Price Paid:  $1649.00 from downtown electronics

Summary:
After years of staying loyal to the standard two channel stereo system I decided to expand into a modest home theater. My main concern was sound quality and not running out of gas when the demand was present for dynamic power. All of my old McIntosh equipment and Ohm speakers were listed and sold on ebay and I took the proceeds to get started in home theater. After many auditions we chose the Pioneer Elite VSX-47TX ultra receiver. So far I am really pleased with the sound quality,( something I thought would be lost to some degree ) and it's ability to stay with the music and movie soundtracks. It has proven that seperates may have slight advantages in the details but a good receiver can deliver excellent sound reproduction at a fraction of the cost in multi-channel application. The Pioneer Elite VSX-47TX is warm, detailed and has plenty of power for dynamics on demand. I chose the Paradigm reference line of speakers to mate with them and it is an excellent marriage in my humble opinion. Buy yourself a good quality powered sub and let the receiver do the rest, it will not dissappoint.

Strengths:
Good build quality, plenty of high grade power in one package. Easy set up.

Weaknesses:
Glossy face shows fingerprints, if that kind of thing bothers you.

Similar Products Used:
McIntosh MC7300 amp, C-35 pre-amp, MR-73 tuner, Adcom GCD-700 CD player.

Price Paid:  $1749.00 from Crazie Eddies, Onlin

Summary:
I previously owned a Yamaha RXV-2095 before this Pioneer. I purchased the Pioneer, only to see if there was a noticable difference in sound. In fact, I expected it would not be significant, and thought I'd be returning it. I was wrong. I have a Klipsch speaker system, and the Pioneer is so much more warm and detailed, I thought I was listening to an entirely new system. Music is excellent, but movies are killer! With the self calibrating feature, all the speakers are properly dialed in. It really does do a great job at this! Movies have more presence, and depth! Currently, I am running a 5.1 system, but plan to add 2 more surrounds this winter. Bottom line, I love this thing! I couldn't justify the $2500+ price tag for the 49TX, at that point, I thought I'd consider separates. I actually planned on looking at separates, if this 47TX didn't impress me. I have owned this now for 5 months, and have truly loved every minute of it.

Strengths:
Full, rich & warm sound. More inputs & outputs thatn you could ever use. Beautiful looks. Renamable inputs. Self calibrating. Plenty o power. THX Ultra 2. Component Video Outs. I am running out of room here...

Weaknesses:
This thing weights a ton!

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha RXV 2095
Denon 4802