I recently home demoed a VSX-24 along with a Denon 3300 looking to replace a pioneer 608. The entire elite line is basically the same except for power ratings and a few little features. The build quality is very good although the volume know could be beefed up a little the Denon. The remote is far superior to the Denon. The sound of the mosfet amps in the vsx24 is very warm and musical. The denon was bright by comparison. The real surprise was the little 608 kept up with its bigger brother in all apects of imaging and seperation, it sounded fuller than the denon even. The midrange on the vsx24 was superior and the amplifier had better control of the woofers in my speakers which cleared a slightly muddier low end on the 608. DD and DTS performance was very similar to the 608 with a little more dynamics. The 608 equaled the denon in DD playback with a better filled in low end. THX is a bonus on the VSX-24 though i didnt prefer it over the standard modes. Even though the vsx-24 isnt that much of a step up from the excellent value 608 I think im going to take the plunge. The latest pioneer receivers are excellent. anyone claiming these are bright have never truly listened and compared with others.you can see associated equipment used in this review here:
http://www.visi.com/~rhanson/images/theater/theater.htm

I brought this reciever home because of some of the research that I did and a couple of favorable reviews. I was determined in my efforts to purchase the very finest sounding, user friendly and technologically current, surround sound unit, within my budget of roughly $650.00. I will start by saying that Pioneer makes very good equipment, I owned a older pioneer previously and was very happy with the sound. Upon opening the box for the first time, my initial impression was "man, this thing weighs a ton", Pioneer had obviously put some gear inside this thing, I was tempted to call a friend for help to get it into my cabinet, which is about 5 feet off the floor. This unit comes with plenty of connects and is AC-3 ready. The VSX-24TX had a nice, full, warm sound while a little bright in the upper end!!! and a tendency to distort with volume that I thought came a little too quickly, at about 11:00 on the volume dial. I initially blamed this brightness on my new infinity speakers. The downside of this unit is its lack of crisp highs. After about 2 weeks of trying to get used to the sound aspects of the VSX-24TX, I gave up and took it back. The THX mode was very nice, expensive, but nice, dialoge was crisp and easy to understand. But, for the money, I would rather have a more musical system that is user friendly than the little extra the THX cert gives you. I have just brought home a Onkyo 575 and after just one day am very impressed, there is just very little to criticize about this reciever, by the way, the brightness was not in my infinity, I am glad to say. The Onkyo took care of that and the distortion problem too. Wonderfull sound. Overall I would give the Pioneer 2 stars, there are better units for less money out there. Namely, the Onkyo 575 for around three hundred and change@! There are much better systems for the money. I have also chated with other people who have had a couple of there units break down after a few months. (stereo store owners) They had them replaced with new units and, one of the new ones didnt work. A unit shouldn't break down straight out of a new box!

THX Select certified, very good remote control.

Only 90watt/ch.

I have upgrade this receiver from Onkyo TX-DS474. It sounds very good, especially in mid-range. For its price range, I think it's the best. One thing I regret getting this receiver is that I could have gotten 26TX for extra $100.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Sony.

Clean sound, THX certification

Difficult to set up

Although the universal lighted remote is awkward to use and setting up the unit is difficult (i.e., assigning the digital inputs and speaker distances), the sound that the 24TX creates is truly awesome. The sound is crisp, clear and full of definition. I was also so impressed with the Burr Brown D/A converters that I am using the 24TX's sound card instead of my cd palyer's. Also, the THX cinema sound is incredible (Note: THX is only used for movies). After 3 months of owning the unit, I am still completely satisfied with it and encourage anyone who is shopping the $500 price range to consider spending the $250 extra for the Pioneer Elite. In the long term, you'll be glad that you spent the extra bucks.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 575

Build quality, power,As far as features go this Elite has almost every kind.

Plastic binding posts for the speakers,

The Elite can play loud with clarity and great bass power. I am very happy with the receiver.I think going with the vsx 24 tx over the 26 is money saved. Your only getting 10 more watts with the vsx 26 ... Hey you can't tell the Difference, take the 125$ and get some great DVDs Cds !!!!!

Similar Products Used:

DvD 525

Good looks, Hefty, Great sound and realism

Programing the remote

I had a budget of 750, and I really looked around and tried other units. I spent about six months researching this and ended up buying a Denon 2700. The only reason I got the denon was because it was only 400 dollars. I took it back because it was not quite up to the standered of the pioneer. Also, it does not have DTS decoding. The pioneer is a beutiful unit, weighing in at 36 pounds. It's depth is alittle long like the previous said, but with that minor problem I was able to fit it in the cabinet. Hook up is straight forward, and the onsreen setup is very easy.
However, the remote setup I found was a pain in the neck. It does seem to work everthing that I have though. Once everything was ready, I tested stereo music CD's first. Pure clean music seemed to flow from my speakers, it was incredible how well they sounded! My sound stage was huge!! Next of corse came The dvd in THX digital sound. I popped in Apollo 13 and skipped to the blast off, and What I got was more than I ever imagined! I felt the rumble in my bones, the smoke all around me! Then went in Dragonheart, the scene were the Dragon is flying in circles around the Knight. You could almost feel the wind of the dragon's wings in your hair! I was completly amazed! I am very happy with this purchase! I bought at Laser City for $667, which included shipping, and a total of 5 years under warranty! Beat that. If you are wondering if 90 watts of power is enough, 10 more a channel is not going to give you much more. Save your $250 and by some good cables. The vsx26tx just is not woth the extra unless you plan on using it for more than one room, with different sources. So, Enjoy and watch lots of flicks!!!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Prologic reciever

DTS, Dolby Digital, S-Video, Pre outs

Remote ( Just a little )

I have used Pioneer equipment in the past, but I hae been fairly unimpress lately with their regular line of receivers.

The Pioneer Elite is definetely a change in the right direction. The build quality and sound is such a vast improvement over their regular line.

The amount of inputs this receiver has is astonishing. With all my equipment attached I still have inputs vacant.

The receiver is also certified THX Select. It sounds great with Dolby Pro Logic material.

In Dolby Digital the sound is breath taking. DTS material is also something to marvel about.

Well worth the money.

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Pioneer (regular Line ) Sony 555ES

Build Quality

none

This is definitly a great product. If you are thinking about another reciever for a similiar price, think again!
This reciever has everything you could ever want. Digitals in & outs, etc... All in all the thx processing mode in this reciever tops Logic 7 from lexicon and Cinema DSP from Yamaha. Those processing modes are just THX ripoffs. George Lucas knows exactly how it's done when it comes to movie sound! Buy it, you'll love it! And if you have enough money go check out the VSX 27-29 recievers. Now those my friend are magnifico!

Similar Products Used:

Yahmaha, Harman Kardon

Clean punchy bass,warm sounding internal amp,external decoder input,MOSFET

Rear inputs are not gold plated, average signal to noise ratio.

I've had the Sony30ES and was very happy with it's movie performance but not happy in the music section. I decided to try out the VSX-24TX and immediately noticed a big difference in music when compared in 2 ch. mode. The Pioneer simply had much tighter bass and control. I could push the amps to near overload while movies and music stayed warm and clear with no sign of fatigue. But there is also one big difference when I listened to both recievers,and that is the S/N ratio. The Sony hardly had an audible hiss at a reasonable volume level,while the Pioneer at around the same level had a very noticeable hiiisssssss! I thought I had something hookep up wrong so I checked the manuel and by mistake I ran into the specs page and there it answered my problem. The Pioneer had a lower S/N than the Sony. This dissapointed me but its performance still made up for this weakness. Overall this is a great value for those who want a THX governed home theater without spending as much as our government does for NASA.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 30ES

Clarity, Detail, Cleanliness of Sound.

Front Panel scratches easily

How can you top this receiver for the price I paid on Ubid? I went to a local High-end store who's still selling these at more than twice the price I paid. All I can say is compare this receiver to all the competitors in it's MSRP range, listening on the same speakers, amps, etc. and decide for yourself. Then go to UBid.com and get one. I'm currently using this system with leftover Bose AM-5s that I had from yesteryear, but since Bose's Bass module lacks the quality they claim because of their internal equalization, I will be replacing them for a REAL set of speakers. I can't wait to hear how this unit performs with B&Ws.

Similar Products Used:

Tested the Onkyo 787