Excellent Dolby Digital and DTS performance, superb power and stability with lower impedance loads, unbelievable price/performance ratio

Sucky remote

I've had this receiver for over 4 years now, and I had to write this review. This thing is bullet proof - I've driven it with 4 ohm speakers, it doesn't complain or shut down. I drive it with 6 ohm speakers all around, no problems in 5.1 DD and DTS modes at wall shaking volumes. I use both optical inputs for my HDTV Motorola Cable box & Samsung HDMI DVD, and Sound quality is excellent for a product of this price. I use a second Pioneer amplifier for a home-built isobaric ported subwoofer with JBL drivers, so the VSX-409D only powers my left/right, centers, and surrounds. It does so extremely well, and if you use a powered sub you will be pretty amazed at how well this thing performs. Movies in DD/DTS are incredible, I can't tell you how many people are totally zonked that I spent so little on this receiver but have such incredible, clean sound. I'm primarily a home theater guy, but music sounds fine also to my tin ears. Okay, the remote does kind of suck, but for this price get a freakin' universal already and quit whining. ;) If you can find one left on Ebay and want something super cheap that sounds great, you can't go wrong.

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You name it, I've tried it - used to work in the industry and have been an amateur "DIY" loudspeaker designer for last 25 years.

none

no S-video, poor surround sound. short component life.

use less than 3 years and it died(no completely though), no any sound out from tuner, vcr, analog DVD/CD, from digital DVD, it still have a little sound, volume can not be changed, I guess the analog amp died. Not much used, poor quality.

Distortion is very low. No matter how many times I play back Saving Private Ryan, the amp will not distort. Even if the level of Dbs is set to -16 (0 is max power) it remains claritable. Features many hookups for mutiple sources, such as for video games, Vcrs,etc. It also has 5 DSP modes for Dobly Pro Logic, and 6 for the factory DSP. It also holds many channel settings such as VCR/DVR, DVD/LD, and a few others. Recommend high build speakers, or this amp will blow it right away. Offers 6 through 16 Ohms

Does not provide connections for a S-Video input. Disadvantage for use with tvs that provide this feature. And it does not support an optical out, for cdr-burning devices. Remote control is fairly small, and very hard to use in the dark. Also, the speaker terminals are handy for 16 guage wire and up, it is kind of hard to stick anything below than number to fit anything in it. You see instead of the screw terminals, it has the clip version. It Also has a RCA input protection system, which will prevent it from having shorts when you accidentally cross 2 or more RCA jacks in hookup. But when this happens, you have to wait an hour or two for a input jack to work properly again,but at least it is not blown for eternity. Of course it also features the circuit protection against shorts form crossing 2 or more parrallel wire. Don't try it against lighting tough.

Basically, this amplifier was worth my money, with 500 watts of sound, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic, and DTS with 2 optical inputs and 1 digital coaxial input!? This thing is very very hard to distort, less than .07% THD. Also the name brand, Pioneer, you have to spend twice as much on other offers. Even though its build is kind of old, this amplifier is very capable of handling high wattage applications. I have over 25, 75 watt speakers hooked in to this thing. I just know it was a great buy.

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My uncle gave me an 16 year old JVC AX-44 amplifier, so when I got this it was a big step for me. I have relatives who have receivers just like mine, but they paid over 350 dollars for them! One of th

Price, 2Optical, 1 coax.100w x 5 chan

Remote, Surround Speaker output could be better.

This is a good system if you know how to setup a hometheater it out performs more expensive Sony''s Kenwood''s but provides poorer quality than JVC''s. If you cannot properly hookup a home theater this receiver will sound awful. It needs alot more tinkering than Sony''s and Panasonic units but can give much better sound especially with quality speakers. For the price it''s great

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Sony, Kenwood, JVC, Panasonic, Maranatz, Pioneer Elite

cheap with DD/DTS.

Sound quality is terrible compare to my Denon 4802. I know 4802 cost 10 times than it.

You get what you paid. If you are serious of HT and willing to pay $1000 for speakers, avoid it.

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Denon 4802

Great sound, nice DSP's, lots of tweaking options, universal remote, midnight mode, can adjust sound level from each speaker (unlike JVC), very dynamic sound with no hissing, lots of connections, you can dim the display (this makes a big difference at night).

uses clips at the back for attaching speaker wire, but so what? You shouldn't care unless you're an Audiophile.

I went and bought the JVC 6000VBK and it is THE WORST PIECE OF TRASH EVER!!!!! My T.V. speakers sounded better! I returned the JVC and ended up getting the Pioneer (I probably should have in the first place considering I have a Pioneer DVD Player as well, foolish am I), WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! Listening to Mortal Kombat was so much better than the JVC I was about to start crying! I popped in Independence Day and went to the first attack scene. The seperation of the channels is so smooth. You actually here the sounds moving from one channel to another (Unlike the JVC where you would hear it in one channel and then here it out of another channel. Bass effects are so smooth, and the sound is so dynamic it seems like the sound is coming from all around you. This reciever is great for the casual listener or audio enthusiast just entering the Dolby Digital and DTS reciever market. Go pick this up immediately. You've been warned not to get the JVC.

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JVC 6000VBK (worst reciever ever, I am ashamed of myself for choosing this over the Pioneer before).

DTS and DD Decoder! At this price! Came with 100 watt SW and Great Speakers!

The remote control! its sucks but U can buy a better one.

Man this system is really cool for $398 plus tax. It came with a Sub woofer and Speakers! I turn this baby up and my whole house moves! I boght a DVD player too and I was watching Saving Privete Ryan and man I had to look and see it i was really getting shot at! Very good piece of equitment, the only thing wrong with it is that damn remote its small and confusing but everything else is good.

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Sony and Rca

has dolby digital and DTS decoders, low price, decent power (5x100 watts)

bad remote, no direct input selection from remote, so-so display, slightly awkward surround mode selection

With the Kenwood 309 receiver being difficult to find in my area (most dealers said it was discontinued) my options in the same price range were limited. The yamaha units were more costly for the DD/DTS capable models and they tend to have a somewhat dull top-end.

Having read the positive reviews for the higher Pioneer model - the VSX-D608, I gave this unit a shot. Both of these receivers have the same amplifiers and decoders with the only real differences being in extra features like s-video switching and a fancier remote.

Soundwise, this unit is quite solid for regular 2 channel music listening as well as for full movie surround. The bass performance is quite solid with a powered subwoofer and setting up the various options for bass management, speaker distances, and speaker levels is all fairly easy. There is no onscreen display but it does give adequate feedback on the units own display. Overall the unit delivers a smooth sound with no apparent shortcomings. Changing between the various modes is a tad clumsy as you must cycle between the various silly modes like "jazz club" and "stadium". I have no interest in these modes so I won't comment on their effectiveness. For straight DD or DTS, the quality is excellent.

The remote is lousy to say the least. It uses the exact same casing as the Toshiba 2109 DVD player and the buttons are almost all the same with a less than satisfactory feel. Adjusting volume is fine as it is divided into 1dB increments. The remote doesn't have direct input selection so you have to cycle through the entire list to change to the desired one.

The crappy remote aside, this unit delivers excellent sound at a very low price. There are some missing frills but I personally don't have any interest in them.

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various

Price and options

Outdated Remote

To be quite honest, I'm stunned at just how good this unit is. I was not expecting this kind of performance from a 300 dollar unit. I have it coupled to my Pioneer 525 DVD and could not be happier. A truly welcome suprise. I also do not have any problem with hiss using the 2 channels on the tuner. I have no problems recomending this unit to anyone looking for a inexpensive reciever.

easy to use sounds good in dd surround

when played on 2 channel music the left channel has a terrible hiss ......

good for surround only just to much hiss for 2 channel

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pioneer vsx-498