Pioneer VSX-520K vs. Onkyo TX-SR308

[madlost1]

Title says it all I'm looking to get my first real Home Theater set-up and would like to know what receiver you would prefer. Both can be had for the same price so it is between these two models. Leaning towards the Pioneer but just wanted others thoughts before committing.

Onkyo TX-SR308

Pioneer VSX-520K

[callas01]

Originally Posted by madlost1

Title says it all I'm looking to get my first real Home Theater set-up and would like to know what receiver you would prefer. Both can be had for the same price so it is between these two models. Leaning towards the Pioneer but just wanted others thoughts before committing.

Onkyo TX-SR308

Pioneer VSX-520K

what are your plans?

What is your overall budget?

What speakers are you planning to buy?

[BigAl87]

In this case I would go with the Pioneeer judging by the specs but are you able to do side by side comparaison?


Not for the WPC but mostly for the THD but sometimes THD could be rated differently from one company to another.

And the Pioneer is also 3D Compatible for future upgrades.

I actually saw it today and was quite surprised by it's weight, good indicator of a Good Power supply.

If you don't plan on running 6ohms speaker the Pioneer is the one to get in this particular case.

[madlost1]

Originally Posted by callas01

what are your plans?

What is your overall budget?

What speakers are you planning to buy?

My overall budget is $1000. $250 for the Receiver, $750 for the Speakers and Sub.

The speakers I am getting are the Polk Audio Monitor 40's for the rears, Polk Audio Monitor 50's for the fronts, Polk Audio CS1 for the center, Polk Audio PSW10 for the Sub.

I don't understand what you mean by plans.

[madlost1]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

In this case I would go with the Pioneeer judging by the specs but are you able to do side by side comparaison?

If you don't plan on running 6ohms speaker the Pioneer is the one to get in this particular case.

Can't do side by side and will be running 8ohm speakers.

[callas01]

Can I make a suggestion for you.

Why not perhaps look at these speakers and then try this receiver, overall it would be better speakers and a better receiver. Jamo is owned by klipsch, so you know they are not some cheap speaker.

Fronts $149
http://www.wwstereo.com/website/ecom...product=C403DA
Surrounds $80
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...1827/jamo-c401
Center Channel $80
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...2/jamo-c400cen
Subwoofer $200
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...0/jamo-sub-550

Speakers Total $509

Speaker Stands $34
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it..._c=site_search

Receiver $350
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR1910-...4325616&sr=8-3


TOTAL $893

Better speakers, a better receiver, for less money then you were planning on spending. Don't worry about bookshelfs as fronts when they have a nice subwoofer paired with them they work as good as towers for HT. Also just because the M50s have 2 drivers doesn't mean they are better either, the Jamos are better speakers, better detail, better highs and mid-range, overall better tone and coherence. The reason they are so inexpensive is because they were originally only sold in Europe, however klipsch brought unsold inventory to the U.S., and put them on clearence because they just introduced the C60s, so the C40s need to be liquidated. LUCKY for YOU, you get a great bargin.

If you want a better sub then the Jamo sub go here
http://www.sounddistributors.com/buy...at_name=Search

The Premier Acoustic PA-120 is an awesome performer, and is only $229, I think there is a $23 shipping charge, but if you want a better sub here you go.

hope that is helpful for you.

[also]

I am pretty new to the HT game, but in the last couple months I have gone through 2 receivers, the onkyo 308 was first and now the Pioneer 820-k, which is the next step up from the 520-k. Both have been or are being returned.

My experience was this:

The onkyo was fine, except it was faulty. I think there was something wrong with the hdmi output because it behaved like it had a bad cable at all times, no matter how many different cables or factory resets were tried. It would black out video for 1 to 3 seconds randomly, sometimes every ten seconds, sometimes every other day.

It sounded alright, first with the 3300 speaker package it came with, but soon I couldn't help upgrading the center to a polk CS2 and the fronts to monitor 40s.

It sounded good, but not great.

Onkyo tech support just said to return the thing, since it sounded broken so it all all it's speakers went back.

Then I got the Pioneer 820-k. The Pioneer had a little (and I mean a little) bit more oomph and clarity, but as far as user friendliness and features it is way behind the Onkyo. The only thing that was better was that it had a setup mic (which the 520 you are looking at doesn't anyway).

The onkyo has an on screen overlay setup menu thru hdmi which lets you adjust things very easily without leaving the source you are adjusting for. Pioneer does not. Whatever adjustments you make are on the receiver screen and scrolling to what you might be looking for can be a bit excruciating.

Watts wise, the Onkyo says 65 x5 and Pioneer says 110 x5, but that is more marketing bs than anything else. The Pioneer I have doesn't sound like it has that much more power, and it certainly isn't anywhere near 110.

So if I was to recommend one or the other, for the money I would go for the onkyo, just save the box in case you get a faulty one like I did.

One last thing about the Onkyo 308, is that it will only support a passive sub. Some people get really uppity about that.

Just about everyone else on this site is more knowledgeable than I am about specs and components and such; this is just my two cents. Take it for what it is worth, but please don't take it as gospel, just one persons experience with these two products.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by callas01

Can I make a suggestion for you.

Why not perhaps look at these speakers and then try this receiver, overall it would be better speakers and a better receiver. Jamo is owned by klipsch, so you know they are not some cheap speaker.

Fronts $149
http://www.wwstereo.com/website/ecom...product=C403DA
Surrounds $80
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...1827/jamo-c401
Center Channel $80
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...2/jamo-c400cen
Subwoofer $200
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...0/jamo-sub-550

Speakers Total $509

Speaker Stands $34
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it..._c=site_search

Receiver $350
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR1910-...4325616&sr=8-3


TOTAL $893

Better speakers, a better receiver, for less money then you were planning on spending. Don't worry about bookshelfs as fronts when they have a nice subwoofer paired with them they work as good as towers for HT. Also just because the M50s have 2 drivers doesn't mean they are better either, the Jamos are better speakers, better detail, better highs and mid-range, overall better tone and coherence. The reason they are so inexpensive is because they were originally only sold in Europe, however klipsch brought unsold inventory to the U.S., and put them on clearence because they just introduced the C60s, so the C40s need to be liquidated. LUCKY for YOU, you get a great bargin.

If you want a better sub then the Jamo sub go here
http://www.sounddistributors.com/buy...at_name=Search

The Premier Acoustic PA-120 is an awesome performer, and is only $229, I think there is a $23 shipping charge, but if you want a better sub here you go.

hope that is helpful for you.

Might as well use 403 as surrrounds for the extra 70$

In 5.1 SACD When using my HK DVD-48 you have use analog out so bass management is impossible bigger bookshelves would perform better in this kind of application depending on how the recording has been done.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

Might as well use 403 as surrrounds for the extra 70$

In 5.1 SACD When using my HK DVD-48 you have use analog out so bass management is impossible bigger bookshelves would perform better in this kind of application depending on how the recording has been done.

True, But I thought the OP was looking for a HT setup, true he could use it for multi-channel music too. And your right that the bigger drivers would be better, that is another option to get the bigger drivers all around... however I was just throwing out a better suggestion for a setup.

[madlost1]

Originally Posted by callas01

Can I make a suggestion for you.

Why not perhaps look at these speakers and then try this receiver, overall it would be better speakers and a better receiver. Jamo is owned by klipsch, so you know they are not some cheap speaker.

Fronts $149
http://www.wwstereo.com/website/ecom...product=C403DA
Surrounds $80
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...1827/jamo-c401
Center Channel $80
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...2/jamo-c400cen
Subwoofer $200
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...0/jamo-sub-550

Speakers Total $509

Speaker Stands $34
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it..._c=site_search

Receiver $350
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR1910-...4325616&sr=8-3


TOTAL $893

Better speakers, a better receiver, for less money then you were planning on spending. Don't worry about bookshelfs as fronts when they have a nice subwoofer paired with them they work as good as towers for HT. Also just because the M50s have 2 drivers doesn't mean they are better either, the Jamos are better speakers, better detail, better highs and mid-range, overall better tone and coherence. The reason they are so inexpensive is because they were originally only sold in Europe, however klipsch brought unsold inventory to the U.S., and put them on clearence because they just introduced the C60s, so the C40s need to be liquidated. LUCKY for YOU, you get a great bargin.

If you want a better sub then the Jamo sub go here
http://www.sounddistributors.com/buy...at_name=Search

The Premier Acoustic PA-120 is an awesome performer, and is only $229, I think there is a $23 shipping charge, but if you want a better sub here you go.

hope that is helpful for you.

I don't really need a 7.1 receiver so I may go with the Denon AVR1610.
I'd also rather floor standing speakers so how about the Jamo E 660 (only $20 more for the pair than the bookshelfs)? The rears and center both look like good deals. Also might go with the Premier Acoustic.

[madlost1]

Originally Posted by callas01

True, But I thought the OP was looking for a HT setup, true he could use it for multi-channel music too. And your right that the bigger drivers would be better, that is another option to get the bigger drivers all around... however I was just throwing out a better suggestion for a setup.

Exactly

[callas01]

Originally Posted by madlost1

I don't really need a 7.1 receiver so I may go with the Denon AVR1610.
I'd also rather floor standing speakers so how about the Jamo E 660 (only $20 more for the pair than the bookshelfs)? The rears and center both look like good deals. Also might go with the Premier Acoustic.

So you know the C series are better then the E series, however if you want to have floorstanding speakers over bookshelfs I understand, get this combination of speakers for the fronts. You want the fronts to match so they have a similar sound across the front sound stage, rears aren't so important, but I'll post the matching rears too.

E660 and E7 Center $288
http://www.wwstereo.com/website/ecom...product=E660DA
&
http://www.wwstereo.com/website/ecom...roduct=E7CENDA

Rears if you want the matching rears $99 EACH, you will need 2 of them, however the C 401s will do just fine too.
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it..._c=site_search

As for the receiver, Even though you won't use 7 speakers, the 1910 has more power and is a better receiver. Its up to you, however I would suggest the 1910 for $350, it will power the speakers better then the 1610, and that is more important then the number of channels it has.

[callas01]

There is the option to build your system a bit more slowly and just get the fronts first and a Receiver then add a sub and surrounds a little later.

$350 on the Denon 1910 AVR

C405 Floorstanders $398/pr
http://www.wwstereo.com/website/ecom...x?product=C405

C 400 Center $80
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...2/jamo-c400cen

Total would be $828

Then just decide if you want the rears speaker over the sub, if you do then just save for the sub, or save for the rears.... I think if you got the rears then saved up for the PA-120 Sub you would be happy FOR A VERY LONG TIME

[madlost1]

Thanks again appreciate it. I'll have to go through my options tommorow when I'm a little more awake.

Originally Posted by callas01

So you know the C series are better then the E series, however if you want to have floorstanding speakers over bookshelfs I understand, get this combination of speakers for the fronts. You want the fronts to match so they have a similar sound across the front sound stage, rears aren't so important

Actually had no clue about any of this. Sucks being a newbie at something.

[callas01]

no worries. we all have to start somewhere, I am just trying to help you to build the best system that you can get for your money.

I would say the order Id consider them in is as follows

1) C405s

2) C403s

3) E660s


However if you like it

1) C405s
2) E660s
3) C403s

that is fine to.

[madlost1]

All right thanks.

[acritzer]

Originally Posted by callas01

Can I make a suggestion for you.

Why not perhaps look at these speakers and then try this receiver, overall it would be better speakers and a better receiver. Jamo is owned by klipsch, so you know they are not some cheap speaker.

Fronts $149
http://www.wwstereo.com/website/ecom...product=C403DA
Surrounds $80
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...1827/jamo-c401
Center Channel $80
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...2/jamo-c400cen
Subwoofer $200
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...0/jamo-sub-550

Speakers Total $509

Speaker Stands $34
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it..._c=site_search

Receiver $350
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR1910-...4325616&sr=8-3


TOTAL $893

Better speakers, a better receiver, for less money then you were planning on spending. Don't worry about bookshelfs as fronts when they have a nice subwoofer paired with them they work as good as towers for HT. Also just because the M50s have 2 drivers doesn't mean they are better either, the Jamos are better speakers, better detail, better highs and mid-range, overall better tone and coherence. The reason they are so inexpensive is because they were originally only sold in Europe, however klipsch brought unsold inventory to the U.S., and put them on clearence because they just introduced the C60s, so the C40s need to be liquidated. LUCKY for YOU, you get a great bargin.

If you want a better sub then the Jamo sub go here
http://www.sounddistributors.com/buy...at_name=Search

The Premier Acoustic PA-120 is an awesome performer, and is only $229, I think there is a $23 shipping charge, but if you want a better sub here you go.

hope that is helpful for you.

Is it just me, or is that a pretty good price for a receiver that looks to be very nice? I know Denon generally has a good reputation. Is this an entry level model, or is it an older model?
Does this look like one of the best bang for the buck receivers out there right now?

[callas01]

Originally Posted by acritzer

Is it just me, or is that a pretty good price for a receiver that looks to be very nice? I know Denon generally has a good reputation. Is this an entry level model, or is it an older model?
Does this look like one of the best bang for the buck receivers out there right now?

denon receivers have a good reputation, that receiver is the 2nd receiver in their lineup, overall it should be a good receiver, and for the price its listed, its a good buy.

[stcurell]

Originally Posted by acritzer

Is it just me, or is that a pretty good price for a receiver that looks to be very nice? I know Denon generally has a good reputation. Is this an entry level model, or is it an older model?
Does this look like one of the best bang for the buck receivers out there right now?

Definitely a good receiver. I own a 1610 (base model.) Audessey Multi EQ, HDMI repeating/switching, HD codecs, and more than enough clean power for me. The only thing I wish it had was pre-outs for an external amp. I had a basic Pioneer before and this Denon is worlds better.

[acritzer]

Originally Posted by stcurell

Definitely a good receiver. I own a 1610 (base model.) Audessey Multi EQ, HDMI repeating/switching, HD codecs, and more than enough clean power for me. The only thing I wish it had was pre-outs for an external amp. I had a basic Pioneer before and this Denon is worlds better.

Hmmmm....next upgrade for me? You and I share several pieces of equipment. Looks like you used to have an Onkyo sub too, just like me, before the upgrade. How do you like you're new A2-300? Do you use audessey with it? I thought eD suggested turning that off?