s-video switching

spare instruction manual; universal remote will not recognize my old Sony CD player

I'm using this receiver with Energy Take 5's and a Pioneer 525 DVD player. I'm impressed with its clarity and warmth. Build quality seems good and its power is adequate for my needs and small living room.

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none

I've paired the VSX-21 with the TAKE 5 speakers. I also used Sony DVP-S530D as my DVD player. This is my first home theatre system so I may not know much about it. But I'm very satisfied with the receiver. It produces an excellent sound quality. The AC-3 is great but DTS is even better!! I've tried some DTS DVDs and it sounds even better than the sound system in some cinemas. One of the reason I choose this model is because of its abundant S-video inputs. I use S-video for my DVDs and Sony playstation, and I still have available S-video inputs if I want to upgrade my VCR or other systems. I bought it from Uncle Stereo for $450 including shipping. I had a nice experience buying from them. As a beginner in audio system, I would recommend this model for anybody who may not ready to spend $1500 or more for a reciever.

I replaced my Sony STR-D711 prologic receiver with this one and I could immediately tell the difference. I know that with digital audio and a better receiver that I should be able to tell a difference regardless, but when I popped in a DVD and the THX sound check played, I starting laughing I was so happy. The harrier jet scene from True Lies, the shuttle liftoff scene from Armeggedeon, and the 'I'm okay to go' scene from Contact were all FANTASTIC! It took me about an hour to set the surround sound settings to my liking - but most of that was just expreimentation with things I normally wouldn't have touched.
FANTASTIC RECEIVER.

Lots of inputs and outputs

remote blows

Off the hook for 125$. this msrp 650$ reciever is great for my dorm room. plenty of output to all speakers and sub. i hate the remote, but i purchased the sony touch screen remote to replace it. pretty design for a pioneer. cant ask for more at 125$.

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jvc pos reciever

good sound,lots of in-and output's

maybe the control....

In this price range the best receiver you can get. 80Watt is enough power if you have a small living room.
My living room is only 6 meters x 5 meters and sometimes the walls can barely hold the roof because of "earthquake- like" soundwaves.

:)

System I use:

TV :Pioneer SD-P62A5-K 62"
VCR: Samsung SV-5000W
AVReceiver: Pioneer Elite VSX-21
DVD:Pioneer Elite DV-37
Front: Wharfedale MFM-5
Rear: JBL S38
Center: JBL N-Center (will be replaced...)
Subwoofer: JBL PB-12 (250 Watt)

A lot of features for the price

Poor reliability, hard to program specific elements, poor power output with DVD player

The Pioneer was my first full A/V receiver. Worked pretty good out of the box, however the audio power from my DVD player was weak. It automatically either chooses digital inputs for each component or you have to use specific inputs (which limits the value of the digital inputs).

Biggest problem started a few months ago when it started dropping my satellite digital input. Then a couple of weeks ago, it started using the digital satellite audio for the DVD (this worked fine for year prior). Couldn't get it to work correctly again. Got the Denon a few days ago, and now I can see (and hear) the difference in audio quality, programability, and quality of components.

Won't miss the Pioneer...and considering the fact that it went south in a little over a year, I can't recommend it to anyone else either.

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Denon AVR-2802

Easy to use, good looking, adequate power

Tuner

Before purchasing my Pioneer, I was using separates. After purchasing a DVD player, I decided to make a theater system. My Adcom preamp, although great for music, didn't offer much room for growth. I kept my B&K amp, which drives my front speakers and I have been very happy. Many people would like more power, but since I live in a small condo, the 80 watts per channel are more than adequate.

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Adcom preamp, Sony Reciever

Crisp sound, high quality, many options

No weakness for a medium sized room. (my room = 15'x15')

Great sounding amplifier. I never had any power problems at any range, because I use efficient bookshelf speakers made by Triangle, which are recommended by Stereophile. When you put in a DVD with DTS you will see the DTS light, and 5 other lights, representing the speakers, come on on the front panel. If the DVD doesn't have DTS, the DTS light will shut off. With or without DTS, this amplifier impressed me with its clarity, natural sound, and effortless presentation. There was no harshness and it didn't fatigue me. The 80 watts/channel are very sufficient for a medium sized room, and the surround sound envelopes you. I was very luck to see 6th Avenue's grand opening; buying this great amp at a bargain price was icing on the cake.

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JVC, Nakamichi

Incredible!

I had been reasonably satisfied with my vintage Klein & Hummel stereo amplifier which I was running through Goodmans of England tri-axial speakers. However, the amplifier died recently so I had to find something which could potentially last for a number of years and let me take advantage of new technology. I also have a computer based home recording studio with Event Electronics 20.20 bi-amplified speakers (200 watts each speaker cabinet) and I wanted to be able to incorporate them into my setup. Consequently, I wanted an A/V receiver with 6 pre-outs (I will add a powered sub-woofer before too long, and wanted the flexibility to add further powered speakers, or another amplifier with speakers to any of the 6 channels). In addition, I wanted 6 channel input (for when DVD-Audio & SACD arrives), digital inputs and outputs, Dolby Digital, DTS, S Video inputs & outputs, and to not be overly expensive. I researched most of the major manufacturers and the Pioneer Elite VSX-21 was the only one with all of those features within the range of around $1,000.00 Canadian. There are a number of good units available from other manufacturers but they either lacked a digital output, or did not have 6 pre-outs etc.I considered the VSX-24 which has 24 bit/96khz converters (as opposed to the 20 bit converters on the VSX-21), and an additional 10 watts per channel. However, when I listened to the two of them side by side through $4,500.00 speakers, it was very difficult to discern any significant difference at all. Furthermore, when I brought in my Audio-Technica ATH-M40fs headphones along with a couple of CD's, I actually preferred the sound of the VSX-21. For some reason, it produced a more pronounced bottom end response (with full bass & Loudness on) than the VSX-24. The only other readily identified difference was that you had to turn the VSX-21 up further to get the same volume level, and possibly there was slightly more detail in the VSX-24 (but that may have only been due to my subjective expectations). As the VSX-21 produced all the power that I required and was about $450 cheaper, I decided to go for that unit (the VSX-21 lacks a phono input, but as I haven't listened to any of my records for about a decade, I thought I could live without that).
I found the audio quality for playing two channel music (CD's & FM) is excellent on the VSX-21. However, when I played a video (Soldier) last night with Dolby Surround and lots of special effects the sound was spectacular - very rich, detailed, clear, and with unbelievable bottom end - and that was without a subwoofer. It was better than some theatres I have been in. I'm looking forward to seeing & hearing movies on DVD with Dolby Digital or DTS, although I likely won't buy a DVD player until DVD-Audio is encorporated.

I had shopped around quite a bit and was able to find the VSX-21 at a small retail outlet for $693.00 Canadian, which was between $100-200.00 below what some other stores were asking.