Denon x2600h or Pioneer VSX LX304

[abhijeet309]

Why Yamaha AVRs not so popular in India? They are far better than Pioneer, Sony, Onkyo, Harman Kardon etc.

I have owned three Yamaha AVRs over the past 12 years and my first one is still working. And since Yamaha sells other musical equipments, I never experienced service issues. I got mine repaired after it stopped turning on couple of years back and believe me I don't live in the metropolitan area.

Is Yamaha not promoting their AVRs, Processors and Amplifiers in India?

 

[thedude]

Why Yamaha AVRs not so popular in India? They are far better than Pioneer, Sony, Onkyo, Harman Kardon etc.

I have owned three Yamaha AVRs over the past 12 years and my first one is still working. And since Yamaha sells other musical equipments, I never experienced service issues. I got mine repaired after it stopped turning on couple of years back and believe me I don't live in the metropolitan area.

Is Yamaha not promoting their AVRs, Processors and Amplifiers in India?

Agreed! Yamaha should be seriously considered

 

[Prodigy]

Hi There. I too had to upgrade my AVR a week ago and I had no plans for it. My kid accidentally dropped water and it blew my AVR (Denon 550).
Initially I did plan to go in for Pioneer VSX934 after doing some research + the price factor (I was being offered for 45000/-) but not sure if I have to say if it was my fate, after booking the dealer called up and said, there is a delay in their shipment from Pioneer and if I was okay to wait for 15 days or go in for other options like the VSX 933, Denon 1600H or if I need can get me the VSX LX 303 for 57K.
I then once again did some readings and learnt the Audyssey was much better than the MCAAC through several experts in this forum and decided to go in for 2600H.
I received the 2600H the next day and connected with the Elac’s and Polk I had and I immediately noticed the difference from my previous AVR.
It’s driving the Elac’s peacefully and I am happy with the outcome.
If you have the budget for Pioneer VSK LX 504 then I suggest you go in for Denon 3600 or the Marantz 5014 or the 2600
Take a call.

I still say the denon 2600 is better compared to Pioneer or you can even look at Onkyo TXNR 696.

 

[Kirankj1724]

Agreed! Yamaha should be seriously considered

I completely agree. Yamaha AVRs are very much underrated for the performance they offer.

 

[rpmahale]

Yamaha make very good amplifiers and great av receiver specifically A series. I have auditioned lots of AVR from various companies in past but only two auditioned will always remain with me .
1 . Anthem MRX520 with Paradigm monitor 9 speakers
2. Yamaha RX - A10xx with Polk RTiA5
Very hard to forget as both have taken the movie watching experience to next level.
Yamaha A series avr built with careful selection of components and with full freedom to design. We have purchased Yamaha A-800 for my friend before 8 -10 Yrs and still it working just fine. Yamaha is not able to market their products aggressively. They have ( A series) great sound and build quality but little expensive than similar avr from other brands. Denon have recently become more popular and populated ( after introduction of x2000 series) in Indian market . Denon have good sound and features with average build quality but properly priced for Indian market ( upto x2xxx series). One of the leader in Indian avr market Onkyo has moved backward in recent years . Pioneer VSX series avrs were cheap but poor on sound and build quality where as SC LX series was great on both front but very expensive to own. With the introduction of VSX LX series Pioneer has tried to balance between VSX and LX series. Marantz has been always an Audiophile product in Indian up market but with their NR series they have strongly focused on average Indian customers. May be Yamaha have very good after sale service after Denon. Now the final point.... Marantz due to Audiophile legacy, Denon due to VFM products get good resale value and can be easily sell out but for others it is difficult to get value as well as customers.
These are my observations for last decade, nobody needs to agree with this. Every one may have different opinions and I respect them.

 

[srbarena]

Yamaha make very good amplifiers and great av receiver specifically A series. I have auditioned lots of AVR from various companies in past but only two auditioned will always remain with me .
1 . Anthem MRX520 with Paradigm monitor 9 speakers
2. Yamaha RX - A10xx with Polk RTiA5
Very hard to forget as both have taken the movie watching experience to next level.
Yamaha A series avr built with careful selection of components and with full freedom to design. We have purchased Yamaha A-800 for my friend before 8 -10 Yrs and still it working just fine. Yamaha is not able to market their products aggressively. They have ( A series) great sound and build quality but little expensive than similar avr from other brands. Denon have recently become more popular and populated ( after introduction of x2000 series) in Indian market . Denon have good sound and features with average build quality but properly priced for Indian market ( upto x2xxx series). One of the leader in Indian avr market Onkyo has moved backward in recent years . Pioneer VSX series avrs were cheap but poor on sound and build quality where as SC LX series was great on both front but very expensive to own. With the introduction of VSX LX series Pioneer has tried to balance between VSX and LX series. Marantz has been always an Audiophile product in Indian up market but with their NR series they have strongly focused on average Indian customers. May be Yamaha have very good after sale service after Denon. Now the final point.... Marantz due to Audiophile legacy, Denon due to VFM products get good resale value and can be easily sell out but for others it is difficult to get value as well as customers.
These are my observations for last decade, nobody needs to agree with this. Every one may have different opinions and I respect them.

Thanks, really well put! I've looked at Yamaha A1080 and up, all of which are expensive than Denon's some even Marantz's AVRs with similar features. I suppose they are good at what they do, but VFM aspect is always riding in consumer's conscience which would drive sales.

 

[srbarena]

Hi There. I too had to upgrade my AVR a week ago and I had no plans for it. My kid accidentally dropped water and it blew my AVR (Denon 550).
Initially I did plan to go in for Pioneer VSX934 after doing some research + the price factor (I was being offered for 45000/-) but not sure if I have to say if it was my fate, after booking the dealer called up and said, there is a delay in their shipment from Pioneer and if I was okay to wait for 15 days or go in for other options like the VSX 933, Denon 1600H or if I need can get me the VSX LX 303 for 57K.
I then once again did some readings and learnt the Audyssey was much better than the MCAAC through several experts in this forum and decided to go in for 2600H.
I received the 2600H the next day and connected with the Elac’s and Polk I had and I immediately noticed the difference from my previous AVR.
It’s driving the Elac’s peacefully and I am happy with the outcome.
If you have the budget for Pioneer VSK LX 504 then I suggest you go in for Denon 3600 or the Marantz 5014 or the 2600
Take a call.

I still say the denon 2600 is better compared to Pioneer or you can even look at Onkyo TXNR 696.

I am leaning towards Denon x2600h, could look at x3600h if budget permits. Only issue is I am still unable to freeze on the Atmos 2 channel vs 4. I am not getting a concrete idea on the value 4 channels provide compared to 2 channels. Is it worth the extra 40-50k (expensive AVR, additional speakers wires, banana plugs etc)?

 

[OM_2K19]

Never used Pioneer but Denon and believe me they really shine in Movies.

 

[abhijeet309]

I am leaning towards Denon x2600h, could look at x3600h if budget permits. Only issue is I am still unable to freeze on the Atmos 2 channel vs 4. I am not getting a concrete idea on the value 4 channels provide compared to 2 channels. Is it worth the extra 40-50k (expensive AVR, additional speakers wires, banana plugs etc)?

If you have bigger room size and your seating is away from the rear wall, or two rows of seating then only going for 4 Atmos speakers make sense.

 

[DB1989]

I am leaning towards Denon x2600h, could look at x3600h if budget permits. Only issue is I am still unable to freeze on the Atmos 2 channel vs 4. I am not getting a concrete idea on the value 4 channels provide compared to 2 channels. Is it worth the extra 40-50k (expensive AVR, additional speakers wires, banana plugs etc)?

Unless you are using it in a very small room or theres only 1 row of seating, 4 is the way to go if you want a convincing atmos experience.

 

[fLUX]

I am leaning towards Denon x2600h, could look at x3600h if budget permits. Only issue is I am still unable to freeze on the Atmos 2 channel vs 4. I am not getting a concrete idea on the value 4 channels provide compared to 2 channels. Is it worth the extra 40-50k (expensive AVR, additional speakers wires, banana plugs etc)?

In addition to the extra channels/power the 3600h has preouts for all channels , once you feel the need for even more power it is going to make quiet a difference. I myself am likely to get a 3600h in the near future

 

[pkhammu2005]

I am leaning towards Denon x2600h, could look at x3600h if budget permits. Only issue is I am still unable to freeze on the Atmos 2 channel vs 4. I am not getting a concrete idea on the value 4 channels provide compared to 2 channels. Is it worth the extra 40-50k (expensive AVR, additional speakers wires, banana plugs etc)?

If u r in a small room and seat is close to back wall then even if u go for 4 atmos chs,u wont feel the perceived difference as it will mix with ur surrounds. Believe me i tried in my small room and 2chs gave the best results in my close to wall seating. Plus ur avr wd also save power for those extra 2 chs and use for other channels.
All the Best.

 

[Prodigy]

If u r in a small room and seat is close to back wall then even if u go for 4 atmos chs,u wont feel the perceived difference as it will mix with ur surrounds. Believe me i tried in my small room and 2chs gave the best results in my close to wall seating. Plus ur avr wd also save power for those extra 2 chs and use for other channels.
All the Best.

Like most of them suggested here. If your living or meadia room is not very big, The Denon 2600 will do a great job. It’s a bang for the buck.

 

[DB1989]

I am leaning towards Denon x2600h, could look at x3600h if budget permits. Only issue is I am still unable to freeze on the Atmos 2 channel vs 4. I am not getting a concrete idea on the value 4 channels provide compared to 2 channels. Is it worth the extra 40-50k (expensive AVR, additional speakers wires, banana plugs etc)?

Go for the 3600H, not for the extra two dolby atmos channels but for the reason that they offer preouts. Offers a ton of flexibility that way when you want to upgrade your amplification without the need to change AVRs. Plus most if not all AVRs can never match the quality of power provided by a decent power amp. you will not be able to realise the full potential of your speakers when powering them with an AVR (i.e. sub 3L AVRs, haven’t heard a Marantz 8012 or a Denon X8500H) and a good power amp or integrated will be required.

 

[DB1989]

Fo for Pioneer,my cousin has it. It has more power than denon2600 and 4ch atmos.

You mean at 1% THD with one channel driven? Its shocking that pioneer does not disclose its 2 channel 8ohm rating at less than 0.1% THD. Out of all AVR manufacturers, pioneer is the worst offender.

 

[rpmahale]

Having an avr with pre-out is a welcome note. Today movies sound tracks are designed and recorded with huge dynamic swings and this pony avr ( sub 70k mark) with 40-45 W per channels with 7/9 channels simultaneously driven on board may not deliver the true cinematic experience. In that case pre-out becomes handy to add external power amplifier to help on board amplifier. This will give great music as well as movies experience. Pre-out give you flexibility to upgrade within the system instead of upgrading to new one.

 

[avtar2008]

pioneer is out of home audio business in india and claiming its warranty would be an issue. I had finalized pioneer AJ 5.0 when I went to purchase speakers a month back, but 3 dealers have told me to avoid purchasing pioneer home audio product, if possible.

 

[pkhammu2005]

Pioneer stock availability of speakers too have been a issue for many yrs,as one dealer told me. They send limited stocks to India and they r over as soon as they reach the distributor.

 

[RaahulT]

If budget allows , Getting a 9.2 ch avr should be preference.
Once the preference is final, Demon 3600 , Marantz 6013 appear better options. Budget wise lx304.

 

[srbarena]

Thanks everyone for the inputs, I realize it make a lot more sense to invest in a good AVR upfront. Will go for 9.2 channel one.

On another note - I managed to visit one of the stores(Volumate) here in Chennai last weekend to audition the speakers. Intent was to see if they have some of the speakers and AVRs of my choice and to experience them live. To say I had a horrible experience will be an understatement. I was wondering if this is the case with other speaker dealers either in Chennai and/or other cities.

Here is a brief of what happened., it is a rather long read, so one could skip to the last para for my questions.

• I and my wife visited the store after calling them up in advance and making an appointment. First, I was surprised there is an appointment required, but since I did not have experience auditioning HT before, I thought this was the norm. We were kept waiting for over 30 mins as they were addressing another client.
• Once it was over, we were taken into a 10x10 room where I believe they had a 7.2.2 setup with a projector and screen. FCR was from Tangent, Surrounds and Atmos were bookshelves from JBL, subs were Emotiva while the AVR was Denon x1400h.
• As soon as we started listening to some of the content that was played, I could notice clear difference between the front sound stage and the rear. Probably due the JBL's not being able to seamlessly integrate with the Tangent speakers. Atmos was not convincing either. I conveyed the same to the sales person and he was unwilling to accept, and started explaining how the room calibration works and that the speakers does not matter. He then started explaining the functionality of AVR, how it upscales etc.
• I asked whats their preference in terms of audio quality for atmos content, between in-ceiling installed speakers and bookshelves as atmos speakers. His response was bookshelves, contrary to what I believed and read in most forums.
• I then tried to explain what our needs are - ex we do not need too much bass as we live in an apartment. Sales guy, while mentioning it is easy to downgrade the subs, he tried convincing saying since we never experienced such cinematic experience before so we could be overwhelmed. I wondered how that's relevant. Whether we experience it or not, I know for sure that that's not what I would want/prefer.
• But here is where I truly lost it - When I said I trust my ears to convey what I like he immediately said that is not how one should judge speakers. One should not trust their ears and rather trust what they say coz they've been in the business for 'x' years.
• I finally asked him if there is another room where we can audition other models/floorstanders etc. For which he took us to a room which had Wharfedale Diamond FS speakers and SVS subs, said this was their reference room but its not relevant for us so no point auditioning it. I insisted we listen just to get an idea, for which he suggested we don't since that would confuse us. Eventually I learned that among the 3 rooms they had there, 2 were not calibrated.
• Most of the conversation, he was focusing less on what we are trying to say on our requirement/needs and more on what he knows and what setup they have - which is the only one we auditioned.

At the end of it I realized, they might be selling HTs for folks who are either less knowledgeable / are looking for quick and simple all in one service from one vendor. Neither are they interested in understanding what we want, nor are they willing to give importance to customer feedback.

Given this I wanted to understand from other FMs, who have experience auditioning speakers in Chennai, if this is the case with every vendor who provides such services or if this is a one off case. If it is likely to be the same, I would prefer taking a leap of faith with reviews and brand pedigree and make the purchase to live with them than go through this again.

Appreciate if anyone can provide thoughts on this and any suggestions on which vendors to visit.