Yamaha RXV1500 vs. Pioneer Elite VSX52TX

[toychris]

I was wondering if any of you could give me some advice on which is a better reciever. Yamaha RXV1500 or Pioneer Elite VSX52TX. They are both in my price range and they both seem to be a good reciever. Is the Yamaha audio calibration system better than the Pioneer's? I think that the EQ is manual on the Pioneer, but I don't know about what the Yamaha. The Pioneer's wattage is 10 watts less, and the THD is .09% compared to the Yamaha's .04%. I also am wondering which one has a better remote? I assume they are both backlit right? What about the button locations and ease of use? I like the component up feature because I am going to be using projection. Is the video capabilities of one better than the other? I am using a Yamaha DVD-S1500 DVD player if that helps.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

[ht_addict]

If your looking at the 52TX then you may want to also look at the VSX-1014TX-K. Its the non elite version with the same specs for under $500US. Other than that I went from a Yamaha RX-V1400 to 56TXi and I'll never go back. Both are excellent units, but the Pioneer will ouput its rated spec, the Yamaha may not with all channels driven.

ht_addict

[Gordon Moore]

the Yamaha may not with all channels driven.

The Yamaha WILL NOT meet it's spec all channels driven....that's been proven on the bench over and over. If it's like the other Yamahas....it will probably only put out half it's rated level (which is still loud....but will struggle with less efficient speakers). The Pioneers are rating with much better power supplies and are way closer to their rated output.

[toychris]

I think I have made up my mind

Thanks for all your reply's. I went to my local electronics store and they showed me both of the recievers through the same speakers. The Yamaha seemed to sound better. The Pioneer seemed to play in the higher frequency range, while the Yamaha had a warmer, more mid filled (fuller) sound. I thought that the Yamaha did very well. The ease of use seemed to sell me, as well as the YPAO system being better than the Pioneer's calibration unit. The Remote on the Yamaha is what I still don't like.

Thanks to you all, unless you can sell me on the Pioneer, the Yamaha seems to be the one.

[ht_addict]

Thanks for all your reply's. I went to my local electronics store and they showed me both of the recievers through the same speakers. The Yamaha seemed to sound better. The Pioneer seemed to play in the higher frequency range, while the Yamaha had a warmer, more mid filled (fuller) sound. I thought that the Yamaha did very well. The ease of use seemed to sell me, as well as the YPAO system being better than the Pioneer's calibration unit. The Remote on the Yamaha is what I still don't like.

Thanks to you all, unless you can sell me on the Pioneer, the Yamaha seems to be the one.

I highlighted a few points, since I'm curious to your reasoning.

When you say the Pioneer played in the higher frequency range are you saying it sounded bright or just more detailed? I've had both a Yamaha RX-V1400 and now a Pioneer 56TXi, and the Yamaha was defintely the brighter of the two. Pioneer has a warm more detailed sound. I found with the Yamaha that I got headache after watching a few movies in a row. As far as YPAO vs MCACC, was it the dealer who told you that YPAO was better? YPAO is good but MCACC is much better and both are easy to setup and run. Take a look at the Pioneer 1014 for a half the price of the Yamaha or 52TX. Yamaha will not deliver on the power side like Pioneer can.

ht_addict