I have troubles deciding between Pioneer Elite VSX-23TXH and Denon AVR-2310CI

I would go for the 23TXh. I went to Magnolia and compared both receivers. The 23TXh is 110 watts and the Denon 105. There should be almost no difference, although hearing both for me it seemed the Denon had lower wattage than what it's specs say. Although The 23TXh seemed louder. Both receiver were put at -24, and i liked what I heard with the 23TXh. If i were you, i'd go to a Magnolia at a Best buy, and audition both of them.

Hello,
I would choose the Pioneer to have THX Processing, preamp outputs (not available on US AVR-2310's) and it weighs almost twice as much.

I do prefer Audyssey MultEQ over Pioneer's proprietary MCACC Speaker EQ, but the stronger amplifier section and THX Processing would tilt the scales towards the Pioneer.
Cheers,
AD

To be sure there would be no difference in power between the two even if there were a 20W difference in their spec'd power. And going to Magnolia is not really a fair way to test them as you're not only using a different set of speakers (which is the real key to audio quality), but Magnolia doesn't generally run the EQ setup procedures so you weren't able to hear either the benefit of using either Audyssey or MCAAC which are what really make these lower level AVRs shine.

Skat -
Determine what your requirements are going to be both now and down the road to see if you can rule one out over the other. There are different camps on which is better Audyssey or MCAAC, however, as I said above, you're not likely going to be able to compare them in a place like Magnolia or Best Buy. Perhaps in a specialty audio store you would. The other thing to consider is whether it's worth waiting a few months for the newer HDMI 1.4 AVRs as the new lower level Denon's will be out in May/June.

The VSX-23 weighs 29 lbs 12oz and the Denon 2310 weighs 24.9lbs. The 37.5 lbs you see for the Pioneer is the shipping weight. I wish Pioneer would correct that on their site.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/ep.../VSX-23TXH.pdf
http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/5011.asp

I had the same choice to make and went with the pioneer. The extra hdmi out sold me. And now that I have it I love it. Great sounding receiver. Replaced a denon 2805, which quit outputting sound.

You guys might want to verify the actual power output capability of both receivers.

Hint: Some of you might be surprised.

Hello,
After reading the Home Theater Magazine Bench Test of the VSX-1019 5 Channels Driven (.1%: 28.7 watts/ 1%: 34.3 watts), nothing would surprise me.

I realize a number of THX Select Certified AVR's have not come close to meeting their stated specs, but most of the Ultra2 Plus AVR's have come closer.

Afrogt, I am glad you pointed out that disparity as I had believed the weight of the VSX-23 to be out of the box. That being said, it definitely makes it more important that the VSX-23 has preamp outputs whereas the Denon does not.
I also personally enjoy THX Processing Modes. I realize some do not care it.
Cheers,
AD

The Owner's manual for the Pioneer lists the power consumption as 400W ... which would make the claims of 110W x7 Ch continuous ... shall we say, "dubious" at best. ... Caveat Emptor!

- This is precisely why I got the Denon. Those numbers just ring alarm bells for me. The Denon power draw is lower than it's total wattage as well, but by a much, much smaller amount. I'm wading through the subwoofer part of the Audyssey setup now...