REVIEW SHOP SHARE LEARN
Pioneer VSX-812K
Pioneer VSX-812K
MSRP: $ 393.00

More A/V Receivers from Pioneer >>
Search AudioReview forums for the Pioneer VSX-812K >>
   
Popular A/V Receivers
more...
Top Ranked Products from Pioneer.
M 72
Rated:
SA-9100
Rated:
PD-F507
Rated:
more...
 |  Sorted by Latest Review |  Sort by Best Rating >> |  Sort by Worst Rating >> | 
Rating
Reviewed by:

vikramk18

(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
March 18, 2004

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Rate this review?

Review 1 of 2

Price Paid:  $204.00 from eBay Stores

Summary:
I bought this receiver mainly for it's set of preamp outputs which I wanted to use to drive my BX8 studio monitors. I am thrilled with the receiver. It took about 15 mins to hook up everything (DVD Player, tuner antenna, TV etc). The Stereo Direct Mode is very good. The imaging in this mode is sharper and distinct as compared to the regular mode which includes all the processing electronics like tone, dsp surrounds etc. The ease of connecting up is simply superb. I toyed with the idea of buying the VSX-912K, but dropped that plan on realizing that all it had was a little more power (add 10 watts per channel) and an automatic room calibrater. I have no use for either of these features. I'd much rather callibrate manually. There are sufficient connectors at the rear. I have not yet got around to using all of them yet. I know that I will want to use the receiver's built in amps to run a set of home theater speakers in the near future and that's why I chose a receiver over a stereo preamp. Cost is another factor. A typical stereo preamp can be bought for about $500 and above. My aim is to use the receiver's preamp for stereo listening through the studio monitors and the receiver's other features for the home theater. The tuner is crystal clear and even the weakest stations sounds suprisingly clear. Remote: I was able to control my TV, DVD Player and receiver through the remote. However the cable tv unit cannot be controlled. I have not yet explored the surround modes and will post another review when I get there.

Strengths:
Lots of features, excellent stereo direct mode, sensitive and clear tuner, low price, 7.1 preamp outputs.

Weaknesses:
No way to switch off the power amplifier setion. I'm going to need that when I have the home theater speakers connected and the studio monitors being driven by the preamp outs.

Similar Products Used:
None


Would you like to Comment?
Join audioReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.

Rating
Reviewed by:
jwh917
(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
February 12, 2004

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Rate this review?

Review 2 of 2

Price Paid:  $285.00

Summary:
Had this unit about 2 weeks now and here is my impression.For Home theatre use it is excellent with 5,6 or 7 surround options.It has several different soundfields which work well.However,where it falls short for me is in the quality of sound for 2 channel stereo.It's mid-range is very weak and it's power rating is exaggerated.I believe it's more in the 60 to 80 watt per channel than the rated 100.My 5 year old Pioneer 5.1 channel Pro Logic unit has a much cleaner,accurately rated watts per channel and sounds just as good as my seperate Adcom amplifier.However,you do get what you pay for and for a Home Theater use only it is really a very good value.

Strengths:
For Home Theatre use it's great.

Weaknesses:
For 2 channel muscic it's very weak.Especially the mid-range reproduction with weal bass also.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer 506S 5 channel receiver;Adcom amplifier.


Would you like to Comment?
Join audioReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.

Company Pages

Audio & Video company review pages. Browse product user reviews, compare prices, top ranked products, and compare specs by manufacturer.

Bowers Wilkins Reviews
Bowers & Wilkins
NAD Reviews
NAD
Marantz Reviews Marantz
Denon Reviews
Denon
Klipsch Reviews
Klipsch
Sony Reviews
Sony
Yamaha Reviews
Yamaha
Rotel Reviews
ROTEL
McIntosh Reviews
McIntosh
Bose Reviews
Bose
Polk Reviews
Polk Audio
Paradigm Reviews
Paradigm
Onkyo Reviews
Onkyo
JBL Reviews
JBL
KEF Reviews
KEF
Pioneer Lens Reviews
Pioneer
Harman Kardon Lens Reviews
Harman-Kardon
Panasonic Reviews
Panasonic
Press and News
Submit News & Press...
Audio and Video News & Press Releases.

Latest and Greatest

Best Floorstanding Speakers Under $1000

So many to choose from! Lets us boil it down. How to Choose a Floorstanding Speaker that fits you:

Marantz MA-9S2 Reference Series Power Amplifiers Review

Marantz MA-9S2 Power AmplifierThe list above has one tenet that I continue to hold true: high powered amplifiers are necessary to reproduce the full dynamic range of music with most speakers. This became apparent when I changed from the 100 Watt per channel Bella Extreme 100 to the 250 Watt.....

Lowther’s DX-65 driver in the Teresonic Magus XR Review

A new driver from Lowther is real news. A new five inch driver is even rarer news, so it was with great anticipation that I waited on this pair of speakers to arrive.

Aune Mini Headphone DAC User Review

The unit arrived from China well packed and everything seem to be in place. No external abuse by the carriers. The only problem was the power supply it came with. The box came with a cheap step-down converter.

Aural Symphonics Chrono b2 balanced interconnects Review

The Aural Symphonics Chrono b2 is more a study in contrasts than most cables. Chrono b2 refers to balanced version 2.

Three Koetsu cartridges

The Koetsu line consists of 18 different cartridges divided into four sub categories. The aluminum body Black Goldline at $1800, the Rosewood series starting at $2600 and up to $5900, the Urushi line starting at $4300 to $4900, the Stone Body Platinum series starting at $8000...

Cambridge Azur 840E and 840W Review

If this combo would surmount the challenges and rise to the same level of performance, Cambridge would have a trinity of tasty components worthy of consideration by anyone...

Audio Tekne TFM-9412 integrated 300B amplifier Review

A Dagogo featured article: In the negotiation of his wish to become the U.S. Importer of Audio Tekne, Yujean was given a set of “rules” by Mr. Kiyaoki Imai, owner of Audio Tekne.....

Reviews and Featured Articles
Expert hi-fi audio reviews, blogs, and audio articles.