A number of Audio and Video Inputs , S-Video inputs, Remote, Price and Performance.

None for me.

Best Receiver for the price. The learning remote is very good. The quality of the sound is superb. There are a number of digital inputs and a Digital Output. I used digital inputs for my DVD and the CD Player and they sound great! I did experience that the sound to the sorround speakers was not sufficient but, I was able to overcome this by increasing the sound level on the sourrounds to a little higher value (I set up my front, center and sub-woofer to 0 and sorround to 5. I don't have any problem now).

I am not a fan of all the DSP modes and Dolby Theater modes but I do love the Midnight mode that really creates a beautiful surround effect between 38 and 48 decibels of volume. Also, the receiver stays cool unlike some Sony Receivers reported here. I played two back to back DVD movies and it was only very slightly warm.

Overall, a great product for the price(329 at best buy) and there are not many that can beat it at this price.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 409.

Digital Inputs

None really that I have found

Well I have been using this receiver for a few months now and I think I have it all set up right. It takes some time and you need to play around and read the manual for proper bass settings. I bought the Pioneer PD-F908 at the same time and I have it hooked in via the digital inputs. I was getting sick of seeing the red overload dot and since I switched to digital connections it sounds and solved the overload problem. I have Cerwin Vega RE 20 speakers hooked into it that I had since college and haven't let me down but I have some Energy speakers in mind now. I also bought an Energy 10 inch sub a few weeks after purchasing the receiver and it sounds amazing, I love it, I could use a bit more bass for music but for movies its great. The remote control is the best its now totally programed so I can now basically throw out all my other remotes.

Looks great, good price, all the features with high output quality sound.

No bass & treble adjustments on the remote, cannot adjust treble & bass while in DSP modes.

Unfortunately living in South Africa I had to pay double what the people in the US are paying - but I am very pleased with my purchase ! For the price it is definately the best in the market for quality, feaures and power.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 1601

Solid build, powerful sound, ample rear inputs plus front inputs, excellent price

a little difficult to set up; tricky remote control; barely adequate instruction manual; no phono input; flatwire antenna connections for radio tuner

i once had a fine pioneer surround receiver. great punch o the sound. it was zapped by lightning during terrible storm six years ago. as insurance paid most of the cost, i traded up and bought a top of line yamaha DLP. although it's power rating was higher than the old pioneer, the pioneer sound had a greater punch. that's the case with the new one. the dolby digital helps, of course, but the pro-logic is fine, too. the digital sound on your small-dish digital satellite system will sound better, too, especially on premium channels. the actual price was $215 because sears will match the lowest price you can find on the internet. you have to pay the shipping and handling (expensive), but you would have to pay it, anyway. only extra is the sales tax. but it's worth it to get a product from a store near your home. for the price, it would be hard to beat this receiver.

awesome remote, enough features to make it a good a/v receiver starter, value for price

loudness button, takes a bit of experimenting to get the sound you want but that could be fun too

i've been relatively happy with the performance of the pioneer 509s for the last 5 mos. i think i've spent enough time with it to give it a fair review. like everyone else, i love the remote and its got all the inputs and outputs i need. it delivers enough juice to power my mission set up. however, the 100W rating on this unit is definitely over stated. with dd/dts dvd movies, its sufficient to make my medium size living room rumble but i find the surround speaker output to my mission 701, to be weak. centre channel output to 70c2 is sometimes also weak but that depends on the movie. usually have the centre at +9 with fronts lowered to +6 to hear the dialogue above background music.
compared to the old HK, playing cd's leaves a lot to be desired. i experienced loud, annoying distortion when playing some acoustic guitar songs.. ie. "don't" by Jewell and "last day of our acquiantance" by Sinead O'Connor. i also heard this distortion in dvd movies, like Almost Famous, with soundtracks that feature acoustic guitar songs. at first i thought it was my new Mission 703 speakers and was quite freaked but later discovered the culprit to be the loudness feature on the receiver. disabled the loudness button and the distortion was gone but now I have to crank the dial up to reach my preferred listening volume. i don't mind cranking up the dial considering the improvement in sound. i used to listen to cd's at -45db but now have it up to -25db without the loudness with +8FL, +8FR and +6SW. i only wish it hadn't taken me 2 mos to figure it out. depending on the song, bass output to cerwin vega HT-S10 sub can sometimes be slow and boomy. at times, i just get annoyed with it and turn off the sub and listen just to the fronts.

overall, with the price I paid ($380+taxes Canadian), i'm happy with the sound from this receiver. however, i'll be looking to purchase a HK 510 in the near future. music comes first and HK offers it up like no other at their price. the 509 has served its purpose. a decent dd/dts performer with adequate stereo sound. i recommend it to ppl steping up to a dd/dts a/v receiver without breaking the bank.

Similar Products Used:

technics, old harmon kardon

great remote, easy setup, plenty of power, very flexible

amber display (I prefer green)

I researched this rcvr for several months and could not decide between this and onkyo 575x. Made my decision based on pricing and features. Mainly use this as a home theater rcvr, but also love hearing my cd's and music channels on it! I bought this based on what I needed and how much I was willing to pay for it. Thanks to the board for turning me on to Costco.

Similar Products Used:

onkyo (pro logic rcvr)

no phono jack

Although it took some time figuring out all the hook-ups and set up choices,I am extremely pleased with the performance of my receiver.Of course it blows away the 13 year old Sherwood unit I replaced it with.The remote is great.I have all my other remotes now programmed into it.I still don't like the fact that I have to set all my speakers to the small setting to get a decent bass punch from the sub woofer when playing the vcr or dvd.It sounds great though when cranking two-channel,plenty of bass then.Special thanks to Kevin for pointing me to Costco for the $199 price.I originally checked it out at Fry's electronics for $349 and was going to buy it there.Would not of thought of Costco for stereo equipment,but with the money I saved I was able to pick-up a KLH subwoofer also.You cannot beat this receiver for the money!

Great remote, s-video jacks, dts decoding

plain looking display

For the price, this reciever cannot be beat. First off, the remote is simply awesome. It'll control pretty much anything that uses a remote. I have a satellite, DVD player and Dreamcast that run through my reciever to my TV via s-video. I have a Sony 5 piece speaker and sub setup and this reciever makes them rock, especially on DTS encoded dvd's. There are a ton of sound and preference settings that will cause you to spend weeks adjusting everything to your liking. I've heard complaints that this model does not have great bass output. My sub is rated at only 75w and I can make my 14x20 living room shake. It's a matter of how you hook everything up. The only negative that I can think of is I do not like the plain looking orange display. Aside from that, this is a great reciever with a lot of features for the money.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX-405
Pioneer VSX-405

Great remote, s-video jacks, dts decoding

plain looking display

For the price, this reciever cannot be beat. First off, the remote is simply awesome. It'll control pretty much anything that uses a remote. I have a satellite, DVD player and Dreamcast that run through my reciever to my TV via s-video. I have a Sony 5 piece speaker and sub setup and this reciever makes them rock, especially on DTS encoded dvd's. There are a ton of sound and preference settings that will cause you to spend weeks adjusting everything to your liking. I've heard complaints that this model does not have great bass output. My sub is rated at only 75w and I can make my 14x20 living room shake. It's a matter of how you hook everything up. The only negative that I can think of is I do not like the plain looking orange display. Aside from that, this is a great reciever with a lot of features for the money.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX-405
Pioneer VSX-405

Power, Remote, Features

None

Excellent reciever with lots and lots of features, the remote is great. Works with everything else I connected to the reciever. That alone is a blessing in shopping for a reciever. Lots and lots of features.. Even to reseting the db for each speaker.. I searched for 2 weeks and listen and compared. Musicaly.. Yamaha is bright, Kenwood is bright.. Onkyo 484 def not enough power.. For me this reciever may have a flatter tone, but can be perked as alive as you want it with the individual speakers setting.. Works for me with a nice bass.. and no HISS at alll!! Price matched at sears.. Thanks everyone for turning me on to this..

Km

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood, Yamaha, Onkyo