Pimp my Pad 4 $1K : Pioneer Elite VSX-52TX

weightlosssandra — Fri, 19 May 2006 20:13:00 GMT

Yesterday I threw out some model numbers for an affordable and complete Home Theater system. Now let's get a closer look at the individual products that comprise this system.

Pioneer Elite VSX-52TX Receiver - $550 US Dollars

The receiver is the heart of your Home Theater. It decodes processes while amplifying your speakers and switches between devices via remote control. This receiver is THX Select certified making it a top shelf item for a budget system. It won't be a candidate for upgrade anytime soon. Unlike HTIB this component could conceivably stay in your system for decades rather than just years or months.

The VSX-52TX has 110 watts to seven discreet channels. This allows you to add more speakers than a 5.1 surround system if you choose. But for our purposes the extra channel will go unused because we're only adding a five speaker system. The back channels on the extended surround formats are highly overrated.

The receiver decodes Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic IIx and DTS including both the "extended" surround formats DTS-ES and Dolby Digital-EX. It also has two really nice high-end features: MCACC and Upscaling component video outputs.

MCACC is Pioneer's system that aids in calibrating each channel in your system. It takes the guesswork out of earing out volume and timing levels in your home theater, it's like having a Home Theater calibrator come over and set up your sound.

The value of component outputs in your home theater receiver can't be understated. All your progressive scan and HDTV sources can connect to your receiver. The VSX-52TX will even upscale S-Video or Composite inputs to Component in case you have any older video sources like a VCR with no component outputs. Upscaling is a convenience that prevents you having to use multiple inputs on the TV.

Paradigm Premium Cinema 110 CT 5.1 - $640 US
Pioneer Elite VSX-52TX - $550 US
Pioneer DV-588A-S - $129 US

Paradigm Premium Cinema 110 CT 5.1 Speaker System - $640 US Dollars

Paradigm is the legendary Canadian speaker company with a reputation for making its own parts and not outsourcing critical speaker components like so many manufacturers do. It's refreshing to know electronics are still made in North America. Paradigm's various speaker lines will take you from low end budget 5.1 systems to high end audiophile equipment that will literally cost you vital organs, surgically removed from your body at the companies Toronto organ factory.

- just kidding about that last part.

The Cinema series represents paradigm's budget models. At the bottom of the Cinema line is the Cinema 70. These are good little speakers for the price but for the cost I find it advantageous to move up the line to the Cinema 110. The 110s will give you slightly larger woofers and di-pole surround speakers.

$650 for a complete 5.1 system that consists of 3 driver speakers is an insane deal. The Cinema 110s front (L and R) speakers cover midbass with two 4.5 inch drivers each. I'd trust these to move air in a mid sized room and give you serious impact in any smaller room. The surround speakers in this system are di-pole which means there are drivers on the front and back that fire in opposite direction 90 degrees out of phase. This helps with dispersion and makes the speakers more difficult to localize when the effects are coming from the rear channels. They'll make your tiny apartment or dorm room sound like an amphitheater.

DVD Player

I've picked out a real treat for playback. We could have simply gone with a budget DVD player that gets the job done but if you have a real speaker system and a receiver to match you should treat yourself to multi-channel music.

Pioneer DV-588A-S $129.00

This is the successor to Pioneer's highly rated DV-563A that put the hi-fi community on its ear a few years back. When it arrived on the market it was the first ever budget "universal" DVD player, this means it can playback the underused DVD-Audio and SACD formats for high definition, multi-channel audio. Nobody expected much from a budget universal DVD player but as the positive reviews came in some even said the DV-563A was outperforming universal DVD players that cost many times its price. Yes, the old "outperforms ____ many times its price" is a tired old cliché in hi-fi. But this is a rare time it's not simply a hollow platitude. Many reviews actually preferred the 563A to a universal DVD player from Pioneer's own Elite line.

This DVD player will provide a formidable DVD movie and music experience. With that Paradigm speaker system in place you'll surely want to pick up a DVD-Audio disk to sample multi-channel music. Since DVD-Audio is recorded at a very high sampling rate it's considered high resolution sound. Honestly, the Cinema 110s are nice but you're not likely to hear any gains per channel over a good quality CD recording. The high resolution sound is probably only noticed on a very expensive system far outside the price category of the Cinema series.

If you liked the Cinema speaker kit and move into a larger HT room, you might want to consider Paradigm's Reference line. These are bigger speakers and will provide the kind of dynamics that will let you hear full high res sound of DVD Audio and SACD.

That's it for this installment of PMP4$1K. Special thanks to the good folks at Natural Sound in Kitchener for letting me listen to the complete setup described, this is one of their recommended systems for a shoppers on a budget and will save you from the mistake of HTIB.

Pioneer Elite / Paradigm : Pimp my pad 4 $1K

weightlosssandra — Thu, 18 May 2006 18:49:00 GMT

Welcome to a new blog category called "Pimp my pad 4 $1K". If you're from the generation who think Snoop Dog is a comic strip beagle, just keep reading.

This is where I'll hook you up with a high quality complete home theater system for as close to $1000 US dollars as possible. That's about the cost of a Home Theater in a Box. The purpose here is to recommend rockin' systems in the HTIB price range. Each recommended system will consist of a receiver capable of Dolby Digital, a DVD player, and a complete 5.1 speaker system.

My aim here is not sell products so much as keep you from making the mistake of buying a Home Theater in a Box.

Snoop says: HTIB ain't no way to pimp yo pad.

What's wrong with HTIB?

One word: Upgrade. HTIB systems mean you're reliant on one complete system. The system won't let you upgrade one component at a time. You're stuck with one DVD/CD player, receiver and one set of speakers. Upgrade it all or keep it all. Forget about resale value. The only thing worse than a brand new HTIB is a used HTIB. HTIB systems can cost over a grand, but I'm going save you from that mistake by recommending a stylin' system that will Pimp Your Pad 4 $1K

Let's hear it for the hi-fi shops

I don't sell anything and, as a small website, I have limited resources. There is a retailer in my area that has the complete system described in this installment of PMP 4 $1K and they allowed me to hear it for myself. The following is a recommendation you'll read all over the web: always look for smaller hi-fi shops in your area. Try to avoid large retailers like Best Buy, Future Shop and Circuit City. Find specialty shops where the staff is knowledgeable and will save you money. Shop around, give the local hi-fi shop a chance to beat a price if you see a desired product sold elsewhere at a lower price.

The latest data from Consumer Reports say specialty shops blow away the big box stores for complete customer satisfaction. Contrary to popular belief, the cost between the hi-fi shop and big box stores is negligible. In other words, you're not really saving money by going to Best Buy!

Natural Sound in Kitchener, Ontario specializes in Pioneer Elite and Paradigm speakers. Like most specialty shops, they'll be glad to let you listen to any complete system in a natural environment that's as close as possible to a real living space.

We've blown the lid off the $1K budget for this system and will take it all the way up to $1329 US dollars. The prices are listed as retail and have been collected from sources on the web. But, in the real world, you can do better. For instance, because it's spring and new product lines are due out any month now Natural Sound had stacks of receivers priced at around $500 Canadian dollars. Hi-fi shops need to move old models to make way for the new. It's not hard to find bargains if you're patient and shop around at the right time of year.

Here is a quick view of the system we have lined up for this installment of PMP 4 $1K

Paradigm Cinema 110 CT 5.1 - $640 US
Pioneer Elite VSX-52TX - $550 US
Pioneer DV-588A-S - $129 US
$1329 US dollars

Tomorrow, we'll delve into the gory details of this fine example of acoustic micro-brew on a 40oz malt liquor budget.

Home Theater Focus : Pimp My Pad 4 $1K

Pimp my Pad 4 $1K : Pioneer Elite VSX-52TX

Pioneer Elite / Paradigm : Pimp my pad 4 $1K