I've been offered to buy a Pioneer ax4asi 180w per channel 7.1 with hdmi and faroudja chip for approx rm2k. At the same time someone wants to buy my recently acquired pioneer 920k for 1.8k. Is it considered a good upgrade?

After a run down on the specs (no time to do a proper homework), the Pioneer ax4asi is a serious old skool power house..wacks everything that 920 is comparable off....I would surely get this!!

But main advantage of the 920 is:
Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HDMA capable
V1.4a with 3D
Deep Colour (36bit)
x.v. Colour

If you have got a high end Bluray player...or even one of those Media players...and a fabulously expensive 3D TV...this is the only way to go..

End of the day...920 for me...but lucky, my media source (a Dune Prime) has Multiple out for HD audio to old skool amp..and a 3D TV is out of the question cos of the cost and health reasons (3D give headache)...so i might just get the Pioneer ax4asi...but I know...once you use Multiple-ins for the AVR, all that candy features will be wasted...

Again..920 for me

I'm agreeing to bro azbro unless you really need a very powerful amp section of ax4asi. I still think an AVR with the Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HDMA capability was a must if you're in blu-ray or those media player that can bitstream HD audio..

Thanks for the feedbacks! Looks like a better bet will be upgrading to a newer spec model.

How about speakers, would an ex hi end speaker be better than an entry level speaker of today? Eg KEF and Dali models few years back vs. Entry level jamo/jbl/pioneer.

for my personal preference, KEF and Dali models few years back was recommended against entry level Jamo/JBL/Pioneer as long the 'old' KEF and Dali was well taken care of..

Also for newer entry level Jamo, it was Made In China.. Pioneer was Made in Bolehland or Indonesia. Not sure for JBL tho..

My experience with Hi Fi taught me this lesson: New is not necessary better.

I guess speakers are a better bet... As long as condition is still good. Looking at the condition and testing they sounded very decent. Between the Dali piano noble and the KEF the Dali sounded clearer while KEF more restrained but still good. Also tested infinity and it was closer to KEF. Most of the amps and speakers cost a bomb 3-4 years back and the amps also very well taken care of. Some tube amps and power amps were very attractive to me ... Price wise very good too. Might grab a bunch of items on my next visit. Stereo amps next on my list!

+1

As i said previously...ax4asi will wack everything the 920 is comparable off..

But the extra features like DTSHDMA and DTHD which I've experience is much superior and finer sounding than normal ( or might say crude) DTS and DD, plus the 1.4HDMI 3D and a whole lot of other features makes the 920 a more attractive buy...

There is no point for me to invest in an old skool Dolby/DTS machine unless it comes at a very low cost and I dun give a damn abt HD audio and the other features the current technology has to offer...which I think I really can't escape from....maybe not now..but surely later.

+1
I definitely agree AX4ASi will whack 920 off but to me, DTS HDMA and Dolby True HD in 920 was what was missed by the big brother of early day Pioneer.. unless the TS not interested at all with the blu-ray or media player with bitstream capability that carry the HD Audio..

It will be used in my av room... So still have to be able to play the latest bluray and media player. Will be better off getting a good ex hi-end stereo amp instead since stereo is still stereo right? saw some pre-amp/power amp combo and valve amps available.

Value amps generally give more seductive vocal mid-range than solid state amplifier, much more. Generally lacking in power so may not be suitable for AV. Of course, there are always exception.

Actually I meant the stereo amp as an addition to an av amp. I still find that good stereo amps sound better than most av amps. The stereo amp is for music only.

AV amp for movies.....Stereo amp for music.....and before you know it, separate speaker for AV and stereo....dedicated CD player for music .....careful....the journey to musical nirvana can be a very slippery route to frustration instead

I enjoy d experience... Just have to be careful not to spend too much and set a budget every month. That's why checking out ex-top models rather than current top models. Guess everyone has a vice... Av not as bad as casino.

This post has been edited by DannyOP: Jan 2 2011, 12:58 PM

Yap, that's the way to go and I have never bought anything brand new (except clearance sales) for Hi Fi. And of course the all vital system matching.

This post has been edited by Optiplex330: Jan 2 2011, 01:29 PM

Hifi bug got the better of you quite fast. LOL. I have a stereo int amp can double up as pwr amp in theatre mode when watch'g movie. So, just need a pair of good front.

When I want to listen to song, just switch off avr and the other amp and select the correct input at int amp. Sit back and enjoy.

Htkaki, are u talking about using AVR to pre-out to Stereo Amp?

In this case, our music listening is at the optimum (with dedicated cdp to stereo amp). But don't you think by using stereo amp to power up the front when watching movie can kill off some of its dynamic since stereo amp is more conservative in its approach to audio reproduction?

Bro mikapoh, wait til you come over. I'll let you audition

Looking for stereo power amp now or monoblock now.

When I heard people using this big word, I knew they gotten the Hi Fi bug for sure