I have just recently been reading the reviews for the VSX-D906S andwhile most have been fairly positve, I feel compelled to address some of
the negative ones. I purchased this unit in december of 97' after an
extensive amount of research, auditioning and price/performance comparisons.
After all was said and done, I found NOTHING that compared. Flexibility,
ease of use, pleasing aesthetics, great build quality, and most important-
GREAT PERFORMANCE!

I am a relative newcomer to the digital surround arena, but I am an
enthusiastic learner. Being a somewhat accomplished musician, I feel I
can give an educated opinion on sound-especialy music. In this area the
906 excells. Movies, DVD or VHS, SOUND SUPERB. My speakers are all
Infinity Studio Monitor Series (FRONT-SM155, REAR-SM165, CENTER-SMVIDEO)
and no sub. This receiver gives me all the dynamics, clarity, warmth and
spaciousness that my living room can handle (not to mention my wife!

In short, I could not be more pleased with this unit. It comes on
at night when I step in the door and off when I go to bed. In the
year or so that I have had it, it has only gotten better and NEVER
exhibited any flaws at all. As of this writing, this unit is discontinued
but if you can pick one up, especially at a reduced price, do so at
once.

I obviously like Pioneer's product (I own another stereo receiver in
addition to this one-the SX-205) and have a hard time understanding
these negative experiences. It is possible the gentleman who could not
get the DD decoder to work was the victim of a gray market device.

Before you think I work for Pioneer, rest assured I don't. I just
felt compelled to share my experience of thoroughly getting the best
value and performance that my budget would allow.

I only wish I could give more than a five rating.

If you are looking for a ac3 receiver under $1k with features andreasonable performance, it's the best deal you can find.

Great DD separation

Output seems to favor high end a little too much

For my money i like the 906. it really does dd justice especially during movies like the matrix and the rock. Since i am only a college student my budget allows me only a/v receivers in one. There is much better in the world of audio but for the money and the features the 906 is a solid performer. For those of you comlpaining about the sub hook up in stereo mode, get a passive sub. Sure it doesn't hit that low low end of the powered kind but hey it's better than nothing.

I PURCHASED THE 906 AND THE PIONEER DV500.THIS IS A WINNING COMBINATION OF HIGH TECH AND SHEER POWER. I HAVE THEM HOOKED UP WITH A PAIR OF B&W Dm602s and solid surrounds.The sound is tremedous to say the very least.You wont find another receiver at its price that will surpass it.

for the price not much comes close. i got it hooked up to boston cr9's & cr8's.

An exceptionally easy to use and warm sounding receiver with knock-out DD decoding and solid bass. Remote is the easiest to set up and best "universal" I've found on a receiver. Unorthodox system set up menu takes some of the guess work out of configuring surround sound speakers -- and a big plus is an optional manual test tone which allows you to stay on one speaker for as long as needed, making set up with a sound-level meter very easy. I compared this to a Yamaha 992 receiver, which has a few more bells and whistles (notably in the DSP area), but I found I much preferred the sound of the Pioneer. Some audiophiles may scoff at Pioneer, but I absolutely love this receiver and rank it among the best I have ever owned.

Awesome Dolby Digital decoding. Digital inputs for my DVD player and Soundblaster LIVE. 100 disk CD list for my pioneer changer. Haven't run out of inputs as of yet.

Subwoofer output turns off when set to stereo mode when using large speaker settings. (I switch to left&right preamp outs when using stereo mode)

Set up in stereo mode with a set of Polk S8's and a Velodine sub with the receivers "direct" feature enabled. Unfortunately I had to run the subwoofer to the right and left preamps to actually get it to work in stereo mode. (The sub kicks in when the mains are set to small) My Polks are rated at 6 ohms so they match perfectly with the receiver. At low to medium volume levels the speakers shine brighter than they ever had. (Which is what I normally listen at) At much higher levels thought they tend to be a little "bright" in the highs. But I like my treble bright anyways. It compliments the deap bass from the sub.
I bought this receiver brand new at $600. I think I must have ripped off the company I bought it from. It has more than outperformed it's price. I love the purity of sound and even the physical quality of the receiver itself.