Pioneer VSX-D814 A/V Receivers Reviews

oldsound

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
Wanted to upgrade my family room reciever amp to accommode at least 5.1 audio. Visited several audio departments. I had compared the comperable specs of the reciever amps in my budget of $375. This pioneer exceed most of the others. It sounded great at the audio displays with there speakers. Brought home but after 4 days and with the help of an pro audio engineer, could not get the sound I wanted using my speakers. Sound was harsh and large choirs sounded like they were shouting from another room. Tried new speakers in every possible combination with out much improvement. I ran out of time, took unit back, and traded for a Less expensive Sony 597. Installed it. And the all the negatives when away, with excellent claridy, and tonal quailities. I Sony does not have all the tuning and control features of the Pioneer, but for now it is doing an excellent job. I still am planning to search for another reciever-amp in a few months comperable to that of the Pioneer with acceptable clarity.

Strengths:
Excellent construction quality Good speaker configuration control setup Good power to drive speakers up to 15" Extensive I/O configuration to 11 speakers

Weaknesses:
Seemed to produce overly bright and harsh midranges

hqbabie3

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.60 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $243.00 from DataVision, NY

Summary:
This is a new D814K, black and I purchased it for comparison purposes to a NAD T742 I currently owned. Even though the D814K is more video oriented it can accommodate more for connections than the NAD, and regrettably requires more settings and trial&errors. Once, the setting is done, every sound is fine, not muddy or unnatural as anticipated; but still the NAD is more audio-oriented hence easy to assess in terms of clarity. The sound from the D814K is good and strong enough to blow competively priced other counterparts; but phonically maybe the NAD is more attractive and requires less twigging w/ the remote for the correct ambience and sound balance. The D814K has too many ingredients in terms of digital in/out connectivity; but one can only use the most standard set up at a time; and the NAD has all of that. Price wise, the NAD is $200 more expensive; but power is less there whereas the punch from the rapidly heat up D814k is not to be denied. Watch out for vendors like Datavis.com sale personel, they are rogues.

Strengths:
power, many nice ambience settings if u choose the right combination of spkrs connection (suggestion: Fr, Surr, Cnter - Not Bck Surrnd)or combination in the back. Unit shows no sign of poor build. Antenna is lame.

Weaknesses:
Shufflin b/w remote buttons and frnt panel to get settings to your liking is time consuming. Too many items to read about. Very few ideal combinations that give satisfactory in terms of audio-enthusiast listeners, bc most is for movie environment. Note: use the ADv. Surround. button and go w/ the reg. surround spkrs hook-ups, not the back surr. spkrs hook-up. Heat up fast when played loud.

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha, Harman Kardon.

Dredrick

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
4.75 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $215.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
Purchased at a 5-hour sale at Circuit City - usualy price is around $280. Very happy with it for what I paid. I upgraded from a old JVC 45-watt two-channel receiver, and the difference in quality, functionality and power is huge. Now I need new speakers that can handle the power, but convincing my wife may take some time... Sound is excellent and very powerful. The surround is great, especially for 5.1 encoded DVDs. Appearance is a bit blah, but functional. Enough connections on the back to more than satisfy the average home listener, and one front connection for both analog and digital as well. Sound set up is a lot of work, but great once you have it tuned to your favorite seat. Lots of options for surround processing.

Strengths:
--Very powerful - haven't ever turned it up all the way as my speakers wouldn't survive it but it can fill a midsized room --Crisp, clean sound, with settings to adjust for the size and location of front and surround speakers --Auto-detect of 5.1 and AC3 input from DVD player --Lots of options for surround processing --More connections than I can use, including digital audio, analog audio and video passthru connections on the front --Front panel dimmer to decrease distractions in a darkened movie room --Huge and powerful remote gives access to almost all setup and play functionality

Weaknesses:
--Boring appearance - basic black rectangle --Set-up takes time and effort to get right --Puts out a lot of heat --A bit of design strangeness - there is a jog dial just above the volume dial, but it's only used for a few set-up options; it would have been logical to use it for tuner settings as well --The cheap AM antenna they include isn't worth much --Very minor point, but I think a black receiver should have a black remote, and this one is silver --None of my other components (TV, DVD, CD, MD recorder, digital cable tuner), are included in the pre-programmed remote functions, and unlike the 914K, this is not a learning remote, so I'm still juggling five remotes on my side table. I'm still juggling