korrupt Posted April 17, 2007 Posted April 17, 2007 Hi All, I hope I'm putting this in the right section... I am about to update my home theatre set up to the following components and would like some feedback on the items. Pioneer VSXAX2ASS Amp Sony DVP-NS76H DVD player The display is a Pioneer 507 plasma. I wouldn't mind getting all Pioneer gear to take advantage of the 5 year warranty, but it sounds like the Sony is currently the best cheap upscaling, HDMI player. I'm also planning on using HDMI connections between the DVD player and the Amp and the Amp and the display. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
50mxe20 Posted April 17, 2007 Posted April 17, 2007 Budget? I'd be tempted to suggest to wait. Lots of new amps coming out later in the year (pre Xmas). Otherwise I'd get the Yamaha 2700B or the new Onkyo (??) ahead of the choices you've listed. But budget is everything in this game.
bertzz99 Posted April 17, 2007 Posted April 17, 2007 I concur with Lyle. In the price bracket of the VSXAX2ASS you should be able to very easily get one of the new 2007 Onkyo TrueHD, HDMI 1.3 etc models - due very soon. Denon offerings later in the year too. Could be worth waiting.
korrupt Posted April 17, 2007 Author Posted April 17, 2007 Thanks for the replies. I will do a search for this new Onkyo one. Budget for the Amp is probably around 2,000. Maybe 2,500 at an absolute stretch, if it was worth it. The main appeal of the Pioneer is it does the HDMI switching and it would be covered by a 5 year warranty.
brodricj Posted April 17, 2007 Posted April 17, 2007 I recommend you use a DVDO VP30 video processor with the Pioneer plasma, it will do wonders for your PQ! p.s. I have one for sale!!
50mxe20 Posted April 17, 2007 Posted April 17, 2007 New Onkyo Receiver Range For 2007 Some Details Of Denon 3808 New Yamaha 2700
korrupt Posted April 17, 2007 Author Posted April 17, 2007 I recommend you use a DVDO VP30 video processor with the Pioneer plasma, it will do wonders for your PQ!p.s. I have one for sale!! I'm a little confused, would I use one of these instead of the amp ?
50mxe20 Posted April 17, 2007 Posted April 17, 2007 I'm a little confused, would I use one of these instead of the amp ?No. Display only (I think).
Cody Posted April 17, 2007 Posted April 17, 2007 as an alternative to the Sony, have you looked at the Pioneer DV-696? ive only heard good things and its also quite cheap, plus you get your 5yr warranty. remember as well, you can get big discounts off the RRP on Pioneer via the box movers like JB or from christophersaudiophilestore on ebay (shop is in Kew). For example, i would be looking to pay no more than about $1400 - $1500 (max) for the AX2ASS, or $1800'ish for the AX4ASi. as for the new gen of AVR's (eg the Onkyo), sure wait if you want the new key features (which arent critical), but be prepared to wait up to around the end of the year for them to hit Aus shores. The new Onkyo range has just this month started to be released in the US. others in that price range that i think would be worth checking out - Harman Kardon 645 Sony STR-DA5200ES Yammaha 2700B Denon 2807 Marantz SR-6001 depends what you want really and on the rest of your system, such as your speakers?
korrupt Posted April 18, 2007 Author Posted April 18, 2007 as an alternative to the Sony, have you looked at the Pioneer DV-696? ive only heard good things and its also quite cheap, plus you get your 5yr warranty.... depends what you want really and on the rest of your system, such as your speakers? Thanks for the reply. Does the DV-696 do the upscaling like the Sony player? I will have to do some further research into this model. Current speakers are some old Sony satellite ones. I've had them for awhile and they seem pretty good, but I might look at upgrading in the future. I don't remember the exact details about the speakers at the moment though.
Volunteer Kazz Posted April 18, 2007 Volunteer Posted April 18, 2007 Thanks for the reply.Does the DV-696 do the upscaling like the Sony player? I will have to do some further research into this model. Current speakers are some old Sony satellite ones. I've had them for awhile and they seem pretty good, but I might look at upgrading in the future. I don't remember the exact details about the speakers at the moment though. Yes the DV-696 does upscale, I have this model and it does a great job has also played everything I have thrown at it as far as divx, avi etc goes. Cheers Karen.
Cody Posted April 18, 2007 Posted April 18, 2007 Thanks for the reply.Does the DV-696 do the upscaling like the Sony player? I will have to do some further research into this model. Current speakers are some old Sony satellite ones. I've had them for awhile and they seem pretty good, but I might look at upgrading in the future. I don't remember the exact details about the speakers at the moment though. As Kazz has mentioned, it does upscale plus it plays basically everything, including DVD-A, which the Sony doesnt - infact just looking at the sony website, looks like it doesnt do SACD either (which the pioneer does) any of those AVR's will drive satellites, although id strongly recommend budgeting for a speaker upgrade as soon as possible to do justice to the rest of your gear. at that point you'll hear a big step-up in audio quality imo. cheers, DG
korrupt Posted April 23, 2007 Author Posted April 23, 2007 Well, I ended up getting the Pioneer VSXAX2ASS Amp and the Pioneer DV-696 player on the weekend. So far pretty happy with the set up. I do have one question that hopefully someone can help me with. I currently have the PS2 plugged in using the S-Video connection. According to the Pioneer website, this should be upscaled and put out via the HDMI output. But I can't get any vision on the plasma. The DVD player works fine via HDMI, but that is actually using the HDMI connection, not S-Video or Component, etc. There doesn't seem to be any thing in the manual about turning on upscaling or anything like that. At the moment, I'm just assuming I have connected it up wrong and will need to check it tonight. Any help would be appreciated.
wheresbaz Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 Well, I ended up getting the Pioneer VSXAX2ASS Amp and the Pioneer DV-696 player on the weekend. So far pretty happy with the set up. I do have one question that hopefully someone can help me with. I currently have the PS2 plugged in using the S-Video connection. According to the Pioneer website, this should be upscaled and put out via the HDMI output. But I can't get any vision on the plasma. The DVD player works fine via HDMI, but that is actually using the HDMI connection, not S-Video or Component, etc. There doesn't seem to be any thing in the manual about turning on upscaling or anything like that. At the moment, I'm just assuming I have connected it up wrong and will need to check it tonight. Any help would be appreciated. Hey Korrupt, Not sure on the Pio but on my yammy receiver you have to have HDMI conversion on in video setup. Which is turned on or off through set up menu. Cheers Bill
korrupt Posted April 25, 2007 Author Posted April 25, 2007 Hey Korrupt,Not sure on the Pio but on my yammy receiver you have to have HDMI conversion on in video setup. Which is turned on or off through set up menu. Cheers Bill Thanks for the reply. I checked everything again today and, in what can only be described as a Homer Simpson moment, realised I had plugged the cords into the OUT connections, instead of the IN connections. Doh! All sorted out now though. Looking good too...
tomohawk Posted April 25, 2007 Posted April 25, 2007 The Sony DVD player is great. I have one and it really is worth the money. You should be able to get it for ~$180 if you push them hard enough.
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