I have not heard the VSX-26tx, but I have heard the DSP-A1 TRY to run Martin Logan Requests and must say that it was worst sounding amp I have ever heard try to run the Logans. A real bad combo for sure. No audiophile would ever match the DSP-A1 with Martin Logans and since the VSX-26 is just a bit lower than the 27 and 29, and 18 people that own the VSX-27 are very happy, I'm giving it a 5 Star rating to make up for Jacks post.Dave
PS I have heard other P Elite recievers and for the money were all AT LEAST 3 stars! Maybe the new resale value of the DSP-A1 now that the new VSXs are out has afected some peoples opinion?

Just got this baby and it's GREAT!! Only watched one movie so far and about 3 Lp's and two CD's.....will give full review in 1 month

woohooo Pioneer!I bought this reciever and I finally got to test it out. Its really cool. Sounds great and it is cool. It has a cool flip down panel thing. I spend 2 hours everyday flipping it up and down. Its really fun.
(wooohooo Dave form hawaii!)

woohoo Pioneermy friend has this reciever and it is pretty cool even thoughhe hasen't tested it with anything until he gets his b&w 600 series 2 speakers, from the spec sheet and throughly insepecting the recivers build quality i think it will be great

THX,DD,DTS 96khz 24bit DACs

(Wohhooo DAVE FROM HAWAII)

I bought the Pioneer Elite VSX-26TX on the spot after checking the basic specs. It was my first personal jump to the world of digital receivers. I never appreciated THX in my home until I got this baby plugged in! It is smarter than my PC and a lot more reliable. The sound is absolutely superb and it has more in/out jacks than a stereo store demo room. It has the ONLY remote I EVER found that runs everthing I have-LD/DVD/TV/2 VCRs and tape. Devices/brands it didn't already have pre-programmed was easy to teach to it. Even at high volume levels there is no distortion. It was well worth the few extra bucks. Setup is a breeze with a superb manual and it's easy for non-techie types to operate, too.

First let me tell you I upgraded from a Vsx-07tx. I did this so I would have the ablility to play DTS. WELL..... the reciever was nicely packaged nothing new there. The manuals for the revceiver were typical of pioneer. Nothing wrong at this point. (Read on) The receiver was installed and setup. On screen menus were great. much easyer to navigate this time around. Although for the BASS managment, and crossover slection. I would really like to see a adjustable crossover freguency.. to adjust below the 80hz thx setting (-70HZ-60hz...) this would go along ways in setting a crossover frequency to match the capablitlies of Large speakers that can reproduce lower frequencies cleanly down to 50Hrz.
Setting up the digital and anolog sources were fine.. no problems until I went to test the DVD (pioneer dv-414). At this point I was anticpating a very good listening experience with the DTS and the DVD (Eagles- Hell freezes over) and the DTS tracks on it. To my dismay the sound that came out was in the sub only and I noted that the DTS symbology did not light up nor the speaker representations. I had sound only in the sub. At this particular point I switched the DVD back to the PCM track that was on the DVD and I got the same results. I double checked my conections (nothing had been changed since diconnecting the VSX-07tx. So.. I put the old (almost brand new 4 months old) 07tx and tried the PCM track again (since the 07tx does not support DTS) and the system had sound in all channles.... so.. at this time the 26tx appears to be a DOA for the Digital side of the DTS and Dolby 5.1.
Is going to take the 26TX back to the audio shop and test it there. and will post the results here.. I am a bit disapointed with this to say the least, but I will be fair in my judgment of the unit. I will also say that while i didnt go into that much detail about the components it was hooked up to.. I did try all options on the unit (signal sources, inputs, sat/tv, vcr's.. ) and they did work. so.. after I talk with the audio shop where I bought the unit and test it there.. to double check. you will have a update and where it goes..

Well, I must first address Jack's miss informed propaganda. Sounds to me like Jack paid over $2,000.00 for that Yamaha and didn't even get a THX select rating with it. People if you are considering a high end, high current receiver with all the bells and whistles including the latest digital technology, this receiver is very much on that list. I don't know of any other Dolby Digital, dts and THX Ultra certified digital receiver that can do as much as this, for the money. This machine puts out enough power I have yet to take it up past -15db in volume. At this level most of my house and neighbors house are shaking. I connected this receiver to the new Polk Audio RM7500 system (I also left a review for it) with unbelievable results. Pioneer has done an excellent job for a THX Ultra receiver for only $1200.00.

I have had the VSX-26TX for 4 days and I am really pleased with the performance. I was considering higher priced receivers such as B&K AVR202, Denon 5700 and Marantz SR18 and have been looking for several months.
When the new Elite line was introduced, I realized the performance and
features that were offered and at a very attractive price.

The unit is very simple to setup - good onscreen menu system and so far the remote seems to work well for my needs. The levels can be adjusted directly from the remote - no nested menus.

I really can't add much more than what has already been mentioned in other reviews. The Elite line offers Outstanding performance and a great value !!!

This is hands down the best $800 I ever spent. The sound from this receiver is oh so natural and real that I feel like I'm really in the movie. Thats something I have been looking for all my home theater life!! Build quality is amazing and controls are great. I love just looking at it and seeing my reflection in the Urishi finish. I finally have the power I was looking for!
This is the best!!

I have not purchased this unit yet, but I fully intend to. I went to Audio King last weekend and spent an hour and a half comparing the Elite, the Yamaha, the Sony and the Denon (all priced at around $998). No matter how much I wanted to like the Yamaha, I just couldn't get away from what the Pioneer sounded like! The dynamic contrast is huge. The sound is warm, dark, and enveloping. If you like bright sounds the Yamaha was great, but I prefer a little depth to my music and the Elite definitely had it. I think it's an ideal model if you can get a good discount. We only set the receivers at 1/4 volume and the Elite just plain packed more punch, with a smoother sound. When I set it at half volume it sent my wife (and several other patrons) out of the room! This thing rocks with deep bass and a very vibrant sound. I switched from music to dialogue and it was quite clear there, too. Also, I noticed no real 'clicking' when switching between inputs. Obviousely, I haven't been able to endurance test it over time, but based on my immediate comparisons with other models.......I just don't think I could go wrong...