I bought my receiver used on E-Bay. It came with a remote but it was for a different receiver. I bought a owners guide online and tried to set up the unit for my HT room. With out the proper remote, it is hard to adjust all of the features especially the subwoffer. I am unable to adjust most of the features on the unit, I am dissapointed that so many features depend on the remote control.

Very easy to set up, sounds great, and looks nice

I guess I payed more for the receiver than some others here(~$600) but I am very happy with this receiver. Nice power, great sound.
I would happily purchase it again

Great receiver. Has lots of inputs and outputs. Sound is great and isn't distorted. The price is hefty for a Pioneer, but it has lots of great features. One overlooked thing about this receiver is it's remote. The remote is easy to use and comfortable. There are better receivers for $100 more, so I won't give this five stars.

I must say this reciever is nice. I picked one up for $600.00 dollars and I must say it kick's butt. This reciever is what I call a sleeper you don't hearmuch about it I think it get's overshadowed by it's big brother the VSX-07 elite
THX model. I will say that this unit does not have all the bell's and whistels
that say sony es model's have(or any other sony junk) but to me that tell's me that maybe jusy maybe they spent more time putting there energy into what really count's performance on things that count. This reciever has one thing thou that a lot of pricey reciever's dont have and that is T.H.X. Certification.
Some people may say no it's not it only has RE-EQ but read the fine print it is
THX certified and to me that means they spent some time putting good gut's inside and not making it look like monster unit with no soul.


Ray Dodson who can't get enough!

Actually, it is not truely THX certified. The Re-Eq must be authorized by Lucasfilm, so that's what is really is. Another thing about this receiver, the finish looks incredible. It blends perfectly with my NHT speakers(they have hi-gloss cabinets).

When I decided to update from my DPL reciever, I looked at lots of things Icouldn't afford and lots of things in the 500 to 800 price range. Out of all
of the units I listened to(denon, yamaha, technics, sony) this one had the
cleanest sound for the price. The construction is great as well. The Urushi
finish is awesome and the fact that it has binding posts for all the speakers
is great! It needs more Digital inputs, but, other than that, it's the best
A/V reciever that I've listened to in this price range. Sure, you can get
better, but, at a much higher cost. I'm quite impressed. I'd give it
a five if it had more Digital inputs. As it is, a 4.5 is the best I can
see clear to giving :)

I recently purchased this receiver as the first step in re-building my home theatre system. I got a great deal on a demo unit ($360!) and I couldn't pass it up. That's half the price of any comparable receiver. I must admit I didn't do a lot of comparison shopping, but I did listen to a few of the Yamaha's, including one with DTS and thought it sounded slightly better (of course it was 3 times the price). I've since purchased a ton of other stuff including a brand new pair of PSB Stratus Goldi's. They are rated at 4 ohms, but the receiver seems to be handling them quite well. The sound is very good, and the receiver doesn't seem to do too much to draw unneeded attention to itself. Overall I am very happy with my purchase, but I too wish it had a few more inputs/features. Perhaps S-video switching or evern DTS, but it packs a lot of punch for the price I paid. Also the speaker terminals can't securely accept spades or pins, just bare wire or bannana plugs, but that is still a step-up over most other receivers. I am going to try and listen to the new VSX-D608 to see how it compares sound wise, 'cause it has DTS and tons of inputs. My guess is I'll be glad I got the Elite. If you can get one at anywhere near the price I paid, buy it! One more thing, Dolby Digital is WAY better than Pro-Logic, I love the sound coming from my DVD's!

I wish I could have afforded the Elite VSX-09TX model. But, I got the VSX-14 for a pretty good price and it was worth it. It had the best sound of any reciever I listened to. The 500 watt amp really puts out a lot of kick. I hardly turn the volume up over half way. The dolby digital is amazing too. I love the remote. Its easy to use and it does just about anything I'd need it to do. That's the only one I use now. The on-screen GUI is'nt anything special to look at, it's not even in color, but it is very helpful with set up and adjustments. I too wish it had more bells and whistles, but I also apreciate the simplicity of use and the elegance of it with that urishi finish. I don't really care if it has all the features of a high-end sony, as long as the engineers put the effort into what really counts, the sound. I got the Elite after an unfortunate accident with my old pioneer, which I had for about 4 years. I don't miss the old one at all now or the pioneer reciever I had before that, which I had for about 10 years. I own a 20 year old pioneer turntable that still runs like a charm. I've always had good experience with pioneer products.

I started building my home entertainment center 15 months
ago. I began with an existing small tv and added a dolby digital satellite receiver. After the purchase of a Sony
rear projection television I naturally thought of an A/V
receiver. A local high end dealer had a year end sale and I
bought the VSX-14 floor model for 500.00 in Jan 99. I knew
little or nothing of A/V specs or even what I was looking for but I got a gem! Nice looking and plenty of power and smooth, clean sound. We use ours mostly for TV and DVD palyback and it does the job with aplomb. If you can still find one of these out there then go for it as it will be a
bargain as I do think this model is now discontinued. New
pioneer models no doubt have more than one toslink digital
input but I think the VSX-14 was one of Pioneers first elite
series receivers.

Bangup piece of hardware. I note many of th3e reveiwers
got a "GANGA" of a deal as the receiver is an old model.
It may be an older model digital A/V receiver but it still
would be well worth full retail if you had to pay it.
FIVE STARS!

I first listened to Yamaha versus Denon (75 watt models). Didn't like the Yamaha's bright or even shrill highs. I was almost all set to purchase the Denon which was being offered for a ridiculously low price, but just for kicks, I compared the Denon to the Elite. No competition for the Elite; even tried comparing the more expensive 2700 and the Elite just sounded richer, fatter, warmer. HT said the 2700 is more transparent than the Elite, which is probably true. The highs on the Elite are a little rolled off (or laid-back) which hurts imaging a little bit but that can easily be compensated for with slightly bright speakers or even cables. For comparison, I compared the best receiver they had in the store, the B&K 202 ($2500) and surprisingly I liked the Elite sound better. The B&K sounded thin by comparison although it was probably a little smoother. Obviously, this is a personal preference. I ran NHT 2.5 and Energy C-8's with this receiver and they both just sounded fantastic. I agree with others that this should have more inputs so I would give it a four to four and a half stars for that, but for the price I paid (fraction of list) I have to give it five stars.