Dolby Pro-Logic, Dolby Digital, 5.1 surround, lots of hook-ups, plenty of power with good range adjustment

Possibly over-featured, remote is hard to read when selecting components, even in good light

This receiver is excellent in my book. There's plenty of range for adjustment of all speakers (volume, bass, mid, treble) and custom-balancing output. With as many listening environments as this receiver has, you'd be awfully picky not to be able to find one that suits you.

I use this receiver in a 320-SF family room that opens onto a large kitchen, and the volume rarely needs to be turned up higher than about 20%. If you take the time to adjust the bass, there's plenty to be had. I use a Sony SA-W303 subwoofer with only 35 watts, but the power that comes out of this combination is in most cases way too much, so I generally reduce the sub's level setting (volume) to a little above half. The sub, adjusted to coordinate with two old front Panasonic speakers with 8" woofers, produces lots of deep sound -- more than I need.

There are many adjustable settings on this receiver, and they take some time to work through. The Sony manual, however, takes you through a logical progression that can result in a surround system that's customized for the listening environment.

I'm sure there are better receivers, but if you can find a good price on this receiver, I'd highly recommend it.

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Pioneer SX-201

Lot of power 5*75wats RMS at 8ohms or 4ohms,
Over load, over heat,short circuit and click protection,
Very good dolby pro logic and dolby digital,
Lot`s of sound efects,
Lot`s of setings,
Good sound quality, clear sound without distorzion
Movies yust sound great with this receiver

It has only 1 optical and 1 coaxial digital input (you dont need more than that)
It doesn`t have s-video conectors (it`s not a big deall)
Doesn`t have DTS (all movies are dolby digital, but if you wory about dts you can buy DVD player with DTS and use analog conection with the receiver for DTS movies)
But considering the price and the performance of this A/V receiver these weaknesses are not so important.

This is by my opinion great A/V receiver with a lot of nice features.
I recomend this receiver to everyone.

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receiver SCOT
receiver Pioneer
I have tested diferent brand`s of receivers

Dolby Digital, lots of input outpots, lots of soundfields

The text on some of the remotes buttons

well, what can you say, it's just a great reciever. I use it with my Sony SA-VE305 loudspeaker and the sound is so nice. The Dolby Digital part works excellent with DVD, I use a Pioneer DVD player to it, and the sound just comes from all around you crystal clear. So if your looking for a really nice surrond receiver, you just found one.

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Pioneer

Audio processor, amp, AC-3

Remote, heat

I purchased this receiver as I was looking to upgrade from my older Pro Logic system (also a Sony, D-350Z) to something with AC-3, and found this deal on eBay too good to pass up ($200 for a unit which had been used only two weeks, being sold due to a divorce settlement, and a discontinued model which has been replaced by the much more-expensive DE-835 in Sony's lineup). The increase in sound quality for all my sources was immediately apparent; for Pro Logic and stereo sources it does a much better job of distributing the signal between the five channels, and the step up from Pro Logic to AC-3 is simply incredible. In addition, it has pumped new life into my low-end speakers (front channels some 8ohm Yamahas which cost $100/pair, center/rear a $25 set of KLHs which came with my old receiver) and does an *incredible* job of downmixing 5.1 streams to take full advantage of my speakers, after taking the time to do a proper size/distance setup (which is quite easy).

Unfortunately, it's not without its flaws. The 5.1 input selector (for selecting the 5.1 input separately of its designated video source) doesn't seem to use the digital input but instead only uses the analog. Also, as so many others have pointed out, its remote is incomplete in some regards (for example, a lot of setup functions are missing, and there's no eject button), its flip-top layout has a bad division between inside and outside (so for DVD viewing I usually use the DVD player's remote instead), and having a timeout on the cursor function is very annoying, particularly since it means having to cover the transmitter in order to get back to the remote's DVD or VCR menu mode after not pressing any buttons for a while. Also, the amp runs rather hot; I do NOT recommend having it within an enclosed space.

Finally, a little nitpick: its cabinet is a bit deeper than most, and so it doesn't fit in my shelf setup as well as I'd like.

However, for anyone like me, who wants a good-quality low-cost receiver and is willing to put up with some relatively minor flaws for a truly great sound, this receiver can't be beat, provided you can find one.

Price.

Lifeless sound quality. Execreble remote.

Very disappointed in this receiver.

Sound presentation is limp and lacking in dynamics.
High-frequencies tends to hiss and sizzle when driving
hard. Mid-range and bass are consistently muddy.

Front panel is standard Sony, nothing remarkable. I am
ambivalent at best about the distracting blue "5.1/DTS"
light. Kinda tacky.

Remote is...terrible. Light green letters on white keys?
Illegible even in daytime.

Returned after six weeks, replaced with an Onkyo Integra
(which is a little better but...).

A mediocre value at best, I think I would prefer the
Yamaha at this price point. A listened briefly to a
comparable Technics product - sounded a litte more
lively but I've been leery about their build quality.

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Onkyo, Yamaha

Hi:

Love this receiver, but have a question--

Everytime we are about to shut the receiver off, just after shutting the DVD or MD player off, the word "UNLOCK" appears on the display. Looked through the instruction manual and couldn't find any info.

Has this happened to anyone else? Any ideas?

Thanks!

the naming function is nifty, sound is even better

the remote, the hidden panel is ridiculous. It dooesn,t even open smmooyhly

for $299 you can't go wrong. I am no a/v expert but i'd recommend it to anyone who is planning on starting a home theater system. Just hooked it up to klh home theater package and it sounds excellent. I just need a dvd player.

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this was my first dd receiver

I purchased this reciever for mostly the price and also the reviews on this posting board. I use it to mostly watch movies on dvd, and it couldnt be better.
Although one problem i have is it gets pretty hot after an hour of usage.the only other reciever i think i would have
chose is the entry level onkyo reciever at $350. But with all the features plus the fact it has two lfe outputs makes this reciever the best $300 one on the market.I would give it five stars if it didnt get so hot.

Price, Ease of use

Power... No Pre-Amp / DTS / S-VHS

Like the sound, nice and comforting, but with all the speakers i´ve used it with, the amp just can´t take the volume higher than 8´clock! Crappy power supply..


If you can´t afford anything else, then by this. But throw it away, as soon as you have more cash..

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Pioneer, Harman Kardon

None, Except for remote its hard to use in dim light

When I bought this reciver and took it home, My parents were pissed off saying that I am wasting money, but once I connected it and put in a dvd everybody just shut up and go into the awesome sorround sound this reciever was putting out. For home audio or music this baby is perfect perticularly for the money. 80*5 and 100*2 at 8ohms is plenty of sound. It also has a protective mode which shuts off the system when you over heat it. It happened to me once in a party when some idiot put a cd player on my reciever and nobody noticed but when it actually got hot, it shut off (thank god it did) and after we took off the cd we were able to turn it back on and continue with the partea :)

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jvc, panasonic