Pioneer VSX-LX505 AVR Review

[Theriverlethe]

P

Where "prolonged" can be as little as 15 minutes:

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And the hearing damage is unmeasurable but likely occurring cumulatively over years and decades.

 

[Power Pop 23]

A friend would like to use the Pioneer VSX-LX505 strictly as a preamplifier in a 5.1 setup. Are there any caveats to using the Pioneer VSX-LX505 as an AV processor ?

thanks

 

[Golf]

Just my 9.2 cents: Regarding AV-Receivers, the name Pioneer would never come to my mind.

A look at Amir’s reviews of AV-Receivers seems to support my opinion. I found a total of 62 reviews – with only 15 of them leading to a recommendation. No Pioneers among those 15, of course. But an amazing number of six Denon models:

Denon AVR-X8500H
Denon AVR-X6700H
Denon AVR-X4700H
Denon AVR-X3700H
Denon AVR-X3600H

 

[antcollinet]

A friend would like to use the Pioneer VSX-LX505 strictly as a preamplifier in a 5.1 setup. Are there any caveats to using the Pioneer VSX-LX505 as an AV processor ?

thanks

Not that we know of. As pointed out above, it's not been tested. That doesn't mean it is bad, but just that we can't compare it's performance.

I would guess it will be fine for most applications.

 

[EWL5]

Just my 9.2 cents: Regarding AV-Receivers, the name Pioneer would never come to my mind.

A look at Amir’s reviews of AV-Receivers seems to support my opinion. I found a total of 62 reviews – with only 15 of them leading to a recommendation. No Pioneers among those 15, of course. But an amazing number of six Denon models:

Denon AVR-X8500H
Denon AVR-X6700H
Denon AVR-X4700H
Denon AVR-X3700H
Denon AVR-X3600H

That Denon reputation is short-lived due to the AKM fire. There are some folks who won't buy another Denon product unless AKM makes a return!

Anyone know what DACs are in the RZ50/505 or RZ70/805?

 

[antcollinet]

That Denon reputation is short-lived due to the AKM fire. There are some folks who won't buy another Denon product unless AKM makes a return!

Anyone know what DACs are in the RZ50/505 or RZ70/805?

The dac chip used really has somewhere between almost zero to absolutely zero impact on the actual audible sound of a device.

I'll be getting a Denon 3800 in the next few days. I don't worry even a little bit about what DAC is in it.

 

[Miker 1102]

I wouldn't buy one with the current dacs. I have avrs with ess dacs. I cannot tell the difference normally but with this case I felt the akm and the implementation of them made a difference in what I was hearing. People on this forum don't believe you can hear a difference in anything typically. I cannot really most of the time but it is crazy to ignore your own senses.

 

[EWL5]

I wouldn't buy one with the current dacs. I have avrs with ess dacs. I cannot tell the difference normally but with this case I felt the akm and the implementation of them made a difference in what I was hearing. People on this forum don't believe you can hear a difference in anything typically. I cannot really most of the time but it is crazy to ignore your own senses.

You might have seen my prior post on this but I'm coming from a Pioneer LX701 that had ES9016 DACs. My movie experience was so immersive that I was very often fooled and couldn't tell sounds from a movie vs reality. I really couldn't say the same about the 3800 whether it was on Audyssey or DL.

Shame on me for "downgrading" to the 3800. I'm sure folks who are already running lower or comparable to the 3800 will be fine w/the sound.

 

[antcollinet]

but it is crazy to ignore your own senses.

Perhaps.

But it is not crazy not to trust them. They are notoriously untrustworthy. Especially when dealing with inaudible differences between audio reproduction gear.

 

[EWL5]

Perhaps.

But it is not crazy not to trust them. They are notoriously untrustworthy. Especially when dealing with inaudible differences between audio reproduction gear.

Out of curiosity, which AVR are you replacing the 3800 with?

 

[Miker 1102]

You might have seen my prior post on this but I'm coming from a Pioneer LX701 that had ES9016 DACs. My movie experience was so immersive that I was very often fooled and couldn't tell sounds from a movie vs reality. I really couldn't say the same about the 3800 whether it was on Audyssey or DL.

Shame on me for "downgrading" to the 3800. I'm sure folks who are already running lower or comparable to the 3800 will be fine w/the sound.

I used the word "clinical" sounding with the 3800. I think it's a good product for people .the tech is incredible but I need to enjoy the sound and it wasn't passable for music. I used the exact same audessy settings and know my room and equipment really well. I was disappointed by the 3800. I was really looking forward to having that much versatility.

 

[Miker 1102]

Out of curiosity, which AVR are you replacing the 3800 with?

4500.

 

[antcollinet]

Out of curiosity, which AVR are you replacing the 3800 with?

For the purposes of the discussion, why does it matter?

 

[EWL5]

For the purposes of the discussion, why does it matter?

Just curious if it will be an "upgrade", "downgrade", or "parallel" replacement.

 

[Golf]

A friend would like to use the Pioneer VSX-LX505 strictly as a preamplifier in a 5.1 setup.

I’d be tempted to drop that friend, quite frankly

 

[antcollinet]

Just curious if it will be an "upgrade", "downgrade", or "parallel" replacement.

I'm expecting it to be an upgrade. But not due to DAC/Amp sound quality.

It is replacing an aging (15 yo) SONY avr. I'm expecting improvements mainly to come from improved DSP - especially room EQ and ATMOS together with the additional 4 height/ATMOS speakers I'll be fitting.

Main reason for the purchase is the failure of a (less old) AVR elsewhere in the house. Otherwise I'd be sticking with the SONY.

 

[Miker 1102]

Perhaps.

But it is not crazy not to trust them. They are notoriously untrustworthy. Especially when dealing with inaudible differences between audio reproduction gear.

I like ASR and support the web site and the approach. I try to avoid subjectivity when it comes to sound. I simply shared my experience not a belief. I hope you have a better experience than me with the 3800. This site didn't recommend it for the downgrading the dac section. Whether the implementation of that is audible to you or most people.. I don't know. I hope sincerely that you like it. I was going to spend the additional 1k to have a full range avr. I was dissociated.

For the purposes of the discussion, why does it matter?

I was being polite because he asked me a question.

 

[EWL5]

I'm expecting it to be an upgrade. But not due to DAC/Amp sound quality.

It is replacing an aging (15 yo) SONY avr. I'm expecting improvements mainly to come from improved DSP - especially room EQ and ATMOS together with the additional 4 height/ATMOS speakers I'll be fitting.

Main reason for the purchase is the failure of a (less old) AVR elsewhere in the house. Otherwise I'd be sticking with the SONY.

Funny enough, I've never owned a Sony AVR. I've had Onkyo, Rotel, Pioneer, and the 3800 is my first Denon.
I was always a big fan of Sony TVs back in the day and their Trinitron series!

15 years is a long time so it will most definitely be an upgrade!

 

[Miker 1102]

Funny enough, I've never owned a Sony AVR. I've had Onkyo, Rotel, Pioneer, and the 3800 is my first Denon.
I was always a big fan of Sony TVs back in the day and their Trinitron series!

15 years is a long time so it will most definitely be an upgrade!

I had purchased the Pioneer and Intergra version of the 505 to try and upgrade with Dirac but you couldn't individually adjust the crossovers. I thought they needed work but the Dirac sounded very clear. I just was reading thru this thread to see how people were doing with them. I returned both of them. They were really inexpensive, tho. We have a Sony avr here that's great! It cost 300 dollars and does atmos and has dual subs. The gui is very good to. I couldn't calibrate the new version A1000 correctly. It has spatial audio. I couldn't find any help really online either. I think Sony engineering is very smart but it went over my head. I sold it to a guy in NJ.

 

[jomo]

Anyone know what DACs are in the RZ50/505 or RZ70/805?

The RZ50/505 use a Burr Brown PCM1690 for 8 main channels and BB PCM5101A on the remote channels.

The RZ70/805 uses 2, ESS ES9026PRO for the main channels and BB PCM5101A on the remote channels.

The LX805 is pretty impressive under the hood.