Pioneer 920, Sony 1000, Onkyo 508?

[acritzer]

Trying to narrow down my discussion a bit. Looks like the Pioneer is $345, Sony and Onkyo are around $325. Aside from going to listening to them...anyone have advice, based on the specs, their experiences, and/or my speakers?

Thanks.

[acritzer]

Oh man, no responses? I'm leaning towards the Pioneer, but really need to go listen.

[lojack1976]

I personally would skip the Sony. Outside of their ES line their receivers are pretty lackluster. The 920 from last year was a bit of an exception, and I think Sony woke up and decided they gave more with that receiver than they intended. They've gone back to giving you the basics with their non-ES line. Every review that I've read on the 1000 says that the sound is good, but not great.

This is why I never consider Denon receivers as well. Every pro review I've read says that the sound is just average in regards to their low and mid-level receivers. You have to spend more money with these companies to get truly good sound. Any reviews of Pioneer and Onkyo receivers all praise the sound be it the lower end models or the higher end ones. I'd rather have lower power with excellent sound quality than loads of power with mediocre sound. Just my opinion.

Aside from that both the Onkyo and the Pioneer have HDMI 1.4 and are more future proof. Being that these receivers have their own distinctive sound you will want to demo them to see which sound you prefer. Its best to demo them with your model speakers if possible to see how they match up. Similar speakers from the same company can be used if the stores don't have your exact speakers.

[acritzer]

I think I've read from you that pioneer and onkyo hve a fairly distinctive sound. Could you describe their basic characteristics? Warm, dark, full? I know it won't be the same as listening myself, but it'll give me something to work with.
I've only had my current htib receiver, which is Onkyo. Aside from it running pretty hot it's seemed fine, but I also know that Pioneer generally has a strong reputation for good sound quality.

[lojack1976]

Being an owner of both I can tell you that they are truly different. Onkyo is warmer than Pioneer. I would even say that Onkyo has what I would call an aggressive and almost dark sound. Pioneer is a slightly bright and highly detailed sound. Pioneer is my preferred, but I can't deny that I like Onkyo as well. I always have, but I find that different speakers will give you different results.

When I hooked my Energy speakers up to my Onkyo I was wowed. They just seem to go very well together. My JBL's sounded good with the Onkyo, but the Pioneer brought out something special in them. This is why I suggest that you test both receivers with the speakers you have or are getting so you can see which you prefer. You may find that one receiver sounds better than the other to you with those specific speakers even if the other one blew you away with another set of speakers.

For further reference Sony and Yamaha receivers are fairly neutral while Harman Kardon and Marantz are warm. I can't really say about Denon. I've never listened to one, and I only know one person personally who has one. He's no audiophile, but I know he's had nothing but problems with the receiver anyway. I've read in many threads that they are neutral, bright, and warm so I don't know for sure. One theme that seems to be consistently stated with the lower and mid-level Denons is that the sound is a little on the thin side.

[acritzer]

Looks like my receiver is going to sell today or tomorrow so I'll be making a trip to BB tomorrow.

Hmmm warmer, aggressive and darker...that's an interesting combo. I don't like the idea of bright, but detailed is nice.