Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH or Marantz 5003

[blu_man_916]

I'm about a week away from closing escrow on my first house and I'm looking to upgrade my receiver by the end of the week (A personal house warming gift to myself).

I got it down to these two, maybe three.

- Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH or Marantz 5003

I didn't find too many differences between the VSX-21 and 23, or at least enough to justify the higher price.

Side note:
- If I can get the 6003 for $100.00 more is it worth it?

[callas01]

I would go with the Marantz personally, the Pioneers are nice, but I like the Marantz better personally. And yes, if you can get the 6003 for just a little more its worth it. 2 HDMI outputs and the extra 10 wpc...

The VSX-21/23 are the same pretty much as the 01/03's

[lojack1976]

Either should be good choices. I personally like Pioneer Elites a lot, so that would probably be my choice. Marantz is highly regarded, but I've never heard one myself. I just know that I've never read a negative statement on them and they are very good looking. As for the $100 difference on the 6003 that all depends on your needs. The slight increase in wattage IMO isn't worth it, but if you need the extra HDMI's then go for it.

[Irrob]

Personally I love the Pioneer Elites and the step up Elite models would be my recommendation. But since you're choosing between the 21 and the 5003, I'd say go Marantz for the extra inputs/outputs.
But, make sure you audition before buying. I can't stress enough the importance of this.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by blu_man_916

I'm about a week away from closing escrow on my first house and I'm looking to upgrade my receiver by the end of the week (A personal house warming gift to myself).

I got it down to these two, maybe three.

- Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH or Marantz 5003

I didn't find too many differences between the VSX-21 and 23, or at least enough to justify the higher price.

Side note:
- If I can get the 6003 for $100.00 more is it worth it?

I can tell you that as far as the differences between the Pioneer 21 and 23 is that the 23 has Multi-channel PQLS for audio while the 21 only has 2-channel. The 23 has an extra HDMI input, but it also has a second HDMI output that the 21 does not have. This can be very handy for future use. The 23 also has 3 zones for multi-room use and GUI in support of your display that the 21 does not have. These really are the only differences between the 21 and 23 besides the fact that the 23 costs $120 more. I hope this helps....good luck!