Pioneer VSX 519V-K AV

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EDIT: Bought an Onkyo TX-SR508.





Just about to order this for my home cinema. Anyone have any experience with this amplifier in general ?

Thanks.
 
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Looks nice, and because it's a discontinued model then I'm sure you'll be getting it cheap. It looks like end-of-line price product is getting cleared at £200. You might be getting it for less.

If I was buying then I'd spend a little extra and get something with HD audio decoding.

Onkyo 606 from Superfi - DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus decoding. 4 HDMI 1.3a inputs, video scaling of analogue SD inputs to 1080i out on HDMI, Faroudja deinterlacing, Audessey II room EQ, AV lip sync, 7ch, 140W on the front channels... etc

Caveats, yes - this is Onkyo B-stock, but comes with a 1yr manufacturer warranty. The supplier is Super-Fi. The amp is £250 on it's own.​

If HD audio wasn't important, but sound quality was then I'd be looking at a second-hand higher quality AV amp. Something that might have been £800 - £1000 new, but has lost a huge chunk of value because it doesn't do HD audio. Some of the older Denons, Yamahas, Onkyos, Harmon Kardons or Pioneers.

Overall, I can't help feeling that the 519 is a bit of a dead end product. The Pioneer badge prestige means that even on a clearance deal it looks expensive compared to other brands, and the lack of features makes it far less attractive as a second hand sale should you wish to upgrade at some point in the future.
 
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Actually leaning towards these two.

ONKYO TXSR608 HOME CINEMA RECEIVER £449.

ONKYO TXNR807 NETWORKED HOME CINEMA RECEIVER £499

What would you choose, and anywhere else I can get a better price ?

Thanks in advance.
 
The 608 is new... and has some very good press... and has HDMI 1.4... so all the lemmings who only buy the latest well reviewed product, and all those who mistakenly think you need HDMI 1.4 for 3D compatibility... they'll all be chasing after the new Onkyo so supply will be tight and prices remain stable. The Onkyo 6 series has been like the Ford Focus of the amp world. It's a good safe choice and very good value.

The 807 for £50 more...hmmm. Now that's a real bargain!

It is going end of line soon, but it's still £800 worth of AV amp; and that's worth remembering. It means components, build quality and features in a whole different class to the 6 series Onkyo because the 807 was originally designed to sell at twice the money. It's a serious piece of hardware.

The only thing that would stop me buying the 807 is if it physically wouldn't fit the space I have; it's a big and heavy Hector. But I'd have looked at every single possible way of fitting it in before relegating myself to a second choice because I'd know, in my heart and my head, that I'd be kicking myself forever for missing such a great bargain.
 
I think you should be ok with 6 ohm speakers. As for whether or not they are good enough for your purposes then thats down to your own ears really. You certianly wont be getting the most out of your amp with them but then you can always upgrade at a later date.
 
I think is a 497 the amp you have rather than the 479.

If it came with speakers then it was probably as a promotional bundle. In that case there's every chance that the speakers are quite basic. There'll be a model number on the back of the speakers if you want to look them up. I'd agree with pre1twa though; the speakers won't cause a problem with either new amp but they won't do them justice either.

The 807 is really a very good amp. I've sold a few of its smaller sister, the 707, with Focal Chorus 714v floor standers as a front pair for music. These stereo speakers are £600 on their own. An 807 would be more than capable of driving them to a quality that would surprise many Hi-Fi enthusiasts. A full Chorus package would be close to £2000, and an 806 would do that justice.

The 608 is, IMO, more AV focused. I would partner it with Monitor Audio Vector (5.1 @ £600), Bronze (5.1 - £1000) or Radius HD (5.1 - £1200) for a balanced system.

The lowest I'd personally go with either amp would be the Q Acoustics 1010i 5.1 kit that Richers knock out at £300. IMO, it's still a low-ball solution, but not embarrassingly so. Anything less than that though and I'd consider a lower spec amp.

Second-hand is a good way to get great performance on a tight budget. Unlike AV amps the rate of development is much slower in the speaker world, so you don't need to chase the latest kit for great performance.

Focal and Monitor Audio get my vote again. I'd love to recommend Kef Q Series because I think they look beautiful, but I find they sound a bit dull; and I really don't like their Eggs which I find lifeless even when driven by much bigger amps than the 807. Same goes for Tannoy's version of the Kef Eggs. B&W and Maudant-Short might be worth a look. Missions are 10 a penny, but you really need to know your good from bad as there are so many versions of the same model. I also think they're a bit below par for this level of gear.

If you fancy something a bit unusual, I have a Vibe Audio Monolith Classic 5.1 kit that I'm just about to move out of my dem stock. It's about 6 months old. :)
 
lucid said:
I think is a 497 the amp you have rather than the 479.
Click to expand...

You are correct :p Need my glasses.

Those Vibe Audio Monolith Classic 5.1 look great. But, I'm more into ceiling corner mounted speakers, small in size but rich and powerful.


The Q Acoustics 1010i 5.1 looks great, and a very good price too.
 
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"small in size, but rich & powerfull"

Do have a look for secondhand stuff before plumping for the Q Acoustics. If you can get something s-h that was designed to sell at £800 - £1000 when new then the performance will be so so much better than something designed at £350 and selling at £300.

Focal Chorus 705, Monitor Audio Bronze. Proper Hi-Fi speakers in small boxes. A better chance of achieving your objective :)
 
I am running an Onkyo 606, matched with Kef 3001SE Speakers in a 7.1 config. The sound is excellent although the 606 has some heat issues you should be aware of. I don't know if it follows through their range.

I would go for the Denon 1910/11 amp, at around £400 in RS its a spectacular amp for the price.
 
I am running an Onkyo 807 wish KEF KHT2005.2's in 5.1 at the moment and I have to say I love this amp more each day. Yes the 807 gets HOT! I have it in an oak cabinet with 20mm space either side and 30mm above it (I have removed the back of the cabinet) and it has never overheated. As long as you give it some ventilation it is fine.

I replaced my Denon 1804 with my 807. I liked the Denon but would never go back now.

Mushii
 
I recommended the 807 to one of my customers on Monday; and now I'm in the process of installing that along with a scaler, blu-ray player and then colour calibrating and audio calibrating his system.

To say he's happy is an understatement. I'd only just got the amp in and done some basic set up when he came down for a visit. In the end I had to prise him out of his cinema so I could continue working. He just wanted to play all his favourite movie clips there and then! Lol. Anyway, I think you'll enjoy the amp too. It's a lovely bit of kit and a steal at the money.

I'm going to try the Audessy mic later to compare manual set-up vs automated.
 
I paid £499 for mine. I have to say at that price, I have found very little that comes close. I have seen a few threads about the quality of the built in Faroudja Scaler, personally I think it does a superb job. There is a very extensive thread on AV Science forums about this amp, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1170804

Joerod the guy who reviews most of their amps gave it a glowing review. Be warned though you will need some serious 'tinker time' with this baby. There is much to configure, but once its done it just works. I am now on the hunt for a cheapish 2 or 4 channel power amp to run my Zone3 (conservatory and outside speakers).

One thing that I have done, is wired my Sky HD box via Scart directly to the TV and via HDMI through my amp. Which means unless I specifically want to watch in High Def I can route SD through to my TV without powering the amp up, this keeps SWMBO happy. Flick the Cable/Sat button on my Onkyo remote and the amp fires up, and switches on the SkyHD box and switches the TV input to HDMI. This may or may not work for you, but it keeps my wife happy.

Mushii
 
She gets wound up that the AV amp was coming on every time that she wanted to watch TV. This way she can watch Sky without having to deal with the amp
 
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