Onkyo TX-SR805 or Pioneer VSX-91TXH?

[AuDioFreaK39]

I'm in the market for a new receiver now, and for the past few hours of research, the receiver I'm looking for really falls between the Onkyo TX-SR805 (http://onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR805&class=Receiver&p=i) and the Pioneer VSX-91TXH (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/kuro/product/details/0,,2076_310069789_463566618,00.html). Based on what I've read, both of these receivers have the features that I would be using for my Blu-ray player (PS3) and 50" Pioneer plasma screen, with Dolby TruHD, DTSHD, and I'm really looking forward to lip-sync with HDMI 1.3. But other than that, can anyone tell me if one receiver has better decoding chips than the other, or anything? I really want to get the best value for my money, and right now I'm looking around the $1000 range. Thanks in advance.



http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g204/AuDioFreaK39/PioneerVSX-91TXH.jpg http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g204/AuDioFreaK39/OnkyoTX-SR805.jpg

[kelsci]

Very hard to say. I would read the review on the Onkyo 605 on C-net for starters. I liked the sound of the Elite VSX-81, well at least in stereo. If the new Pioneer has that amplifier system, it could sound awesome. However the Onkyo 805 comes with 130 watts X7 versus the 110 on the Pioneer, but watts are as good as the sound they produce too. From what I have been reading, at least on the Blue Ray players, none can output DTS or Dolby audio high definition codecs in bitstream form thru the hdmi cables which means at this moment, those new decoding chips in these two receivers are worthless, but worthwhile as a futureproof upgrade.

[teabelly]

I was recently looking for at a review for the new Onkyo TX-sr605 and ran across this review for the 805 on the circuit city review page....I think I've changed my mind and will try the TX-SR805..(there were a few negatives on the 605 I didn't like even though they gave it an editors choice)

This probably won't answer your question but its pretty interesting..




"I received my Onkyo TX-SR805 in the mail yesterday and I couldn’t be any more thrilled! The behemoth weighs in at 61 lbs. and you can tell it means business. Daunting as it may look, the setup is a breeze due to the fact that everything you plug into the receiver’s many inputs, can be output to the TV through one simple HDMI cable. It upconverts any analog connection you can throw at it whether it’s S-video, Component, or simple RCA. If you still have a Hi-Fi VCR or other Standard Definition electronics, I’d suggest investing in at least an S-Video cable for that, or if it does have an RGB Component Cable use that because even though it upconverts RCA it can only do so much for the picture quality. That being said it does upconvert all of these analog signals into 720p, 1080i or 1080p. (For input/output specs refer to the “Specifications” Tab located near the top of this page)
The integrated Faroudja DCDi technology is wonderful! If you thought that your 480p signal was decent before, wait till you see how well this deinterlacing works! Edges have much less noise and things in SD are cleaned up very well through the receiver.Setup was easy as far as speaker configuration, the Audyssey MultEQ XT auto calibration system runs a speaker measurement set up for up to 8 listening positions in your room! so if you want it to take into account your entire living room seating arrangement, just move the little wired speaker microphone to each listening position and it does all the work.

Unlike some receivers like my recently sold Sony DG800, the receiver’s setup menucan be output onto your TV screen. So instead of squinting at the receivers display from across the room, you can see everything right up on the TV screen. However, if you do like to tweak settings while watching TV you can choose not to have it outputonto the TV. If you’re actually considering spending around $1000 on a receiver, THIS is the only thing you should be looking at! At the moment, the highest end Denon AVR4306 does just about everything that this Onkyo can do butthe Onkyo Receivers are the FIRST receivers to truly decode DTS HD signals,and Dolby True HD! It’s absolutely insane all the details that can come out of High Definition Surround Sound! I Recently acquired a Playstation 3 and although I don’t plan onconverting my DVD collection (500 dvds) to Blu Ray or HD-DVD I did purchase Speed on Blu Ray and I can tell you from what I heard, the future of High Definition Audio is here in this Onkyo TX-SR805! Every detail that they mixed into the movie’s originaltrack is encoded into these two cutting edge soundtracks. It’s literally translated from the original format without any loss of quality. It’s ridiculous how amazing it sounds.
You may not hear a huge difference, but when movies start being encoded with this HD Audio, eventually you’ll go back to an old DVD and cringe at the sound difference (or at least notice the lack of detail in the audio). If you don’thave a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player don’t fret, there’s still a vast array of audio settings between Dolby Digital, and DTS there’s also THX Ultra2 certified settings that blowyou away! I currently have my DVD player setup to THX Cinema and watching the PodRace in Star Wars Episode One: Phantom Menace is something you should check out A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. All the features can be overwhelming and the remote isn’t the most intuitive, but whenyou spend a little time getting used to the buttons you need to push to make things work in harmony, you’ll be happy with what you’ve got. Not to mention the beefy remote that comes with it can learn button functions which I love. For example when I coded in my HD Dishnetwork Box I couldn’t get to the On screen TV Guide or my Recorded TV Menu, so I assigned the buttons manually and now the universal remote does everything my Cable DVR Remote does! If only I could code it to my Windows Media Center Remote oh well.
My one and only tiny complaint about this receiver is that it doesn’t have HD Radio. It supports XM and Sirius radio but not HD FM Signals (notsure how to explain it but it’s CD quality Free Local Radio Stations). The radio itself sounds fine and I don’t listen to the radio very often anyways so it’s not a big deal to me, but being as future proof as this receiver is, it should have HD radio. (Since I don’t have XM, Sirius, or an Ipod I can’t comment on the Docking capabilities or the Satellite Radio quality)
Last but not least make sure you have a bigheavy duty surge protector, this thing is a power monster, you’ll want a surge protector so make sure the receiver is getting a regulated amount of power, when I was setting itup I had all my components on at once and someone decided to turn on the hairdryer and a few fans, and there went the power. So be forewarned if you like 4 components on at once. also for $30 a 3 year protection plan is highly recommended just in casesomething shorts out in the receiver (knock on wood) you can service it for free, and get a replacement if necessary, Circuit City is super good about that at least that’s what I’ve experienced.
These aren’t available in the store and the sales people don’t have much info on the receiver itself since it came out in May (about a month from prior to today), so feel free to ask me any questions I’m a member of Cnet so look me up and email me, if you’re not a member you should be, my Username isDirty55409 (yeah I’ve had it since high school it’s a lame username lol) Great product! Get it! PS When rating this I'd give the COST-BENEFIT a 4.5 because it's really expensive but it's an investment in the future. More and more HD Encoded movies will come out and you'll be ready for it."