ravan

I was browsing pioneers Elite home receivers and I was looking at getting the VSX-35TX
(http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Elite_2000/vsx-35tx.htm).

Does anyone have experience with this? It has THX select cert, EX and looks decent on the specs.

Are there any great benefits by getting a bigger model? Can the good remote be bought for this seperately and used?

Speakers will probably be paradigm, haven't decided finally yet.

Looking forward to your opinion

steak

ravan,

I too am thinking about getting this receiver. It has only been out for a few weeks so there probably are not a whole lot of them out there. I have yet to find an online retailer that sells them. It seems to me that going with a higher end unit only gains you more wattage and a THX Ultra certification. The difference in the Ultra vs. the Select certifications seem to be only a difference of wattage power. THX Select receivers are designed for a smaller area room than the Ultra receivers. Good luck on making your choice. Onkyo just cam out with a TX-DS787 model that is similar to the Pioneer so now I have to decide if I will stay with Pioneer or go with Onkyo.

Later.

Aleve90

I do not have experience with this years Elites. I do have last years model 27 and I have been very happy with it. IMHO, Elites offer very good bang-for-the-buck and I would not hesitate in recommending one to a friend.

The only real benefit for going to a higher end model will be in the output power. The THX select vs. ultra only deals with the power output the model is capable of producing. While I'm a believer of bigger-is-better, evaluate your power consumption needs to decide.

As for the remore, I'd say don't worry about it. I'm sure you can purchase the higher-end factory remote, but why would you when plenty of better third-party remotes are available in the same price range. Go over to remotecenteral.com for all your remote needs.

I suggest you look at everything that's currently available in your price range. For their price range, the Elites are nice and hard to beat. I've been happy with mine and you'll likely be happy to.

P.S. My only complaint is that my model doesn't have THX EX. But of course that wasn't out when I bought so I shouldn't complain. I'm just having a hard time not buying a new receiver for EX. Maybe in another year.

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ravan

I just ordered one for 795 - not too bad.
This was from Soundpros.com - another place
that had it was wildwestelectronics.com - but I live in the same state and could avoid sales tax from soundpros (CA).

I hope this will be good too me

runngdog

For a good price, try Crazy Eddie. They'll price match others. I got the VSX-35TX for $660 plus about $25 shipping.

svadas

I have last years model as well and I will say the amps are very nice and musical, similar to the denon and nak. I would hesitate about spending more money on the really big models as the only real difference in the line is the amp size and the remote. If you want a better remote some of the aftermarket models like pronto, etc. may be better. The amp difference in the models in real world terms are negligible. I feel if you really want to go all out on the amp, then plug in a separate one and use the receiver as a pre-amp. You don't exactly get the 5-channel stereo that denon gives though for music playback, but you can get pretty much the same effect if you play with the setting on the limited number of surround modes...most are wortless but they don't overwhelm you with an endless supply of them at least. This is the first receiver I have ever owned that I have not gotten to be able to distort yet.

speedyray

I am glad to see this thread as I posted a similar question a few weeks back. I to am considering the 35, my real question has been do I buy it or the Onkyo 787.

I love my pioneer stuff (currently an extremly outdated 602), but I keep getting negative attitudes about pioneer from this forum and my friends. I really think people pick their favorites kind of like chevy ford guys and that is why I get pioneer bashing. Most of the time they do not even mention the elites.

Well back to the question at hand. The Onkyo adds component video, but also about 150 bucks to the price that I can find. Is the Onkyo better?

As for prices, check www.wholesaleconnection.com since they have awsome prices and cheap shipping.

cloud

I think it's a question of where to put Pioneer in the mix. Others may disagree, but this is my opinion. IMO, at the high end I would place Denon and Marantz to be the best brands. At the low/entry level end I would put Onkyo and Yamaha as the best. That is not to say that these brands are not good at the other end of the spectrum. I am not terribly familiar with Pioneer, but it seems like they have too lines of components - Elite and the non-Elite line. I think the Elite models tend to get good feedback and are well made. Other then their low end/entry level DVD players I don't think their non-Elite products are that great.

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X

Be careful when buying these online. Many sellers are not authorized dealers and Pioneer will not honor the factory warranty -- that's how some stores keep their prices lower. The dealer will say it has a warranty, but it's through them, not Pioneer, so explicitly ask about this if you care.

I don't believe wildwestelectronics.com and Crazy Eddie are factory authorized, don't know about Soundpros.com or wholesaleconnection.com. But you should call Pioneer to verify their authorization, I might be remembering incorrectly. And Pioneer does not like their equipment mail-ordered.

steak

Speedray, If I am not mistaken, the Pioneer 35-TX has 2 component in and 1 component out.

X, Good point about the warranty. My plan was always to buy an extended warranty with my unit. Even after you add that onto the price, it is still a lower price than from the "authorized" dealers. Just my 2 cents.

X

quote:<HR>Originally posted by steak:
Good point about the warranty. My plan was always to buy an extended warranty with my unit. Even after you add that onto the price, it is still a lower price than from the "authorized" dealers. Just my 2 cents.<HR>

As long as the warranty company stays in business. I got burned on a VCR by getting a 5 year extended warranty that I later found out was issued by the parent company of the place I bought the VCR. They both went out of business and I was SOL.