All in all a very good product. One important issue: It only decodes DTS Surround sound. You can't decode DTS audio cd's. With DOLBY DIGITAL 5.1 everything is fine.

Better than your average HTIB receiver.

Poor performance with music and DD5.1, although the DSP modes are nice.

This is a good entry-level receiver because of it's price/performance ratio. After I got my Denon AVR3802, I hear stuff in DD 5.1 that I've never hear with the Pioneer. I'm not talking about a nuance here and there, but I'm actually hearing 40% more sound from the fronts and surrounds with the Denon. The music performance on this receiver is what you would expect from spending $199 at Costco. Very harsh, bright, limited soundstage, and muddy. My 35wt Teac minisystem receiver performs on par with this Pioneer.

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Denon AVR3802 Paradigm Monitor 11s Boston Acoustics VRM-50s Infinity Micros

EVERYTHING!

NONE!

WOW, this is one awesome receiver. The sound is Incredible with 5.1 & DTS. Sound is cristal clear and has lots of power for the price payed. Never once, had I had an overheating problem. If you have a plain dolby prologic receiver and would like to upgrade, this is a great receiver to start with. You can tell the difference between night and day.

Boufgt for dvd movies this is a great reciever for the money. So so for music. although this is more due to using sattelites and a powered sub. I use enrgy take 2's and a paradim 100 watt powered sub. Lots of options to tweak and enough juice to properly drive 100 watt speakers. DD and DTS movies sound great, crossover for your sub, and too many other features found in more expensive amps included. Great buy for anyone on a budget or not.

LOVE the learning remote. Fairly clean sound and decent power.

Build quality. died for no apparent reason after less than 2 years.

Sounded great for a $250 receiver...until it died. Didn't expect to shop for a receiver for another 3-4 years, but off I go...

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Kenwood (which i'll probably buy now), Sony, Yamaha, Onkyo

features. Budget price.

Power output. Digital decoding

Have owned a Yamaha DSPa-1000 for a few years and decided to move upto digital sound. Couldnt justify price for Yamaha equip I wanted, so looked for a good performing equivilent. At first I thought this was a great buy, sound was good, full of features etc at a good $699NZD ($300.00 USD) price. Unfortunately I noticed that DD 5.1 sound on DVD was poor compared to DTS. Had to crank this unit up to -35db atleast for decent sound.This unit cuts out around -25db to give you an idea. My Yamaha had RMS 100w output and I couldnt listen to movies over about 1/3 volume without waking the kids or annoying the neigbours. Now I struggle to wake the kids before the amp overloads. features wise the unit seems great, however I have some serious doubts about its digital decoding and even more serious doubts about its continuous RMS output to all speakers under action scenes or music playback. Be wary, I wish I could afford the new Yamaha gear these day's. Used to blow friends away with pure audio delight and weight in the past,now they dont even blink an eyelid...atleast not until the thing cuts-out after 30 seconds. Im seriously considering plugging my dspa prologic amp back in and forgetting the digital sound!!

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Yamaha DSPA-1000

Would rate 6 stars if could! So many inputs, so few components! :-( Awesome Dolby and DTS signal processing, crystal clear sound in all modes, awesome DSP, loudness, and midnight modes, TRULY AMAZING remote control, more features and functions than ANYTHING in the price range

No S-Video switching (requires additional $20 investment)

This is the best receiver on the market for the money. I auditioned DOZENS of systems at BestBuy, Circuit City, Sears, and at home (pretty much EVERY Sony; Technics 940 and 950; JVC''s 6008, 6010, 7010; Oknyo''s TX-DS494, that crappy Panasonic). No other receiver on the market gives you 4 S-Video ins and 1 out, 5.1 channel direct input, 2 optical ins and 1 out, plus all the standard RCA ins and outs AND a digital coax in. You could manage a freakin aircraft carrier out of the back of this thing! Only flaw I''ve found: no S-Video switching. It has the ins and outs, but it won''t choose, or "switch" between S and RCA signals. Basically, if you want to use S-Video for ANY component, and your TV doesn''t have built in S-video switching (few do), then you have to use S-Video connections for ALL components. My VCR doesn''t have an S-video out, so I had to enlist an RCA to S-video adapter from Radio Shack for $20. I recommend doing that and using S-Video, TOS-Link optical and digital coax for EVERYTHING: sounds tight! And speaking of Dolby Digital: WOW! Like I said, I demoed other units. Even the JVC and Sony models that I brought home didn''t push my system anywhere near this well (2 Pioneer CS-G205 floor speakers and JBL''s Trio 135 surroung package: no sub required with the big Pioneers). Remember, watts per channel doesn''t equal LOUD necessarily: it equals sound clarity. At 100 watts RMS, as another reviewer pointed out, is closer to 140 watts continuous: in DD and DTS, the sound is incredible! Much clearer than the garbled Sony put out. And LOUDNESS! Forget about it. You can''t be in the same room at -28Db (that''s as far as I''ve pushed it). MIDNIGHT mode is really cool: sound stays consitent and clear at low volume (but DON''T forget that you left it on and then crank the beast up: one-way ticket to OVERLOAD city!). And Dolby Pro Logic! When I listen to digital stereo sources (digital cable, CDs), sounds JUST AS GOOD as DD/DTS! And then there''s the remote. I programed in my Toshiba SD2800, my Sony VCR, and my Scientific Atlanta digital cable box - it learned EVERY button on the first pass. And look how cheap! It a great deal even under $300 (closest comparable model is JVC 7010, at about $350 new and nowhere near the KICK). I was impressed enough to get one from CameraClub.com for $260 + shipping, when bammo! I find one BRAND NEW on eBay for $140! Yo

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Demoed 4 Sony''s, 2 Technics, 3 JVCs, and 1 onkyo -- all with DTS (see summary). 1 Kenwood, in college, with Dolby Pro Logic.

Again, power with out the price! Supports S-video. Can completely adjust volume on all channels including sub, from remote. ** remembers settings from each type of input. If you have settings from DVD for the rear channels to be +10DB but in prologic +5, it knows!! - Very cool!

so-so prologic output.

Incredible 5.1 & DTS sound. Prologic is so-so. Really can''t hear rear channels to much in pro-logic. I bought this unit for the Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS capabilities. This baby is awesome for the price. When you use coax input from DVD player you think your at the movies. Speakers used are Model-88 JBL fronts (paper suround-18yrs old). RCA center & rears & KLH 12" sub. VERY happy with its performance.

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Kenwood 8040 Prologic reciever. Stereo 100x2, Prologic surround 65x3,20x2. THD .02%

Excellent sound. My old Bose Interaudio (front-firing) speakers have never sounded so good, and my previous receiver was a non-digital Pioneer Elite. I don''t play my music, TV, and Films at super-high levels, so I''m more than satisfied with the performance of this unit. At somewhat loud levels, my smallish living room shakes from the bass on a good DVD movie, and that''s without boosting the bass level or having a sub-woofer. I''m able to accommodate CD, DVD, Cassette, Tivo, and VCR, and still have the front A/V inputs free. Midnight mode very good. Universal remote has reasonably complete feature set. I''m glad I finally got around to hooking this baby up :>

No Phono Input. From reading other reviews, it appears that you should not own this unit if you want to drive it very hard, power-wise. I''ve had no problems at normal to moderately loud levels.

Very good sound with DTS and Dolby Digital. Tuner and CD inputs appear very good. Artificial surround effects typically useless - leave ''em off. Relatively straghtforward hook-up, if you take the time to read and understand the manual. Took a few hours over a couple of days to tweak the unit for personal preferences.

LEARNING REMOTE CONTROL / CLARITY OF SOUND / DESIGN

SURROUND CHANNELS NEED MORE PUNCH

THE VSX-509S IS SIMPLE IN DESIGN AND OFFERS A BROAD ARRAY OF FEATURES. THE UNIVERSAL REMOTE CONTROL IS EASY TO PROGRAM AND USE FOR ALL YOUR COMPONENTS. HOWEVER, THE LACK OF POWER DISTRIBUTED TO THE SURROUND CHANNELS SOMEWHAT DIMINISHES THE APPEAL. FOR THE MONEY, YOU CAN'T BEAT THE QUALITY OF FEATURES AND SOUND OF THIS UNIT. (RECOMMENDED BUY)

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AWAI, YAMAHA,