It has every feature I was looking for at the right price

It takes some tweaking to get the rear channels sounding right

So far I am very happy with the 509S. It was simple to setup and start using right away. The first thing I notice
however was that even after walking through the channel test
tone(static) to balance the speakers the rear surounds
still sounded too soft. After a little adjusting using a
couple of different movies I got them where I like them.

The high crossover points of the sub are not too much of
a concern for me. I have my front speakers set larg as they
where designed to handle low bass frequencies and my sub
is designed to hang off them with its own 'subsonic' filter that drops off the highend bass.

The 509 has every thing I was looking for the right price, Dobly Digital, DTS, extra connections for future devices, Midnight Listening,etc. So, far I am very happy with the
purchase.

Similar Products Used:

Replaced my 10yr old Pioneer VSX-3300 Stereo Receiver

Features (you get a LOT for the money)

High cross-over point for subwoofer

Wow. This has got to be about the best receiver dollar for dollar you can buy. It has just about everything you can want (no on screen display but that is about all) at a price that is hard to beat (got it for $265 from One Call).

I use this with a powered sub (Acoustic Research S108PS) that also takes the left and right channel inputs and has its own cross over so the fairly high cross over settings for the receiver isn't a problem for me.

The sound from this unit is very good and it has plenty of power. Each channel can be adjusted for both volume and distance from the listener. The multiple listening modes are nice to have as well (I like Theater 2 the best for movies). The unit stays very cool even at fairly high volume levels. The remote is great. I can program it to control all (VCR, SAT, TV, etc.) my components since it is a learning remote.

I see no real flaw with this receiver at this price level. If you are looking for the best "bang for the buck" look no further.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Sansui

Lots of inputs, power and ease of use.

Remote has no light

Even though the receiver has lots of sound options, you won't need them. I use dolby digit with a fiber cable. The rest of the modes are not needed. I did crank up the back speakers and noticed a big difference in separation with the fiber cable. It is expensive but worth it. The receiver runs cool and is easy to use. Very easy buying decision.

Price, s video switching, built in dolby digital & dts, learning remote

none that i have found

i think its a great receiver for the money. the s video switching,optical ins and outs was a must for me and it works great. the learning remote controls all my equipment dss,tv, vcr, dvd player and cd player. i feel it doesnt have the power as my previous sony but i think its alot cleaner and more detailed sound. the sound from dolby digital and dts is awesome. also it doesnt run hot like the sony. i made my decision based on some of the reviews here and i am very pleased. i dont think it can be beat for the features it has for the money.

Similar Products Used:

onkyo,pioneer vsx405, sony str de515

Lots of inputs for the price

Can't use all of those inputs the way you want.

I wasn't going to post my impressions just yet but I want to reiterate what Marty said yesterday. I wasted hours tyring to get TiVo, DVD, and VCR hooked into this and feeding into TV. That could have been avoided if the note in the manual had used the word "must" instead of "should" when mentioning that if you hook video components to the receiver with composite cables, you should use composite cables for all of them. That's a paraphrase - the actual statement is even more vague.

Problem is, my VCR is '92 vintage and wasn't top-of-the-line even then. It has to use plain old patch cords since the only other output option from the VCR is RF. By having this one component connected, the only output going to the TV was through the composite cables even when using the DVD or TiVo which were attached with S-Video and, in the case of the DVD, digital audio.

Now that I've vented, the receiver this replaced is even older than the VCR. Too many years as a teenager (I figure I didn't stop till I was about 32;-) have left my ears less than pristine but even I could hear a remarkable difference on FM broadcasts and DVD movies. In addition to the value, one thing that attracted me to this model was the front face - not a bunch of dancing lights and animations on the front panel and a clean set of buttons for selecting source and controling basic functions. If you like having 32 different colors of LEDs falshing to show you that you are actually listening to something, this is a good unit to avoid.

Anyway, I'll wait until I've used it a few months and then write a more detailed review but I wanted to spare anyone else the misery I went through yesterday. If you plan on hooking up more than one video source, use the same type of cable for all video from and to the receiver. Good luck!

very clean midrange and highs, greater presence and clarity in these ranges, more power than I or my speakers or my furnishings can safely handle

lack of tone controls in any but stereo mode (unforgiveable), very thin base response considering the apparently available power, inability to use composite and S-video at the same time:

the presence and clarity in the mid and upper ranges make it a tempting keeper, but the inability to control base and treble (and only at +/-6dp variation) in all but stereo render this limited at best.. mandates the need for a good amplified base box... and even then gives you no option for anything other then factory determined loudness and midnight preset contours. These definately help, but even still base seems thin even with the full 6db of base boost (other amps I have offer 10db) increase from zero. mid and treble, already being strong, don't need much boost or attenuation. I tried and tried hoping that the 2 channel stereo setting of boost set carried into the suround modes, but no luck. It goes to preset and makes me feel I will not have the ability to fine tune to my tastes how I want to listen to this song or that. What is the use of having hundreds of settings available if you have to forgo the most basic ones to get them? Not my cup of tea.

amplification power seems more than adequate with my speakers, never really even getting close to max (-23) without damage concerns (cones, or ear drums), but it again seems to come at the expense of the available base. I have tried all the settings (speaker sizes, crossover levels)and without a sub woofer the base is barely adequate, even with 16 inch woofer cones in my main speakers.

finally, the inability to use composite video and svideo at the same time seems to be another unecessary engineering by committe limitation I am not willing to abide by. The teac I also bought at the same time to A-B, though not as clean in the midrange and lacking presence to some extent does an admirable job with base (10db +/- on the dial, plus and additional +10db of SBSS), though I can crank it to full (which just hits my limit of endurance) so it is not pumping out the same power. but it too has its limits... so both are going back and I am going to spring the extra couple of hundred bucks for a yamaha 5250. will A-B-and C the three at that time.

in summary, there is good potential with this amp, but what I presume are cost cutting decisions,have seriously impacted the users ability to tailor the sound profile, making it more expensive at any price. If I keep it, I think in the long run I will wish I had purchased what I really wanted, so THIS time, I will do so upfront, and avoid the addition of another door stop to my vast collection of door stops.

Similar Products Used:

teac, old sansui separates

Dolby Digital and DTS decoders, learning remote, 100 watts per channel

EQ settings are preset and can't be changed. The volume dial needs a good long turn to get sound (or loud sound)

Let me get the negatives out of the way first because there aren't many. First off if you are one of those people who have to change the EQ settings for every movie/song/whatever, then DO NOT buy this receiver unless you have or plan on getting an amp with one for you to play with. The EQ settings are preset for pretty much standard listening, but mostly for surround sound. Using the preset EQ settings isn't all that bad though. Pioneer thought of just about all of your needs one prestting them. You can however raise the rear level settings to balance out the sound. Speaking of an amp you might want one anyway because you really need to turn the dial a ways to get sound. Just an example; on my JVC I get the same volume level at -60 as I do on the Pioneer at -35. This doesn't really bother me and i don't have an amp either but I threw it out there for those of you who care. Now I can't say enough about how great this receiver is. It has built in Dolby Digital and DTS decoders. This comes in handy when used with a DVD player. It even has a 5.1 mode in the DVD channel so you don't have to worry about what EQ setting you want/need. It has a channel for everything from your TV, VCR, DVD, Cable, Tape, etc... to an extra channel for whatever (Camcorder, 2nd VCR, ...). You can hook up a total of 9 speakers to this thing. Ideally 5 surround/satellite speakers leaving 4 more hook-ups for floor/tower speakers and/or bookshelfs. Possibly my favorite feature is the learning remote! I've never seen much less used one before and it is great! If you can't program your functions via code (the way you normally program stuff into universal remotes), then you can just teach this remote what button you want it to learn. This is especially great if you have digital cable or satellite TV. You can finally throw away (at least put away) every other remote. This one will do it all! They were also thoughtful enough to make the thing so comfortable and form fitting to your hand you just might forget your channel surfing or even holding it in your hand. Quite frankly this receiver kicks butt! and for about $300 - $400 it is an absolute steal! especially for a total of 500 watts (100 per channel). My browsing experience showed me receivers with that many watts are easilly $800 - $1000. So what you can't change the indivdual EQ settings, just the surf the dozen the supply. They pretty much have a mode for everything. Pioneer thought of almost everything with this receiver. Lately I've seen the SVX 409 wich is pretty much the same receiver without the decoders. Trust me, spring the couple of extra bucks for the d509s!

Similar Products Used:

JVC

Lot's of Options, Very Good sound, Excellent Home theater receiver, Good stereo sound.

"Overload", ATT fixes the overload problem but just doesn't sound the same, Crappy manual.

My wife got my this receiver for Christmas cuz I been wanting to upgrade to a Dolby Digital and DTS receiver. I allready had a 100x5 receiver but it was only Dolby Surround. The Pioneer VSX D509s is a great receiver for the price, when the singnal is set to Digital it's great but anolog is a bit weak. It's great for DVD's but my CD player is anolog and that "OVERLOAD" thing come's on and it distorts. I want to get a CD player with digital out anyway so that sound fix the problem. I was a little unhappy with the manual also. It just doesn't explain some things and got me frustrated. The remote is great, it control's every thing I have except my Tape deck, Ohh well. Bottom line... This receiver is great if your CD player, DVD, ect, ect has digital outputs, but the anolog quality could be a bit better.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX D466S

Just got this receiver, price above includes s&h. I am building a new home theater and was wondering which speakers would go good with this receiver. I am thinking of spending no more than $1000 on speakers. Any ideas?

Just got this receiver, price above includes s&h. I am building a new home theater and was wondering which speakers would go good with this receiver. I am thinking of spending no more than $1000 on speakers. Any ideas?