Pioneer VSXLX55 receiver any good?

metalmackey

metalmackey

metalmackey

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Hi,

I was looking at the Pioneer VSX LX55 and a set of Q Acoustics 2000 speakers that I can get from a site I can't mention here for £1400. I could also get the same speakers but with an Onkyo 609 reciever for £900. Is the Pioneer that much better than the Onkyo in terms of build, features and sound quality? Opinions welcome please:)

Ta
 
The Pioneer is very good. I think you want better quality speakers than the Q Acoustics 2000's with this amp though. The 609 or a Denon 1912 or Yam 671 is a more appropriate match.
 
Thanks:)

I heard the Q Acoustics were very good speakers, what speakers are recommended to use with the Piomeer? They need to hang on the wall BTW.

Ta:)
 
metalmackey said:
Thanks:)I heard the Q Acoustics were very good speakers
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They are just in the same way that an Denon 1912 is a very good amp, as is an Onkyo HT-S3409 home cinema kit. Each in the context of its peers is very good, but I wouldn't assume that a 5-star rating of a £300 home cinema kit means that it would beat anything else regardless of price. Similarly a 5-star rating for the Q Acoustics speakers doesn't mean they beat 5.1 packages at £1000+

The thing is there's a bit of a performance and price gap between speakers at the level of the Q Acoustics and the next meaningful step up. You're either going to end up buying something similar, or spending a whole lot more for the next step up in performance. Do you have £2000+ to spend on an amp and speaker kit?

The Pioneer is a good amp, as are most other brands at the £1000+ mark, and obviously there's a deal going round on the QA 2000 kit, but just because a retailer is trying to cash in on that doesn't mean that it's necessarily a good or appropriate match.

My view is that amps date quickly but speakers don't. Sinking all your money in to a flashy amp that's OTT for the speakers is shortsighted. Ultimately you'll have to replace both the amp and the speaker kit to get the next hike in performance. Buying better speakers now that will work happily with a lesser amp but also see you through a couple of generations of newer amp in the future is, IMO, a better use of money.

If it was me I'd go with the Monitor Audio BX AV2 package - £1000 for the speakers and then add an Onkyo 609 or Denon 1912 or similar amp.

The BX AV package will live quite happily with AV amps in the £500-£600 price bracket, but it will still deliver the goods with amps at the £1500 mark. For music the BX 2 front speakers are accomplished for music on their own right; that's always a good thing and surprisingly difficult to find in AV package speakers. The other thing is the rear speakers. They are proper dipole/bipole rear effects speakers as you would find in serious home cinema kits at £3000+. Diffuse rear surround is so much more convincing for movies.
 
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Thanks again lucied. I'll shake the piggy bank a bit harder and see what I can streach to:D If I got the BX2's and Pioneer, that wouldn't leave a lot for speaker cable, so I'll see:)
 
Don't need to spend much on cables, for rear channel for certain. Take a look at a high street DIY electrical store for some 2.5mm sq cable. Spend a little more on the front cable if you feel the need.
Put the investment into the speakers.
 
9designs2 said:
Don't need to spend much on cables, for rear channel for certain. Take a look at a high street DIY electrical store for some 2.5mm sq cable. Spend a little more on the front cable if you feel the need.
Put the investment into the speakers.
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I'm sorry, but I have to disagree quite strongly here. IMO this is really poor advice.

If for no other reason, then please avoid mains cable because it is actually more expensive than proper speaker wire.

2.5mm sq twin & earth will cost you about 70 pence a metre on a 50 mtr drum. Mains flex in the same size will cost double that. Add to that the cost of delivery or going to fetch it yourself. Neither are oxygen free, T&E is stiff and difficult to get it to lie flat in longer floor runs and when behind speakers, and it doesn't look or sound that great either. I mean really, why bother with it when you can get 2.5mm sq oxygen-free speaker wire delivered to your door for about 55 pence per metre.
 
lucid said:
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree quite strongly here. IMO this is really poor advice.

If for no other reason, then please avoid mains cable because it is actually more expensive than proper speaker wire.

2.5mm sq twin & earth will cost you about 70 pence a metre on a 50 mtr drum. Mains flex in the same size will cost double that. Add to that the cost of delivery or going to fetch it yourself. Neither are oxygen free, T&E is stiff and difficult to get it to lie flat in longer floor runs and when behind speakers, and it doesn't look or sound that great either. I mean really, why bother with it when you can get 2.5mm sq oxygen-free speaker wire delivered to your door for about 55 pence per metre.
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Well may be you should read more carefully and wind you neck in a bit mate before ranting off on one ... :rolleyes:

I did not say use mains cable, I only gave an indication of gauge of cable to use... ie around 2.5mm sq speaker cable, from DIY electrical store that might sound like they sell maps !!!!!!! Obviously can't link to them as they sell many items... but didn't want the OP to think he had to go out buying expensive branded speaker cable, for a surround set-up like this.
 
Oh come on!!! You're not seriously suggesting that a DIY store is the best value place to buy decent gauge speaker cable, surely?
 
You're obviously a bit slow today mate..... the M store not B&Q !!!...That said if you think you can here the difference between cables on a rear channel in a film then good luck to you !!
If you read a bit more carefully you would see we are actually saying the same thing !!
 
Why don't you look at the Yamaha 3067? Can be had for around £799 on ex display or sometimes new ones, a cracking deal on a bloody good amp. They were around £1500 brand new and the LX55 is basically the same as the 2021 with an aluminium face and some other extras but the actual internal components are identical. A lot of people say not worthy of the LX tag as the LX75 and LX85 are quite a fair bit better.

I've heard and owned both and the 3067 was easily a step up and better, in fact I returned the LX55 as while it was good I wasn't all that impressed.
 
seriously just get what u said in your op you wont be dissapointed, the peeps on here mean well but they're just over complicating things for you for the price the q acoustics are excellent speakers and should go awesome with the pioneer, if your not happy at a later date with the speakers sell them on and get some "better" ones
 
metalmackey said:
Now I'm really confused on what to go for LOL.
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I would take Lucid's advice. You wil do yourself no favours in matching a grands worth of amp with £500 speakers as you really wont get the best out of your amp. Plus if you want 2.5mm2 speaker cable you can buy it off the bay at less than 40p per metre
 
I think I've made up my mind on the amp and will go for the Yamaha rx-v3067. Now should I go Monitor Audio BX2's or KEF kht3005se for the speakers?

Ta again:)
 
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