Price Paid:  $130.00 from RefurbDepot.com

Summary:
Great reciever for beginners, and not bad for intermediate. I use it as a backup for my Pioneer Elite. I have used it for some time and it works to my satisfaction. And at $130 a reciever you can't pass up.

Strengths:
Great sound at low and high volumes. I love it.

Weaknesses:
The remote is a little difficult.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer SA-8500 II

Price Paid:  $249.00 from Electronic Boutique

Summary:
I found this to be a good all around receiver, but it has a few faults. On my unit, I have to turn the surround channel volume up as high as it goes to be able to hear anything. Also, the volume control is not very precise when using the remote, and is occasionally scratchy.

Now for reliability. For the first 12 months of use, the receiver performed flawlessly. Then everything went downhill. Three weeks after the waranty expired, the rear channel simply stopped working. After some playing around, I finally did get it working again. Then 2 months later, the tuner stopped working completely. Based on some of the other reviews that I have read here, I'm begining to think there's some serious quality control problems at Pioneer.

I still think that this is a good receiver, and a bargain if you can get one cheap that works properly. However, I can only give it 2 stars overall due to the problems listed above.

Strengths:
Great sound.

Weaknesses:
Reliability. Rear channel power. Volume control.

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood

Price Paid:  $150.00 from Future Shop

Summary:
I have the Pioneer VXS-D308 hooked up to my pc for listening to mp3's and gaming with a pair of JBL 800's.
For the price, this is the perfect receiver and you can't go wrong. It's powerful and serves well to drive a small pc audio system.

Strengths:
Powerful and quite good sounding for a low end AVR

Weaknesses:
None for my use

Price Paid:  $150.00 from Best Buys

Summary:
This is a fairly nice unit for the money, however I feel the sound is a bit harsh, and hard to set to my liking. Had to add an EQ to really enjoy the unit enough to want to spend time with. Plenty of power and the surround sounds is a bit stronger than my older Technics SAGX290, but just doesnt sound quite as sweet as a lot of other receivers I've heard lately.

Strengths:
Plenty of Power,Nice design, cost

Similar Products Used:
Technics SA GX290, Pioneer VSX 504S

Price Paid:  $150.00

Summary:
If you have inexpensive, small to mid sized speakers, a small TV and a VHS VCR, this receiver will do the trick.

I too have noticed, as mentioned in another article, a scratchiness in the volume control especially when using the remote. This could most likely be cured using a contact spray (but havent tried as it is not TOO bothersome and would void any warranty.)


Overall, a good receiver for the price! Great for a small to mid sized home theatre system.

Strengths:
This products greatest strength is the low price! It is a great, budget priced receiver. However, in many ways, you do get what you pay for. It has all the features of a Basic Pro Logic reciever as shown in another review but see Weaknesses.

Weaknesses:
It lacks Digital ins and outs. It lacks composite video or S-Video inputs and outputs. The Tape/Tape Monitor system isn't too flexible. It provides DSP modes however, in my system, these are rather artificial sounding and harsh to use.

Similar Products Used:
I still prefer the hearty equipment of the 70's especially Marantz and Pioneer, but for Pro-logic, this is the only one I have owned.