VSA-AX10 or AVC-A1SR

Karl,

Just had to go through the same process myself (due to a long story I won't bore you with concerning Tag McLaren).

Listening to both in blind testing and chose the A1SR. IMHO, the Denon sounded more musical and the AV decoding was just tight and immersive.

I would have bought the Pioneer if I had thought it was better even though I have this niggling feeling that Pioneer gear tends to devalue fairly quickly compared to other manufacturers.

However, and heres the big BUT, please go and listen for yourself and buy what you prefer because someone else will no doubt post that they preferred the Pioneer, and thats absolutely as it should be, as we all like different things.

Let us know how you get on :)
 
I have to say....i would really like to hear the Pioneer unit...
I have heard the Denon A1SR & it sounded pretty good.....but, i'd certainly like to here the AX-10 @ some point.

Adzman.
 
Either one will do you pretty well. I think the Pioneer perhaps offers slightly more control, but there isn't much in it.

One nice thing about the Pioneer is the autosetup routine - place the microphone at the listening position and it will set up all of the speaker delays and volume offsets and so on for you automatically. It can also spot things like the speakers being out of phase.

The thing I actually like best about the Denon is that it has Dolby Headphone capability. :) But then I'm peculiar.
 
Hi Urban T

Would you mind letting us know abot your Tag experiences.

I am intruiged !

Regards

Tom.
 
Hi Tom,

To be short, I was promised a price for some kit by a dealer who then wasn't able to supply at the price (it was a damn good price). I didnt want to borrow any money so decided on a top of the range one boxer instead.

TBH, I'm not really disappointed anymore as the Denon has proved to be excellent.

Chris
 
Hi Chris

What dvd player are you using with it ?

Regards

tom.
 
Nice.:)
 
Flicking through a few magazines it would appear the Pioneer seems to beat the Denon in every review. It's just won AV Amp of the Year in one magazine.
 
Its important to establish that the best amp is the one that sounds best to you with the CD's/DVD's you play most often.

Never buy anything based purely on magazines, I would always prefer to do my own research on forums like these and hear the opinions (and problems) of real users.

Currently HCC is my fave mag in the UK but their review of the A1SR is strange. They say its more powerful than the Pioneer. There are no shutdown problems with the Denon (this is briefly mentioned in HCC and has caused problems for owners on several forums) and the reviewer even states the this is the best one box amplifier for playing loud and quiet. In fact, the whole review (without actually stating as much) indicates the Denon is equal to, or better, but then puts the Pioneer in No1 position at the back of the mag?

The auto setup has also come in for alot of criticism from users and European reviewers who don't seem to like it very much.

The bottom line is, for every happy A1SR owner, there will be a happy Pioneer owner. Listen and buy what makes the spine tingle :)
 
Originally posted by UrbanT
There are no shutdown problems with the Denon (this is briefly mentioned in HCC and has caused problems for owners on several forums)

Just to clarify, there are no shutdown problems with the Denon, but there are shutdown problems with the Pioneer.....am I reading this correctly ?
I have heard about the Pioneer problem. :)
 
Originally posted by gringottsdirect
Just to clarify, there are no shutdown problems with the Denon, but there are shutdown problems with the Pioneer.....am I reading this correctly ?
I have heard about the Pioneer problem. :)

Thats right, just my bad english :)
 
I was rather surprised to read (in WH) that the stereo performance of both amps isn't much better than a 400 quid stereo amp. That's rather disappointing, I'd have thought AV amps would be doing a lot better with stereo these days, especially at this price level.
 
Originally posted by sr78
I was rather surprised to read (in WH) that the stereo performance of both amps isn't much better than a 400 quid stereo amp. That's rather disappointing, I'd have thought AV amps would be doing a lot better with stereo these days, especially at this price level.

Thats WH for you. I've had stereo amps more expensive than £400 that aren't anywhere near as good as the Denon. Alot of people have lost respect for WH over the years for their inconsistent opinions. Like everything else, try them and see :)
 
Also bear in mind that you'd be spending £1400 on amplifcation alone to get the same quality of output stage for each channel. If you think about the extra expense of a PSU to drive that amplification and all the DSP equipment in there, it very quickly makes up the difference between a £400 stereo amp and £2500 worth of AV amp.

I realise that I'm oversimplifying things a bit, it does make sense if you think about it.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom