I bought a new 4k television. A little late to the party, but my old 58″ plasma lasted a long time. I didn’t realize I would have to change out my receiver to be able to handle 4k, so I went searching online and doing research like I always do on AVR’s, A/V receivers. First I had to put together the list of things I wanted to see from my new receiver.

1: Power/Bi-Amping: Enough power to send my stereo setup RTi A9 Polk towers. Bi-Amp capable so I could push more focused power to my speakers.

2: Quality/Longevity: My last receiver lasted 9 years and had little to no problems.

3: Modern Technology: Dolby Atmos Upmixing, WiFi enabled w/future firmware updates, Apple AirPlay 2, DTS:X Next Gen Codec, HDMI HDCP 2.3, Bluetooth 4.2, HDR10

4: Moderately Priced: I had a $1000 to spend on a receiver.

In my reading, video watching and word of mouth communication with local friends and family, I found that Denon and specifically the 4500H was the most suggested. It was slightly out of my budget and definitely has a large history of breaking within a couple years. Every friend and family member I know, with even higher priced models have continual problems with Denon which wasn’t promising. My parents have gone through 3, brothers in-laws have gone through 2 and a best friend has gone through 2. Not promising for the supposed “Best” receiver brand.

As I looked around at Marantz, Yamaha, Sony and Onkyo I thought to myself what makes a quality amplifier in other applications? Weight was something that came to mind, as the more weight of an amplifier usually the better quality the power supply, heat-sink and capacitors would be. Most of the receivers landed at about 22-25 pounds and then I found the Pioneer Receiver VSX-LX504 among the list of the best under $1500 lists and it was priced at $1000, offered all of the features I wanted plus more, had 120w per channel (which was the most offered in this price range) and it weighed 35 lbs. I never read a bad review about this receiver and I’ve had experience with Pioneers in the past so I gave it a chance.

I couldn’t be happier. I set the audio to Front Stage Surround and custom EQ’d the audio. At first I was a bit concerned about the volume until I found I could set the EQ properly. There’s more than enough power and I love that I can just hit play on apple music it turns on my receiver and starts playing from anywhere on my network.

My recommendation is go for the Pioneer!!!

 

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