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Pioneer Elite 92 and Yamaha 1800

post #1 of 18
5/15/08 at 7:06pm
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Hey guys, sorry for this thread if it bothers some of you. I just picked up some speakers today, returned my RM6880 sat system as suggested and ended up with Polk RTi8's and a CSiA4 center to start. While i was at Tweeter the guy showed me that they have the Pioneer Elite 92 on a huge sale for $799. He told me the Pioneer is not as bright as the Yamaha 1800 and would go better with my Polks. Of course it wasnt hooked up so i couldnt listen to it. And at BB, the magnolia guy told me that Pioneer is the brightest receiver and the Yamaha would be a better choice. I just wanted to here some Opinions on these two receivers in regards to brightness and anything else, and which one may match my speakers better. I'm so close to having my system, just need a receiver, some rears, and a sub.
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post #2 of 18
5/16/08 at 9:07am
Thread Starter 
Shameless bump from an audio idiot.
Do most people prefer Yamaha or Pioneer. I know its more of an opinion thing, but would just like to hear some (opinions that is).
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post #3 of 18
5/16/08 at 9:42am
I have a pioneer Elite 92 hook up with Sony speakers system.
And i have to say i'm really impress with the sound quality for music and movies.Now, to answer your question. No,the receiver sounds warm and not bright at all. I say go for it. And if you don't like the sound i'm sure you can return it back and get the 1800 Yamaha.
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post #4 of 18
5/16/08 at 10:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by metal83 View Post

Hey guys, sorry for this thread if it bothers some of you. I just picked up some speakers today, returned my RM6880 sat system as suggested and ended up with Polk RTi8's and a CSiA4 center to start. While i was at Tweeter the guy showed me that they have the Pioneer Elite 92 on a huge sale for $799. He told me the Pioneer is not as bright as the Yamaha 1800 and would go better with my Polks. Of course it wasnt hooked up so i couldnt listen to it. And at BB, the magnolia guy told me that Pioneer is the brightest receiver and the Yamaha would be a better choice. I just wanted to here some Opinions on these two receivers in regards to brightness and anything else, and which one may match my speakers better. I'm so close to having my system, just need a receiver, some rears, and a sub.


I don't think the receiver will make as huge of a difference as the speakers will. With most receivers in the class you are looking at, they have a lot of ability to dial in the sound (both automatically and manually) for the speakers you have and the room they will be placed in.

That being said, I prefer Denon stuff and suggest you look at the 3808. The GUI on that unit is really nice, the best of the bunch. The sound is super clean at very high volume. I have mine paired with Klipch Reference IV speakers and a Martin Logan sub. I have been able to tweak and tweak to finally get the sound I want.

One of the problems you will probably face...almost all audio (quality audio) sounds good when you first get it home. Then after time goes by, you will start to hear things that need improvement. Speakers / Sub need to be moved, crossovers adjusted, AVR features turned on or off, etc....

I used to be a huge Yamaha fan. But, I have to say the Denon made my Klipsch set up sing at a new level.

All in all, you probably won't go wrong with any decent receiver, but the Denon GUI was a MAJOR advantage. You can view it over any video source including HDMI and HD. And, it is a much better graphical presentation.
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post #5 of 18
5/16/08 at 11:07am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SushiBill View Post

I don't think the receiver will make as huge of a difference as the speakers will. With most receivers in the class you are looking at, they have a lot of ability to dial in the sound (both automatically and manually) for the speakers you have and the room they will be placed in.

That being said, I prefer Denon stuff and suggest you look at the 3808. The GUI on that unit is really nice, the best of the bunch. The sound is super clean at very high volume. I have mine paired with Klipch Reference IV speakers and a Martin Logan sub. I have been able to tweak and tweak to finally get the sound I want.

One of the problems you will probably face...almost all audio (quality audio) sounds good when you first get it home. Then after time goes by, you will start to hear things that need improvement. Speakers / Sub need to be moved, crossovers adjusted, AVR features turned on or off, etc....

I used to be a huge Yamaha fan. But, I have to say the Denon made my Klipsch set up sing at a new level.

All in all, you probably won't go wrong with any decent receiver, but the Denon GUI was a MAJOR advantage. You can view it over any video source including HDMI and HD. And, it is a much better graphical presentation.

I was looking at the Denon 3808, but i cant afford it unfortunately. I could afford the Yamaha 663 or 1800 at BB because i have a $450 gift card (no sales tax either). I suppose i could also afford the Denon 2808 at BB as well. Or i can get the Pioneer Elite 92 for $799 at tweeter, which would be a stretch for me, but i could do it. Its just definetly a tough decision for a first timer. I'll be thinking about this long and hard all night at work with the hopes of buying something tomorrow.
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post #6 of 18
5/16/08 at 1:58pm
Both the Yamaha 1800 and Pio Elite are great choices. The fact that 2 salesman gave you the opposite info on the sound characteristic difference of each prove what most think already, they really don't have a clue-and yes I'm being nice.

Both are excellent choices, their will be fans of each. The ultimate way to fine out is bring them both home if possible, spend a weak or two with each hooked up and see which you prefer then return the other but that's not possible for most of us. Most will tell you that yammy is a little more forward in the high end but again that has a lot to do with preference, speakers and room as each will sound different in different setups.

Since you've got the BB $450 gift card and no sales tax at BB I would go with them, Ether the A Denon or Yamaha in your price range and if I'm not mistaken they also sell Pio Elite which you might be able to get them to cut you a deal on. At any rate $450 is a hunk of change I"d use it there if you are shopping locally. Narrow your choices down to 2 or maybe 3 that meet your needs from them and then do a demo with each with speakers that are the closest match to yours and then pick one. No it's not the perfect way but other then bringing them home for a comparison it'll have to do and you're getting a great receiver either way.
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post #7 of 18
5/16/08 at 2:06pm
I listened to a couple of Yamahas and all the Pioneer Elites and would not call any of them bright. Forced to chose, I would call the Pioneer's brighter than the Yamahas, but that still doesn't make them bright in my book. I preferred the Pioneer's so much better I wound up spending more money and getting a 94.
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post #8 of 18
5/16/08 at 2:27pm
I did an A-B-C comparison at BB of the Yammy, Pio, and Denon. I'd bet you can do this too. Preference is a personal thing, I didn't care much for the Denon's sound but many people do as it is a very popular receiver. Between te Yammy and Pio I liked the Pio's processing better and that's what I ended up with. I also looked at the Onkyo but the various 'issues' drove me away. If you are going to do a comparison make sure the settings on the AVRs are set to equivalent settings. You might want to also compare like processing functions.

FYI.... the one thing I don't like about the Pio is the lack of crossover settings for the subwoofer. It only has 50, 80, and 100(?) Hz and I would have liked some settings in between 50 and 80. But this is not a deal breaker.

One consideration for me was depth of the chassis. I had to cut out the back of my cabinet to get it to fit. I knew I had to do this when I bought it, but some of these units are very deep, and don't forget to account for cable connections.
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post #9 of 18
5/16/08 at 2:38pm
The 92 and 1800 are very comparable in features and sound ( I slightly preferred the sound of the Pioneer), but the Onkyo 805 beats them both in features, price and power. Don't let the forums scare you away from the Onkyo. New ones are shipping with the new firmware, and for the money, they can't be beat. There is going to be heat when you are making that much power with a class A/B amplifier in an AVR. Lipsync and audio delay has been fixed with the new firmware.

Read this review - http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Onkyo+...s.-a0178450770
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post #10 of 18
5/16/08 at 6:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedracerII View Post

One consideration for me was depth of the chassis. I had to cut out the back of my cabinet to get it to fit.

Ha! I also had to do this. The Pioneer, at least the 94, is VERY deep. It could be a deal breaker for some.
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post #11 of 18
5/16/08 at 6:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jakeman02 View Post

Both the Yamaha 1800 and Pio Elite are great choices. The fact that 2 salesman gave you the opposite info on the sound characteristic difference of each prove what most think already, they really don't have a clue-and yes I'm being nice.

Both are excellent choices, their will be fans of each. The ultimate way to fine out is bring them both home if possible, spend a weak or two with each hooked up and see which you prefer then return the other but that's not possible for most of us. Most will tell you that yammy is a little more forward in the high end but again that has a lot to do with preference, speakers and room as each will sound different in different setups.

Since you've got the BB $450 gift card and no sales tax at BB I would go with them, Ether the A Denon or Yamaha in your price range and if I'm not mistaken they also sell Pio Elite which you might be able to get them to cut you a deal on. At any rate $450 is a hunk of change I"d use it there if you are shopping locally. Narrow your choices down to 2 or maybe 3 that meet your needs from them and then do a demo with each with speakers that are the closest match to yours and then pick one. No it's not the perfect way but other then bringing them home for a comparison it'll have to do and you're getting a great receiver either way.

Yeah i want to buy one of them from BB considering i have the Gift Card. The kicker is though that the Pioneer Elite 92 is on sale at Tweeter for $799 till the end of the month, and its $1300 at BB. I tried today to get them to price match Tweeter, but they said no because its on clearance. Then they said they couldnt budge at all on any prices for any receivers. If they could of price matched me i'd be setting up the Pioneer 92 right now.

I just hate to have to pay $799 out of pocket at Tweeter even tho i do really want it. I have been asking everyone i know if they want to buy a $450 BB gift card, i'd even sell it for $400 just so i could use the money at Tweeter. No go though lol.
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post #12 of 18
5/16/08 at 7:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by metal83 View Post

I have been asking everyone i know if they want to buy a $450 BB gift card, i'd even sell it for $400 just so i could use the money at Tweeter. No go though lol.

You might want to consider trying ebay. I just did an search of ended auctions and their are several $500 gift cards that went for $450 and over. Just a thought.
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post #13 of 18
5/16/08 at 7:30pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jakeman02 View Post

You might want to consider trying ebay. I just did an search of ended auctions and their are several $500 gift cards that went for $450 and over. Just a thought.

Thanks, that sounds like a good idea. But since i have never sold anything on ebay and would have no seller rating, wouldnt that make it extremely hard to sell something? Regardless it cant hurt to try.
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post #14 of 18
5/16/08 at 9:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by metal83 View Post


I just hate to have to pay $799 out of pocket at Tweeter even tho i do really want it. I have been asking everyone i know if they want to buy a $450 BB gift card, i'd even sell it for $400 just so i could use the money at Tweeter. No go though lol.

Don't you have a BB/Magnolia in your area? Magnolia caries the Elites and get them to price match with Tweeters. As for selling your gift card, craigslist is a geat way of doing it.
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post #15 of 18
5/16/08 at 11:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by maxdog03 View Post

Don't you have a BB/Magnolia in your area? Magnolia caries the Elites and get them to price match with Tweeters. As for selling your gift card, craigslist is a geat way of doing it.

he already said MHT wouldn't price match tweeter because it's a clearance price. Gotta read through the thread.
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post #16 of 18
5/17/08 at 12:50am
id be hard pressed to say any of the avrs mentioned color the sound in anyway 0 Receivers dont have sound speakers do..............
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post #17 of 18
5/17/08 at 1:14pm
Thread Starter 
Finally, i made a decision on a receiver, Pioneer Elite 92.

I was actually gonna say screw it and just go to Tweeter and pick it up, Considering $799 for $1300 receiver was just to hard to pass up. I had tried to have BB price match this yesterday, at three different locations with a no go at each. Well this morning, i called on more best buy a little further away. And to my surprise they said yes, they will price match it. Took me a half hour to get to the store but it was worth it. So i was able to use my $450 gift card, and only paid $350 out of pocket for this receiver. Pretty sweet deal. I almost considered the Yamaha 663 because of the praise it gets. But since i was able to work this out at BB i saw no reason not to get the Pio Elite. Now i am just deciding if i want the BB warrenty, 4yrs for $100.

Thanks for everyones input, and i'll let you know how it goes with this receiver.
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post #18 of 18
5/17/08 at 1:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by johsti View Post

The 92 and 1800 are very comparable in features and sound ( I slightly preferred the sound of the Pioneer), but the Onkyo 805 beats them both in features, price and power. Don't let the forums scare you away from the Onkyo. New ones are shipping with the new firmware, and for the money, they can't be beat. There is going to be heat when you are making that much power with a class A/B amplifier in an AVR. Lipsync and audio delay has been fixed with the new firmware.

Read this review - http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Onkyo+...s.-a0178450770

I'd love for the Onkyo to be a choice for me but there's no way; the amp fits in the cabinet in such a way that it would never get the air it needs and the heat is a deal breaker.
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