Pioneer VSX-AX5i-S - VSX-AX10ai-S.....very little difference?

Steve Zodiac

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I just wondered if any members had upgraded from a Pioneer AX5 to an AX10?

I have very recently been considering replacing my AX5i-S with the AX10ai-S, which I may have been able to get at a reasonable price secondhand. I decided to have a word with Pioneer themselves to see if there was any known issues with AX10, but was very surprised by the first comment of the Pioneer employee. He said that I almost certainly would not be able to hear any difference between the two models apart from the fact that the AX10 would go a little louder. This was down to their design being very similar.

I would have thought that most manufacturers Customer Service employees would simply push the most expensive models, but not so in this case with Pioneer. He did say that the advantage with the Ax10 over the AX5 was the ability to drive lower impedance speakers better.

Needless to say I didn't pursue this upgrade but I am curious as to what others have found. Has anyone upgraded along this path and found otherwise?
 
I bought the AX10 before the AX5 came out, and really my only reason to spend so much on the amp was MCACC. I think the Pioneer rep is probably correct in what he said. You'd need to check, but I think the following are other real differences: 1. more source inputs for AX10. 2. high quality A-D converters for multichannel analogue input, but only for stereo on AX5 (So your AX10 can apply MCACC to multichannel analogue input) 3. 9 band MCACC versus 5. 4. rechargeable remote with AX10. 5. THX Ultra 2 (AX10) is apparently more suitable for lager rooms.

You undoubtedly pay a premium for a relatively small difference in spec. (9 band MCACC is the only thing that is valuable to me in that list) But that's the nature of the business. Most people buy at price points rather than buying the cheapest that meets their requirements. And magazine reviewers would almost never say an Amp was equal or better than one at more than twice the price, even if it was.

My view on sound quality is that with any half decent modern AV amp, it's your speakers and your listening room you need to pay attention to.
 
Thanks ancientgeek for your reply. A mate of mine said much the same thing as you, new speakers would make a bigger improvement than a new amp. I think it was knowing that the AX10 is one and a half times the weight of the AX5 led me to think that it's got to sound better!

The one I had in mind was on eBay but I didn't get positive vibes from the seller; so that combined with your advice and that from Pioneer - I'll stick with my AX5 for now.

Thanks again,

Steve.
 
How about differences of AX4i to Ax10?
 
And AX4i compared to AX5i. :)
 
I have the AX5i like you and am just waiting for the price to drop as I think the A4 will be better buy for me than the AX10 reasons being. I could sell my AX5 for £4 - 500 that would then make the AX4 about £300. The benefits for this are 1: Ipod full integration (yes I do listen to Ipod and with hi quality bitrate mp3). 2. HDMI switching (for my pioneer and sky HD when it comes out) to Plasma. 3. Slightly better DACs. 4. Better power rating (slightly I know). There are others but for me this is good enough as an external switch box can cost easy over £100 and Ipod through headphone out is not that good.
 

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