Onkyo 608 or Pioneer Elite VSX 30?

[nolfoc]

hello again, so ive decided on these 2 receivers... i think they are both great but its a toss up for me and im hoping you guys can help me make an easier decision with your input.. there botha round the same price range so thats not hte issue, i just want me movies to sound the very best..

the 2 front speakers are Polk Audio Monitor 60 Cherry Floorstanding loudspeaker

my center speaker is Polk Audio CS2 Series II Center Channel Speaker

and my back speakers are Polk Audio Monitor 40 Black Two-way bookshelf loudspeaker

im still shopping around for a sub at the moment

down the road i may add an Emotiva but not at the moment so what will be the best experience for me to watch Blus and Listen to my ipod.. not really into the streaming thing.. not at this time atleast..

if you guys can help me decide from these two it would mean a lot..

Thanks in advance

-Chris

[HiDefRev]

I'll put my 2 cents' worth in for the Onkyo 608. That's what I chose when I decided to get a new 3D capable receiver this year. It has all of the features that I want, including some that I'll probably never use, and it gets the job done with flying colors. In fact, it is replacing the Onkyo 667, which has never failed me, that is now in my den. I'm not saying that it is the world's best receiver, but for the price and the features, it is the best for MY system.

[nolfoc]

Originally Posted by HiDefRev

I'll put my 2 cents' worth in for the Onkyo 608. That's what I chose when I decided to get a new 3D capable receiver this year. It has all of the features that I want, including some that I'll probably never use, and it gets the job done with flying colors. In fact, it is replacing the Onkyo 667, which has never failed me, that is now in my den. I'm not saying that it is the world's best receiver, but for the price and the features, it is the best for MY system.

thanks, im never going to upgrade to 3D but if it's part of the receiver it wont bother me, ill just never use it.. i was leaning more towards that because i heard its a little better then the Pioneer.. thanks for your input

[lojack1976]

My two options at the time were the Pioneer VSX-1020(VSX-30 and VSX-31 are nearly identical to it) and the Onkyo 608, and I went with the 1020 as you can see by my sig. I own a 605 and I do like Onkyo a lot, but I prefer Pioneer's sound a little more than Onkyo's so that weighed heavily. On the other hand I knew that the 608 had a little more power. In the end the Pioneer own out for its looks, and I don't regret it. I feel Onkyo receivers are starting to look a bit dated, and I think Onkyo can stand a bit of an update to their looks.

Another thing is that Pioneer uses Anchor video processing which is far better than the Faroudja chip found in many Onkyo receivers. This brings me to another point that's come up in the owner's thread over on avsforum. The 608 processes ALL signals. Yup...1080p included. It will not leave the signal untouched even when set to pass through in the menu. Many buyers discovered that the video just isn't up to snuff. Onkyo screwed something up in its implementation, but anyway quite a few users returned their 608's and went to the 1020 because of this.

There is an avsforum user called winston9332 who runs a website called http://winstonsreviews.com/. He did a shootout between the 1020, the 608, and the Denon AVR-791. In it he initially gave a slight edge to the 608 for it having a tad more power, but he revised it shortly after due to the video problems with the 608. He also returned his own 608 for a 1020 because of this. You can check out his shootout HERE if you like. Anyhow, I would go with the VSX-1020 over the VSX-30. The 30 is the same receiver, but with fewer HDMI ports. Other than that it says "Elite" and that's about it. You can get the 1020 for $430 shipped on centraldigital.com. An even better way to go is the 1120 for $575 shipped also on centraldigital.com. Just my two cents.

[nolfoc]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

My two options at the time were the Pioneer VSX-1020(VSX-30 and VSX-31 are nearly identical to it) and the Onkyo 608, and I went with the 1020 as you can see by my sig. I own a 605 and I do like Onkyo a lot, but I prefer Pioneer's sound a little more than Onkyo's so that weighed heavily. On the other hand I knew that the 608 had a little more power. In the end the Pioneer own out for its looks, and I don't regret it. I feel Onkyo receivers are starting to look a bit dated, and I think Onkyo can stand a bit of an update to their looks.

Another thing is that Pioneer uses Anchor video processing which is far better than the Faroudja chip found in many Onkyo receivers. This brings me to another point that's come up in the owner's thread over on avsforum. The 608 processes ALL signals. Yup...1080p included. It will not leave the signal untouched even when set to pass through in the menu. Many buyers discovered that the video just isn't up to snuff. Onkyo screwed something up in its implementation, but anyway quite a few users returned their 608's and went to the 1020 because of this.

There is an avsforum user called winston9332 who runs a website called http://winstonsreviews.com/. He did a shootout between the 1020, the 608, and the Denon AVR-791. In it he initially gave a slight edge to the 608 for it having a tad more power, but he revised it shortly after due to the video problems with the 608. He also returned his own 608 for a 1020 because of this. You can check out his shootout HERE if you like. Anyhow, I would go with the VSX-1020 over the VSX-30. The 30 is the same receiver, but with fewer HDMI ports. Other than that it says "Elite" and that's about it. You can get the 1020 for $430 shipped on centraldigital.com. An even better way to go is the 1120 for $575 shipped also on centraldigital.com. Just my two cents.

thanks for your input lojack, i do agree with the look of the pioneer its by far the best looking receiver imo.... if i go with the 1020 and i wanted to add an emotiva down the road will that be okay?

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by nolfoc

thanks for your input lojack, i do agree with the look of the pioneer its by far the best looking receiver imo.... if i go with the 1020 and i wanted to add an emotiva down the road will that be okay?

The 1020 doesn't have pre-outs nor does the 608, so you can't add an amp to either of those. That's why I mentioned the 1120 since it does have pre-outs. Its also a more powerful receiver than the 1020.

[nolfoc]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

The 1020 doesn't have pre-outs nor does the 608, so you can't add an amp to either of those. That's why I mentioned the 1120 since it does have pre-outs. Its also a more powerful receiver than the 1020.

ill look into the 1120 then, how necessary is an amp? can i hook up the 1120 and still run the HT fine without the amp?

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by nolfoc

ill look into the 1120 then, how necessary is an amp? can i hook up the 1120 and still run the HT fine without the amp?

Check out winstonsreviews.com and look at his review. He gave a very good review and states that its very similar to last year's VSX-9040TXH which is the clone of the Elite VSX-21TXH.

I doubt that you will need to add an amp with this receiver unless you get some really thirsty and inefficient speakers. Most 6ohm and 8ohm speakers won't give you any problems since this receiver packs quite a bit of power.

Of course you will be future proofing yourself by getting this receiver. In the event that you decide to go all out one day and get some power hungry speakers you will be able to add an amp instead of having to go out and buy another receiver as well.

[nolfoc]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

Check out winstonsreviews.com and look at his review. He gave a very good review and states that its very similar to last year's VSX-9040TXH which is the clone of the Elite VSX-21TXH.

I doubt that you will need to add an amp with this receiver unless you get some really thirsty and inefficient speakers. Most 6ohm and 8ohm speakers won't give you any problems since this receiver packs quite a bit of power.

Of course you will be future proofing yourself by getting this receiver. In the event that you decide to go all out one day and get some power hungry speakers you will be able to add an amp instead of having to go out and buy another receiver as well.

awesome.. good stuff, yeah i cant have too much power living in an apt building.. dont want the neighbors to complain too much.. ill be getting all the speakers i posted my OP.. you think tehy should do fine with this receiver? also will 14 oxygen free wires work fine for this as well..

Thanks again

[LordoftheRings]

Originally Posted by nolfoc

awesome.. good stuff, yeah i cant have too much power living in an apt building.. dont want the neighbors to complain too much.. ill be getting all the speakers i posted my OP.. you think tehy should do fine with this receiver? also will 14 oxygen free wires work fine for this as well..

Thanks again

I'm not Jack, but I'm sure he'd say the same as I: All those Polk speakers you mentioned in your original first post will do just fine with that Pioneer receiver, so is 14 AWG 'oxygen free' copper wires for the speakers (Monoprice).

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by nolfoc

awesome.. good stuff, yeah i cant have too much power living in an apt building.. dont want the neighbors to complain too much.. ill be getting all the speakers i posted my OP.. you think tehy should do fine with this receiver? also will 14 oxygen free wires work fine for this as well..

Thanks again

Oh yeah...that receiver will play real nice with those speakers. I myself am no expert as far as wiring goes. I'm not using particular great wiring myself, and its kind of on my list of things to do, so I'll be thinking it over for a bit before I purchase. I'm sure I'll benefit from a wire upgrade, but its not a high priority. My next upgrade that I'm contemplating is an ICEpower Elite receiver or at least the VSX-33. I haven't quite decided yet, but I'm thinking on it pretty hard.

[nolfoc]

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

I'm not Jack, but I'm sure he'd say the same as I: All those Polk speakers you mentioned in your original first post will do just fine with that Pioneer receiver, so is 14 AWG 'oxygen free' copper wires for the speakers (Monoprice).

thanks for responding lordoftherings ive been waiting to hear from you.. you and lojack seem to really help a lot of people out on this site Snguy was helping me out for a while but hes been MIA for sometime now.. anyways i checked out this monoprice site its really confusing for some reason.. theres just so much going on, also i always hear you talking about the audyessy on these receivers how is that on the 1120?

Originally Posted by lojack1976

Oh yeah...that receiver will play real nice with those speakers. I myself am no expert as far as wiring goes. I'm not using particular great wiring myself, and its kind of on my list of things to do, so I'll be thinking it over for a bit before I purchase. I'm sure I'll benefit from a wire upgrade, but its not a high priority. My next upgrade that I'm contemplating is an ICEpower Elite receiver or at least the VSX-33. I haven't quite decided yet, but I'm thinking on it pretty hard.

will do thanks again lojack youve been a great help

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by nolfoc

thanks for responding lordoftherings ive been waiting to hear from you.. you and lojack seem to really help a lot of people out on this site Snguy was helping me out for a while but hes been MIA for sometime now.. anyways i checked out this monoprice site its really confusing for some reason.. theres just so much going on, also i always hear you talking about the audyessy on these receivers how is that on the 1120?



will do thanks again lojack youve been a great help

Pioneer doesn't use Audyssey. They use MCACC which is a different calibration software. They are similar in that they both calibrate using sound tones to do measurements.

I honestly think Audyssey works a little better. MCACC works well too, but I find that it requires some tweaking after you run it whereas the Audyssey seemed to get everything right on its own.

This is just my experience with both, but there are many people who prefer MCACC over Audyssey. Both are good solutions especially in comparison to my experience with Harman's solution. Harman's didn't do anything for me. I ended doing everything manually with my old HK.

[LordoftheRings]

I'm a little bias towards Audyssey (quite normal with so many Onkyo products I own/ed).

But Advanced MCACC has excellent results too. What people like about MCACC is that you can manually tweak it, as with Audyssey you can't.

* It's like choosing your own poison to exit life faster or slower!

[nolfoc]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

Pioneer doesn't use Audyssey. They use MCACC which is a different calibration software. They are similar in that they both calibrate using sound tones to do measurements.

I honestly think Audyssey works a little better. MCACC works well too, but I find that it requires some tweaking after you run it whereas the Audyssey seemed to get everything right on its own.

This is just my experience with both, but there are many people who prefer MCACC over Audyssey. Both are good solutions especially in comparison to my experience with Harman's solution. Harman's didn't do anything for me. I ended doing everything manually with my old HK.

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

I'm a little bias towards Audyssey (quite normal with so many Onkyo products I own/ed).

But Advanced MCACC has excellent results too. What people like about MCACC is that you can manually tweak it, as with Audyssey you can't.

* It's like choosing your own poison to exit life faster or slower!

Thanks guys, i went to my local BB today and they dont carry the 1120 only the 1020.. so after what you guys have told me i decided not to get it.. i usually buy everything from BB so im kinda bummed they dont have it.. also i noticed the speakers im getting they dont carry either.. saw them on the site newegg.com.. so im guessing even BB with Magnolia section still isnt the best choice to buy your HT at

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by nolfoc

Thanks guys, i went to my local BB today and they dont carry the 1120 only the 1020.. so after what you guys have told me i decided not to get it.. i usually buy everything from BB so im kinda bummed they dont have it.. also i noticed the speakers im getting they dont carry either.. saw them on the site newegg.com.. so im guessing even BB with Magnolia section still isnt the best choice to buy your HT at

I think part of it has to do with the various models that Pioneer is selling being nearly identical. For example the VSX-1020 is the same receiver as the Elite VSX-30 and VSX-31. The Elite versions come with fewer HDMI ports, but since they are Elites you get a two year warranty instead of the standard one year....and of course they have that snazzy Elite stamp on the front.

The same is true with the VSX-1120. The VSX-32 and VSX-33 are the same receiver with Elite stamps on them. Both of these have 12V triggers unlike the 1120. The VSX-32 also has one fewer HDMI port, but the VSX-33 has the same number as the 1120. The VSX-33 also has a second HDMI output.

From what I can tell Pioneer is only offering the 1120 to select retailers. The Best Buy Magnolia stores will carry all of the other models though. The non-Mag stores have all of the non-Elites except for the 1120. Pioneer is probably trying to prevent the 1120 from cannibalizing the Elites at Best Buy. I personally think Pioneer made two too many models this year.

If I were you I would get the 1120 online anyway since its way cheaper than the suggested retail price of $750 which is what Best Buy would have charged for it. I paid nearly $580 for my 1020 at Best Buy with tax yet it can be found for just $430 shipped right now online. Like I said centraldigital.com has the 1120 for $575 shipped which is a great deal. Newegg is also the best place to get the speakers you want.

[nolfoc]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

I think part of it has to do with the various models that Pioneer is selling being nearly identical. For example the VSX-1020 is the same receiver as the Elite VSX-30 and VSX-31. The Elite versions come with fewer HDMI ports, but since they are Elites you get a two year warranty instead of the standard one year....and of course they have that snazzy Elite stamp on the front.

The same is true with the VSX-1120. The VSX-32 and VSX-33 are the same receiver with Elite stamps on them. Both of these have 12V triggers unlike the 1120. The VSX-32 also has one fewer HDMI port, but the VSX-33 has the same number as the 1120. The VSX-33 also has a second HDMI output.

From what I can tell Pioneer is only offering the 1120 to select retailers. The Best Buy Magnolia stores will carry all of the other models though. The non-Mag stores have all of the non-Elites except for the 1120. Pioneer is probably trying to prevent the 1120 from cannibalizing the Elites at Best Buy. I personally think Pioneer made two too many models this year.

If I were you I would get the 1120 online anyway since its way cheaper than the suggested retail price of $750 which is what Best Buy would have charged for it. I paid nearly $580 for my 1020 at Best Buy with tax yet it can be found for just $430 shipped right now online. Like I said centraldigital.com has the 1120 for $575 shipped which is a great deal. Newegg is also the best place to get the speakers you want.

yea looks like ill be ordering if from centraldigital.com.. thanks again buddy

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by nolfoc

yea looks like ill be ordering if from centraldigital.com.. thanks again buddy

No problem. Be sure to update us when you get it. I'd like to hear your impressions.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

I'm a little bias towards Audyssey (quite normal with so many Onkyo products I own/ed).

But Advanced MCACC has excellent results too. What people like about MCACC is that you can manually tweak it, as with Audyssey you can't.

* It's like choosing your own poison to exit life faster or slower!

Yes, MCACC is a tweakers dream, and I love it. I have had Audyssey too with a prior Onkyo I had. Like LordoftheRings says, they are both excellent calibration programs. Once I learned more about audio, I felt comfortable and wanted to tweak more, so it was nice to initially learn with Audyssey and then get a new receiver and have the option to tweak things like you can with MCACC.

[Doughoef]

You guys have me totally confused. You can manually adjust Audyssey. For example I used Audyssey for my initial setup and then adjusted the center channel +1 db.

I chose the 608 over the Panasonic 1020 because I was concerned the 1020 was underpowered. I saw were it said 245 watts on the back of the unit vs. 400w for the 608. I have been more than please with the Onkyo... great sound quality, easy to setup, no fan noise or heat issues.