Pioneer VSX-LX505 AVR Review

[EWL5]

I think this is an excellent buy @ $650 (Adorama price). I really wish I could justify putting one of these in the guest bedroom or even my master bedroom right now, but it would probably make more sense for me to wait for the newer flagship Onkyo or Pioneer to go on sale in a year or two, hopefully for half off or more. Wishful thinking...

Agreed. This is the price it should have been had Dirac not been included. I'm pretty sure DL bumps up the retail price by at least by $200!

 

[Power Pop 23]

I have a mothballed, Onkyo TX-SR805 with 7.1 inputs that is going to power a Pioneer '505' just received. With Dirac Live included at this $649 price, I am tempted to deploy another '505' as a stereo preamplifier with my Fosi Audio ZA3 speaker amplifier. The 12V trigger out of the Pioneer '505' can signal the 12V trigger input of the Fosi Audio ZA3.

 

[Deleted member 69358]

I have a mothballed, Onkyo TX-SR805 with 7.1 inputs that is going to power a Pioneer '505' just received. With Dirac Live included at this $649 price, I am tempted to deploy another '505' as a stereo preamplifier with my Fosi Audio ZA3 speaker amplifier. The 12V trigger out of the Pioneer '505' can signal the 12V trigger input of the Fosi Audio ZA3.

Could you explain this more? How does the 805 power the 505?

 

[Power Pop 23]

Could you explain this more? How does the 805 power the 505?

I have not hooked up the Pioneer to the Onkyo yet....

In previous home theater iterations I have used the 7 analog RCA inputs of the 7.1 inputs on the back panel of Onkyo '805' to access the seven channels of amplification built-in to the Onkyo '805'. I hope to do the same with PIoneer '505' and amplify the Atmos channels of the Pioneer with a pair of Aiyima A07 amplifiers I own. Other features of my Onkyo '805' no longer work. I hang onto the Onkyo '805' because of this remaining capability. In 2008, Sound and Vision measured the Onkyo TX-SR805 as delivering 120 watts to seven channels at 0.1 percent THD into 8 ohm loads

B&W 600 Series Speaker System and Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V Receiver HT Labs Measures: Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V Receiver

HT Labs Measures: Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V Receiver Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 0.1 percent distortion at 162.0 watts 1 percent distortion at 184.5 watts All channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 0.1 percent distortion at 120.4 watts 1 percent distortion at 151.7 watts...

www.soundandvision.com

 

[Deleted member 69358]

I have not hooked up the Pioneer to the Onkyo yet....

In previous home theater iterations I have used the 7 analog RCA inputs of the 7.1 inputs on the back panel of Onkyo '805' to access the seven channels of amplification built-in to the Onkyo '805'. I hope to do the same with PIoneer '505' and amplify the Atmos channels of the Pioneer with a pair of Aiyima A07 amplifiers I own. Other features of my Onkyo '805' no longer work. I hang onto the Onkyo '805' because of this remaining capability. In 2008, Sound and Vision measured the Onkyo TX-SR805 as delivering 120 watts to seven channels at 0.1 percent THD into 8 ohm loads

B&W 600 Series Speaker System and Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V Receiver HT Labs Measures: Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V Receiver

HT Labs Measures: Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V Receiver Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 0.1 percent distortion at 162.0 watts 1 percent distortion at 184.5 watts All channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 0.1 percent distortion at 120.4 watts 1 percent distortion at 151.7 watts...

www.soundandvision.com

The Pioneer 505 does not have the multichannel inputs like the Onkyo 805

I have been wanting to do something similar with my 505 and my Onkyo 595 to power the rear surrounds but without the multichannel inputs it does nto seem possible.

 

[Power Pop 23]

The Pioneer 505 does not have the multichannel inputs like the Onkyo 805

I have been wanting to do something similar with my 505 and my Onkyo 595 to power the rear surrounds but without the multichannel inputs it does nto seem possible.

Yes, the Pioneer has no multichannel inputs like the Onkyo '805'

perhaps I was not clear....

I plan to connect seven channels of the eleven channels of the preamplifier outputs of the Pioneer '505' to the seven analog inputs of the '7.1 input' on the Onkyo '805' and use the Onkyo 805 to amplify those channels from the Pioneer 505.

 

[MbphotoX]

Yes, the Pioneer has no multichannel inputs like the Onkyo '805'

perhaps I was not clear....

I plan to connect seven channels of the eleven channels of the preamplifier outputs of the Pioneer '505' to the seven analog inputs of the '7.1 input' on the Onkyo '805' and use the Onkyo 805 to amplify those channels from the Pioneer 505.

would love to see measurements of the Pioneer with all 9 channels driven into a 8 Ohms.

Given the gigantic power supply, it should be able to deliver 70-80 Watts per channel, which would be pretty awesome.

I recently tested the Dirac live mobile app.. worked incredibly well right away.

As you can see, my fronts deliver quite a lot of deep bass thanks to the room mode at around 23 Hz. (UMIK-1 confirms that)
Will have to cross-over at 60 Hz because of the null mode that eats the bass, though. Luckily, the surrounds can handle that easily.

That weird "hole" for the center (yellow, at around 130 Hz) is probably caused by it being a bit too far "back" on the lowboard, a reflection cancelling out one frequency.



I was a bit overwhelmed by the computer tool and didn't understand what I should aim for with the target curve (and people keep recommending only equalising up to 500 Hz, etc.)
But I will repeat that process and work with the Dirac proposed shelves.

(Using UMIK-1 on a tripod)

 

[Power Pop 23]

would love to see measurements of the Pioneer with all 9 channels driven into a 8 Ohms.

Given the gigantic power supply, it should be able to deliver 70-80 Watts per channel, which would be pretty awesome.

I recently tested the Dirac live mobile app.. worked incredibly well right away.
View attachment 344182

As you can see, my fronts deliver quite a lot of deep bass thanks to the room mode at around 23 Hz. (UMIK-1 confirms that)
Will have to cross-over at 60 Hz because of the null mode that eats the bass, though. Luckily, the surrounds can handle that easily.

That weird "hole" for the center (yellow, at around 130 Hz) is probably caused by it being a bit too far "back" on the lowboard, a reflection cancelling out one frequency.



I was a bit overwhelmed by the computer tool and didn't understand what I should aim for with the target curve (and people keep recommending only equalising up to 500 Hz, etc.)
But I will repeat that process and work with the Dirac proposed shelves.

(Using UMIK-1 on a tripod)

Are you familiar with Amir's measurements of the output power of two channels of the Pioneer VSX-LX505 at the beginning of this thread ?

 

[Deleted member 69358]

Are you familiar with Amir's measurements of the output power of two channels of the Pioneer VSX-LX505 at the beginning of this thread ?

I asume you are talkign about the throttling issue Amir uncovered in his testing.

I have yet to replicate his results in using the Pioneer VSX-LX505 as intended even with watching Godzilla at reference levels.

 

[MbphotoX]

Are you familiar with Amir's measurements of the output power of two channels of the Pioneer VSX-LX505 at the beginning of this thread ?

unfortunately, Amir's testing was severly flawed...
1. he tested the amp above its rated power and never even bothered testing it normally instead..
2. he turned the volume beyond 0 dB, which should never be necessary, since already -6dB is considered to be enough to reach reference levels in a regular listening room

and nobody EVER reported any issues using this AV-Receiver in real life. That confirms for me that Amir's approach to testing these receivers is just not correct.
(I'm aware that the Pioneer's all share the same "throttle"-response to being driven beyond their limit, whereas Denon/Marantz et al would just shut-down and restart instead.)

But I don't care about blowing up my speakers... I care about the rated output performance that the manufacturer published and whether the device can provide that.

(then again, I don't even need that, since my main speakers are rated at 90dB efficiency, so I barely ever need more than 10-20 Watts anyways..

 

[Power Pop 23]

unfortunately, Amir's testing was severly flawed...
1. he tested the amp above its rated power and never even bothered testing it normally instead..
2. he turned the volume beyond 0 dB, which should never be necessary, since already -6dB is considered to be enough to reach reference levels in a regular listening room

and nobody EVER reported any issues using this AV-Receiver in real life. That confirms for me that Amir's approach to testing these receivers is just not correct.
(I'm aware that the Pioneer's all share the same "throttle"-response to being driven beyond their limit, whereas Denon/Marantz et al would just shut-down and restart instead.)

But I don't care about blowing up my speakers... I care about the rated output performance that the manufacturer published and whether the device can provide that.

(then again, I don't even need that, since my main speakers are rated at 90dB efficiency, so I barely ever need more than 10-20 Watts anyways..

I am not qualified to judge the efficacy of Amir's testing of the amplifiers of the Pioneer VSX-LX505. I am fortunate that I can compare the performance of the amplifiers in the Pioneer '505' and Onkyo '805'

 

[jomo]

would love to see measurements of the Pioneer with all 9 channels driven into a 8 Ohms.

Given the gigantic power supply, it should be able to deliver 70-80 Watts per channel, which would be pretty awesome.

Audiovision provides multi-channel power output using 1kHz sine wave, 1% THD. Not 8 ohm data, but should be useful.

Since the VSA-LX504 has the same power amp section as the VSX-LX505, you should be able to use the data directly. The results below are for the Pioneer VSA-LX504 and Denon X3800h as a reference.

Pioneer VSA-LX504-----------Denon-X3800h
222 W - 2ch, 4ohm-----------190 W - 2ch, 4ohm
178 W - 2ch, 6ohm-----------161 W - 2ch, 6 ohm
131 W - 5ch, 4ohm-----------113 W - 5ch, 4 ohm
122 W - 5ch, 6ohm-----------103 W - 5ch, 6 ohm
103 W - 7ch, 4ohm-----------not reported
94 W - 7ch, 6ohm------------80 W - 7ch, 6 ohm

There is also an Audiovision test of the VSA-LX805, but the test data is not free, at least not that I can find. Below is a link for the receiver section where you can see data for a lot more AVRs.

Receiver & Verstärker

audiovision.de

 

[MbphotoX]

thanks, that's what I was looking for.

Interesting, how they changed the rating system going forward:
The Pioneer (LX504) ranked maximum in the power test, but only 18 points out of 60 went to that

the Denon (X3800H), being tested later, did NOT score maximum, because its power output is a "lot" weaker, yet they changed the weighting and value 7-channel output more highly now (which makes sense, I guess, since 5.1.2 is a thing, too)

40 out of those 60 points for audio "quality", unfortunately are going towards subjective "listening tests", with "3D upmixing" getting a ridiculous 10 points (in case of the Denon review, 5 with the older rating) whereas the linearity and power output summed up only account for 20 out of 60... ouch!


Looking at the Yamaha V6A, which I also considered in that price region, I'm kinda glad that I went with the Pioneer instead:

Weak powersupply sucks..

I had also considered the A2A, but that one performs worse, too.. and at a much higher price point.. with no Dirac and no 11-channel processing..

 

[SlaughterX]

I have not hooked up the Pioneer to the Onkyo yet....

In previous home theater iterations I have used the 7 analog RCA inputs of the 7.1 inputs on the back panel of Onkyo '805' to access the seven channels of amplification built-in to the Onkyo '805'. I hope to do the same with PIoneer '505' and amplify the Atmos channels of the Pioneer with a pair of Aiyima A07 amplifiers I own. Other features of my Onkyo '805' no longer work. I hang onto the Onkyo '805' because of this remaining capability. In 2008, Sound and Vision measured the Onkyo TX-SR805 as delivering 120 watts to seven channels at 0.1 percent THD into 8 ohm loads

B&W 600 Series Speaker System and Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V Receiver HT Labs Measures: Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V Receiver

HT Labs Measures: Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V Receiver Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 0.1 percent distortion at 162.0 watts 1 percent distortion at 184.5 watts All channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 0.1 percent distortion at 120.4 watts 1 percent distortion at 151.7 watts...

www.soundandvision.com

Ahh, I remember the 805, that was my 3rd AVR after the 605.

 

[Deleted member 69358]

Audiovision provides multi-channel power output using 1kHz sine wave, 1% THD. Not 8 ohm data, but should be useful.

Since the VSA-LX504 has the same power amp section as the VSX-LX505, you should be able to use the data directly. The results below are for the Pioneer VSA-LX504 and Denon X3800h as a reference.

Pioneer VSA-LX504-----------Denon-X3800h
222 W - 2ch, 4ohm-----------190 W - 2ch, 4ohm
178 W - 2ch, 6ohm-----------161 W - 2ch, 6 ohm
131 W - 5ch, 4ohm-----------113 W - 5ch, 4 ohm
122 W - 5ch, 6ohm-----------103 W - 5ch, 6 ohm
103 W - 7ch, 4ohm-----------not reported
94 W - 7ch, 6ohm------------80 W - 7ch, 6 ohm

There is also an Audiovision test of the VSA-LX805, but the test data is not free, at least not that I can find. Below is a link for the receiver section where you can see data for a lot more AVRs.

Receiver & Verstärker

audiovision.de

Is that 122wpc * 5 for the 5ch?

 

[MbphotoX]

Is that 122wpc * 5 for the 5ch?

yes, they measure the power they get from each channel with multiple channels driven, before exceeding 1% THD

 

[Kachda]

I did a comparison of the Pioneer LX505 against my MiniDSP SHD. I found the sound quality from the Pioneer to be not as good as the MiniDSP. You can read more about it here.

MiniDSP SHD vs Pioner VSX-LX505 : noticeable difference in sound quality

I recently purchased a Pioneer VSX-LX505 to see if I could move from a stereo to 7.1.2 setup. I made a head to head comparison, using the same amplifier and speaker, and with all processing off (Pure Direct on AVR, Dirac off on Minidsp). Both speakers were placed right next to each other and...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[MbphotoX]

I did a comparison of the Pioneer LX505 against my MiniDSP SHD. I found the sound quality from the Pioneer to be not as good as the MiniDSP. You can read more about it here.

MiniDSP SHD vs Pioner VSX-LX505 : noticeable difference in sound quality

I recently purchased a Pioneer VSX-LX505 to see if I could move from a stereo to 7.1.2 setup. I made a head to head comparison, using the same amplifier and speaker, and with all processing off (Pure Direct on AVR, Dirac off on Minidsp). Both speakers were placed right next to each other and...

www.audiosciencereview.com

you performed a horribly executed comparison and people showed you all the things you did wrong when you did it... And instead of going back to do it properly, you decide to share your "results" with more people?!

This is AudioScienceReview...

 

[Kachda]

you performed a horribly executed comparison and people showed you all the things you did wrong when you did it... And instead of going back to do it properly, you decide to share your "results" with more people?!

This is AudioScienceReview...

Oh thanks for your valuable feedback!

/s

 

[Hieronymus]

I've been running this since November. I got a buy at 899. I read the reviews beforehand, but at the price I decided I'd take the risk. I'm running a 7."2".4 (yes I know the subs are mono) with the rear channels running off a fosi v3. Here's my take on this unit: Power derating- no issues with this now in 3 months. Can run it as loud as I can take it. The crossover issue (can only set one crossover instead of per channel) - I worked around this with a shelf filter in Dirac for my *.4 to cut off the bottom end higher. It ended up working out well. It handles dialogue very well, sounds great with all my reference movies. The remote is mediocre. I wish it had better/more useful info on the screen. If you can pick this up on sale, it's excellent and this review turned into a s#1tsh0w that really doesn't seem reasonable in keeping with what I actually see out of this product in use.