roystr

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $999.00 from internet

Summary:
heavy,well built. it has a clean no nonsense look about it. if you need a bunch of knobs and buttons to mess with,,this unit is not for you.
you plug in your speakers,cd,dvd,and the rest. then you put the mic that comes with it where the main user will sit. then hit the button on the remote. i personaly do not move for the 4 mins or so it takes to do the test,and ajustments.
it will ajust ( my fronts and rears are different makers) the speakers to sound as much like each other as possible. its kinda col to listen to the thing go through its paces.
when its done. you pop in a movie and turn it up. its all set.

if there is a downside,there always is,, i havent found it yet. im very happy to say.
now i need to come up with about 800$ for the new mains i want to build..one thing ive learned,,build your own loudspeakers.( im not kidding)
email me if you want to know more about 300$ DIYspeakers blowing the doors off 1500 or 3000$ comercial made speeks.its quite easy.

Strengths:
power, im not expierenced with the very high end stuff. this was a serious gift to myself,and ill probably never have a more powerfull one.
ive been recently thinking of messing with "flea" powered amps,and super sensitive loudspeakers. 1-3 wpc...lol,sounds funny.

i have read about the amps pioneer used in this reciever , reviewed in other recievers. they (audiophiles) love this amp,or set of amps.
they basicaly say that ONLY seperate MONO amps would be the next step in amp quality next to this set up. man,did that make me happy.

power wise,, one thing i learned,,the better quality audio system you have,the less loud it seems when playing the same watt power levels.
in other words,,,a basic 100wpc reciever,, palyed with movies,, may seem very loud,,even wound nearly all the way to the stops.
then,you use this one at 110wpc, and to me at least,,it seemed at first kinda weak. but i soon realized,, it wasent weak,, it was putting out the same wattage,,or power during the DVD, its just that its so clearer,perfect sounding,,it dosent come off as loud. nice,but dangerous to the ears, you can and will be fooled by this aspect.
as an aside,, they even make a unit to hook up to your system,,it PUTS BACK IN the NOISE you spent many many dollars trying to remove. for the exact reason i stated.

id guess,,,,,with quality upper end stuff,, you'd need a few thousand wats per channel to "seem" like or have the impact the lower end unit had before.
so in fact,, it will be an ilusion that this and other high end amps sound less powerfull when they are not. neat huh?

Weaknesses:
hmmmm, for me? none that comes to mind. it can run hot to the touch but dont touch it ..it never clipped or cut out,and i basicaly abuse it durring movies. what i need is much better loudspeakers,witch i intend to build myself. in fact myu main speakers for theater are single driver self built and they are the best speakers i have ever owned,but not quite good enough for movies. they are much to accurate,and more for acoustic,jazz,classicall stuff like that.

its kinda heavy,so if you cant lift it could see that as a prob when you need it to be moved..

oh,, it will definatly point out every weakness in your system.dvd player,,loudspeakers,ect.ect

Similar Products Used:
none realy. i owned a 8 yo kenwood theater reciever. i realy liked that one. i thought it blew up, so i got the pioneer. then i noticed i had messed up a wire,,and it worked fine. so i spent the money when i was more or less happy.

oh,,,, i use dto have a old sony reciever, it was my first "real" reciever. and i loved it. i dont think you CAN compare various units. im probly wrong.

Bri1270

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.33 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from Tweeter

Summary:
I purchased this receiver to replace my Denon AVR-3300. I battled back and forth as to whether or not I should buy seperates instead of another receiver. After several visits to various high end audio dealers that deal mainly with separates and "exotic" receivers, I was lead in the direction of the 56TXi. The funny thing about all three of the high end dealers that I visited was that they all had their NADs, Rotels, Anthems, Parasounds, on and on...but they also carried the Elite line. I was all set to spend $1,500 - $2,000 on a NAD T973, or some variation of separates when one of the installers said that he actually preferred the Pioneer Elite for home theater. There aren't many reviews of this reciever, so I was a little hesitant to pull the trigger. I shopped and read review after review on the Denon AVR-3805 and the Yamaha RX-V2500. They all pretty much read the same way...Well, needless to say, I took a chance on the Elite. Tweeter gave me the best deal (aside from the internet) at $1200 with a 5 year warranty. Hey for the $100 bucks or so that I would have saved on the internet, the human factor was worth the extra $$. Now that I have rambled on about virtually nothing, I will give you my views on the receiver. 1. Very well built. I know it's a no no, but I had to take the cover off and have a peak inside. A couple of very nice heat sinks, a huge 15 poud power supply, very little wiring, and what is there was very neatly done. Two massive capacitors (27000 microfarads x 2). Compared to some entry level amps, that's = to or more reserve power. 2. MCACC = the nuts. This thing is great...plug it in and let it go. I did do some tweaking, but only to set some personal preferences. 3. Bass Management is pretty good; there's a 9 (I think) band crossover selection. Sound - Pretty Damn good for a mid level reciever. It blows my 6 year old Denon out of the water. It's not as bright as the Yamaha RX-V2500, and I didn't do a direct comparison to the AVR-3805 so I can't comment on that. However, I can comment on the build quality, and the 56TXi is heads and shoulders above anything else in it's class. It weighs as much as an entry level 5 channel Amp like the Aragon GFA7400, or the B&K AV5000. Instructions are very easy to read and well thought out. They tell you everything you need to know. Movie performance is outstanding and music performance is very good. If I had to rate the Pioneer Elite vs. the NAD T973 for Movies the Pioneer is 10 of 10 and the NAD is 8.5 of 10 and for Music, the NAD is 10 of 10 and the Pioneer is 8.5 of ten. That's not to say that either one is worse, just that they seem to perform better for different applications. I like movies so that's where I concentrated. I am still considering a 3 channel amp for the front speakers, but I honestly don't think I need one; the receiver is pushing all 7 of my speakers at very loud levels with ease. If you're on the fence with regards to separates, this receiver is a pretty good option. Let's face it, if you can afford top of the line Amps and Pre-amps, do it, because it doesn't get much better. But if you're looking at the entry level stuff and you're still considering a receiver, take a look at this one. As for my rating 3 - is a Fair deal - I think at $1200, that's a fair deal, not a great one. 4 - Very Good Product - I am very impressed with the quality and construction, as well as the sound stage, but there's always room for improvement on any product.

Strengths:
Well Built Good Options Movie performance is an A+ Remote isn't bad. Video Up conversion at 100mHz = only one cable to the TV. Great amplifier section. Dual 48 bit processors, not a single 32 bit.

Weaknesses:
Component Video 'In' - there should be at least one more...there's only two. Front display is pretty busy, and can be a bit confusing at first.

Similar Products Used:
Denon Sony Yamaha

dbastings

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 13.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1580.00 from East Hamilton Radio

Summary:
I will start with alittle background. I have always been a DENON fan i have owned the following recievers DENON 1601, 3802, 4800, 3805. So as you can see i WAS a huge denon fan until i went to seperates ( Audio Refinement Pre2 dsp& NAD S250 power amp). I really heard a huge difference in sound with the seperates. I was driving JMlab Electra 906's and thought i had died and gone to heaven. But things happens and i had to sell my stuff. So i was forced to down grade to a reciever, and boy i was very worried. I just didnt want that thin and slightly bright sound that too many recievers have. A few months back i had listened to the pioneer 55txi vs. a Denon 4802r and they both sounded pretty much the same, NOT THAT GREAT. But at that time i still had my Audio Refinement and Nad combo so it didnt matter. But push forward a few months and the NAD/AudioRefinement combo were sold, and i still had a need for a Home Theatre. So without auditioning the new 56Txi i bought it and was fully prepared for major let down, BUT OMG i couldn't believe how good this unit sounds. It offers 90% of my previous gear and Drives 3000.00 speakers and punches you in the chest the way the NAD did. I take my hat off to PIONEER, they have elevated Mid priced recievers to a sound quality that beats low price PRE/PRO&POWER AMP combos. I believe the AUTOMATIC setup has alot to do with its performance. The TREBLE is SMOOTH like seperates, the bass in 2 channel with no sub hits you softly in the chest and you can feel the FULLNESS of the music. Its very nice and i am truly happy with something that costs 1/5 of what i replaced. Another huge point is that this reciever is only rated to 6ohms but i have it set in 8ohms and it easily drives my NEW 4ohm PSB STRATUS SILVERS and C5 centre. So to make a long story short i am VERY, VERY happy with this reciever

Strengths:
Sound (awesome smooth and full) Looks Awesome Build (lots of copper) Removeable power cord (55txi didnt) OPTIONS, OPTIONS, OPTIONS I LINK WARRANTY

Weaknesses:
NONE, Seriously there are none. Actually the finger prints are a pain.

Similar Products Used:
Denon AVR 1601,3802,4800,3805 AudioRefinement/Nad pre/pro power combo Rotel rsx1055 (nice recievr, but Bright) Rotel rsx1065(nice again but also bright) Rotel RSP976/RMB1075 (okay)