I bought my VSX9500 back in the early 80's. Still going strong. Love the power and you can tell it is well built just by the weight which is the big transformer in the unit. Was lucky enough to find a used VSX9700 a couple of years ago. Fixed the remote and it works as well as the VSX9500.

I haven't found any.

This was great when it worked. My husband was so sad to get another one. We were going to have this one repaired but we bought a new receiver instead.....Craig’s list here I come!

None except it is soooo heavy!

I actually have the Pioneer VSX-9300S but couldn't find a review site so decided to post it here. I have one of these in my little home recording studio and another in the garage. They are very good sounding units for stereo and for some reason can go way louder than their specs would suggest. I turn them up to a little over a quarter volume and WOW! At halfway they are too much for me but still stay clean sounding. I use them a lot and no issues. I paid $20 for one and $30 for the other (both with remotes and looking like new so no complaints, only praise). I would get a VSX-9500s but already have more stereo gear for every room than any sane person could imagine. Example: I have a Yamaha RX-V1, two Denon 3805's, and a Denon 3801 all hooked up to PC via distribution amplifier in our living room if that gives you any idea. By the way, everything I own was bought used off CL (except speaker wire, banana plugs,connection cables, etc from Monoprice) and have never had a failure from anything for years now.

My father bought the 9500s in 1989 and I inherited it. Used it for 10 years and it recently experienced a minor issue with the input on one of the channels. I had it hooked up to the TV and I can hear the amp turn on but the equalizer will blip one little microsecond of sound and then it goes back to zero. U didn't teat the other inputs or the RCA cable. A about 5 years ago I bought a top of the line demon and brought it home to swap out with this one. I hooked it up and it couldn't push the Bose 301s and sub I had so I took it back and hooked this one back up. It is a beast and sounds great. The amp is working. Free to a good home. U pay the shipping.

I bought this thing for my father when I was in the Air Force stationed in Okinawa in what...1989 or so. My dad's Kenwood KR-9600 quit in one channel (I had bought it in the Philippines in around 1977 or so). This was the display model and was being replaced by the 9700. I think I picked it up for $160 or so. Maybe $180.

My dad was losing his hearing so it go very little use through the years. Later I just brought it home and played with it on and off. I had my system (Hafler, Integra, Altec duplexes, and some other stuff) so it just basically sat around.

I lost complete interest in audio and sold all my other stuff. This continued to sit in the closet until I decided to up a small system for the children's ministry at work. Unfortunately they never used it because it was too complicated. So brought it home again and it sat.

Recently, I decided to delve back into audio somewhat, primarily for my office, and brought it back out. I picked up a pair Technics SB L200 speakers (circa1979) for $25 and they sound amazingly well. I have ordered replacement caps for the crossovers. I dug out some other speakers I had laying around (pioneer, JVC) for the center and rears and hooked the thing up to my computer.

All I can say is that it just sounds great in this setup. For some reason, it wasn't a good match with the Altec duplexes 604E that I used to have. Don't know why. But those speakers were finicky with other setups as well.

All in all, this thing is like 25 years old and still sounds great. Somehow the remote got lost while at the church but I never liked that thing anyways.

Pioneer VSX-9500S
I bought this unit new in 1990 and have used it extensively over the last 23 years. Now that I'm retired, it's in use almost every day all day long. I have recently paired it with an NAD C316BEE integrated amplifier and a Niles speaker selector to get the power I need for 4 sets of speakers in other rooms and outdoors.
The sound is still great and the only thing that doesn't work is the remote volume control. If I decide to get that fixed, it will be the first time that the unit has ever been in the shop.
Excellent quality and durability.

The first receiver that I bought after I got my first good paying job was the VSx9500S. I used it every day for about 20 years, and I never had a any problems. I had it hooked up to a pair of 10" Cerwin Vegas and the 125 watts were plenty. The sound quality was always excellent, minimal distortion even when I started turning up the volume. I always loved the huge display, maybe not the easiest to figure out but once you read the instructions a few times it will be a nice feature. At first sight all the buttons may persuade a buyer that this may be far to complicated but each button has only one function so it's actually more easier then expected. I was very sad about 5 years ago when it gave up. I was able to find on the net for $100, then I found another one for $200. You can't find a happier person now. These receivers are of the highest quality and if you can find one grab it, and if you don't want it I'll buy another one.

Having been an audiophile for many years i have always overlooked receivers that are not silverfaced and built after 1980 but i picked this badboy up at an auction for 100 dollars with matching cd player in pristine condition so i figured i would give it a try so i pluged it in to my bose 901's and was blown away by the power and clarity of this 45 pound beast even with the power hungry bose running off them needless to say i have found a new heart for my main listening system. If you find one working for under 300 buy it or i will!

power and versitility unmatched for its age.

none considering

Love it. so versitile and powerfull. bought to power my 901's and it does that and then some.

Similar Products Used:

yamaha,bose,polk

I stumbled on these Pioneer reviews and couldnt resist tossing my 2 cents into the mix. I bought my vsx9500s in the spring of 1990 as a floor model and it was the last unit in the store because I think it was a 1989 model. 14 years later, it still is in use, and I've never had a single problem with the receiver. I had the 100watt/channel model previously, and the extra power of this unit(125xchannel)made a difference in sound quality in my Cerwin Vega D-9s.(BTW, those are still in service today too) There is no substitute for quality power(lots of it)to get the most out of a big pair of loudspeakers. What a great unit!! Unfortunately, it will soon be put into retirement. After recently purchasing a bigscreen HDTV, I have been catching up on modern technology, and plan to replace it very soon with a comperable 7 channel receiver that has all the modern bells and whistles for theater sound. FYI, it isnt for sale. I'm going to hang onto it incase I ever need a backup system in the future.