Worth upgrading Pioneer AVR?
Discussion
This is a bit of a man-maths question, if I'm honest, as in I don't need but I think I do want 
My current AV setup in the main lounge is a Pioneer VSX 920 powering 2x Kef iQ90s as the main speakers, 2x iQ30s as rears, 1x iQ60c as the centre and a Kube2 as the sub (yes, I quite like the Kef iQ range!). The fronts are bi-amped, not that I'm convinced it makes much of a difference but I had some spare cable so why not. I would say that usage is approx 60% TV/films (Sky and BD), 30% gaming (Xbone), and 10% music (ATV). I would like to increase the music percentage though, and watch less TV.
Currently I'm happy enough with the setup, and it all works very nicely. However, it's about 5 years old now and I feel like I could make an upgrade here. The package was bought with the intention that speakers wouldn't be replaced any time soon and they took up 75% of the original budget, as I knew that it's always the AVR that goes out of date first. As such, my question is basically is it worth replacing my AVR?
I'm looking straight at the Pioneer range as I like how everything works and have had pretty good customer service from them in the past when I've needed to, so realistically I'll be sticking with this brand. I've been looking at the various options in the SC range which is a step above the VSX as I understand it, but as to which one I've no idea. The exact spec of the model I can choose to suit whatever I feel comfortable spending, but really we're looking at the £800-£1600 range. Would I actually notice that much of a difference between an £800-£1600 brand new AVR and my current one, which was about £350 when new? In terms of clarity, punch, subtlety etc. Or am I literally just wanting to spend money for the sake of it, and actually I'd be better off spending money on speakers again or something else?
Any thoughts appreciated, sorry it's a long post!
My current AV setup in the main lounge is a Pioneer VSX 920 powering 2x Kef iQ90s as the main speakers, 2x iQ30s as rears, 1x iQ60c as the centre and a Kube2 as the sub (yes, I quite like the Kef iQ range!). The fronts are bi-amped, not that I'm convinced it makes much of a difference but I had some spare cable so why not. I would say that usage is approx 60% TV/films (Sky and BD), 30% gaming (Xbone), and 10% music (ATV). I would like to increase the music percentage though, and watch less TV.
Currently I'm happy enough with the setup, and it all works very nicely. However, it's about 5 years old now and I feel like I could make an upgrade here. The package was bought with the intention that speakers wouldn't be replaced any time soon and they took up 75% of the original budget, as I knew that it's always the AVR that goes out of date first. As such, my question is basically is it worth replacing my AVR?
I'm looking straight at the Pioneer range as I like how everything works and have had pretty good customer service from them in the past when I've needed to, so realistically I'll be sticking with this brand. I've been looking at the various options in the SC range which is a step above the VSX as I understand it, but as to which one I've no idea. The exact spec of the model I can choose to suit whatever I feel comfortable spending, but really we're looking at the £800-£1600 range. Would I actually notice that much of a difference between an £800-£1600 brand new AVR and my current one, which was about £350 when new? In terms of clarity, punch, subtlety etc. Or am I literally just wanting to spend money for the sake of it, and actually I'd be better off spending money on speakers again or something else?
Any thoughts appreciated, sorry it's a long post!
I'm not very familiar with Pioneer amps, but a general comment is that the big push is for Atmos/DTS:X AVRs (and 4K/HDCP2.2 HDMI connections). If you don't need this, then there should be some very good end of line deals around on older models, you may well get a much better model than your budget might otherwise allow.
While you might prefer to stick with Pioneer, there are some other well thought of AVRs that are though of as good with music. You may get a discontinued Anthem MX510/MX310 or perhaps one of the last Marantz SR7009 models. The Marantz does actually have Atmos and 4K (just it lacks the upgrade potential for DTS:X), but it doesn't sound like it matters to you.
While you might prefer to stick with Pioneer, there are some other well thought of AVRs that are though of as good with music. You may get a discontinued Anthem MX510/MX310 or perhaps one of the last Marantz SR7009 models. The Marantz does actually have Atmos and 4K (just it lacks the upgrade potential for DTS:X), but it doesn't sound like it matters to you.
Actually you're closer than you think, one of the other reasons to justify an upgrade is for Atmos and DTS:X support 
Maybe not straight away, but the option would be very nice to have.
So if I moved away from Pioneer stuff, is there (in general) a massive leap in quality from a £350 AVR to a £1000 one, based on the speakers I have? Very hard to quantify, I know, but if we're talking minute differences then it's not an avenue I'd pursue.
Maybe not straight away, but the option would be very nice to have.So if I moved away from Pioneer stuff, is there (in general) a massive leap in quality from a £350 AVR to a £1000 one, based on the speakers I have? Very hard to quantify, I know, but if we're talking minute differences then it's not an avenue I'd pursue.
Going from £350 to £1000 AVR you are more likely to better power amps for a start; many of the budget AVRs drop the wattage massively when more than one channel is driven so you get a '90 watts' amp that maybe drops down to the low 30s when a few channels are going. Whether you can hear this is another matter, so you need to get out and have some demos really. I run a separate power amp that can sustain 230 watts in each channel when all channels are driven...it sounds effortless compared to when I was running just an AVR (an Onkyo 818 which was about £500), so I know which side of the fence I sit.
The trouble with AVRs is that they cram more and more features into them, which effectively dilutes the sound quality, so things like room eq, video processing, streaming, multizone outputs and now Atmos take the resources away from the amps. That's why I'm suggesting AVRs that have more of a reputation for sound quality over the features, but going for discontinued options just helps your money go further.
If you do want Atmos, then the Anthem option is out because they didn't have Atmos on last year's models anyway. If you want DTS:X then you pretty much have to go for the current models, something like the Marantz 7010 at £1,399 rrp (I'm thinking of this option to use with my 7 channel power amp and the internal amps in the 7010 to power the Atmos speakers).
The trouble with AVRs is that they cram more and more features into them, which effectively dilutes the sound quality, so things like room eq, video processing, streaming, multizone outputs and now Atmos take the resources away from the amps. That's why I'm suggesting AVRs that have more of a reputation for sound quality over the features, but going for discontinued options just helps your money go further.
If you do want Atmos, then the Anthem option is out because they didn't have Atmos on last year's models anyway. If you want DTS:X then you pretty much have to go for the current models, something like the Marantz 7010 at £1,399 rrp (I'm thinking of this option to use with my 7 channel power amp and the internal amps in the 7010 to power the Atmos speakers).
Sadly I've no pre-outs on my AVR, so that pretty much rules out buying a power amp which is a shame.
I really do need to go and have a demo day I think somewhere, and see what the difference is in person before I commit myself. Thanks for your help on this, it's still a subject very new to me so I appreciate any help I can get
I really do need to go and have a demo day I think somewhere, and see what the difference is in person before I commit myself. Thanks for your help on this, it's still a subject very new to me so I appreciate any help I can get
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