I just want to add a few things to my previous review:If you are going to use this unit mainly for music.. pick another reciever, or even better, a nice integrated amp. This unit flat out can't be "cranked" at all. If you try going beyond -40 the sound gets very harsh and you lose almost all bass. I may not have the world's best speakers or cable but I know how they're supposed to sound when you turn up the volume. These Polk RT35's rattled the room at the dealer (with an Onkyo TX DS838) but whine an sputter when you crank it with this reciever. Another complaint is the BUTTONS. I hate buttons, I want KNOBS!!! This unit sounds dandy at low to mid volume levels but I listen to stuff like Fear Factory, Dream Theater, and Massive Attack.. and when I turn it up, I just want to turn it back down. It sounds awful. Like I said before, this unit is good for just moderate listening and movies with a small setup but dont expect to rock the house and rattle the walls with this thing.

I picked up this receiver at Supreme Video http://www.supremevideo.comfor $309 plus shipping (no Tax out of NY).

It took 2 weeks for them to get it in and another week to ship. So far
I have ordered my DVD player and the VSX-D608 from these people and they have been great.

As far as the performance of the receiver goes I am quite pleased with it
when I look at it as a starter home theater receiver. I picked it mostly
because it had everything I could want and at this price its hard to go
terribly wrong. Its far from perfect, but perfect would probably
cost around a thousand bucks. I am not ready to spend that kind of cash ... yet.
The same receiver goes for 399+Tax at Frys.

Several important downsides for people considering buying it.
1) You might have trouble programming the remote to control your other stuff.
I could not get the following to work. Sony CD Player, Sony DDS, Some obscure
beater VCR brand ... hey at least it shuts off the sony tv and does some
Sony DVD functions.
2) The function cycle button is suboptimal. It would have been better to
be able to (for example) hit the VCR1 control button and immediatly switch
to VCR1 input instead of hitting the function cycle multiple times. Oh well.
I guess it doesn't matter that much unless you can get the remote to control
your stuff. Still its a pain.
3) You have to set your speakers to "small" in order to get subwoofer to work
(for music).
This would be ok if the Sub Xover frequency also had a setting for 50Hz and
75Hz instead of just 100, 150, 200. That way if you have speakers that go
down to 50Hz and a sub that does 25Hz you could cut the frequency off at 50Hz
and set the sub cut off at 50Hz as well. Only way I can think of getting
around this would be to have two subs (one in line with the main speakers
for music and one on the subwoofer pre-out for 5.1) ... not practical,
better off just getting a higher quality sub that can do 100Hz to 25Hz better than
the speakers or living without the ultralows.
4) It would have been nice to have somekind of on screen display for things
like volume and other functions. Its really hard to read the display
and determine how high the volume is set to. I know am asking too much for this
price range.

Overall at $309 this is a great receiver for those trying to do home theater
on a budget with both Dolby Digital and DTS. For those that are more demanding
you are better off shelling out more bucks getting an HK, Pioneer Elite, Yamaha
or whatever.

If I outgrow this receiver, it isn't a throw away.
I plan on hooking it the computer for Dolby 5.1
via DVD player and SBLive. Its not too far out of wack pricewise.
$200 for SBLive, $150 for Pioneer 6X DVD, $150 for speakers, $309 for 5.1
decoder, no big deal. Dolby Digital games are inevitable once games
start coming out on DVD.
-Q

I decided to purchase this reciever to upgrade from a Pioneer VSX-305 DPL (Dolby ProLogic) box.
Obviously this reciever has Dolby Digital and DTS capabilities.

Initially, I setup all of the speaker to "small" mode and set the Subwoofer crossover frequency to 100 Hz. I also set the distance properly.

I then used "The Avia Guide to Home Theater" DVD to calibrate the reciever more completly with a sound level meter. This worked out quite well.

In fact contrary to what most have written here about the small speaker setting, Avia convinced me that despite 100 Hz as the crossover frequency, frequencies lower than this sent to non-LFE speakers is sent to "both" the intended speaker and the subwoofer. While I don't know whether or not this was supposed to happen with according to the base management rules, but I'm okay with it.

The DSP (Digital Signal Processing) modes are crap. I found that the music actually felt thin using the DSP modes. My VSX-305 had what they called a "studio" mode for listening to music which sent reverb to the surround speakers to add depth. I really liked this mode which is not present on the 608.

The sound in my opinion is better than my VSX-305. I don't have much to compare to since this is probably the best reciever I have ever owned.

The functions of the reciever can be switched between directly if you get a better universal remote. The remote I use is the URC-8090 from www.oneforall.com.

This is a very decent reciever for those who don't have thousands to spend on home theater equipment. If you do have thousands to spend, you probably don't need to look on this site.

Finally had to cancel an order that I had outstanding with www.theweb-shop.com since I ordered it on June 4th and was never delivered. All attempts to call, email, and fax went in vain - AVOID THIS SITE AT ALL COSTS!! Low prices but they never deliver (many friends ordered from them also and weeks (4-9) went by without any product being delivered. Now - on to the product.
The VSX-D608 appeared to be a nice unit when I took it out of the box. A bazillion inputs on the rear and a sleek looking front panel (although you'll need good lighting to read the tiny letters and words on the front). After setting it up and then listening to the sound - I was amazed that this unit has no speaker balance controls. In addition - bass and treble control (buttons instead of knobs as most peaople would like) only exists in the stereo mode!! WHAT? No base/treble control whatsoever in Digital or Surround (DSP). Give me a break - how can one fine tune any receiver's sound, particularly when it was purchased for Digital and Surround, w/o these controls.

The FM antenna jacks on the back only allow for a simple FM wire, you know, that 5 foot piece of wire that's supposed to bring in clear stereo reception. What ever happened to a coax input to coonect a cable line to get FM or screw terminals to allow a converter from coax to two wire to be used?

It is because of these limitations that I am selling this unit on eBay and have already ordered a Sony STRDE935. I need bass/treble controls, a balance control to adjust for room position, and good FM reception for stereo broadcasts. Believe me, I'm not picky...but w/o these controls, a user can not listen the way he/she wants. Also, no true 5.1 (the 1 being subwoofer) because you have to select "small" mode for your speakers to have the subwoofer output work. Small, as per Pioneer, is any speaker with a cone less than 5". So... you have to set your main front speaker to small (who has main speakers with a cone less than 8") to get the subwoofer to function. Go figure.

Well I'm sure this unit is a value for the dollar if you're looking for a digital receiver with loads of inputs...but are willing to give up those item I mentioned above.

By the way J and R Music (www.jandr.com) matches any price and has the lowest shipping available. Got my STRDE935 for $380, $19 s/h/im and $59 for a complete three year full warranty. About $125 total more than I spent for the Pioneer unit, but since I don't plan on buying another receiver for quite some time, and I did want the VSX-D608 to be a long term buy, I had to spend the extra bucks.

My number one problem with this receiver (the silly function cycle button) has been resolved.
I plan on getting a Pronto Universal Remote and programming it to use discrete input selection codes. Yes, that's right. The silly function cycle button on the remote is NOT the only way to select inputs. There are discrete IR codes
that let you select the input source you want. The only caveat is that you can't get the codes for doing this from the remote that comes with the VSX-D608. Either you have to get something like a Cinema 7 universal remote that has the codes built in or use the remote off of the older VSX-D906. With the Pronto it is also possible to receive codes from other people that have already figured it out by getting them to email you their config file.

The pronto can be had for $288+10$ S&H (2day UPS) from http://WWW.smarthomeinc.com/philips_pronto_remote.asp and can control a virtually infinite number of devices ... not just your receiver.

With this issue resolved I am upgrading my rating to 5. Is the VSX-D608
built for "cranking"? ... No. Are you going to be satisfied with it if you are an Audiophile? ... probably not! Don't bother even looking in this price range if you are. But for 309 bucks for entry level 5.1/DTS/S-Video switching its a bargain.

I bought the Pioneer 608 a few months ago. I am very happy with this receiver. I paid $299 + shipping, and for that price, nothing comes close.
True, it seems a little "weak" for a 5 x 100 watt system, but, again, for this price, it can be forgiven. The ability to decode both DD 5.1 and dts at this price is amazing. I have also found the different sound modes available useful. I have yet to use the S-video switching feature, but it is great to have the feature available.

Suffice to say, for the price, and to power my Energy Take 5 system with 10" subwoofer, I am very satisfied.

I just went to my local Circuit City store to purchase Pioneer VSX-D608, but I was told that 608 has been discontinued. The salesman does not know the replacement model. Any one has any information? I have done a fairly extensive researc and concluded that Pioneer 608 has the best value.

The Pioneer 608 SUCKSSSSSSSS!!do U Know why? Because I had it for 3 days took it back,that's garbage.Screw Pioneer.
You wanna some Kiss ASS Receiver go and buy AVR 5700 of Yeah!!
and let me know Baby!!
0* for Pioneer
Germain
It's all about the Benjamin Baby!

VSX-D608 $379.92 at BEST BUY5 channels 100 watts at 1,000 Hz .8 % THD
This is great unit for my home theater in a 12.5 ft x 12 ft
room. The assignable digital inputs and digital output
are features I like. Based on specifcations I experience
good power amp use. ROOM SIZE AND SPEAKER LOAD ALWAYS EFFECT
ANY AMPLIFER PERFORMANCE. SPECS ALONE ON PAPER DO NOT TELL
EVERYTHING!

I briefly had an Onkyo TS474, but I took it back because it did not have the DTS decoder on board. This receiver sounds great to me. Im no expert, but I feel its worth the $359.00 that I paid at Best Buy. I havent heard any of the more expensive models to compare this one to, but I couldnt imagine them sounding much better.