here's the connections available on the VSX-1020:


there's also speaker post for Front Height and Front Wide.
a cheaper solution for those wanting to try wide and height setup. previously only high end models that have the wide/height processing.

and here's the connections on the higher VSX-1120 (new line):

a full PREOUT connection on all 7 channels including the wide/height channels.

i reckon previously only available on elite series

that much budget for a pioneer avr will only land you something that's gonna stuck until you sell it off as preout are (currently) only available in the elite series.

then again, most people are perfectly fine with it as multichannel amps are quite costly to begin with. most (if not all) prefer to dump money to upgrade their speakers, subs, tvs and not take the external amp path.

in that case, i think it's wiser to buy a cheap AVR that could do HD Audio and dumping the extra money for speakers and subs.
if you wanna upgrade to experience HD Audio (which is the buzz nowadays, be it whether you could hear the difference or not), at least you don't have to sell off the avr. also a media player that don't support HD audio is cheaper. good enough for initial purchase.

IMHO it would sound better (overall experience) than buying yourself some expensive AVR that could do everything, but only to plug in some cheap satellite that you pulled off from some broken speaker somewhere; because all the money are already spent on that expensive AVR.

only to hit your head to the wall next month when that expensive AVR are phased out from the market for HDMI 1.4 and dolby pro logic IIz and audyssey wide support. causing that expensive AVR to drop 50% in price.

but then it's just a personal opinion..

which version of ps3? i've read that the fat one could output lpcm and the slim one could bitstream. my friend has the slim one and that version confirm could bitstream hd audio to the avr.

sometimes good offer could be found in the garage sales, the music section. and you should also wait look in hifi4sale. sometimes once in a blue moon a good offer surface up. but don't hope too much.
also try to ask at hifi shops if there's used unit that people traded to upgrade.


hey some people say it's better maaa.. some say there's a definite improvement from the use of wide or height speakers. some could hear it, some could not. the best way IMHO is to try it oneself and experience it rather than reading about it.
can't try it if the AVR don't support such things, no?

the cheaper i've seen are either the yamaha rx-v465 or the pioneer vsx-819. in which both are selling at RM1.5k-something.
but the cheapest have to be the *used* RM1k-something denon 1610 which are already sold.

i reckon klipsch speakers are easier to drive compared to other kevlar variant.
even my wharfedale could be driven to listening volume by my cheap vsx-519. should be easier if high sensitivity speakers (like klipsch) are paired to it.

and that's coming from an avr which have bloated power specs..

the succesor as in the VSX-1120 or the VSX-1020?

would be really nice if they introduce the 1120 over here..

woooottt!!!
7.1 preout with wide and height support!

this will be my next upgrade. as i like the pioneer sound more compared to marantz, denon and onkyo.

the cheapest vsx-919 is going for RM1.8k new

wrong issit?

vsx-1019 is RM2.3k a few month back.
i think got someone in garage sales sold his new vsx919 for rm1.8k a few weeks back.

at 6 ohm and 85dB sensitivity, you're gonna need a beast to drive it.
a beast like the LX82 with its' Bang & Olfusen ICEPower amp module would be perfect..

the VSX-919/1019 don't have a very good amp module. IINM, tested only to have about 28W of power.

pioneer 3 series speaker? which model actually?
but still for RM5.5k i do think you could get much better offers at hifi shops

last week it got pitted against a marantz sr6003.
this week i got my hands on it and have the whole week to compare it against the resident mrx300.

it beats the sr6003 in musicality, transparency, slam and integration between speakers. it sounds better than sr6003 in stereo music reproduction, concerts, multichannel music, and in movies playback.
not an easy feat considering the sr6003 is a very good receiver for concerts and music.

the preamp section is of higher quality than even anthem mrx300. it beats the mrx300 in musicality, transparency, and especially in stereo reproduction. concert also sounds better on the lx55.

again, not an easy feat considering that the resident receiver had its preamp section heavily modified.

not without some weakness. i can't get the mcacc to sound right. after calibration mcacc made the sound thin and lifeless. the thing sounds better with some simple level and distance adjustment compared to mcacc advanced eq.

because of this drawback movies sounded a lot better on the anthem. on the lx the subwoofer sounded uncontrolled and boomy because i can't turn on the eq. lowering the sub level reduces the boominess but reduced the bass impact.

no idea. the lx73 and lx83 used to be the only ones that uses class d icepower modules before this while the lower end lx53 and lx73 used some other method. not that it's a big issue as i'm plugging a poweramp into the receiver.

the newer onkyo that i've heard (*09 series) did a pretty good job with music. audited the 509 and 609 and onkyo did improved the receiver musicality compared to the past series. not as musical as the lx55, but they did a pretty good job nonetheless.
and while still retaining the onkyo slam and brutal presentation when doing movies.

i would like to think that the 5509 preserved the same trait as their other lower end receivers. that being said i wouldn't really place my bet with emotiva seeing how their previous processor turned out to be.

that would be really nice! then we can have a better understanding on the emotiva. have someone bring over a 5509 and it would be even better.

i would really like to try one out, but currently nobody is using an AV processor near my place. must have someone bring it over to test it on my setup first before committing. not gonna do another blind purchase without home audition (ever) again.

found the culprit. seems that standing wave correction brought more problem than solution. at least to my setup.

turning standing wave correction, enabling eq and disabling phase control plus i got a more natural sounding and better sound overall. the best (i think) that i could extract from the receiver (currently).

the lx55 overall sound is more refined than the mrx300. kindda like a more polite presentation than the mrx300. whilst the mrx300 is a more brutal sounding receiver with a harder hitting presentation. not up to the level of onkyo signature but definitely more aggressive than the lx55.

as good as the lx55 is, it loses out compared to ARC eq. ARC did some impressive things to my subwoofer. mcacc still made the subwoofer too boomy for my liking. bass impact is also better on the mrx.

but the thing is, a fella in hifi4sale PMed me asking about the mrx300. he said woo kee hong is asking for RM6k+ for the mrx300 after taking over distributorship from asia sound. and the lx55 is selling for under RM4k. for RM6k i'd rather go with the lx55 and keep the extra RM2k for some other component. the improvement from ARC is there, but i don't think it's worth the extra RM2k.

sorry my mistake. it is from hwee seng.


ARC is indeed better, but at over RM2k more i couldn't justify the price. at under Rm4k the lx55 is a great choice to consider.

bro you got some good price for the 5509 from SG?

phase control plus can be turned off by lowering it to 0ms. press the 'audio parameter' button on your remote then scroll down using the arrow button until 'phase c+' and lower it down to 0ms. mcacc sets it at 6ms at my setup. if i read correctly it's supposed to provide independent phase control over each driver inside the speaker.
you might also wanna cycle through the phase control option during playback by pressing 'phase ctrl' button on the remote. a simple phase control might sound better than the default advanced phase control.

5509 at RM6k is an option to consider. sell off the mrx300 and topup a bit to go discreet pre-power.