looking for new amp

[mattay32]

Hi

ive been looking for a new amp and have looked at the pioneer 1018 which ive seen for £440. Has anyone got any experiance with this amp or would they recommend a different one it will be running on B&W 603. Im beginning to lose my mind as there are so many out there!

 

[Tone-uk]

I would say good amp but, way overpriced. I looked at one in January and they were just as expensive then. Went for a Yamaha 861 instead. Look at the Marantz 4002 as well is my recommendation The 4003 at £340 will do as good a job as the pioneer 1018 with movies and probably surpass it with music playback. Then Denon 1908 is also quite nice.
For your £440, I'd be trying to source an Arcam 280. No hd audio over hdmi but, serious performance!

 

[Spec-Chum]

Hi

ive been looking for a new amp and have looked at the pioneer 1018 which ive seen for £440. Has anyone got any experiance with this amp or would they recommend a different one it will be running on B&W 603. Im beginning to lose my mind as there are so many out there!

Tell me about it! I've been trying to find an amp for over a week now and everytime I think I've made my mind up (I'm 99% sure I'm going for an SR4002) someone on here recommends another amp. Happened to me not 10 minutes ago on anoter thread, I've now got Yamaha 861 in my thoughts lol

 

[mattay32]

What about the marantz 5003 ? Why would you say the pioneer is over priced as its THX Dolby True HD and DTS etc. They other problem I have is that im not near a good hi fi shop to get to listen to these!

 

[dante01]

Why would you say the pioneer is over priced as its THX Dolby True HD and DTS etc.

Because that is what you are paying extra for and you don't actually need the onboard HD decoding because the BD player can do the decoding and send the audio stream as LPCM. Cheaper, more musically accomplished alternatives exist that lack the onboard decoding. You are paying a premium for the decoding and not in relation to the quality of sound you can expect

 

[mattay32]

Right, thanks again for all your help. This is just getting way too much for me There is so much stuff out there its very difficult to decide whats what! So what would people recommend for around £450?

 

[dante01]

Right, thanks again for all your help. This is just getting way too much for me There is so much stuff out there its very difficult to decide whats what! So what would people recommend for around £450?

Any idea of what you do want from the amp and what you must have it do?

Are there certain requirements that have to be fulfilled?

The options are rather limited right now:

Denon AVR 2309 £450
Sony STRDA2400ES £430
Pioneer VSX1018 £420
Yamaha RXV565 £415
Yamaha DSP-AX861SE £300
Onkyo TX-SR606 £350

and the Marantz as mentioned by Tone-UK.

 

[Tone-uk]

There is not much of a difference between the 4003 and 5003 in performance terms. Has slightly more power and on board hd audio decoding and dsd.

So if you can find one cheap then go for it but, it looks like the 5003 is £130 more and IMO not worth it and the cash may be better spent on speakers - do you have centre, rears etc?

 

[mattay32]

Yeah ive got centre and rears all B&W 603 for the fronts and I cant rember the model numbers for the rears and centre. I would say id use the amp a bit more for movies than music around 65 to 35 ratio. Ill be hooking up a PS3 and other bits n bobs. Unfortunatly where I live there isnt many good hi fi shops that carry all the different brands so its very difficult to see and hear them

 

[Passingbat]

Any idea of what you do want from the amp and what you must have it do?

Are there certain requirements that have to be fulfilled?

The options are rather limited right now:

Denon AVR 2309 £450
Sony STRDA2400ES £430
Pioneer VSX1018 £420
Yamaha RXV565 £415
Yamaha DSP-AX861SE £300
Onkyo TX-SR606 £350

and the Marantz as mentioned by Tone-UK.

If you have a Blue ray Player or plan to get one, it's decoding capabilities can make a difference to amp choice.

The Maranz 5003 uses audessy room equalisation and can't decode bitstream HD audio and run Audessy at the same time; you can send it decoded LPCM from the BR player (if it can decode all formats) and Audessy will then still work.

The Maranz 4003 uses Marantz’s proprietary MRAC instread of Audessy. I don't know anything about it, so don't know if that has that problem or even if it does equalisation --- something to check out.

If you go for the Yamaha 861 you need a BR player that decodes all HD formats and will force 24fps if you have or intend to get a 24fps capable TV.

I don't know anything about Sony, Onkyo and Pioneer in this regard but I believe the Denon will decode HD audio and run Audessy at the same time and has no problems with 24fps 1080p video.

 

[mattay32]

The tv I have does support 24fps so does anyone know if the pioneer can handle 24fps? Im kinda now toying with the denon 1909 or the pioneer 1018. Both are around £430. Does anyone have any pros or cons for each amp?

 

[Tone-uk]

Yep the 1018 should be fine with 24p - it has v1.3 hdmi. We can't say it will definitely work until you connect everything up! The blu ray player might not hand shake with the 1018 or the tv might mot handshake with the 1018 - it really depends on the components used. This is why Sony sometimes offers forced 24pon their blu ray players to get round the issue. It does not affect quality, although if the tv is not 24p then a funny screen would appear leading to complaints by customers thinking the tv is bust! (hence panasonic do not have a forced option on their players).

 

[Passingbat]

The tv I have does support 24fps so does anyone know if the pioneer can handle 24fps? Im kinda now toying with the denon 1909 or the pioneer 1018. Both are around £430. Does anyone have any pros or cons for each amp?

I can't see specific mention of 24fps on the Pioneer website for the 1018 (doesn't mean it can't).

But the Denon site does say it can handle 1080p at 24hz (which I think means it can do 24fps), here under the HDMI section:

DENON UK | Information and technical specs | AVR-1909

 

[Tone-uk]

Pioneer use that "HD DIGITAL FILM DIRECT 24" which equates to 24p

 

[Passingbat]

Pioneer use that "HD DIGITAL FILM DIRECT 24" which equates to 24p

Good to know, but I can't see any reference to that on the Pioneer web site. Is it hidden away and I've missed it? Hope so.

VSX-1018AH-S Pioneer Amplifier, AV Receiver - Audio - Video

 

[Tone-uk]

Yeah you've missed it! Click on the "features" tab. It's in between "overview" and "support and media"

 

[Passingbat]

Yeah you've missed it! Click on the "features" tab. It's in between "overview" and "support and media"

Ah, I see it now, thanks.

I'm pleased about that as there is now another amp in this price range that is a good possible option.

 

[mattay32]

Thanks for the advice im begining to get somewhere!