Ok power and lots of features including component video switching and s video. 7.1 speaker inputs, and fairly better remote than competetors at price range. Has a fan.

Has to be turned up quite a bit to gain the power wanted, Takes a while to get set to your own preferences (some people like all the features though)

This receiver is a very well rounded receiver. It has plenty of features and a bit of power the only bad thing is you have to turn it up quit a bit to get the power. And for those of you saying it runs hot, it does have a bit smaller heatsink then any Harman Kardon or Onkyo in its price rang but i noticed after i brought it home it had a fan in it that kicks on after turning it up about half way. Also I have let this stereo run for like hours to half hours constant and it would barely be warm.

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Technics SA-EX 140, Jensen powerhouses.

Price, inputs, and features

Poorly reliability with two dead units in less than one year! Only satisfactory sound quality, although in its price range it is probably about average.

I got a great deal on this unit for next to nothing from Circuit City. As a temporary system, I purchased a Polk surround sound speaker package for which they were giving away a ($299) Pioneer 711. Since the 711 was out of stock, they allowed me to pay $100 more for the 811. I took the whole system home, hooked everything up and turned it on. The sound, a tremendously loud POP then nothing. I checked all connections and they are fine. Try again from a different source, again a tremendously loud POP and nothing. Since these were new speakers, I tried the 811 with an old set of Bose speakers with the same result. However, this time the 811 started to smoke! I looked like someone placed a fog machine in my den. I produced a tremendous amount of white smoke with a terrible odor. Well, back to CC, pissed off for the inconvenience as well as now possible damage to the Polk speakers and my older Bose speakers. CC tells me they don't have any more of the Polk speakers and only one more 811. Because of the problems and potential damage to my speakers the send me home with another new 811 for only $100. So, I end up buying a Klipsch RF3II speaker system and continue to use the 811 until I can buy a better receiver. Well, this ends up being about 10 months. The sound isn't bad and for general use it is okay. It certainly isn't a great sounding receiver but it is acceptable for its price (meaning even the CC $399 price). However, it doesn't have the greatest design and the remote is not the most useful thing. Nevertheless, I'm watching TV the other night (nothing loud just some general sitcom) only to have the sound stop. Well, after checking all inputs, it seems that the amp is simply dead. All functions seem to work, but no sound from any channel from any source. To me, this is a very bad showing for this receiver. Having had two bad units within 10 months of each other does not lend any degree of confidence. As this thing was essentially free and it wasn’t great to begin with I’m simply going to toss it without even bothering with CC any more. I’m thinking of replacing it with the new Denon 3803 or maybe the Onkyo 898.

Price is just about unbeatable for a receiver of this caliber. Sounds great, extremely compatible with everything.

1% total harmonic distortion.

Great receiver for the price. The guys that say it sounds bad must have gotten something defective, or not selected good settings. Although the THD is about as high as it gets on an HT receiver (1%), you will rarely if ever notice it unless you are a serious audiophile, or you have poorly constructed speakers. It has plenty of IO's, 6.1 speaker setup with the rear center splittable, and is compatible with just about anything you're likely to have in your home theater system. Lots of different DSP's so you can set the sound for each individual component just about any way you like.

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Kenwood VR405, Panasonic SA-HE100K

All new sound fields, lots of pre ins and outs. Clean looking face.

More power!!! or cleaner power. Backlight on the remote.

My old prologic Yama was getting to wornout for me. I started doing research for a new rig. I looked at the vsx-d811s, Yama 5560, Onkyo sr-600 and a few others by denon and kenwood. After doing some basic ear test on all of them at my local Best Buy, circuit city and tweeter I started to enjoy the Pioneer a lot more than all the others, and the price was on average 250$ less than any of the others. I search the web and found it for 297$+ 12 shipping. Got it 4 days later and hooked the bad boy up. My Cerwin vega sounded very nice in all modes. My 18" Definitive Tech sub shook the house in all the new sound fields. My only complaint is, it is lacking in the wattage department. So I hooked my old yama as a 3 channel amp for the rear 3 channels. After I did this the 811 has enough power the tick off the neighbors and make the cats hide under the bed. Great budget rig, save your money on the receiver and spend it on better speakers. When the receiver becomes out of date give it to a friend and buy another budget receiver. When your speakers become out of date, it will have been too many years of listening to sweet sound and you will most likely be deaf.

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Yamaha RX-V2090

Mellow sound (makes my Klipsch center not "blare"). Plenty of inputs for me. Price, price, price.

Runs very hot, give this thing some room to breathe. Without midnight mode, it sounds like garbage in s-stereo mode. Setup is fairly complex.

So far I am quite pleased with this receiver. I had a 5 channel sherwood previously (same advertised watt output) and this receiver makes my speakers sound quite a bit better. My infinity RS-4 surrounds finally sound as if they have some "guts". The S-Stereo mode of this receiver is fantastic. It splits to all channels very well and makes for an increadible sound. Midnight mode is recommended for better sound (default s-stereo is pretty weak guys). Overall I am pleased with the receiver for the amount paid. This is far from an audiophile quality unit, but for the price, you just can't knock what it offers.

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Sherwood.

Lots of connection options Lots of Decoding Options: DTS ES and NEO:6, Dolby Digital and Prologic II, Advanced Surround

Below average sound Horrible sounds when playing back VHS tapes Cruddy Manual Blah Remote

I thought I got a real deal when I found this open box item at Best Buy for $320. I thought it had all the decoding options and lots of connections. I got it home hooked it up and then the problems began. I tried watching a couple VHS movies and the cracking and popping that came out of the speakers was frightening. I tried my old receiver with the same tape and didn't have the same problem so I have to think it's the 811S causing the problems. I just hope this didn't harm my speakers. When I tried running my cd player through it, it sounded okay but lacked any omph! It was flat and dull and uninteresting. I tried all the surround modes, the loudness, and speaker settings and nothing seemed to help. I feel horrible giving this receiver such low ratings but if you heard what I heard coming out of my speakers, you'd feel the same way. Perhaps I had a bad unit and all the other units are better but I just cannot recommmed this receiver because of the VHS playback problems.

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Sherwood RD-7106 NAD C350 Yamaha 5450 Technics SA-GX690

Many A/V connections Programmable digital connections 6 channel stereo Programmable remote that can actually be programmed

NOT rated for less than 8 ohm speakers Initial Setup takes awhile

After listening and finally getting the unit set to my liking, the DTS-ES sounds incredible. I can hear sounds and effects in movies I've never heard before. Do your HT system right and get a SPL meter and a set-up DVD. It has more A/V connections than I have things to connect (which is rare). My main use for the unit is DVD, Satellite, and PS2. I have not listened to many CDs, but when I know that there is only 2 channel stereo, I switch to 6 speaker stereo setting and it is night and day. Recommended for the budget-minded HT system.

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Pioneer VSX-305

Pre-outs, 70+watts with all channels driven full range. DTS-es discrete, Dolby-EX, Pro-Logic2, DTS:Neo:6, Price!

Subwoofer Crossover only goes down to 100Hz.

I had 2 bad experiences with a JVC unit and a Sherwood unit last year, so I had thought that to really get good audio I would have to spend thousands. Boy was I wrong! Never the less, I did learn a lesson from my earlier experiences. I saw this Pioneer Unit that was still within my budget, yet had many features that no other receiver in this price category had. It has Dolby Digital-EX, DTS-ES discrete, Pro Logic2, DTS Neo:6, 100Watts per channel… what more could I ask for the price? So I did my research before I went out and got it. Sure enough everyone loved it. In tests, it scored over 70watts per channel with all channels driven… While that might still seem like a big drop from the advertised 100watts per channel, the other receivers in this price range such as the onkyo dipped down to ~35watts per channel in the same test! No other receiver on the market in this price range has so many features while still being able to put out so much power. This is really a great receiver. It has all kinds of extra things that are actually useful also. It supports dual rear centers (similar to 7.1, except they both put out the same thing) the reason for this is that down the center plane, humans loose their ability to tell the difference between sounds coming from the front and sounds coming from the back. With dual backs, you don’t confuse the center channel with the rears, genius! Also, the loudness and the Midnight modes really help at the right times. Also, the built in protection circuit saves my ass when I accidentally mixed up some wires and was feeding back a 0 ohm load on one of the circuits. Another thing this receiver has that is awesome is pre-out jacks for all channels. That way when you out grow the built in amp, you can add external amps. Perfection.

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Denon PMA-560, Pioneer VSX-4900S, Pioneer SX-780, Fisher RS-1050, etc.

Facilities and functionality

The processors and built in Malaysia. How long will this last???

I was amazed at the features available on this receiver for $400. It had everything I wanted, especially dolby prologic II and six channel stereo. I checked around and found the lowest price $299.99 (with the warranty ) at B& H Photo. Circuit City has it for $400 (list price), but wouldn't negotiate on the price so I said forget them. Well two things stood out right away when i picked it up. One, it was practically weighless, not a good sign for a receiver. Two, the box said made it Malaysia. I didnt even know that they had high tech up to date manufacturing facilities in Malaysia, with reliable Quality Assurance standards. When I got home and took it out of the box things continued to slide downhill. It was shiny and bright but built of all plastic and really had a cheap air about it. Like a Yugo. Hook up and installation was easy with a fair amount of input and outputs including 7.1 channel inputs and 6.1 channel pre outs. Facilities and functionality are excellent for a receiver at this price range. I hooked it up to my basement home theater system in place of a Sont STR DA-777 es Receiver. Egads! What was that coming from ny AR-50s speakers. This things processors are the worst Ive ever heard. Forget all the fancy facilties and inputs and outputs,the guts of this thing are weak. Yes, even in 6 channel stereo and Dolby prologic II the processors on this receiver are fair at best. This was not a keeper and was returned to the store within six days.

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Currently running a Sony STR DA ES 777 and a Technics SA -DA10. Both of which have been excellent sounding and reliable receivers.

dts-es and dolby digital ex 6 channel stereo price

none

had this receiver for about 2months now.6.1 is the way to go.dts-es is awesome on here.pop in the haunting on dts and you will never turn back.brings 5.1 movies to new heights and the 6-channel stereo never made your cd collection sound better.

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sony 845