🎯 NEW LX805 bit.ly/44PeKYb • bit.ly/3WutI20 LX505 amzn.to/3p1R0NA ($600 OFF!!), bit.ly/3NNtwFt ($300 OFF) LX305 bit.ly/3XWy16r ($200 OFF, ends tomorrow) LX105 amzn.to/3dTUCLk ($210 OFF), bit.ly/3mcOnXz ($100 OFF) CORRECTION: The Pioneer 805 is NOT THX CERTIFIED. The NEW Onkyo RZ70 is. Apologies for the mixup. 👉CLICK THANKS ☝to highlight your question &/or support the channel! ☝Looking for something in the video? Click MORE above. ☝NO OUTSIDE LINKS OR PERSONAL INFO. PLEASE STAY ON TOPIC AND BE RESPECTFUL
CORRECTION: Apologies for the slip of the tongue, but the Pioneer reviewed here IS NOT THX Certified, but the Onkyo RZ70 (it's brother) IS THX Certified. Again, apologies for the mix up. The rest of the info in this review is accurate and I am sorry for any confusion this may have caused anyone.
Kristi's experience, with her take on how dialogue is heard is a real asset since there are many of us that have a similar issue. I am glad that she points this out so well!!!
I have a different take on the dialog issue. In the past 5-8 years I find actors mumble more, particularly young(er) actors. At home I have to turn on the captioning so I can follow along. What I think is happening is that the 805 is being accurate to the source material. And that we need additional processing to understand this new age of "mumble" dialog. Just my 2c
I watch almost every review you make and love your content. I bought my 805 about two weeks or so ago and have calibrated first with MCACC, and a week later with Dirac through the Pioneer app; both with the included microphone. I liked the sound a decent bit with MCACC and when I did the quick 3 measurement Dirac calibration through the Pioneer app, I felt like sound quality actually took a step backwards. Once my previously ordered Umik-1 came in I did the full 13 point Dirac Live calibration on my PC, and HOLY COW, what a difference! It just made an absolutely astonishing difference in sound quality in my room!!! I am listening to the best stereo music I've ever had in my room (coming from a Krell S300i integrated amplifier). Also I've had the opposite experience with dialog when I watch movies; the dialog is crystal clear now where as I struggled to hear it as well with the Krell. I wonder if it could be something with the Dirac calibration or her seating position (degrees on/off axis)? In any case, I completely agree with your absolutely neutral assessment and everyone has their preferences based on a multitude of factors. I am especially sensitive to "brightness" and get listening fatigue relatively quickly with tipped up treble in speakers or lesser D/A conversion of a lot of music. This Pioneer receiver is hitting the perfect sweet spot for me and really has a great blend of detail and soundstaging without digital harshness that I have gotten with so many systems over the years. Best sound I've experienced in my own home. Thanks for your honest and informative reviews and I also appreciate Kristi's perspective as well.
I have the 505 and had a similar experience with MCACC vs Dirac. I never did the Dirac calibration with the included mic though. When I received my MiniDSP UMIK-1, I used that. Night and day difference! Also the best my system has ever sounded. I think Andrew Robinson mentioned this in a video on Dirac. I don’t think that stock mic can do an adequate job.
@@drew6815 I agree. I think the included microphone is fine for casual listeners who aren’t willing to invest a lot of time and/or extra money, but calibrating with the Umik-1 is far superior in my experience.
Thank you for keeping the review honest. You will never see me buy a receiver ever again. I have a sound bar, and I am happy and have my two channel stereo.
Dear Andrew, I simply just love the way you explain about every single gadget in your immersively detailed way!! Feels, so touchy and absolutely informative to make one listening to all the pinpoint argues come from you in comparison to different comparing units head to head 😊 I just astonishingly wonder about why do You've so inferior subscribers to your Channel, following another such lively critic as Christie!? 😥 Both of you guys, just ROCK!!! LOVE to both of you fine people 😍 I personally feel like, your channel should’ve millions of subscribers... Lots of love, From Bangladesh.... 🥰
Another great review. From listening to you and Kristi, I continue to enjoy my STR-AZ5000ES, which I bought after watching your 7000ES review. Thanks for the great and honest reviews. 🎉
At the 11:20 mark is where you got my attention. You commented on the quality of the Pioneer should give us years of service, well, if it’s anything like my twenty plus years service of my Pioneer VSX-82TXS then I would be incredibly impressed. Because my VSX82 still is in service today and almost everyday in my living room and friends and acquaintances still remark at is beautiful look and sound. Just sayin!
I enjoy your take on AV equipment and often seek your advice. I have purchased 2 Pioneers receivers and both cramped out. I steer clear of Pioneer. I’m here for Onkyo, Denon and Yamaha reviews.
Great review! I have the 805 and feel like it is night and day better than the 505, which I came from. The clarity and neutrality really does make it seem like higher end reference equipment. With that said, I couldn’t agree more that everyone has different tastes, and this receiver might not be for everyone. I love Neutral, airy, and clear, hence why I also have my 805 paired with the kef r3 metas and an r6 meta. They work very well together. I also have a psa sub, which is known to have strong mid bass. That may be adding a little of the whoomph for me that you said it was missing. I also agree that you do have to crank the volume a bit. As for what Christi mentioned I’m not having any dialogue issues, but I’m using a center (looks like maybe you guys went with only two channel setups). Anyway, it’s the right sound signature for me and works great with the equipment I have. It’s the same as tvs though, some people like the natural accurate look of cinema mode, but others want to run in vivid. Everybody has their own tastes.
Hi. My name is Caleb. I enjoy unflavored steel-cut oats, my favorite ice cream flavor is milk, I do not enjoy emotions, and the new Pioneer LX-805 was made for me.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews I have not, but I immediately watched when I got my TH-cam notification (because you know I rang that bell many moons ago) out of curiosity. Have been wondering what changes may or may not have been made since the company changed hands.
Love the review. Just a thought about the neutral/flat/accurate sound signature that with all the calibration and adjustments that can now be done with via eq adjustment software, that it could be easier for a user to add a sound profile they want than trying to remove a processors (manufactures) own signature. I think its very important to do your reviews with the out of box calibrations that you currently do BUT also a brief couple of mins at end once you have done some adjustment to your liking (20-30 mins of adjustments not in-depth adjustments, bump the curves in a couple of spots etc) as most receiver users will do some adjustment after a 3 month period. I have seen plenty of online responses where people have had to adjust target curves to get a better sound that they might be more used to. This way Kristi and you can do a reflection also on if adjustments made the receiver more palatable. With the like of Dirac being a added draw card for the receivers more manufactures may change their sound due to adjustability. Just my thoughts.
Great review! I have the Integra DRX-8.4 sibling AVR to the 805. Running KEF R11s, R2c, R3 surrounds, and KF92 subwoofer. Sources are an NVIDIA Shield Pro for 4K video, PS5, and a Technics SL-1200MK7 turntable plugged into the phono preamp with an Ortofon Black cartridge. I'm using Dirac Live and DLBC (Single-sub). I haven't had issues with dialog intelligibility, but one solution for that would be to set a curve in Dirac with a bit of a boost around 250 Hz and save that to one of the three dedicated calibration Slots. Then you can change on the fly using the mobile app depending upon whether you're watching a movie, listening to music, etc. I use all 3 slots for different listening positions (focused single listener, couch, ambient music) and I find the ability to switch between them almost instantaneously to be a killer feature -- one that really helped me dial-in the calibration in a way that I've not been able to achieve before with the likes of Audyssey MultEQ-X (the software is too slow to effectively A/B and you only get two slots). Now the real killer feature is coming in June -- Roon Ready. When it drops, this will be one of the only AVR/AVPs to support Roon out of the box, and to my knowledge the only truly modern AVR to do so with HDMI 2.1. Even with the Marantz AV10, you're limited to AirPlay 2 (16-bit/48 Hz) or you need to plug in an outboard streamer like a Bluesound Node (my old solution). I agree also that PAC should find a way to draw a line under these new products, and the Elite moniker is a good way to do that. The rumor is that a DRC-9.4/905/RZ90 pre-processor is on the way and I will be very interested to see how that plays out as the 805/8.4/RZ70 is already among the most featureful AVRs on the market. Cheers!
Thank you for another excellent review. Andrew, I have not heard this Pioneer Elite receiver. Kristi, your take on dialog clarity though has become the fulcrum for my receiver search. So it’s unlikely that Pioneer will be on my audition list (assuming I can actually find a brick and mortar audition room.) Thank you again!
nice K tattoo i just noticed it today. i'am a Yamaha guy with a m-65 amp and corresponding gear. i use a c-65 preamp but time to time i use a yamaha r-9 as a preamp insted of the c-65's and some times i just use the r-9 it's self. i have an old pioneer elite system 90's and right now i'am using 90's technics system i like whole system the same brand and vintage i like how the same vintage go's together and now i can flagship models were in the 90's i could not afford them. thanks for the video and you 2 take care
great on the tag team(we all love kristi,go team kristi!)truly a standout and great addition to your excellently detailed, professional and easily understood by everyone reviews andrew. well,minus your complaints of audio products'appearances,which this review is a point prover. it's built well,but the audio quality is lackluster,so what purpose does it serve appearance and build quality wise,yet the duty it's designed to serve isn't on par with others in it’s price class? i was looking forward to what they(integra/onkyo/pioneer)would do with class d this generation. finally,the speaker terminal layout is similar to onkyo's classic receiver layout,except this generation uses a vertical rather than the onkyo classic horizontal,but the terminals were grouped left to right
How dare you make so much sense in your reviews! I mean, to say that the ONLY person who has to like the sound of my system is me. How dare you! I HAVE to have it measure well, test well, and be highly regarded in forums! (Totally joking.) Seriously, you both are really great at this now and your production is light years ahead of others. (Side note: just went with GE SuperSat 60s to round out my current setup with a GE SuperSub X hidden in a gutted iKea cabinet with a Denon X4700H "open box" I got on the cheap. 5.1.2 never sounded so good - to me. (Retiring from the Navy soon and everything is in storage until I start my next job. Then, Kef Reference 5 Metas with Technics SU-R1000. Some get motorcycles/watches for retirement, I'm getting a KILLER 2 channel setup.) QUESTION: you think that Eames chair would be good for my spine fusion?? (Lumbar issues. Reason 1 why no motorcycle...)
Thank you Andrew for your vids, they are accompanying me from the first second of my audiophile journey. To take away Kristi's pain in regard of audibility, just do her a favour and review either Amphion or sonus faber center speakers. Thanks again.
I recently bought this new flagship Pioneer AV receiver. Sonically speaking is really a nice step forward from my previous (very old) Pioneer SC-LX82 (class D amplifier, good for movie, but not so much for music playback). However I found some issues with fans noise in this new LX805. After 30 minutes of use the fans that cool video board became really noisy (not a problem with movie, but not so good for music reproduction). Their noise can be heard in my listening position.. The old SC-LX82 was dead silent in comparison.
I recently bought a 2019 model pioneer vsx 534 5.2 av receiver off face book for $50 aus hooked up to Klipsch synergy f30, c3, s3, sub450, and although it only has 80 watts 8ohm 2 channel it sounds great for what it is. and it has plenty of bass without even needing a subwoofer. I did buy a new onkyo txnr696 for $1300 aus new and unlike my older 2011 model txnr609 I didn't like it, so I sold it at a big loss. the small pioneer vsx534 5.1 is surprisingly good for what it is saved the day and was a bargain.
I have an old Pioneer flagship, the SC-68 - which was their best receiver back in 2012. It's has performed with no issues since it was new. Now, I'm looking to upgrade - but after shopping for a year, I've come to the conclusion that my best choice is probably the Denon AVR-X8500HA, which is the 2021 HDMI-refreshed version of the AVR-X8500H from 2018. These are both Denon flagship receivers, that have now been eclipsed by the newly-released Denon AVR-A1H. I'm just waiting for the inevitable price-drop/closeout on the older AVR-X8500HA model - so I can pick one up on sale. The new Pioneer model looks interesting, and appearance-wise, it looks nearly identical to my SC-68 - but I think Pioneer has been out of the high-end receiver game for a while, and your review kind of confirms my suspicions. The AVR-X8500HA will do everything I need, and more - for a long time. I think it's going to take awhile for Pioneer to get seriously good again. Remember the SC-09? Thanks for the review!
Nice review!! Shoot, Pioneer need to dust off their blue print and schematics of their SC-09 Storm god. Update the processor components and relaunch the beast! I still use it to this day. If they ran a upgrade program I would be first in line😁😁😁
finally a review of the new Pioneer. Still not sure for stereo music and streaming with large 4Ohm speakers (Magnat), would this Pioneer be better, the Marantz SR8015, or the Sony ES? movies with only 2 additional surround speakers is also important, but less then stereo quality
In regards to Dirac, have you experimented with the mobile app? I found surprisingly great results (better) with an initial run through mobile than laptop. Kudos for Pioneer for including the full version! Kristi cutting right to the chase always brings a smile!
Hi Andrew, How do you set up a Samsung TV with ARC cable support to be able to use both Samsung sound bar system with ARC feature. And simutaneous connect to Yamaha 7.2 receiver ? I can only be able to setup to use only one system. Either Samsung sound bar or Yamaha 7.2 receiver .Please help.
Also try switching to a common/global crossover, if you are using one. It seemed to make the speakers come alive more for me. I probably could have tweaked the individual crossover setting too, but I’m too used to the pioneer global. And make sure loudness management is off.
No he only pioneer prosecuted I have is a A-35R elite and I’m blown away on how this old stereo amplifier can do. It’s in a spare bedroom with two jamo 809S and it’s such a great listing Little two channel system😊
Hm, I have the sc lx89 in atmos setup connected to a Parasound A51 of which I use 3 channels for my front speakers, b&w 803 d3’s and their center speaker. Now I want to setup the 803’s with each 2 channels of my a51 for bi-amping. However my lx89 is 9.2 and I have a 5.0.4 setup. Therefore bi amping isn’t available. My dealer suggested special made cinch splitters between my lx89 and a51. I waited for the next big thing of pioneer to replace my lx89 but now I’m hesitant to get the extra channels. Maybe wait for a good deal on a 904?!
What is the clarity uncorrected for room? I find that on my Marantz receiver, I prefer the sound uncorrected. The additional audio processing puts distortion in the sound.
Great review and interesting for the sound similar to Yamaha...I still have my vsx 33 and it's more powerful than my Yamaha but I prefer my Yamaha for its clean sound on my better towers but for the BIG JBLs, my pioneer is better... But I don't think I'll buy an avr again. Apparently Yamaha will have a cheaper version of the rn2000a... Maybe too cheap😅 love you guys and thank you.😊
I'm very interested in knowing if you guys take on the dialogue issues would better be assessed for a dedicated center channel and not really geared to carry out "phantom center" duties well. And although I don't have this issue with my older Pioneer sc97. I think these new amp designs and room correction software or engineered with a dedicated center channel in mind. 🤷🏽♂️
integra drx 8.4 review. I look at the sony avr line up and just do not see the quality there. what am i missing? 8.4 has 4 fans but I haven't ever had them come on yet.
Hi Andrew, you make wonderful videos but I have a question about pioneer AVR, I own elite VSX 50 and in pioneer there is an option in the remote control audio parameter where phase control plus function is activated when you play Dolby and DTS movies or videos, this is set to 6 millisecond by default, and it sounds great bass is great through mains and all but it does not sound right and bass is missing in some Blu-ray’s and dvd unless I change the settings to 9 or 12 milliseconds but then I loose bass in other movies and videos, can you pls help and tell me what’s the best setting for phase control plus, and please Note the MCACC does not change this setting. You have to manually adjust, please help how it works it’s so frustrating. Thanks
The RZ-50 continues to amaze me(2-ch). My Rotel amp sits off to the side not being used. I'd love to hear you comment in a video about how we see so many bench test videos trash the gear we actually all love. I almost didn't buy the RZ-50 because this. Thank God I took a leap of faith and listened to you. The same can be said about Klipsch. I'm not a fan, but many reviewers like you really like many of their offerings. Yet they get destroyed by reviewers and their test results. How many people get turned off to stuff they would really like over this stuff. This hobby has way too much of a black and white view of things.The Grey area is truthfully massive.
While one can measure sound and even make the wave "perfect", that doesn't mean perfect is what the listener is after or is going to respond to. At a recent concert the bass was way too hot --likely +10-15dB at 40-50Hz --and while I would've preferred it be tuned or turned down for a more balanced presentation, I guarantee had the mixer done that the audience would've stopped dancing! Klipsch speakers (or the RZ50) aren't perfect, they have character and tone, which if you like that, it's hard to listen to anything else. But if you're one who talks themselves into liking only what a chart or a graph says you should like, well, those two products likely aren't going to be for you.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews I find nearly everyone likes around 5-7db boosted lower end. Often times more. No, I was referring more to measuring bad, but not in a freq sense. Like the dacs measure bad, noise floor, the amp was under spec'd. They trash stuff that when in real life use no human can either hear, or the bad reading actually in real life proves to sound good. These guys don't even demo the stuff they measure. They just rip it to pieces. I should have been clearer, my bad.
Thanks! I prefer the Marantz sound as I am balanced Music/AV person with my time and listening. The one that still temps me is Sony as sound placement is one of my hot ticket demands.
I love you guys video's, can you please review the new Onkyo TX-RZ70 to see if it's sonically different, I'd rather buy the RZ70 cause I'm not really liking what I'm hearing about the 805.
I've used this model on 2 theaters.... The dialogue issue you're experiencing HAS to be setup/setrings related within the receiver. These pieces are exceptional in all aspects. We have used on JBL Synthesis & Revel. Outstanding, but we had 2 11 channel systems. I am guessing you have something unique going on with soundfield/audio mode. These machines are virtually identical to Integra which is upgrade over the Onkyo. Same company does all 3 brands + Pioneer.
Nice review Andrew! All that Pioneer should do is bring back a modern version of their SX-1250 from 1977, and all these AV receivers would be obsolete!
Hey Andrew, I wanted to say I really enjoyed the video and information. One thing you talked about was the acquisition of Onkyo and Pioneer. I knew this would happen which is why I held on to my now aging SC-99 which was the last Flagship AV receiver conceived prior to acquisition. If you read the reviews of it you'll see it was a different beast and I know that the next iteration was almost a copy of this one except the sound signature had already been tinkered with. It sounds like Pioneer has now lost it's character which I can assure you my SC-99 does have. It is mostly neutral but it does have a slight bright signature to it and it is very musical. For movies it has so much raw power that I could never drive this thing to 0db on unless I want my neighbors to kick down my door lol 😆. I have driven it on movies to -5db and it's fun but very intense really sounds to me better than going to the movies because the impact is so strong on explosions and anything that calls for the subs to kick in. You can just feel the waves hit your chest. The SC-99 was able to drive 4ohm speakers and I don't see any info on this being the case for any receiver from Pioneer after the acquisition except for the carbon copy they made for the next model. That would be the last one I knew about. Anyways it is sad for us who know that we have less choices when it comes to higher end AV Home Theater gear.
@@failingup4907 I bought the Sony STR-AZ7000ES after I posted this. I got it set up and I have to say my jaw dropped at how much better this unit performs over my SC-99 but beware it gets hot. Luckily I have an AC Infinity T8 because I have mine in a tight custom made AV Rack. My SC-99 never went over 85° at full tilt on extended stereo for music. Movies never pushed above 84°. This thing can easily hit 100° if pushed to it's limits but keeping it -10db or less and it'll hover around 90° keep in mind this is with fan exhaust. Without it I'm sure it'll get hotter but it's because of the class AB amplifier. That being said I love this unit more than my SC-99. What I dislike is that HDMI passthrough standby mode keeps the unit basically on and my fan never turns off since it's always on technically so I had to turn that feature off and live without it but it's been ok. I hooked my Xbox straight to the tv and use the receiver only for 4K Blu Ray. Anyways enjoy your unit, you and I are basically on the same path. You'll love the sound from your unit. It's a massive upgrade from Pioneer.
After having a marantz for years, I've recently moved to a yamaha aventage avr which i much prefer to the marantz. If this sounds like a yamaha, sounds like this may be a good fit for me!
One question for you: If a dedicated home theater was your top priority would it be the Sony ES5000 or the RZ-50 with a Outlaw or Emotiva 5 channel amp (this best represent an apple to apple comparison, dollar to dollar)?
I have a Denon 3313 avr from 2012, however, when i was shopping and listining to receivers I really enjoyed the full warm sound of the Elite Pioneers back in the day. Thats when they had the D3 amps., it sounded so warm and alive in 2 channel plackback. Honestly I just thought Denon was the best, but I should have listened with my heart/ ears and went with Pioneer. I don't know anymore about Pioneer since there acqusition, if I see the 805 i'll take a listen though. Any suggestions for 2ch playback reciever for a pair Energy bookshelf speakers. Looking for that full, rich, live music sound. Blutooth, phono, 4 ohms compatiable required. Any help greatly appreciated!!!
Again Andrew and Kristi, great review but I have a question. How do you compare the LX505 to the LX805, because I have a pioneer LX503, and I want to upgrade it to one of the two receivers. So, what do you guys think is best? Also I noticed you use the Klipsch subwoofer is that the one you like better than other models? Please like me know what I should do, thanks
I had a Pioneer Elite that was THX Certified back in 2008 and in the menu it had this BASS plus mode for your sub and if you turn it on ...WOW what a difference in sub performance it took it to another level ! And when I did an upgrade in 2017 to a Dolby Atmos AVR the Marantz sr 6011 and it left me disappointed in the Bass performance for the subs and I wouldnt had known how good the Pioneer was If I hadnt heard it myself , so now looking back I believe it performed better because it was THX Certified that Bas Plus mode sure made a difference ...in a good way ! And if the top of the line is not THX Certified I guess I would go with the Onkyo ..but I dont know if it has the Bass Plus mode like the Pioneer Some people have told me Yamaha AVR had that Bass Plus mode but I dont think it would perform as well as the THX Certified models when it comes to bass performance from your subs ...too bad its a well worth feature and you have to hear it to believe it. But it is what it is I just wish Pioneer had change the look as this one looks like my old one from 2008 and I hope they made them easier to set up like the Marantz and Denon So does anybody know if the new Elite models have the Bass Plus mode for the Subs?
Dear Kristi, being much older than you I find great articulation much preferable to a hearing aid. My present system seems capable of sensing wet or dry lips. Just wondering if you’re noticing similar details. I find a lot of two way speakers lose these details in their crossover region and I think that’s why you like three way speakers such as the Kefs with a more coherent midrange. You have good taste in music and deserve a raise! PS My system is NOT bright.
OK, look man. I was kinda dismayed by the lack of fullness and bass in my Pioneer 505 (and 305 before that). Today i added a Fosi Audio Box X4. Currently with the stock tubes that came in the box (5654). And i gotta say, DAYUM!!! The bass is really full and sound is warm with sweet highs and well pronounced mids!! This is plugged to my Audio Tech LP120XBT (which has a internal preamp) so i had to connect to the CD jacks instead of the phono jacks. But any reservations i had about the Pioneer are gone! I'm going to upgrade the tubes and see how much deeper the bass bumps at lower volumes. I might not even need a subwoofer cus it pushes my four 15's Just fine! I haven't checked with the neighbors to see if they are upset by the new upgrade..lol I'll keep ya posted.....
Having owned a number of Pioneers older Elite models, only a few were the best available at the time. I have to agree with you that they should think about only using the Elite badge on only those models that can justify it. The Elite badge was often added to models that were not worthy of it, and were sold in other markets as part of the standard range. I hope this one makes it to the UK, just so that i can hear for myself if i like the new Pioneer sound. For now we only have the LX505 to choose from.
I believe Andrew just saved a bunch of people from disappointment. His review is definitely from a place of expertise. I too, prefer a 'fuller' more present soundfield. Great review!
I am still using my Pioneer SC-LX59. I am however not using it to power any speakers. Running Rotel 1582 and 1555 to power speakers. Pioneer was a direct replacement for Denon, they kept failing...On my PC I am using a Pioneer VSX-924 with also a Rotel 1582. So far they are very reliable and the sound is great. I like to tinker parameters until I am happy. Preset settings are great for music/home theater etc.
Denon's keep failing. That is interesting. Been a Yamaha guy for decades and never have a prob with them. I'm always looking at the boutique brands like nad and denon, but never tried them.
@@robjones8733 It will just depend on what you want to achieve. I used to be in the trade back in the day and I never had any comebacks on Yamaha products - solid was an understatement. At that stage their AVR's done surround very well but lacked in the stereo department. I just loved the sound of a Denon but unfortunately as stated they gave me headaches and some clients or people that I came across had issues and all had the same problem, no sound and DSP chip failure. Today it works perfectly and the next day no sound lol. I had Arcam (AVR300) for almost a decade that's very different whereas the source needs to be of utmost quality otherwise the Arcam will quickly point it out. It was however a bit straightforward and even a bit harsh at times. I then got a Denon again (for the last time) as I needed HDMI and the new sound formats. About 3 years and it was sayonara lol. Pioneer filled the gap and I am so happy that I have that same AVR (LX59) from 2015 to this day. At the end of the day it has a lot to do with personal preference and what literally are music to your ears.
@@gman9552 thanks for the reply, I think I will stay away from Denon based on your experience 🙂 older brother is still running my 30 year old Yamaha stereo receiver. He was in the Navy stationed in Okinawa in the seventies, and brought back a gorgeous Kenwood 170 wpc wood cabinet receiver. Our terrible house wiring fried it, RIP Kenwood. When I say terrible, I mean screw in fuses in the incoming box. It's been upgraded since then, amazing how everything works better with some quality A/C coming in. Hope you are doing well, have a good weekend!
And I built my own speakers that have 10" reference series woofers and tweeters the pioneer just makes them sing I would love for someone to review them
Interesting guys...THX.😊 I used to LOVE ❤ my old Elite VSX-O7TX from the late 90s... It was their 1st THX offering if I recall correctly. Gorgeous sound. Atrocious and overpriced remote!!!!!! Hated that part. Had a tendency to seize up occasionally but luckily had handy factory reset button on the front drop down panel. Very musical from my memory. MOSFET amps. Miss that baby 😊
Great review - I am interested in your review between this LX805 and the new RZ70. You said this was an A/B receiver and what is the Onkyo RZ70? Thanks as always.
Hope everyone enjoyed the video and is having a great day! I need all of its features with the sound from my (now dead) Rotel. That would be perfection for me.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews Oh a little bit ago. As I was worried about my turn table around the kids, my little one decided my Rotel was thirsty while I wasn’t looking. So she gave it a good Apple juice bath. Thank god it was off at the time. But sucks nonetheless.
As a current owner of the lower model LX303, I guess I'm not too surprised in this review. The last 2 Pioneer receivers I have owned (VSX-LX44 and VSX-LX303) both sounded....weak to me. The movies and music I am familiar with never sounded really impressive. it's good but not great. A very neutral sound. Coupled with the Wharfedale Evo 4.2 L&R I was running and I was underwhelmed. Dialog was subdued with MCACC so I opted to just manually adjust the eq settings which really helped bring a more full sound out of my surround setup. I think I prefer the Onkyo sound profile just a bit more overall and I can't wait to get an RZ50
I've owned several Denon receivers over the past few years (x3600, x2300, x1400 & s760) and find it difficult to move away from. I've owned some Pioneer Elite AVRs over a decade ago, and while I appreciated their sound, I always HATED their GUI, remote and user unfriendliness. Given the vanilla reviews on this receiver, I'll probably hold out for a Denon or Marantz.
Since it’s impossible to find an audio store in my area to listen I’ll again rely on Kristi’s ears and stick with the Sony as my number one pick. (For now) Thanks y’all for another awesome review.
According to your review it seems (to me for sure) that Pioneer made greats improvements in their overall sound, got few years ago an LX88 which just works fine but I didn't like the overall sound reproduction which was too stright/neutral/cold/metalic restitution for me it works pretty well with movies but musically speaking it was not at all my taste... So I will keep my SR8015 all day (with my 2 PM Ruby for the 2 fronts) I doubt I will find something better in terms of sound reproduction maybe with the exception of the McIntosch MHT300 (hope you will taste this one !) 😉
Patiently waiting for someone to make an AVR with thunderbolt USB-C that supports extra laptop display and 65w PD charging. Like how much use are those two USB type A inputs gonna get?
What if you attached a outside EQ to the 805? (i just got the LX505 and it has exactly the same sound issues) And what if you added a subwoofer to boost bass while in the 'dialogue' mode? Because imo the 505 does sound good and full (with my four 15 in. Fisher cabinet speakers) but it sounds good with A LOT of adjusting. I like the Rock/pop mode and Dsur mode, because i found the bass is deeper in those modes. Also i strictly use it to play vintage records and depending on the records label the total output changed dramatically. I put on my newest album "Testament, Dark Roots. 2016" and the pioneer sounded friken awesome all the way from treble to heavy, drop D bass !!
Hi Andrew, love your channel! I currently have a 2 channel system plus sub (Vintage Yamaha CR820 receiver, Klipsch Hersey IVs, and an Emotiva Airmotiv SE12 subwoofer hooked up using the speaker level inputs). I recently purchased a Schiit Modi 3E DAC to get my tv audio to run through the Yamaha receiver (based on an older video you did with a vintage Pioneer receiver) using a digital optical cable, but I'm not a fan of having to adjust the delay to get video and audio synced up. Could you recommend a more simple modern receiver or integrated amp that has an hdmi input (as I think this type of connection would fix the syncing issue?) and is just set up for 2 channels (either with A and B speaker outputs like my vintage Yamaha receiver has, or a single set of speaker outputs and a separate subwoofer output would work too).
I'm dealing with this too. Vid and audio out of sync using Toslink. What's strange is that the problem is not consistent. Some vids are out of sync, some aren't. Hate to replace my old reliable Yamaha.
Ooo. Ive been waiting g for this. Thoug the 305 would be enough for me. Cant have more then 5.2.7 in my room anyway 🤔 But strangely, it cost 900ish $ over there, it looks to be more like 1500 ish $ over here 🤔
And you guys taken into account that class A/B Amps sound different then their older Class D Ice amps.?! Even the much older VSX-53 receiver (which was also a Class A/B design) sounded very different then the Class D models in the elite line. And was a reference Avr for several yrs for several publications. In which all speakers and receivers alike were judged against.
I like the "old" Pioneer sound. I was hoping their new flagship would use the latest Purifi or NCore class D amplification and was disappointed to see they've gone to class A/B instead. Seems like a bit of a step backwards.
Agree. I own an SC99. The last true flagship produced by Pioneer before they got bought. Their class D tech was considered top of the mark amongst flagship receivers. And yet they've gone back to class A/B amplification. I'm curious to know if they have managed to improve upon the ICE amps that ruled their previous flagships.
🎯 NEW LX805 bit.ly/44PeKYb • bit.ly/3WutI20
LX505 amzn.to/3p1R0NA ($600 OFF!!), bit.ly/3NNtwFt ($300 OFF)
LX305 bit.ly/3XWy16r ($200 OFF, ends tomorrow)
LX105 amzn.to/3dTUCLk ($210 OFF), bit.ly/3mcOnXz ($100 OFF)
CORRECTION: The Pioneer 805 is NOT THX CERTIFIED. The NEW Onkyo RZ70 is. Apologies for the mixup.
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Personally, that Sony looks amazing!
@@syanhc We love it!
CORRECTION: Apologies for the slip of the tongue, but the Pioneer reviewed here IS NOT THX Certified, but the Onkyo RZ70 (it's brother) IS THX Certified. Again, apologies for the mix up. The rest of the info in this review is accurate and I am sorry for any confusion this may have caused anyone.
@robinssonbrand: I never understood the ‘value’ of the THX Certification. Is it really necessary for the average user, such as myself?
Kristi's experience, with her take on how dialogue is heard is a real asset since there are many of us that have a similar issue. I am glad that she points this out so well!!!
It is her line in the sand for EVERY product. She's got your back.
@@andrewrobinsonreviewswe are lucky to have her!
I have a different take on the dialog issue. In the past 5-8 years I find actors mumble more, particularly young(er) actors. At home I have to turn on the captioning so I can follow along. What I think is happening is that the 805 is being accurate to the source material. And that we need additional processing to understand this new age of "mumble" dialog. Just my 2c
@@pfunk34 That’s a good observation.
@@pfunk34 that's a really interesting point. Never thought of that as a possibility
I watch almost every review you make and love your content. I bought my 805 about two weeks or so ago and have calibrated first with MCACC, and a week later with Dirac through the Pioneer app; both with the included microphone. I liked the sound a decent bit with MCACC and when I did the quick 3 measurement Dirac calibration through the Pioneer app, I felt like sound quality actually took a step backwards. Once my previously ordered Umik-1 came in I did the full 13 point Dirac Live calibration on my PC, and HOLY COW, what a difference! It just made an absolutely astonishing difference in sound quality in my room!!! I am listening to the best stereo music I've ever had in my room (coming from a Krell S300i integrated amplifier). Also I've had the opposite experience with dialog when I watch movies; the dialog is crystal clear now where as I struggled to hear it as well with the Krell. I wonder if it could be something with the Dirac calibration or her seating position (degrees on/off axis)? In any case, I completely agree with your absolutely neutral assessment and everyone has their preferences based on a multitude of factors. I am especially sensitive to "brightness" and get listening fatigue relatively quickly with tipped up treble in speakers or lesser D/A conversion of a lot of music. This Pioneer receiver is hitting the perfect sweet spot for me and really has a great blend of detail and soundstaging without digital harshness that I have gotten with so many systems over the years. Best sound I've experienced in my own home. Thanks for your honest and informative reviews and I also appreciate Kristi's perspective as well.
I have the 505 and had a similar experience with MCACC vs Dirac. I never did the Dirac calibration with the included mic though. When I received my MiniDSP UMIK-1, I used that. Night and day difference! Also the best my system has ever sounded. I think Andrew Robinson mentioned this in a video on Dirac. I don’t think that stock mic can do an adequate job.
Reed M does the 805 have individual speaker crossovers or is it grouped?
@@justinquaife7484 It has independent crossovers.
@@drew6815 I agree. I think the included microphone is fine for casual listeners who aren’t willing to invest a lot of time and/or extra money, but calibrating with the Umik-1 is far superior in my experience.
Hi Andrew, Frank from the Netherlands here. This was the best video you both made. Bringing high End in to perspective. Bravo
Thank you for keeping the review honest. You will never see me buy a receiver ever again. I have a sound bar, and I am happy and have my two channel stereo.
Dear Andrew,
I simply just love the way you explain about every single gadget in your immersively detailed way!!
Feels, so touchy and absolutely informative to make one listening to all the pinpoint argues come from you in comparison to different comparing units head to head 😊
I just astonishingly wonder about why do You've so inferior subscribers to your Channel, following another such lively critic as Christie!? 😥
Both of you guys, just ROCK!!!
LOVE to both of you fine people 😍
I personally feel like, your channel should’ve millions of subscribers...
Lots of love,
From Bangladesh....
🥰
Another great review. From listening to you and Kristi, I continue to enjoy my STR-AZ5000ES, which I bought after watching your 7000ES review. Thanks for the great and honest reviews. 🎉
So happy to hear you're enjoying your 5000ES, I know we love our 7000ES.
Love pioneer as I still own the 50-inch kuro elite plasma tv. I hope u guys have a pleasant Sunday )) ...
I still have that too. Even at 720p, it looks great. It's a hot power hog, but I can't seem to get rid of it...
Grateful for Pioneer in keeping their line alive. Excellent review, you both!
Thanks!
It’s good to see that Pioneer is still in the game!
At the 11:20 mark is where you got my attention. You commented on the quality of the Pioneer should give us years of service, well, if it’s anything like my twenty plus years service of my Pioneer VSX-82TXS then I would be incredibly impressed. Because my VSX82 still is in service today and almost everyday in my living room and friends and acquaintances still remark at is beautiful look and sound. Just sayin!
Pioneer has always been a household Favourite in my home. ❤
They've been a favorite in ours as well!
I enjoy your take on AV equipment and often seek your advice. I have purchased 2 Pioneers receivers and both cramped out. I steer clear of Pioneer. I’m here for Onkyo, Denon and Yamaha reviews.
Good review... appreciate the balanced inputs and outputs. Seems to be a solid build....but when you give me balanced...i want you to go all the way😊
Great review! I have the 805 and feel like it is night and day better than the 505, which I came from. The clarity and neutrality really does make it seem like higher end reference equipment. With that said, I couldn’t agree more that everyone has different tastes, and this receiver might not be for everyone. I love Neutral, airy, and clear, hence why I also have my 805 paired with the kef r3 metas and an r6 meta. They work very well together. I also have a psa sub, which is known to have strong mid bass. That may be adding a little of the whoomph for me that you said it was missing. I also agree that you do have to crank the volume a bit. As for what Christi mentioned I’m not having any dialogue issues, but I’m using a center (looks like maybe you guys went with only two channel setups). Anyway, it’s the right sound signature for me and works great with the equipment I have. It’s the same as tvs though, some people like the natural accurate look of cinema mode, but others want to run in vivid. Everybody has their own tastes.
How many crossovers can you set on the 805? I returned the 505 because of this.
The 505 has a global crossover only, but the 805 allows you to do global or individual.
Hi. My name is Caleb. I enjoy unflavored steel-cut oats, my favorite ice cream flavor is milk, I do not enjoy emotions, and the new Pioneer LX-805 was made for me.
HAHAH
😂 Have you heard it yet? So curious if you feel the same?
I'm lactose Intolerant and I'm offended.
@@zachariahadams I’m also lactose intolerant, and I frequently offend myself. And others, when I eat ice cream.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews I have not, but I immediately watched when I got my TH-cam notification (because you know I rang that bell many moons ago) out of curiosity. Have been wondering what changes may or may not have been made since the company changed hands.
Awesome Review this guy should be on QVC awesome voice and presenting skills.
Love the review. Just a thought about the neutral/flat/accurate sound signature that with all the calibration and adjustments that can now be done with via eq adjustment software, that it could be easier for a user to add a sound profile they want than trying to remove a processors (manufactures) own signature. I think its very important to do your reviews with the out of box calibrations that you currently do BUT also a brief couple of mins at end once you have done some adjustment to your liking (20-30 mins of adjustments not in-depth adjustments, bump the curves in a couple of spots etc) as most receiver users will do some adjustment after a 3 month period. I have seen plenty of online responses where people have had to adjust target curves to get a better sound that they might be more used to. This way Kristi and you can do a reflection also on if adjustments made the receiver more palatable. With the like of Dirac being a added draw card for the receivers more manufactures may change their sound due to adjustability. Just my thoughts.
Love your videos 🙌🏻🙌🏻
My dad’s fave brand was Pioneer. Great review. I would appreciate a redesign though to their looks.
Best thing to enhance dialog is to elevate just the center channel level on a whole by a couple of DBs until you are satisfied.
And make sure room Acoustics are addressed. That's what was causing me not to be able to understand dialog.
Great review! I have the Integra DRX-8.4 sibling AVR to the 805. Running KEF R11s, R2c, R3 surrounds, and KF92 subwoofer. Sources are an NVIDIA Shield Pro for 4K video, PS5, and a Technics SL-1200MK7 turntable plugged into the phono preamp with an Ortofon Black cartridge. I'm using Dirac Live and DLBC (Single-sub). I haven't had issues with dialog intelligibility, but one solution for that would be to set a curve in Dirac with a bit of a boost around 250 Hz and save that to one of the three dedicated calibration Slots. Then you can change on the fly using the mobile app depending upon whether you're watching a movie, listening to music, etc. I use all 3 slots for different listening positions (focused single listener, couch, ambient music) and I find the ability to switch between them almost instantaneously to be a killer feature -- one that really helped me dial-in the calibration in a way that I've not been able to achieve before with the likes of Audyssey MultEQ-X (the software is too slow to effectively A/B and you only get two slots).
Now the real killer feature is coming in June -- Roon Ready. When it drops, this will be one of the only AVR/AVPs to support Roon out of the box, and to my knowledge the only truly modern AVR to do so with HDMI 2.1. Even with the Marantz AV10, you're limited to AirPlay 2 (16-bit/48 Hz) or you need to plug in an outboard streamer like a Bluesound Node (my old solution).
I agree also that PAC should find a way to draw a line under these new products, and the Elite moniker is a good way to do that. The rumor is that a DRC-9.4/905/RZ90 pre-processor is on the way and I will be very interested to see how that plays out as the 805/8.4/RZ70 is already among the most featureful AVRs on the market.
Cheers!
Thank you for another excellent review. Andrew, I have not heard this Pioneer Elite receiver. Kristi, your take on dialog clarity though has become the fulcrum for my receiver search. So it’s unlikely that Pioneer will be on my audition list (assuming I can actually find a brick and mortar audition room.) Thank you again!
Appreciate it!
Thanks, very helpful
Great review, thanks
Yes, the speaker layout on the back panel is due to a short as possible signal path from the symmetrical amp design.
nice K tattoo i just noticed it today. i'am a Yamaha guy with a m-65 amp and corresponding gear. i use a c-65 preamp but time to time i use a yamaha r-9 as a preamp insted of the c-65's and some times i just use the r-9 it's self. i have an old pioneer elite system 90's and right now i'am using 90's technics system i like whole system the same brand and vintage i like how the same vintage go's together and now i can flagship models were in the 90's i could not afford them. thanks for the video and you 2 take care
great on the tag team(we all love kristi,go team kristi!)truly a standout and great addition to your excellently detailed, professional and easily understood by everyone reviews andrew. well,minus your complaints of audio products'appearances,which this review is a point prover. it's built well,but the audio quality is lackluster,so what purpose does it serve appearance and build quality wise,yet the duty it's designed to serve isn't on par with others in it’s price class? i was looking forward to what they(integra/onkyo/pioneer)would do with class d this generation. finally,the speaker terminal layout is similar to onkyo's classic receiver layout,except this generation uses a vertical rather than the onkyo classic horizontal,but the terminals were grouped left to right
How dare you make so much sense in your reviews! I mean, to say that the ONLY person who has to like the sound of my system is me. How dare you! I HAVE to have it measure well, test well, and be highly regarded in forums! (Totally joking.) Seriously, you both are really great at this now and your production is light years ahead of others. (Side note: just went with GE SuperSat 60s to round out my current setup with a GE SuperSub X hidden in a gutted iKea cabinet with a Denon X4700H "open box" I got on the cheap. 5.1.2 never sounded so good - to me. (Retiring from the Navy soon and everything is in storage until I start my next job. Then, Kef Reference 5 Metas with Technics SU-R1000. Some get motorcycles/watches for retirement, I'm getting a KILLER 2 channel setup.)
QUESTION: you think that Eames chair would be good for my spine fusion?? (Lumbar issues. Reason 1 why no motorcycle...)
Got the 105 last time it was on sale. Impressive and no hiccups. My dad was a Onkyo guy so this was my first.
Thank you Andrew for your vids, they are accompanying me from the first second of my audiophile journey.
To take away Kristi's pain in regard of audibility, just do her a favour and review either Amphion or sonus faber center speakers. Thanks again.
She requested Amphion years ago...
As usual, great review!
Thanks so much!
I recently bought this new flagship Pioneer AV receiver. Sonically speaking is really a nice step forward from my previous (very old) Pioneer SC-LX82 (class D amplifier, good for movie, but not so much for music playback). However I found some issues with fans noise in this new LX805. After 30 minutes of use the fans that cool video board became really noisy (not a problem with movie, but not so good for music reproduction). Their noise can be heard in my listening position.. The old SC-LX82 was dead silent in comparison.
I recently bought a 2019 model pioneer vsx 534 5.2 av receiver off face book for $50 aus hooked up to Klipsch synergy f30, c3, s3, sub450, and although it only has 80 watts 8ohm 2 channel it sounds great for what it is. and it has plenty of bass without even needing a subwoofer. I did buy a new onkyo txnr696 for $1300 aus new and unlike my older 2011 model txnr609 I didn't like it, so I sold it at a big loss. the small pioneer vsx534 5.1 is surprisingly good for what it is saved the day and was a bargain.
I still like my VSX935 tucker under the cabinet. Got it for a steal too.
Ooooooohhhhh, I'm hyped for that mofi review
I have an old Pioneer flagship, the SC-68 - which was their best receiver back in 2012. It's has performed with no issues since it was new. Now, I'm looking to upgrade - but after shopping for a year, I've come to the conclusion that my best choice is probably the Denon AVR-X8500HA, which is the 2021 HDMI-refreshed version of the AVR-X8500H from 2018. These are both Denon flagship receivers, that have now been eclipsed by the newly-released Denon AVR-A1H. I'm just waiting for the inevitable price-drop/closeout on the older AVR-X8500HA model - so I can pick one up on sale. The new Pioneer model looks interesting, and appearance-wise, it looks nearly identical to my SC-68 - but I think Pioneer has been out of the high-end receiver game for a while, and your review kind of confirms my suspicions. The AVR-X8500HA will do everything I need, and more - for a long time. I think it's going to take awhile for Pioneer to get seriously good again. Remember the SC-09? Thanks for the review!
Nice review!! Shoot, Pioneer need to dust off their blue print and schematics of their SC-09 Storm god. Update the processor components and relaunch the beast! I still use it to this day. If they ran a upgrade program I would be first in line😁😁😁
In my personal opinion 1 row of speaker connections that Marantz has is a huge plus. All looks much cleaner behind AVR.
Most definitely exciting stuff from Pioneer
Thanks for sharing
finally a review of the new Pioneer. Still not sure for stereo music and streaming with large 4Ohm speakers (Magnat), would this Pioneer be better, the Marantz SR8015, or the Sony ES? movies with only 2 additional surround speakers is also important, but less then stereo quality
2:03 klipsch 8000 F ii those speaker's are legendary.
They're pretty darn great!
In regards to Dirac, have you experimented with the mobile app? I found surprisingly great results (better) with an initial run through mobile than laptop. Kudos for Pioneer for including the full version!
Kristi cutting right to the chase always brings a smile!
I have and the mobile app is great, though I prefer the larger screen of my laptop for making manual adjustments. Kristi keeps it at 100!
I'm waiting this review, thanks sir andrew
Hi Andrew, How do you set up a Samsung TV with ARC cable support to be able to use both Samsung sound bar system with ARC feature. And simutaneous connect to Yamaha 7.2 receiver ?
I can only be able to setup to use only one system. Either Samsung sound bar or Yamaha 7.2 receiver .Please help.
Also try switching to a common/global crossover, if you are using one. It seemed to make the speakers come alive more for me. I probably could have tweaked the individual crossover setting too, but I’m too used to the pioneer global. And make sure loudness management is off.
No he only pioneer prosecuted I have is a A-35R elite and I’m blown away on how this old stereo amplifier can do. It’s in a spare bedroom with two jamo 809S and it’s such a great listing Little two channel system😊
I recently purchased the LX-505 here in Australia, and found interestingly that Pioneer doesn't use the Elite branding at all, here at least.
Hm, I have the sc lx89 in atmos setup connected to a Parasound A51 of which I use 3 channels for my front speakers, b&w 803 d3’s and their center speaker. Now I want to setup the 803’s with each 2 channels of my a51 for bi-amping. However my lx89 is 9.2 and I have a 5.0.4 setup. Therefore bi amping isn’t available. My dealer suggested special made cinch splitters between my lx89 and a51.
I waited for the next big thing of pioneer to replace my lx89 but now I’m hesitant to get the extra channels. Maybe wait for a good deal on a 904?!
What is the clarity uncorrected for room? I find that on my Marantz receiver, I prefer the sound uncorrected. The additional audio processing puts distortion in the sound.
Great review and interesting for the sound similar to Yamaha...I still have my vsx 33 and it's more powerful than my Yamaha but I prefer my Yamaha for its clean sound on my better towers but for the BIG JBLs, my pioneer is better... But I don't think I'll buy an avr again. Apparently Yamaha will have a cheaper version of the rn2000a... Maybe too cheap😅 love you guys and thank you.😊
I'm very interested in knowing if you guys take on the dialogue issues would better be assessed for a dedicated center channel and not really geared to carry out "phantom center" duties well. And although I don't have this issue with my older Pioneer sc97. I think these new amp designs and room correction software or engineered with a dedicated center channel in mind. 🤷🏽♂️
integra drx 8.4 review. I look at the sony avr line up and just do not see the quality there. what am i missing? 8.4 has 4 fans but I haven't ever had them come on yet.
Hi Andrew, you make wonderful videos but I have a question about pioneer AVR, I own elite VSX 50 and in pioneer there is an option in the remote control audio parameter where phase control plus function is activated when you play Dolby and DTS movies or videos, this is set to 6 millisecond by default, and it sounds great bass is great through mains and all but it does not sound right and bass is missing in some Blu-ray’s and dvd unless I change the settings to 9 or 12 milliseconds but then I loose bass in other movies and videos, can you pls help and tell me what’s the best setting for phase control plus, and please Note the MCACC does not change this setting. You have to manually adjust, please help how it works it’s so frustrating. Thanks
There's my weekly dose of review videos. 😀
Like clockwork 😉 Appreciate you tuning in!
The RZ-50 continues to amaze me(2-ch). My Rotel amp sits off to the side not being used.
I'd love to hear you comment in a video about how we see so many bench test videos trash the gear we actually all love. I almost didn't buy the RZ-50 because this. Thank God I took a leap of faith and listened to you. The same can be said about Klipsch. I'm not a fan, but many reviewers like you really like many of their offerings. Yet they get destroyed by reviewers and their test results. How many people get turned off to stuff they would really like over this stuff.
This hobby has way too much of a black and white view of things.The Grey area is truthfully massive.
While one can measure sound and even make the wave "perfect", that doesn't mean perfect is what the listener is after or is going to respond to. At a recent concert the bass was way too hot --likely +10-15dB at 40-50Hz --and while I would've preferred it be tuned or turned down for a more balanced presentation, I guarantee had the mixer done that the audience would've stopped dancing! Klipsch speakers (or the RZ50) aren't perfect, they have character and tone, which if you like that, it's hard to listen to anything else. But if you're one who talks themselves into liking only what a chart or a graph says you should like, well, those two products likely aren't going to be for you.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews I find nearly everyone likes around 5-7db boosted lower end. Often times more. No, I was referring more to measuring bad, but not in a freq sense. Like the dacs measure bad, noise floor, the amp was under spec'd. They trash stuff that when in real life use no human can either hear, or the bad reading actually in real life proves to sound good. These guys don't even demo the stuff they measure. They just rip it to pieces.
I should have been clearer, my bad.
Do you use a dedicated UHD BluRay player or mostly stream? If you do wfuxh model do you use?
Thanks! I prefer the Marantz sound as I am balanced Music/AV person with my time and listening. The one that still temps me is Sony as sound placement is one of my hot ticket demands.
I love you guys video's, can you please review the new Onkyo TX-RZ70 to see if it's sonically different, I'd rather buy the RZ70 cause I'm not really liking what I'm hearing about the 805.
As soon as one arrives...
I've used this model on 2 theaters.... The dialogue issue you're experiencing HAS to be setup/setrings related within the receiver. These pieces are exceptional in all aspects.
We have used on JBL Synthesis & Revel. Outstanding, but we had 2 11 channel systems. I am guessing you have something unique going on with soundfield/audio mode.
These machines are virtually identical to Integra which is upgrade over the Onkyo. Same company does all 3 brands + Pioneer.
FIVE. You forgot Denon and Marantz.
Nice review Andrew! All that Pioneer should do is bring back a modern version of their SX-1250 from 1977, and all these AV receivers would be obsolete!
🙄
Hey Andrew,
I wanted to say I really enjoyed the video and information. One thing you talked about was the acquisition of Onkyo and Pioneer. I knew this would happen which is why I held on to my now aging SC-99 which was the last Flagship AV receiver conceived prior to acquisition. If you read the reviews of it you'll see it was a different beast and I know that the next iteration was almost a copy of this one except the sound signature had already been tinkered with. It sounds like Pioneer has now lost it's character which I can assure you my SC-99 does have. It is mostly neutral but it does have a slight bright signature to it and it is very musical. For movies it has so much raw power that I could never drive this thing to 0db on unless I want my neighbors to kick down my door lol 😆. I have driven it on movies to -5db and it's fun but very intense really sounds to me better than going to the movies because the impact is so strong on explosions and anything that calls for the subs to kick in. You can just feel the waves hit your chest. The SC-99 was able to drive 4ohm speakers and I don't see any info on this being the case for any receiver from Pioneer after the acquisition except for the carbon copy they made for the next model. That would be the last one I knew about. Anyways it is sad for us who know that we have less choices when it comes to higher end AV Home Theater gear.
I still have my SC-97 also. Just picked up the Sony 5000es.. We'll see.
@@failingup4907 I bought the Sony STR-AZ7000ES after I posted this. I got it set up and I have to say my jaw dropped at how much better this unit performs over my SC-99 but beware it gets hot. Luckily I have an AC Infinity T8 because I have mine in a tight custom made AV Rack. My SC-99 never went over 85° at full tilt on extended stereo for music. Movies never pushed above 84°. This thing can easily hit 100° if pushed to it's limits but keeping it -10db or less and it'll hover around 90° keep in mind this is with fan exhaust. Without it I'm sure it'll get hotter but it's because of the class AB amplifier. That being said I love this unit more than my SC-99. What I dislike is that HDMI passthrough standby mode keeps the unit basically on and my fan never turns off since it's always on technically so I had to turn that feature off and live without it but it's been ok. I hooked my Xbox straight to the tv and use the receiver only for 4K Blu Ray. Anyways enjoy your unit, you and I are basically on the same path. You'll love the sound from your unit. It's a massive upgrade from Pioneer.
After having a marantz for years, I've recently moved to a yamaha aventage avr which i much prefer to the marantz. If this sounds like a yamaha, sounds like this may be a good fit for me!
One question for you:
If a dedicated home theater was your top priority would it be the Sony ES5000 or the RZ-50 with a Outlaw or Emotiva 5 channel amp (this best represent an apple to apple comparison, dollar to dollar)?
I have an older elite Vsx 45 it's a beast
I have a Denon 3313 avr from 2012, however, when i was shopping and listining to receivers I really enjoyed the full warm sound of the Elite Pioneers back in the day. Thats when they had the D3 amps., it sounded so warm and alive in 2 channel plackback. Honestly I just thought Denon was the best, but I should have listened with my heart/ ears and went with Pioneer. I don't know anymore about Pioneer since there acqusition, if I see the 805 i'll take a listen though. Any suggestions for 2ch playback reciever for a pair Energy bookshelf speakers. Looking for that full, rich, live music sound. Blutooth, phono, 4 ohms compatiable required. Any help greatly appreciated!!!
Again Andrew and Kristi, great review but I have a question. How do you compare the LX505 to the LX805, because I have a pioneer LX503, and I want to upgrade it to one of the two receivers. So, what do you guys think is best? Also I noticed you use the Klipsch subwoofer is that the one you like better than other models? Please like me know what I should do, thanks
I had a Pioneer Elite that was THX Certified back in 2008 and in the menu it had this BASS plus mode for your sub and if you turn it on ...WOW what a difference in sub performance it took it to another level ! And when I did an upgrade in 2017 to a Dolby Atmos AVR the Marantz sr 6011 and it left me disappointed in the Bass performance for the subs and I wouldnt had known how good the Pioneer was If I hadnt heard it myself , so now looking back I believe it performed better because it was THX Certified that Bas Plus mode sure made a difference ...in a good way ! And if the top of the line is not THX Certified I guess I would go with the Onkyo ..but I dont know if it has the Bass Plus mode like the Pioneer Some people have told me Yamaha AVR had that Bass Plus mode but I dont think it would perform as well as the THX Certified models when it comes to bass performance from your subs ...too bad its a well worth feature and you have to hear it to believe it. But it is what it is I just wish Pioneer had change the look as this one looks like my old one from 2008 and I hope they made them easier to set up like the Marantz and Denon So does anybody know if the new Elite models have the Bass Plus mode for the Subs?
They should do, because my mid-high-end one vsx-932 has it and it's amazing even without THX rating.
Dear Kristi, being much older than you I find great articulation much preferable to a hearing aid. My present system seems capable of sensing wet or dry lips. Just wondering if you’re noticing similar details. I find a lot of two way speakers lose these details in their crossover region and I think that’s why you like three way speakers such as the Kefs with a more coherent midrange. You have good taste in music and deserve a raise! PS My system is NOT bright.
In depth content.
OK, look man. I was kinda dismayed by the lack of fullness and bass in my Pioneer 505 (and 305 before that). Today i added a Fosi Audio Box X4. Currently with the stock tubes that came in the box (5654). And i gotta say, DAYUM!!! The bass is really full and sound is warm with sweet highs and well pronounced mids!! This is plugged to my Audio Tech LP120XBT (which has a internal preamp) so i had to connect to the CD jacks instead of the phono jacks. But any reservations i had about the Pioneer are gone! I'm going to upgrade the tubes and see how much deeper the bass bumps at lower volumes. I might not even need a subwoofer cus it pushes my four 15's Just fine! I haven't checked with the neighbors to see if they are upset by the new upgrade..lol I'll keep ya posted.....
So do you prefer the Pioneer 805 over Marantz' SR8015?
Having owned a number of Pioneers older Elite models, only a few were the best available at the time.
I have to agree with you that they should think about only using the Elite badge on only those models that
can justify it.
The Elite badge was often added to models that were not worthy of it, and were sold in other markets as
part of the standard range.
I hope this one makes it to the UK, just so that i can hear for myself if i like the new Pioneer sound.
For now we only have the LX505 to choose from.
I believe Andrew just saved a bunch of people from disappointment. His review is definitely from a place of expertise. I too, prefer a 'fuller' more present soundfield. Great review!
I am still using my Pioneer SC-LX59. I am however not using it to power any speakers. Running Rotel 1582 and 1555 to power speakers. Pioneer was a direct replacement for Denon, they kept failing...On my PC I am using a Pioneer VSX-924 with also a Rotel 1582. So far they are very reliable and the sound is great. I like to tinker parameters until I am happy. Preset settings are great for music/home theater etc.
Denon's keep failing. That is interesting. Been a Yamaha guy for decades and never have a prob with them. I'm always looking at the boutique brands like nad and denon, but never tried them.
@@robjones8733 It will just depend on what you want to achieve. I used to be in the trade back in the day and I never had any comebacks on Yamaha products - solid was an understatement. At that stage their AVR's done surround very well but lacked in the stereo department. I just loved the sound of a Denon but unfortunately as stated they gave me headaches and some clients or people that I came across had issues and all had the same problem, no sound and DSP chip failure. Today it works perfectly and the next day no sound lol. I had Arcam (AVR300) for almost a decade that's very different whereas the source needs to be of utmost quality otherwise the Arcam will quickly point it out. It was however a bit straightforward and even a bit harsh at times. I then got a Denon again (for the last time) as I needed HDMI and the new sound formats. About 3 years and it was sayonara lol. Pioneer filled the gap and I am so happy that I have that same AVR (LX59) from 2015 to this day. At the end of the day it has a lot to do with personal preference and what literally are music to your ears.
@@gman9552 thanks for the reply, I think I will stay away from Denon based on your experience 🙂 older brother is still running my 30 year old Yamaha stereo receiver. He was in the Navy stationed in Okinawa in the seventies, and brought back a gorgeous Kenwood 170 wpc wood cabinet receiver. Our terrible house wiring fried it, RIP Kenwood. When I say terrible, I mean screw in fuses in the incoming box. It's been upgraded since then, amazing how everything works better with some quality A/C coming in. Hope you are doing well, have a good weekend!
And I built my own speakers that have 10" reference series woofers and tweeters the pioneer just makes them sing I would love for someone to review them
Interesting guys...THX.😊
I used to LOVE ❤ my old Elite VSX-O7TX from the late 90s...
It was their 1st THX offering if I recall correctly. Gorgeous sound. Atrocious and overpriced remote!!!!!! Hated that part.
Had a tendency to seize up occasionally but luckily had handy factory reset button on the front drop down panel. Very musical from my memory. MOSFET amps.
Miss that baby 😊
Why don't you have a center channel? No surround either?
Great review - I am interested in your review between this LX805 and the new RZ70. You said this was an A/B receiver and what is the Onkyo RZ70? Thanks as always.
Aren't they technically identical?
Hope everyone enjoyed the video and is having a great day!
I need all of its features with the sound from my (now dead) Rotel. That would be perfection for me.
WHAT! Your Rotel died!!! When did this happen?
@@andrewrobinsonreviews Oh a little bit ago. As I was worried about my turn table around the kids, my little one decided my Rotel was thirsty while I wasn’t looking. So she gave it a good Apple juice bath. Thank god it was off at the time. But sucks nonetheless.
@@gavriushka What are you using now?
@@andrewrobinsonreviews nothing yet. Have to wait till insurance pays for replacement, then gotta decide what to get instead of it. 😪
@@gavriushka I'll check in with you later, we can discuss if you want.
So the Sony 7000ES is your preference over the Pioneer LX 805? The Onkyo RZ50 is the best bang for the buck?
I have a Cambridge cxa61, Polk s20, and velodyne sub. Could you recommend a good speaker up grade (
As a current owner of the lower model LX303, I guess I'm not too surprised in this review. The last 2 Pioneer receivers I have owned (VSX-LX44 and VSX-LX303) both sounded....weak to me. The movies and music I am familiar with never sounded really impressive. it's good but not great. A very neutral sound. Coupled with the Wharfedale Evo 4.2 L&R I was running and I was underwhelmed. Dialog was subdued with MCACC so I opted to just manually adjust the eq settings which really helped bring a more full sound out of my surround setup. I think I prefer the Onkyo sound profile just a bit more overall and I can't wait to get an RZ50
I've owned several Denon receivers over the past few years (x3600, x2300, x1400 & s760) and find it difficult to move away from. I've owned some Pioneer Elite AVRs over a decade ago, and while I appreciated their sound, I always HATED their GUI, remote and user unfriendliness. Given the vanilla reviews on this receiver, I'll probably hold out for a Denon or Marantz.
Since it’s impossible to find an audio store in my area to listen I’ll again rely on Kristi’s ears and stick with the Sony as my number one pick. (For now) Thanks y’all for another awesome review.
Whoa! "Fight the Future!"
According to your review it seems (to me for sure) that Pioneer made greats improvements in their overall sound, got few years ago an LX88 which just works fine but I didn't like the overall sound reproduction which was too stright/neutral/cold/metalic restitution for me it works pretty well with movies but musically speaking it was not at all my taste...
So I will keep my SR8015 all day (with my 2 PM Ruby for the 2 fronts) I doubt I will find something better in terms of sound reproduction maybe with the exception of the McIntosch MHT300 (hope you will taste this one !) 😉
Andrew I would love to see you both review some more vintage gear, such as Pioneers CS range of speakers or Yamaha's NS1000s.
We were discussing the possibility of doing a few different kinds of vintage-styled videos. Nothing has been decided yet, but stay tuned...
@@andrewrobinsonreviews Thanks for the reply back! Looking forward to it! Keep up the great content!
Patiently waiting for someone to make an AVR with thunderbolt USB-C that supports extra laptop display and 65w PD charging. Like how much use are those two USB type A inputs gonna get?
What if you attached a outside EQ to the 805? (i just got the LX505 and it has exactly the same sound issues) And what if you added a subwoofer to boost bass while in the 'dialogue' mode? Because imo the 505 does sound good and full (with my four 15 in. Fisher cabinet speakers) but it sounds good with A LOT of adjusting. I like the Rock/pop mode and Dsur mode, because i found the bass is deeper in those modes. Also i strictly use it to play vintage records and depending on the records label the total output changed dramatically. I put on my newest album "Testament, Dark Roots. 2016" and the pioneer sounded friken awesome all the way from treble to heavy, drop D bass !!
Its good that you like the sony. I've never Ben impressed by anything they've made. Kinda makes me want to give it an audition.
Would love your review on the coveted peachtree gan1.
Hi Andrew, love your channel! I currently have a 2 channel system plus sub (Vintage Yamaha CR820 receiver, Klipsch Hersey IVs, and an Emotiva Airmotiv SE12 subwoofer hooked up using the speaker level inputs). I recently purchased a Schiit Modi 3E DAC to get my tv audio to run through the Yamaha receiver (based on an older video you did with a vintage Pioneer receiver) using a digital optical cable, but I'm not a fan of having to adjust the delay to get video and audio synced up. Could you recommend a more simple modern receiver or integrated amp that has an hdmi input (as I think this type of connection would fix the syncing issue?) and is just set up for 2 channels (either with A and B speaker outputs like my vintage Yamaha receiver has, or a single set of speaker outputs and a separate subwoofer output would work too).
I'm dealing with this too. Vid and audio out of sync using Toslink. What's strange is that the problem is not consistent. Some vids are out of sync, some aren't. Hate to replace my old reliable Yamaha.
Ooo. Ive been waiting g for this. Thoug the 305 would be enough for me. Cant have more then 5.2.7 in my room anyway 🤔
But strangely, it cost 900ish $ over there, it looks to be more like 1500 ish $ over here 🤔
Sounds great for action movies, if that's what you're into. Two channel stereo sounds a lot better for music and I listen to music a lot.
And you guys taken into account that class A/B Amps sound different then their older Class D Ice amps.?! Even the much older VSX-53 receiver (which was also a Class A/B design) sounded very different then the Class D models in the elite line. And was a reference Avr for several yrs for several publications. In which all speakers and receivers alike were judged against.
That's crazy! A Yamaha? I will have to dig up the specs.
I like the "old" Pioneer sound. I was hoping their new flagship would use the latest Purifi or NCore class D amplification and was disappointed to see they've gone to class A/B instead. Seems like a bit of a step backwards.
Agree. I own an SC99. The last true flagship produced by Pioneer before they got bought. Their class D tech was considered top of the mark amongst flagship receivers. And yet they've gone back to class A/B amplification. I'm curious to know if they have managed to improve upon the ICE amps that ruled their previous flagships.