Design, features, remote, DSP

lack of musical sound, no Dolby Prologic II

I have owned this receiver for over two years. It superceeded my previous Pioneer 409 receiver and at that time I was very happy with both sound quality and features. However, after couple of months of listening the sound (especially stereo) has revealed its "flatness" and compression. However, in HT it performed quite good, especially when I combined it with a good subwoofer (Mirage fx-12). The remote is one of best I have used, although is missing learning features. After 2 years the volume knob started to deceive on any movement while remote volume control was ok. The reason was it somehow lost contact, but after cleaning everything was up & running as before. I like the design, although front panel is plastic. Now I am about to go for NAD as I do not care so much for DSP effects but the sound quality really matters for me.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX 409

very good

Low price tag for a reciver with DD and DTS decoder

Low output power, not pre-out on all channels, no phono input.

A good start for all home teather freaks.

Affordable price. Dolby Digital, DTS, DPL and MPEG decoder.

Need for separate phono pre-amplifier.

Good price with lots of features. Doesn't have phono input, needs separate pre-amplifier.

Lots of inputs. 3 optical digital SPDIF inputs and 1 coaxial digital SPDIF input. Ability to choose what input (optical1/optical2/optical3/coax) that is connected to which function (DVD/TV-SAT/CD/MD etc.).

Big, clear display with four dimming modes (bright/not so bright/.../low light).

Handles just about anything that you'll possibly need for your home cinema; Dolby Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS, MPEG multichannel.

Digital volume control (with no physical stop), so it doesn't turn when you turn up the volume with the remote control. And it'll never give crackling noises like analog volume knobs.

Much better-looking and featur-packed remot than those of other Pioneer receivers. It looks good compared to the others I've seen (e.g. the remote for a Pioneer SX-205RDS).

No bass/treble control ability on the remote control. No loudness/midnight mode switch on the remote control. No "program" button on the remote control (for controlling the CD player).

Although this receiver has a digital optical SPDIF output, it doesn't do any kind of conversion. Only sound from digital sources will be passed on (unchanged) to this output. For instance, if you want to record something from the FM radio on your MiniDisc (MD) deck, you'll have to use an analog cable to get the analog sound from the receiver to the MD deck. However, digital signals like one from a CD player (connecting your CD to one of the digital inputs on the receiver) will be passed on to the digital output and then on to your MD deck so that you can make digital copies of CD:s to MD:s.

A very good receiver with lots of bells and whistles at a good price (I bought mine for about $430).

Perfect for those who want to build a home cinema, especially since it has 4 digital inputs (3 optical and 1 coaxial). I hooked up my computer's sound card, my CD player and my MD player to it, and soon my DVD player, too.

It has one optical output (suitable for connecting to the digital input of your MD deck).

Good build quality even though (at least mine was) made in Indonesia. A small deduction for the fact that the user's guide had three fingerprints on it (apparently from someone at the factory). :-/

You'll never have to buy another receiver if you have this one.

Similar Products Used:

JVC receiver, Pioneer SX-205RDS receiver.

Nice remote control. Price. Good for home theater beginner.
connectors.

Bass cannot be changed from the remote control. And the function selector on the remote control is too slow.

When I bought this system, I didn't know much about home theathers, only something I had read from hifi-magazines.
Now I'm glad that the salesman recommended this for me.
I have tried a few different speakers with it. Now I'm using Audio Pro A3.20LIVE, and it sounds great, both in Stereo and 5-channel way.
There are plenty of connectors for even little more passionate home user.
The output power for 5 channels is only 60W per channel. (according to the manufacter). That has been enough for me, and also enough to irritate the neighbours. It's hard for me to think of person who would need more, but there propably is one. For stereo-mode manufacter promises 2*100W, which is good.

Another negative thing is that bass-frequence cannot be changed from the remote control, which I think is a little weird for this kind of equipment.

In conclusion machine is very easy to use and has a good quality. And with DTS-support the age of 808RDS is many many years.

Ville

The price, DTS-decoder

Remote, bass/trebble not changable from remote, speaker connection

Bought this receiver impulsively, while 'hometheater knowledge' was next to zero.....

During my use of the product, my 'hometheater- as well as my general audioknowledge' grew. For me as basic enthusiast I liked it from the beginning for only tuner and cd-sound.

Next month I am buying the Pioneer DVD-player 444 and then will be able to give it a real test...

The only minus, even I as a beginner noticed, were the speakerconnections-holes that were too small for a thick cable !!

For now I overall rate it good/very good !!

Similar Products Used:

none

This is a receiver made for home theater, and it does that job relatively well for the price. Both DD and DTS. Good remote.

This receiver doesn't sound that well when using normal Sound in stereo mode. Cheap speaker terminals for the surround and center speaker. As usual overrated power.

I ended up buying this receiver in a haste when a bought a DVD player and wanted to use the DD and DTS sound.

For the price it sounded quite well when i listened to it using DD and DTS.
But i got really disappointed when i played my cd's on it in regular stereo mode, It lacked midrange and bass, and i know it havent anything to do with my Polk Audio S8 as i have used for a couple of years.

Maybe it has something to do with that i used to own a H/K AVR 21 and i'm a bit spoiled with the sound that the AVR 21 and the Polk speakers produces.

So i'm thinking of buying a Denon AVR-2801 instead.
I have read all the reviews on the Denon on this site, and i think i will be completely satisfied with that one, sure it costs more but i'm willing to spend the extra cash on it to get a receiver that also sounds good in stereo mode.

I can't recommend this receiver unless you just want to use it with DD and DTS, and don't want to spend that much money in doing it.

My advice is: check the reviews on this site and listen to many different receivers, and don't buy the cheapest one.

Similar Products Used:

H/K AVR (only Pro-logic)

Great Av amp for the price, cost £299 mail order in the UK, sounds good, maybe a little under powered.

Lots of features for the price. Built-in DTS and Dolby Digital decoders

Very bad connections for center and rear speakers.

Pretty neutral sound, good remote, _very_ bad connections for rear and center speaker though.