Happy new Elite vsx-30 owner : )

I just received this great product last night and so far the results are outstanding. The differences are dramatic in comparison to my Yamaha RX-V465. The Advanced MCACC and PC based viewing gives room views and all important reverb measurements. This has so many features and functions that I am still shaking my head why I short changed myself by being conservative in my receiver processing.

My DIY monkey coffins show a very close Flat response in all areas except my purposely over damped titanium domes. I had to have some boost around 4K (7db) and also 8K (4db). I may re-evaluate the amount of material used to control the sound I was after. May need to remove some to increase efficiency. My ceiling tile placement and internal baffles showed well and i'm quite pleased with the towers.

ProEQ: Looks like with supplied 3D graphs my room may benefit with a more specific 40ms calibration setting and re-run the process accounting for said time. I may keep it at the 30-50ms option to process calibration. There is almost endless engineering and adjusting but thats why I bought it. I could not get any of these features with any other receiver for under 2K, so i'm quite pleased. The sound vs. the Yamaha is so dramatic and bi-amping my towers (seperate crossovers used) makes a huge difference especially with their full spectrum phase control. Huge control options with this feature and function. Sound quality is dramatic, video and upscaling/1080p viewing is fantastic and huge tweakable options there, everything is that much better.

For anyone wanting a Yamaha RX-V465 its for sale for $225 shipped and retails for $379 currently. 1 year used with careful attention to its use.

reference: THX setup with bi-amped fronts and side surrounds. stereo subs :D

Interesting. I've been looking at buying a receiver (my last one is a 15-year old Onkyo). I've mainly been doing 2-channel listening lately.

What made you consider this model over other models and brands? I've been learning toward Denon lately, mainly because I'm curious about using Audyssey, but I'm still not partial to anything.

But it sounds like you are really happy, especially about the audio improvement over your Yamaha. Maybe I'll start looking at Pioneer Elite models, too.

Anyway, just curious about your decision making process about getting the Pioneer.

Thanks!

Thank you for asking, my reasons were this:

1. I wanted advanced EQ and calibration programs that I could mess with for weeks : )
2. Direct Energy amplification
3. Did I mention the Advanced MCACC and Pro EQ/Reverb with PC based viewing in 3D??? : )
4. Great GUI was also important since I want to view all the crazy calibration graphs, reverb, and EQ on my TV.

I am a big Audyssey fan (XT32 and Pro) but I couldn't find any of the above mentioned "wants" with anything under say $1500. The Emotiva UMC1 and Amp was the only under $2000 that gave me crazy EQ action but it ends there. I am very much pleased and have spent a little over 7 hours playin with the ProEQ and Pro Calibration setups. The possibilities are endless. I really do love it and like I said earlier I cannot believe that I have short-changed myself by being so conservative with my receiver. I eat sleep and drink all these calibration programs and just want to out smart them, but that of course won't happen but will continue to strive for high fidelity/high resolution HT! Anyone is more than welcome to come by and listen, see, and experience my setup, anytime!


Happy Brian in Bakersfield...

Thanks for writing that up. You've definitely piqued my interest in that receiver now.

Your very welcome and please feel free to ask anything your curious about. I'm diggin' deeper each and every day finding new stuff out. I can also say this, I'm very much impressed with a couple of the DSP surround modes. Coming from a mid level Yamaha its no slouch but the surround modes with the Elite far out-run the Yamaha in sound quality and i'm a straight decoder guy!

Some key components that I think make all this really shine, full frequency Phase Control, the .08% 80 watts rms from 20-20k, and all the crazy flexibility in adjusting.