Dolby Digital, DTS and THX Ultra digital processing, good remote, easy setup

speaker terminals are too close together for 12 gage wire. No signal level indicator.

I am very satisfied with this receiver. Digital processing is a significant improvement over my Dolby Pro receiver with my Atlantic Tech 350THX speakers. It has a more seamless soundstage and clearer sound. I like the THX processing because it gives a more spacious effect.

I was debating whether to get the 2001 model (VSX-36TX), but Tweeters had a $600 clearance price that I couldn't pass up. The 2001 model was $715 more and has component video switching and Dolby Digital EX 6.1 processing. From what I read, 6.1 processing isn't worth the cost of the extra speaker and amp, and it is better to avoid the signal degradation from component switching.

The remote works very well if you have a lot of Pioneer components. Pioneer components are the default. The SYSTEM OFF automatically turns off all Pioneer equipment plus the other components that have been programmed. The learning mode only allows five instructions per macro.

$600 is a great price for a THX Ultra receiver. I assume a $3000 receiver may sound better.

Similar Products Used:

Upgrading from a 1992 Pioneer 901.

Sound, DD 5.1/DTS processing power. S-Video switching. Ease of use.

none.

As soon as I hefted this bugger out of the box I knew I had a winner!

I plugged it in, set up my system, and I was in love! Great sound, Ample power. S-Video switching is great on this unit.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood VR-2080

Lots of features. Great Price

Needs 8" of clearance above receiver for cooling

It took me about two hours to unhook my old Yamaha RX-870 , do some reorganization, and then hook this baby up.

I was surprised that it required 8" of clearance above the unit, and thus had to remove a shelf from the TV cabinet. It does get hot as other reviews have noted, but I'm not concerned.

The first DVD I auditioned was James Bond's The World Is Not Enough. Wow, what a step up this is from Dolby Pro Logic.
I don't have subwoofer, but I don't need it considering my mains are very large Klipsch KG5.5's.

I was lucky to pick this up at a local store for $599, as they had only two remaining.

Similar Products Used:

None

PRICE

NONE YET

WOW! only $460, it was a moving sale, reg. price was $1000, i just bought it a couple of hours ago so i only listen to it for a little while, SO FAR EVEYTHING IS GREAT! give me a week and i will give it a more thorough review, SEE YOU THEN!!!!

Similar Products Used:

SONY ES

Sound, looks, remote, multi room/source, digital noise reduction, price

Shuts down in loud surround mode. Can't watch or record one source while listening to another. Dial to select source. While using remote to operate a source component it is necessary to change source input to that source.

I chose this model over the Denon 3300 because of the fan and other quality control problems the Denon was having, over the Yamaha 995 because of the harshness of the Yamaha amps and my aversion to all the gimicky DSP modes, over the Marantz 7000 and 8000 and Nakamichi AVX10 because of their lack of phono inputs, and over the Sony ES models because of their ugly styling and my generally negative feeling about Sony audio products.
I am now wondering if I made a mistake. Other than the ergonomic and functional inconveniences listed above, that in my opinion are outweighed by it's srengths, I am mainly worried about it's reliability. I have a TDK test CD for setting up surround sound systems. Whenever it is playing the track that moves a jet plane from front to rear the unit shuts down at the same spot, right where the sound is equally distributed in front and rear. This also happens occasionally while watching a pro logic movie. I haven't had it happen in DD yet, but I have only played about 10 DVDs w/ DD. I have the volume set at between -15 and -5 db when it occurs(loud but not outrageously so). At first I thought that maybe my power supply was too weak for all the power the unit was drawing, but it still happened when I connected the unit to a dedicated 20 amp circuit, (albeit connected w/ a very heavy duty power tool extension cord)and so now I think it must be a defect in the unit. I haven't taken it in for repair yet because I don't think Pioneer will honor the warranty, since I purchased it over the internet. It also happens so infrequently that it is not a compelling issue yet, just a nagging worry.
As I mentioned above, if you need to control a source component w/ the remote you need to first push the source button on the remote, which switches the receiver source to that source. In my case, if I am recording a satellite source on the VCR, and I need to change a setting on the VCR, I first have to hit the VCR source button to change the remote to VCR operation, which also changes the source selection on the receiver to VCR, which disables the satellite from being recorded. My way around this is to bury the remote between cushions on the couch while pushing that button, hoping it won't change the receiver. It is such a strong remote that just pointing it away won't work.
The digital noise reduction benifits me while listening to weak fm stations and weak c-band audio only radio stations.
Otherwise, I like this unit. If anyone reading this has any idea about what may be wrong with this unit or has had similar experiences with it, please email me.
My system:
Pioneer Elite VSX 26TX receiver
Pioneer DVC302D 3 disc dvd and cd player
Proton 440 tuner
Akai GX F35 tape deck
Yamaha AVX100U integrated amp to power 4 remote locations
Mitsubishi HSU 550 HiFi VCR
Mitsubishi 32" TV
General Instruments Innovation 550i c-band satellite receiver
Dual CS607 phono
Definitive Technology BP8 front
Boston Acoustics HD5V center
Boston Acoustics A40 surrounds
Acoustic Research 12HO sub

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha AVX 100U