2 Channel is Dead! Long Live the Pioneer VSX-LX305 Home Theater Receiver Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ส.ค. 2024
- Pioneer VSX-LX305 Home Theater Receiver (Bestbuy) shop-links.co/cgWiVsGNU8A
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Pioneer VSX-LX305 Home Theater Receiver (Bestbuy) shop-links.co/cgWiVsGNU8A
--Pioneer VSX-LX305 Home Theater Receiver amzn.to/372SmRw
---Tidal Deal bit.ly/3siuqSF
----Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt
----Best Buy Deals shop-links.co/cf9yDZeYtUH
---amzn.to/3GkNaop
---CAM Store (New Products!) bit.ly/30Lgu4K
--apos.audio?sca_ref=552340.TY98BPcZ6P
-massdrop.7eer.net/qnOye5
=======Amazon Unlimited Music and Disney Plus Free Trial amzn.to/3DRAVj9
=========www.patreon.com/cheapaudioman
admit it, you use Playfi, and you love it!
Would you be able to compare this to the little brother LX 105? I’m curious how the cheaper price would effect the sound quality.
Thanks for the heads-up! Strictly soundwise, which sounds better _for your own "objective" ears_ in 5.x/2.1/2.0 2 chan. modes:
The Pioneer VSX LX305; the Denon AVR-X2700H; the Denon AVR-X4700H/4800H; or the Marantz NR1711....?
I have the VSX-LX303 and I absolutely love it. Hope it lasts for many many years to come!
I've been using a Denon X6700H paired with SVS Prime Pinnacles and two PB-3000 sub for the past 3 months. Two channel music performance is exceptional in my living room. Moved it yesterday to its permanent resting place, 7.2.4 channel family room setup, and boy I have a lot of tweaking to do to make it sound right. All-in-all, multipurpose reciever was the right choice for me over separates. Great video!! 👍 👌
I have this receiver now and I've always just played my music through my receiver for 2 channel because it was easier and cheaper to do than having separate since my speakers are always part of a home theater, but recently after reading online started feeling like I was missing out by not having an amplifier and been researching which ones to get how much money I need to spend etc. Thanks for the comparison of this receiver to amplifiers it really made me feel better about it and like I don't need to go buy a separate $1-2k amp to have a good audio experience without missing out on something. Besides that I love everything about this receiver as a person who uses my speakers for equal amount music and home theater. Awesome video as always, thanks Randy!
I’m glad to hear that Pioneer isn’t (so far) having any HDMI issues. From experience, I can say that the Sony “ES” AV receiver that I own has shown zero HDMI issues as well.
Great review. Watching this in February 2024. Amazon has this receiver priced at $640. Updating my home theater gear and your videos have really helped. Much thanks…
1400 Euro here in rip off Ireland
@@johnthebimmerman1406 1.249€ in germany.. thats an rip off.. ur still good 🤪
Dude. Nice circling back to the matrix at the end. Absolutely clever. Appreciated that. It brought the whole video together. Nicely done. Next review, the red dress DAC.
Been reading some reviews on the Klipsch I’d-51 speaker, looks like the whole world is waiting for your review on these 👍
This is a great video! From the Pomeranians to the description of your experience with the plethora of features this receiver has. It definitely sounds like a high value proposition.
Thanks, Steve O
Makes me almost want to go out and buy one.. almost. Nice to know there is a good AVR at that price point. Glad you stumbled across a nice one, great review as usual
Just started watching your channel. Keep up the good work. Loved the sponsor in this one
Marvellous no-nonsense review, I bought this amp after a lot of research and am delighted with the audio performance both for music and films. Thank you.
Randy: "I'm not going to talk about it's features."
*Proceeds to talk about it's features for the entire video*
Loved it.
I talked about 4 or 5 features. But I'm glad you loved it.
Were you not entertained?
Several years ago I got a Pioneer 5.2 receiver. It's really quite easy to use, and the room/sound correction is really quite good at gets a good balance between the speakers. Sure, doesn't have the most modern features, but for me it has a good sound stage and a good balance to the sound. The HDMI is modern enough to still do the current standards. Honestly, it may not be the most sophisticated but price point comparison, dollar to dollar it is so much better than a 2 channel amp.
I have the VSX-LX104 and it is a great unit. While shopping for receivers I realized that most of the modern features were available in most of the integrated receivers so I searched for the harder to find feature that was most important to me and that was phono input. I don't have the money/space/time to set up a 2channel and a surround system and I found this one on closeout at a great price and I couldn't be happier with it. I set it up with my Klipsch reference 5.1 surround speakers I got on a yuuuuge discount and love it.
Just got the 104 myself. Going the same route on speakers. Got the receiver new on a eBay for $151
I love my Pioneer SC95 (2015 model), Its class D amp at 135 wpc plays my 5.2.2 set up flawlessly. Side note, for the price I'd like to see more pre outs
I picked up this receiver a couple months ago. It sounds great. I like it overall but it has a few features I wish were improved. One being the up firing atmos speakers front and rear can’t be set at different distances from the ceiling. My rear atmos speakers are closer to the ceiling. Edit: Maybe this can be set in Dirac. I only set it up in MCACC so far. Looks like I have some fiddling to do.
I have had 5 Marantz AVRs (even a 7006), and they all did 2 ch music well (6000 and 7000 series the best tho). Now I have a Marantz AVP 7705, and man, the 2ch experience on this processor is out of this world! And yes, it is a crazy 7.1.4 experience as well.
Thank you for not going through all the features that’s rather bored, however thank you for telling us how amazing this receiver is having a amazing day God bless you sir
Love your injected humour in your videos. Keep up the great work and info. Thank you. One criticism, there's no link to purchase antibiotic, free-range Pomeranian. 😂👍
Liked your review, getting into the way it functions, ease of use, quality of the sound and the main features most people will use. I can always read about the other features. I think you danced around the obvious with your comments through....should have just said, if you don't want or have a lot of money to spend, this is a great product for the price. I know some audiophiles might not like that type of comment, but I'm not ready to pay $4K for a NAD receiver. 😁
I got the Onkyo version- NR7100 a week ago, and am very pleased with it. Movies have way more impact than my old Denon. Dirac really fixes some of the humps in bass response, but it's a bit of a pain and can be flaky. Love the 3 different Dirac slots for different calibrations- I have a cals for movies and stereo listening, and the soundstage is very wide. Unfortunately the prices jumped $200 across the board one these.
You’ve sold it to me. Only thing is, over here in the U.K. our gas and electricity has risen 55% today which is about $200 a month extra.
It will have to wait
Ugh. I’m so sorry
Here in the States, things aren’t must better… gas was at 1.79 when Pres Trump left office and now it’s 4.39/gl
Home heating oil is at 5.39/gl…
So now I’m burning trees…
@@davidbailey6350 I'll be tuning up my chainsaws soon also. Let's go Brandon!
Probably one of the best down to earth reviews I’ve seen in ages on AV Receivers.. great work please keep them coming..
LOL, "down to earth" ?????? Using a line from The Matrix? LOL, wow, I guess ANYTHING will impress YOU.🤣🤣🤣
@@markmalasics3413 I guess your cheap comments have impressed me too .. great work !
This was a great review. I was on the fence. But now I’m gonna buy it
Nice review and great product and thanks for not going through the gazillion of features it offers.
I'm a simple man so I like simple things, going back to washing machines I bought a Speed Queen 12 years ago, 3 cycles, used daily and still working great with no service and/or breakdowns.
My main AVR is a Cambridge Azur 640R from about 12-13 years ago, very "primitive" in features for today's standards but just like the Speed Queen, set it up, all manual, and forget about it. Very powerful, 100wpc all 7 channels driven at 0.006%THD. An Oppo disc player, GoldenEar speakers all around and an SVS sub do the job. Great sounding in movies, music and 2 channel listening but not vinyl, that's set up in another room powered by a wonderful SX550.
I do have a Yamaha and Onkyos AVR's set up in other rooms but never a Pioneer, could the VSX-LX305 be the replacement once the old Cambridge goes to AVR heaven? The price is certainly right!
Speed Queen washers and driers are the Mack trucks of home appliances! The home units are built with the same parts as the commercial units. I'll say you've made great choices on all of your gear listed here. Enjoy your day.
@@welderfixer Thank you and you too.
Really helpful Discussion. I don’t do TV but I do do music and I experiment with speakers including exciter driven polystyrene, subs and vintage speakers and odd thing I find in thrift stores. Good to know there are home theatre receivers available that will give me fundamentally good multi channel audio.
Great video. I use a Pioneer sc-lx57 and I'm looking to upgrade this year. Hopefully Pioneer and Onkyo will bring their latest receivers to a local hifi show next month :)
Hey Randy! Are there any other, more budget friendly, AVRs you would recommend? I'm mainly switching between 5-channel for TV/movies and 2-channel for turntable music. This Pioneer seems to have far more features than I would ever need, so I'm curious what else you might recommend that can handle surround sound while also sound good as a turntable stereo setup? Thanks!
Best thing I've done to my systems around the house ever is a calibrated mic and REW software (aka DSP). Correcting frequency response in all my listening spaces made very noticeable improvements all for about $70. 2nd best is room treatment. To me its just as exciting as getting new gear to try. Great video Randy.
Thanks, man
I would like trying the the rew setup but it’s very confusing to me. I bought the mic last year. But don’t know what the hell im doing. Perhaps someday..peace fellow Audio men!
@@cheapaudioman have you ever done a rew video? I know there’s tons out there..but none I’ve found that make it easy for me.
@@joelane4670 Joe N Tells video from a few years ago is pretty good helped me out a lot. Yes I've thought about doing just a basic video of how I use REW and EQ APO or miniDSP 2x4 to tune my systems. This is also why I use a PC to stream and play my music since dedicated streamers are over priced and can't do everything a PC does. I don't do videos very often anymore but I guess you could sub to my channel and I'll try to get a video on it done. Or maybe Randy has the equipment, leave a comment for him see if he'll do a video on it.
@@iowaudioreviews Hey I appreciate the advice..And..I hope Randy is seeing this. Lol. But I will check joe & tells video out. I can’t believe I haven’t seen it. I watch his channel pretty often..
These are great receivers. I have the elite 504 and the 103 and I love them. The pioneer remote app for the phone is fantastic, you can control almost everything for it including the 9 band eq and built in streaming options.Only crossover an distances initial etc have to be done on screen with the actual remote. I use the bluesound node for streaming, but before I got that I was using receivers built in streaming and it was fine. I absolutely love the dsp with surround music listening with atmos to create a 3 dimensional sound field which puts you IN the music. Sound stage can’t be beat.
Was waiting for this review , thank you! 😃
Would you say that pioneer out performs Demon and other avr ‘s in this price range?
@@joelane4670
I have a 9ch denon receiver and I would say that my pioneer 504 , actually like better but they both perform really well in terms of sound quality.
How does the 103 sound compared to the 504?
Is the crossover still global for all speakers, or can I set a different crossover for different set of speakers? I know mcacc is global, but how us Dirac implemented on this receiver?
@@travel5456 they are still one crossover for all which is lame. I just go 80hz , would like a bit lower for the LR towers but it is what it is. As far as Dirac goes, that on the 05 generations (new). My receivers use MCAAC room correction which is really good but DIRAC is better. ✌️🤟🍻
Love it, Can't wait for you to comind Dirac with some basic room treatments, gets even better!
Welcome to Pioneer Elite club! I've had my Elite VSX-94TXH paired with Polk Audio RTi10, CSi3 and FXi3 since 2008!! Added a Fluance RT85 and Schitt Mani 2 years ago and couldn't be happier! Definitely would like to add some sort of Dac/streaming to the group - any suggestions with this setup??
Randy, Thanks for review, I just found this amp listed for $652 w/ your link! FYI link for Best Buy has one too. Truly a Cheap Audio Man to the core ;)
Great idea with the cute dog. When that dog gets a lot older, you can play back this video and show him and explain to him that when he was really young, he was on TH-cam. It'll be really special!
Thanks Randy really enjoyed the review of the Pioneer VSX-LX305. I think at the end of the day chasing that feeling of being there live and hearing the music the way the artist presented it is what we are looking for. If a home theatre receiver can do that I'm happy, I just don't want someone trying to push me out of my chair to get my ideal spot when I am listening.
Lol lay down the law! It’s your spot!
I absolutely love this receiver. Paired it with the Sony SS CS5’s for now and added a SVS sub. Want to add some better fronts later but it’s pretty good with the Sony’s tbh. What do you recommend for a good center?
Klipsch RP-504C :D
I have no need for that many channels but it sounds like this is my next item to get for music and HT in one box. I'd rather have an easy to use receiver with extra channels than one I can't expand on if I want. Thanks, Randy.
Love my marantz sr 5017 it’s a beast with pre-outs , we use it for everything with my Elac Debut reference system. Xbox, 200 inch projector , 4K dvd, streamer but in 2 channel direct mode… simply phenomenal
Agreed sir. I have the SR5014. I didn't use the pure direct mode until I started watching Randy and a few other audiophile channels a couple of years ago. Since then I run, exclusively, pure direct. My only complaint is that HEOS is terrible.
@@brianmefford630 Agree HEOS is terrible, I made my own streamer using a Raspberry pi and it’s awesome
Did you mean sr 5015?
@@JaredSchumaier yes!
When you performed your analysis of the Pioneer VSX-LX305 did you use an external DAC or just rely on the internal built into the Receiver?
Can you run Dirac and then tweak the equalizer on the fly without disabling your Dirac calibration? Like with Denon/Marantz if you enable the eq sliders it fully disables Audyssey.
I have a lesser model Elite receiver in a secondary system. No Dirac but it's a very good piece for the money. I have a JBL Synthesis processor in my main system with full Dirac bass management, it's a game changer.
Glad to hear the Elite VSX-LX305 has the HDMI issues resolved that also plague my Marantz. Was also looking at Cambridge Audio CX81 around same price. Also looking forward to trying some tasty Pomeranian snacks during my next hours long critical listening session.
they're great
FYI, the Cambridge CX81 jumped from $1299 to $1499 over at Crutchfield today 😱😱.
@@steventsimtsos4029 Thanks for the update dude. Inflation strikes again. Will have to downgrade from Pomeranian treats to Poodle treats 😂
I'm still using my Pioneer VSX-D511. It works and sounds great. I don't see the need to spend a lot of money on a new receiver which I might not like as much, so until my VSX-D511 kicks the bucket...
I’ve got the Pioneer Elite VSX30. It’s been a great box of goodies for all of these years, since 2007.
What's the part/thing that you don't like about your elite vsx 30 ? I'm looking to buy a used one
Thank you
@@gigigg That’s easy. What I don’t like, is what is cool about it. The MCACC feature. Once set is awesome. Any changes to the listening space or other audio devices, speakers, furniture placement, etc, it pays to run it again to capture acoustic changes.
And the remote has a thousand button pads almost too small to read.
But once set, sounds great any mode.
@@gigigg I should also mention I have
2 Polk RTA11TL towers front channel
Creative Soundworks “The Center” 5 driver center channel
A pair of Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble mounted from the ceiling for rear effect and a SunFire SDS10 sub.
That’s multimedia.
My music only system is
Yamaha VSX330 a great little Receiver CD player.
Has LFE I connected to a Hsu VTF 2 and a second sub, my older Polk 10” front firing ported with the high side currently feeding a pair of Hsu Satellites on stands. Yep, 2.2 in a high (22’ high ceiling) front living room. The room seems to amplify 30 watts to a point where my neighbors complain at times depending music choice. Frank Zappa drives’em nutz…. But, sounds great.
@@gravitystorm61158 thank you much
@@gravitystorm61158 it will be first reciver for me
Great review. Do you think this applies to the Pioneer 105? (Particularly stereo listening).
Still use a Pioneer VSX-AX4AVi from 2006. It's been driving electrostatic speakers (plus an active subwoofer) from the beginning. At first a full 5.1 HT setup, but now it's driving a conventional stereo setup of fairly large speakers. Done a great job, but now it's starting to falter. Had to switch to the B speaker terminals as the end stages for one front speaker was failing.
Great review. So many AVR reviews totally ignore the quality of music delivery. For those of us who will only ever have 1 component for movies and music, this is a huge factor. Thanks for focusing on it.
I had an older Pioneer receiver that I bought new in 2000.
It had no HDMI but always sounded great, especially on two channel listening.
Blew the left channel last year and ended up getting the Marantz SR6015 on sale for $600.00 off to replace.
I almost got the Pioneer you're reviewing here, but for only $400.00 more, and a little more power I went with the Marantz for the sound of two Channel music.
With all that being said, I noticed that the Pioneer and Marantz were real close in their music sound comparing side by side with settings set the same.
I was surprised by the similarities. So, is Pioneer using Marantz as their target sound, or vice versa?
Not knocking Pioneer, but the RZ50 with Dirac is fantastic for two channel listening. Plus so much more! Paired with SVS Ultra Bookshelves and SVS sub... Super happy!
Randy, now that you’ve review this receiver and like it, you should please take a look at the pioneer sx-s30. It is in this elite line. It’s a strictly two channel “receiver” with a sub out. It comes in at $500. Wondering what the value proposition is here vs an integrated amp of the same price range. It’s got hdmi, which is nice for us guys that like 2.0 or 2.1 systems but still watch a lot of tv/games. Thanks
I got a great NAD T773 for 800 in 2012 and it had to go to the shop this time last year and they never seem to get around to fix it and I'm on disability so I can't find anything to replace it with the same or cheaper price yet but it gave me years of fun
I like the display color of the Pioneer, it is similar to the JVC I have from 1993. 5.1 system.
Great review. I'm looking to upgrade my home theater / music setup. I am looking at the SVS speakers as well. Will this Pioneer run the SVS Ultra Towers + Ultra center speaker and two rear speakers? Will a sub be necessary? Thanks. Any advice is appreciated.
HDMI issues… so true! Thanks for the review Cheap Audio Man!
I currently have the Sony STR DH790 which I bought because it integrated well with my Sony television. I am generally pleased with the quality of sound when listening to music, but I'm wondering... How big of a jump in quality (for music) will this Pioneer receiver give me over the Sony? I currently have a 2.1 setup (Wharfedale Evo 4.3, and a REL sub). Thanks in advance for any input.
My Dad has that McIntosh C15 preamp, bought it on clearance at Magnolia Hi-Fi (pre-Best Buy takeover) in the early 00’s for $650 at that time. He has it paired with a Carver TFM-35 two-channel power amp driving Carver AL-III Dipolar (ribbon tweeter) floor standing speakers. Wanted to do a complete “McStack” and I’m on the lookout for any used, same vintage McIntosh power amp and CD/SACD player to go with the C15.
I have some really good totem speakers that are very picky with components. They do not work with my Hegel integrated because the speakers needed something warmer for the mids. I tried an old Yamaha AVR and that did the trick. My other denon avr wouldn’t cut it either. For my case it was about pairing and the Yammy AVR was good enough for what I’m looking for. Also the denafrips ares II really helps.
Great review! I’ve been pondering the idea of a home theater… The 2008Sony all in one box isn’t cutting it anymore.
awesome.
I bought the Integra DRX3.4 which is similar from what I understand but has preamp out for$100 more.
I love my Pioneer Elite SC-99. 😁 I'm hoping they release another top of the range model with class-D amplification.
Always been Pioneer fan & been thinking about making the upgrade to the 305...✌️
Just scored this on Amazon black Friday deal for $749, going to pair with emotiva B2+ speakers and Sony UBP-X800M2 4K UHD Home Theater Streaming Blu-Ray Disc Player (UBPX800M2) for what should be a killer all in one system for small home studio. Thanks for all the great recommendations and reviews Randy!😃
Adorama has it right now for 549$ if u can return bestbuy one and save urself 200$
Can you control the volume with the tv remote if it is wired by an optical cable ?
I bought the pioneer vsx-ls105 and I love it. You only get 7 channels and no dirac but almost all the other features are present. It's a great option if you don't need/can't fit 9 channels in your listening space. 10/10 great product.
nice
Pioneer is selling the LX305 refurbished for $999. Dirac is worth the extra $150 in my opinion
As someone who has seen The Matrix many times, I appreciate your accuracy to the source material with that end quote. 💊
I have a pioneer elite VSX 52 and the 2 channel is crazy good on it.
I spent up for a Pioneer VSX 933 last year, that was after trying the equivalent from Denon returning that, then Yamaha and returning that because the Pioneer's sound stage and imaging was superior i dont even use the inbuilt phono input. The LX305 is the bottom of the range and is still almost 2K here in Australia.....cant justify the expense!
picked up the lx-505 right after christmas seeing as the onkyo rx50 was never going to be available, seemed like all the same specs but $100 more. Not disappointed at all with it, probably could have just got the 305, but i wanted the 11 channel option. not like I really needed it but didn't want to be mad down the road. So far its been great. Need to order some decent cables to hook up the old amplifiers i have and see if its even better.
so all RCA inputs play in 2 channel stereo?
even with a 5.2 speaker sertup?
thanks in advance
At that price point, it is expected to have a full compliment of preouts. Is Dirac really worth the trade?
Back in the early 2000's, I was all gung ho over HT, had a nice Denon receiver, until I realized that I mostly listened to music and that HT and surround speakers are a PITA. My living room and bedroom setups are both Stereo with my smart TV optical out to my DAC, 99.8% music but on the rare occasion that I want to use my stereo for the TV, it's all setup. Smart TV's are so useful, Streaming apps for Audio and Video.
I have an onyko receiver had it for 7 months I like it, never had a pioneer but this one sounds great
Onkyo makes pioneer. This is the same as the onkyo 7100 and integra 3.4
@@milehighboost5521 the more you know
Does the app work via Bluetooth or over the wifi network? I'm thinking about running a zone 2 to the back porch but it would end up being well outside of bluetooth range.
I'm not an audiophile, but I like this channel. IMHO a good HT system will never sound as good as a good stereo system for enjoying music, but maybe I don't get around much. I do have a HT setup, but I only use it for watching movies or listening to loud rock.
It has almost everything... Preamp output... But, theres a VSX-L505 for a modest upscale in price. Thanks for the review! I've been looking for an upgrade over the YPAO on my Yamaha RX-V777.
I just discovered your videos! I have a question about the VSX-LX105. I don’t know if I can let myself spend the money on the 305. Can you recommend the 105? Thank you if you get to answer this.
i just bought this reciever 2 days ago. my onkyo tx-sr607 hdmi is dead. i came across this pioneer for 499. i thought that was a pretty fair deal so i purchased it. cant wait for it to arrive im pretty excited to mess w it for sure. it should last me a good long while for sure.
Proud owner of a Pioneer Elite VSX-LX302 here.
Hi Randy great video. I want to get a new Receiver cause I have the Emotiva BASX 3amp and I want my front channels to be more powerful. I don't see that I can add the Amp connection on this Pioneer. What do you think?
I was thinking of geting the Marantz that has that capability
Have you ever heard the train crash scene in the movie Super Eight? It shakes things up pretty good. Great review.
cheers for that ,,
i just watched in on youtube, sounds great
Hi there - does anyone have experiance/advice on using the VSX-LX305 to drive 300ohm headphones (e.g. HD6xx) via the front jack (PHONES)? ...the spec sheet states support for 8-600ohm headphones, but doesn't mention any selection for low/mid/high gain (which I am used to with some other devices) - so not sure how this is handled here. Thanks ;-)
I went out and bought a couple of pair of Baby Advent II speakers for my back channels and overheads..I loves me the Vintage stuff especially the top line Yamaha stuff..
You touched on the one Achilles heel of the Pioneer: the ARC HDMI issue. I have a different Pioneer model (VSX-534) I purchased recently and had a major issue with ARC after everything was hooked up and working fine. I then tried playing an audio CD on my BluRay that has an audio out to my dedicated 2 channel audio system (Carver C5 and TFM25 into a pair of DBX Soundfield 10s) in addition to the connection to the Pioneer via HDMI and after that, I completely lost all audio from the Pioneer receiver. After I tried every troubleshooting measure possible, I finally unplugged my TV power cord and plugged it back in and everything was restored back to normal.
As you mentioned, ARC HDMI is finicky and does need to be reset by unplugging and replugging power cords. That seems ridiculously archaic with all the sophisticated high end circuitry that is in all my equipment, that should be running in sync and once set, should stay set. But, as I learned the hard way, old school power unplugging (power button reset doesn’t do it) is what it takes to get everything to run correctly.
I’ve had many audio and video systems and components over the years and it seems that the more electronic manufacturers try to cram into components the less reliable they are and more difficult to hook up and set up than the simpler ones used to be. Replacing my 20+ year old surround receiver with this new Pioneer was very lengthy and shouldn’t have been so difficult. I foolishly expected to just switch the receivers out but ARC issue and the newer connections vs. the old ones turned what should have been a breeze into an 8 hour headache.
check firmware : big problem with me with the firmware of december , come back well with the new one
@@romainbailet6488 I will check out the new firmware update in install it. I have been reluctant to play another CD on the BluRay, fearing I would again lose all audio on the Pioneer because of ARC not working properly. I have even considered purchasing a separate CD player to connect to my audio setup and may still do that. I haven’t checked out CD player prices in many years. I’m hoping they will be reasonable. Last player I had with that system was a DBX DX3 which was pretty good, until it started to scratch my CD!
I have another audio system in my studio with an older Sony 5 disc changer (SED-CE595) that is starting to act up so I may just buy two.
I wanted to buy the pioneer elite VSX-LX504 but I wasn’t quite ready with my home theater yet so I held off. And then when I was ready to order one it landed up getting canceled because availability was not there anymore. Do you know the difference between the 504 and the 305? I know they both do 9.2 channel but I would like to know the difference between the 504 and 305. And why was the 504 discontinued?
The 504 model was $999 and now the 305 is $1199. Is the 305 a better unit than the 504?
Thank you so much for your video. I hope you will be able to answer my questions. Thank you.
Nice receiver Randy. I recently bought a lightly usedm Yamaha rxa 1050 lightly used and looks Mint for 300. And I just picked up,a 2006 Pioneer elite 56txi but it's not hear yet to test against the Yamaha rxa1050. Lol I just woke up and couldn't spell
Hi Randy! Such a great review of the Pioneer LX305 as well as Dirac Live! We appreciate feedback from you. Would you mind if we share the video on our website and social media with our followers?
I’m still running a Marantz SR8002. Does everything I need it to do and is great for 2 channel. Fads come and go but you can never outgrow good sound. I quit chasing after the x.1 stage
I just set up my VSX-LX305. I came from a Pioneer VXS-LX503. I'm using a pair of KEF Q350s for my mains and a Q650C for my center. I'm using an RSL Speedwoofer 10II with another RSL being delivered Monday. It's a 7.1 system with no Atmos speakers. My room really doesn't lend itself to being wired. I know the Pioneer is the entry-level Dirac receiver, but I'm really impressed. Is there any reason to upgrade the receiver while I'm still in my return window? Thanks for any input.
After watching this review, a suggestion for a future review comes to mind. My suggestion is a review of surround speakers. After my 20 year old JBL 5.1s bit the dust, I went looking and could really have used your input.
sure
Great video and topic. I am considering getting a Yamaha R-N803 because it has room correction and internal cross over. I would replace a Cambridge Audio AXR100. Thoughts on this?
Unfortunately Marantz doesn't have Loudness Control (not ever more). I use all the time Loudness control to hear my musics in a very low volume with my 4 JBL s-312, and it is excellent. Do you have any idea of a stereo receiver or amplifier with loudness control, please?
Thanks.
Been waiting for this :)
Wow! you have a McIntosh system. That’s how you get a great reference for the cheap audio gear. What are you running in the way of speakers with them?
Lintons perhaps
can you use the zone2 preouts for dirac? I have active speakers and would love to use those and a sub, so I effectively need 2.1 pre out..
You were going over music streaming apps... Which one has the best audio, in your opinion. Or is it the native- free one?
Can the crossover frequency be set separately for each speaker, as on the Onkyo TX-NR7100?
will the lx 305 run the Polk Signature 7.1 system? 2 S60 floor, 4 s20 ,hts 12" sub and the s35 center. Had a yamaha rx 2070 but it ate itself. will be buying in the next couple of days. Any help will be appreciated.
Great review Randy. Yes ignorance is bliss, that's why I'm such a blissful person 😊
I tried this route with a Denon 3k worth, I made a conscious decision, do I want music or movies .. I chose Music and put Sonos Arc under the box.
Sound quality was really good on the Denon but the Mrs hated all the speakers and to be honest so did I . I thought spending high on a receiver would be the ticket, but something lacked for my money .
Convience, It's a good option to go all in one .