PIONEER ELITE VSX 49txi

[MrMcGoo]

Ou8,

The 49TXi uses Burr-Brown PCM 1704 DACs, their best. The Denon 5803 uses Burr-Brown 1736 DS DACs which are less expensive. In any case, the implementation or circuit design for use of the DACs is as important as the DAC used. The 49TXi seems to have better DACs than the 49TX, but the DAC (1704) did not change. Implementation apparently changed if a Japanese source on the internet was accurate.

Bill

[Ou8thisSN]

but its still not 2 DACs per channel right

so the diff is 1. less DACs

2. no 3 room/3 source capability

3. less wattage/more distortion

[MrMcGoo]

Ou8,

The allegedly higher wattage of the Denon has not been confirmed in independent tests. Sound & Vision rated the 49TXi as 148 watts per channel in 8 Ohms with 5 channels driven. The Denon 5803 was rated by S&V as putting 138 watts into 8 Ohms with 5 channels driven. So much for the 170 watt claim.

Home Theater rated the 49TXi as putting out 124.5 watts into 6 channels while the Denon put out 143.7 watts into 5 channels. Note that to put the Denon ahead they had to drive fewer channels.

Sterophile GHT rated the 49TXi as putting out .022% THD+noise at 20 Hz at 1 watt and .015% at 1 kHz THD+noise at 1 watt. This is very relevant for Klipsch owners as we rarely go above 1 watt with RF-7s putting out 102 db for 1 watt. Noise goes down as wattage goes up until clipping sets in.

The bottom line is that the 49TXi puts out as much useable power as the Denon. At low wattage the 49TXi is quiter per Home Theater mag's tests. As far as the DACs are concerned, Denon uses the 1704 DAC on their DVD-A/SACD player (the 9000 model). It sounds better than the 5803s DACs. The Pioneer's street price is as much as $1,400 less than the Denon. The 49TXi uses the new i-link dor DVD-A/SACD. The Denon uses a proprietary link to their very expensive 9000 model DVD.

In a nutshell, the Denon numbers are typical manufacturer hype.

Bill

[Ou8thisSN]

very convincing arguement, thanks for illustrating the difference. one last bit, is the Pioneer remote capable of doing everything the Denon is capable of? Denon can be hooked up online to the computer and stuff. And the Pioneer only has inputs for 2 room/2 source right.

I have searched for a direct comparison without avail, so thats why i'm asking all these redundant questions.

[AnalOg]

All that own the Pioneer 45/47/49tx, do yourselves a favor. If you like listening to two channel do the direct function instead of useing the mcacc, I gaurantee you will hear a considerable difference in regard to dynamics and true sense of how the music was recorded, dont forget to adjust your subs accordingly after you due this otherwise bass will be too pronounced. Also I have my 47tx hooked up to the elite dv-05 dvd player, try a dedicated mid to upper level cd player, mine is the Musical Fidelity a3 cd player, the contrast in sound quality and again dynamics is profound, it sounds like a completely different system in all aspects. Although i can't speak for the 47ai, I have not compared other players other than mine. This receiver shines if you feed it quality stuff, its almost as warm as tubes, and very quite sound floor.Mcacc works great for 5.1 that was the buying point for me. I have also found setting it on THX function as apposed to digital 5.1 during movie veiwing seems to give the best & seamless sound possible. IMHO.

Tom

[MrMcGoo]

Ou8,

The Denon is both infra red and radio frequency on the remote. If you will actually use the multi-room function it is a real advantage.

The 49TXi has an easy to use remote that is preprogrammed for many devices. It is also a learning remote and can manually be customized as can the display on the receiver.

My remote has been customized to name the various components, e.g., Sony DVD. The display reads out the same information. It was easy to do.

Bill

[drptpcpe]

The 5803 remote when used in the rf mode has been doing weird things to the receiver. Check some reviews.

The other thing I want to address is an earlier post about the Sunfire reciever kicking butt on the Pioneer. In what way? The higher noise floor? Read the reviews Even the Sunfire site states something about it. Without going on about the receiver itself, Bob Carver recently got his "Carver" name back.Evidently in his divorce hie ex-wife had some attachment to the use..thus, Sunfire. According to a 'rep' from Sunfire the Sunfire line will fade into Carver. Now this is not a fact, but what will Sunfire pieces be worth if this happens? By the way I have auditioned the Sunfire reciever. It is good but you better like Carvers Holo imaging, because you don't get much else.

As far as Rotel or Outlaw especially, competing against the 49txi is way above there pricing. If the Pioneer uses the best DAC's and the latest best DSP from Motorola, and the other two use lesser quality electronics, would it matter what name was on the Pioneer? What if you put Krell on it?

andy

[Strabo]

The Dennon remote also has a macro feature that allows you to record and name macros. I found this very handy to turn on/off the entire entertainment system with the push of a couple buttons.

Without the macro feature I found the Dennon's remote fairly clumsy. And I'd recommend getting the base for the remote with the built in charger. I went through a set of batteries in that thing every two to three weeks.

[MrMcGoo]

Andy et al,

The Sunfire definitely has a high noise floor due to the type of amplifier used. The 49TXi is super quiet in comparison, particularly at low output with high sensitivity speakers.

There have been reports about the RF remote on the Denon causing problems. The best place to look would be the Denon flagship receiver forum. I was under the impression that the problems were isolated, but at the Denon's price I would want to be certain.

The 49TXi's remote can aslo do macros. I use a macro to turn the esytem off.

Bill