power than anything Yamaha puts out except maybe their very top gear. Converting to Yamaha just for HDMI switching would be a huge compromise in sound quality.

[2+2]

Team,
I personally like certain Yamaha products....I think they have more durable build than many of hte other brands. I am shopping for used consumer grade products to provide me with some type of music in almost every room in the house and run into a component of this or that brand that has "issues" whereas Yamahas seem to last. My 15 yr old CD player and 13 yr old Yamaha receivers reinforce my impressions.
As to your Q, I would think it would be a very easy decision b/c Pioneers have a different sound than Yamahas....pick the one that sounds better to you...;) good luck.

[team_canada]

Thanks gregure and 2+2. Can you tell me this, will the video quality be that much improved through HDMI compared to component video or does it come down to the DVD player itself when determining this. HDMI seems to be a convenience factor, less wires for audio and video and from what I have read, improved audio/video quality due to uncompressed all digital audio/video interface . Obviously the better the player the better the quality. Lets use the Pioneer DV59-AVi or Yamaha DVD-S2500 or any other high end player as an example. Will the quality through HDMI be that much better than component video?? Again, I will eventually be running this through a projector, 100" screen.

[WilliamM2]

Out of those two, I would definetly go with the Yamaha. Build quality is better than the Pioneer.

Never have figured out why everyone is so negative about Yamaha here. I've owned lots of Yamaha equipment over the years, never had a problem with it. The few Pioneer components I have purchased have always been unreliable, and never seemed to match the Yamaha's in sound quality.

As far as everyone dogging the Yamaha's output not being rated for all channels driven, ALL the manufacturers do the same thing, so I don't understand why Yamaha is being singled out.

[2+2]

William, I tend to agree with you. As far as their receiver sound, I think it is not for everyone as it can sound sterile or bright when mated with certain gear IMO. The output thing....yes everyone does it except HK in the consumer arena and HKs typically are more expensive. Anyways, people here push Denons alot...but they inflate their output ratings too....

[team_canada]

Thanks WilliamM2 and 2+2. I have a new question for you guys. Tell me what you think.

My question is not about the quality of video between HDMI and Component video as the HDMI is obviously better, the question is will I notice that much of a difference. Obviously the convenience factor is there with having less wires.

I purchased the Pioneer Elite VSX-56TXi. I have never used my new receiver that I bought new in June of this year as I am finishing my HT room. It was removed from the box to have a look, that's all. This is my first Pioneer product so I am very excited. With the new releases such as the Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXVi and Yamaha RX-V4600 that has both HDMI and i-Link, I am tempted to sell the 56TXi and upgrade to either the 74TXVi or RX-V4600.

I guess the million dollar question is, is it worth it to sell just for the upgrade to HDMI. The 74TXVi and RX-V4600 have many new features that sound fantastic but there are still some mixed opinions with respect to the amp section between the 56TXi and the 74TXVi and RX-V4600. I find this very important. I use my system for 80% HT so I want the best sound quality possible.

I will be purchasing a projector this fall which I will make sure it has HDMI or DVI/HDMI conversion for the future. I would assume the better the DVD player the better the quality picture. Lets use the Pioneer DV59-AVi or Yamaha DVD-S2500 or any other high end player as an example. Will the quality through HDMI be that much better than component video that it is worth the upgrade?? Again, I will eventually be running this through a projector, 100" screen.

Sorry for being so long winded but I had to explain my situation.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

[2+2]

sorry team as I am not knowledgable regarding video at all....others here will hopefully chime in. As to your assumptions that the "better" the DVD player, "better" the picture, I disagree. I would take a DVD player that is ranked slightly lower in terms of picture if it means that I can have years of reliable service over one that has slightly better picutre but has issues or only lasts a year...."better" depends on what you value...

[team_canada]

I agree. I can't believe what one can spend on a DVD player these days, and is the quality picture as well as overall reliability really worth it??

[gregure]

HDMI can be slightly clearer and less prone to artifacts, and I've seen some reveiws that stated that the HDMI connection seemed to yield the best picture (such as on the 2910 from Denon). Personally, I think if you have a player with an excellent deinterlacer, and poney up the $$$ for some good component cables, it's just as good as HDMI. But going through a receiver may get expensive, especially if you need long runs of comp vid to the projector. However, HDMI is expensive in long lenghts as well. I think HDMI would be better for long distances, but the difference is still slight. Honestly, HDMI switching is still so new, I haven't had a chance to see if going thru a receivers HDMI inputs degrades the signal any more or less than going thru its component inputs. I know that doesn't really answer your question, but I would look at it this way: whatever would be the least expensive between long component vid cables or long HDMI cables, that would be the way to go. Of course, for all I know, your projector could be 2 meters from your DVD player, and then it becomes moot.
As for players, the Denon 2910 or 3910 would be an excellent choice if you insist on going HDMI. They are definitely a bit better than Pioneer for picture quality. I would also recommend looking at a Marantz player such as the DV7600 or DV9500. These are also excellent players with HDMI.

[team_canada]

Thanks gregure. I would agree with what you have said. I am trying to work out the best configuration for my HT room so that the projector and components can remain fairly close together, less than 10 feet. Also, purchasing higher quality component cables will help.

What do you think about the Yamaha DVD-S2500??

[team_canada]

gregure, can you answer what may sound like a stupid question for me. My 56TXi has Video Conversion, s-video to component video. This is the first receiver I have owned that has this capability. Does this mean that I can use s-video instead of component video and get the same result, or is it better to run component video?? Will it provide a better result.

Thanks again!