wuzzzer 1988 Posted November 29, 2017 After researching the Pioneer Elite D3 receivers I decided on picking one up from accessories4less.com today. I've bought from them before and always had a great experience. Decided on a refurb'd SC-LX501. It'll be interesting to see how it sounds compared to my Panasonic SA-XR57. Hopefully It'll be here by the weekend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
derrickdj1 8233 Posted November 29, 2017 We will await your review. Low distortion and a black floor should be in both avrs. The interesting thing will be the comparison of digital music sources from the Panasonic vs the digital to analog conversion in the Pioneer. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schu 5011 Posted November 29, 2017 17 minutes ago, wuzzzer said: It'll be interesting to see how it sounds compared to my Panasonic SA-XR57. In what kind of configuration? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wuzzzer 1988 Posted November 29, 2017 16 minutes ago, Schu said: In what kind of configuration? ? All around. CDs, movies, etc. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wuzzzer 1988 Posted November 29, 2017 24 minutes ago, derrickdj1 said: We will await your review. Low distortion and a black floor should be in both avrs. The interesting thing will be the comparison of digital music sources from the Panasonic vs the digital to analog conversion in the Pioneer. Yep. I listen to a lot of CDs through optical digital so hopefully the Pioneer will sound as good or better. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dtel 29324 Posted November 29, 2017 Good luck Wuzzzer, I think you will be happy. I switched to a much older Pioneer Elite a couple of months ago and really like the sound, it's way better than the old Yamaha I was using, good deal also. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
derrickdj1 8233 Posted November 29, 2017 The use of HDMI over optical will be a nice upgrade with the Pioneer. HDMI can pass higher resolution audio compared to optical. This will allow DSD audio, Dolby True HD, and the advance DTS format. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wuzzzer 1988 Posted November 29, 2017 5 minutes ago, derrickdj1 said: The use of HDMI over optical will be a nice upgrade with the Pioneer. HDMI can pass higher resolution audio compared to optical. This will allow DSD audio, Dolby True HD, and the advance DTS format. That's definitely something I'm looking forward to. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quiet_Hollow 641 Posted November 29, 2017 Don't expect audio nirvana straight out of the box with the Pioneer. They ship with every bell and whistle feature turned on, which you'll promptly have to spend some time carefully rooting around in the menu tree to turn off. Not to mention sifting through the dearth of sound field/DSP modes simply to find basic "stereo". The menu will take some getting used to as the Panasonic XR is simply brilliant in comparison. Once you get it set up though, you'll be good to go. Eventually you figure where you need to visit most frequently....just not as intuitively as with the Panasonic. Naturally, the Pioneer can do significantly more. You'll need to run MCACC to achieve even partial stride. Once you've spent some time with the DSP, and it is dialed-in however, it's seriously game on! Wait until you get a load of Dolby ATMOS/Digital on your movies, and I wasn't kidding what I said earlier about the D3 amps. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schu 5011 Posted November 29, 2017 11 hours ago, wuzzzer said: ... I've been listening to extended surround sound lately and it sound quite good in a 5.1... (The stereo signal is extended to all five speaker positions) 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wuzzzer 1988 Posted December 5, 2017 Got it! I am going to wait until I put my center speaker stand together to hook it all up. Should have it all up and running tomorrow. Yes, I am a patient man. By the way, $455 with free shipping from accessories4less.com. It is a factory refurbished unit but it has a 1 year factory warranty and accessories4less gave a 3 year extended warranty for free! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ceptorman 12296 Posted December 5, 2017 Excellent score. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
derrickdj1 8233 Posted December 5, 2017 That is an excellent score. I was telling someone in another post, give your self a couple of weeks for tweak and getting everything right. MCACC has a lot and it takes a little time to adjust coming from Audysse or some other correction system. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wuzzzer 1988 Posted December 5, 2017 My current receiver has nothing like mcacc, only manual distance, sub xover and tone controls. I had an Onkyo and Marantz receiver with audyssey and only used it for speaker distance and level output. I adjusted everything else manually as I preferred it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wuzzzer 1988 Posted December 5, 2017 So much for patience! Got everything hooked up and just completed the firmware update. Going through all the settings right now. Very easy to use gui on this receiver. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dtel 29324 Posted December 5, 2017 6 hours ago, wuzzzer said: By the way, $455 with free shipping from accessories4less.com. It is a factory refurbished unit but it has a 1 year factory warranty and accessories4less gave a 3 year extended warranty for free! Great deal, way better warranty than a brand new unit, years better. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wuzzzer 1988 Posted December 5, 2017 8 minutes ago, dtel said: Great deal, way better warranty than a brand new unit, years better. Yep. Plus the receiver is mint! They always say there might be sight cosmetic blemishes but I have yet to buy a refurbished item like this that hasn't been in less than pristine condition. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dtel 29324 Posted December 5, 2017 To me a 3 year warranty is way more important than a possible small scratch. A long time ago I bought a Yamaha receiver from a dealer an hour from the house, they doubled manufacturers warranties. Probably almost 20 years ago, thing still works as new, only problem is the remote volume down button only sometimes works. The Pioneer I have is over 10 years old and works perfect, VSX-82TXS, hope you get many years out of yours. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wuzzzer 1988 Posted December 5, 2017 Man this thing is sweeeeeet! Unfortunately I learned that my old HDMI cables will have to be upgraded! I'm using four cables, two are less than a year old and two are several years old. Guess I found out that HDMI isn't backward compatible. Now I really want to get my center in the mix and toss in a cheap pair of Yamaha bookshelves as surrounds for some 5.1 action!! Between @BEC rebuilding my crossovers and this receiver I'm in audio heaven right now. Plus my wife won't be home from work for a couple more hours! 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quiet_Hollow 641 Posted December 6, 2017 Welcome to the dark side. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
