Discuss Are there any Pioneer receiver owners here? in the Home Theater - Audio / Video forum. hyghwayman wrote:
1. What model do you have? 2. What are your likes/dis-likes of your receiver? 3. How many Pio ...
1. What model do you have? 2. What are your likes/dis-likes of your receiver? 3. How many Pio receivers have you owned and have you ever owned different brands before going to Pioneer?
Here are my comments:
Current receiver: VSX-919AH
Likes:
Very good sound
Lots of features for the money
7.1 channel input
Display can be dimmed all the way to off with only volume showing
Advanced MCACC with 9 band EQ'ing
Lots of crossover point choices on the LFE
Dislikes:
Not quite enough power for my 7.1 DIY speakers, leading to constant running of:
That fan, that fan, that irritating FAN!!!
No EQ on the LFE out
No lighted buttons on remote
No S-Video inputs, but that's a really minor one
LFE out cannot drive a pro amp well without external boosting
Previous receiver was an ancient Kenwood Pro-Logic. It blows that old beast away, as well it should. Next will be a Denon if I go with another receiver... I may go for Emotiva separates instead. I really can't complain too hard about the 919 - it's a very good unit for the money. I just need more continuous power for my speakers than it can give me. MCACC always wants to set my speakers to "large", and it just doesn't have the guts to drive them like that at decent volumes without spinning that fan all the time. And sorry to say it, but that fan is too annoying in room to let it run during quiet passages.
That said, my speakers only get down to 40Hz anyway with any kind of volume, so I have them at small and crossed over at 80Hz. That keeps the fan from running too often as well.
I bought a Pioneer SC-27 Elite about 4 months ago now and I could not be more pleased. I looked at a lot of different brands Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo, Marantz, but the Pioneer won out. I have owned Denon and Onkyo in the past,(my last one was a onkyo.) I have owned 4 Onkyo's in the past and I always seemed to have a heat problem with all of them. The last one I had after just under 2 years would turn off after about an hour of use. Once it had time to cool down it would work fine again until it heated up again. The others all ran hot, but not as hot as this one did.
I had no problems with the Denon, I was just never really happy with the sound I got from it. It is hard to explain as I am not an expert as many on here are. I can only say it sounded kind of muddy from the day I hooked it up.
Once installed the SC-27 has been a pure joy to listen to be it in movie mode or music. 7.1 or stereo, it sounds far superior to anything I have owned in the past, and heat is a non issue with the ICE amps they use in them. That is the main reason I bought this model, but now that I own it and have been able to listen to it for a few months and break it in I would buy it again even if it had non ICE amps in it!! I dont have what most here would consider high end speakers. I have all Polks, but I am very happy with them. I am sure it would sound even better with higher end speakers, as would my other systems, but I have always been a Polk fan for over 30 years now and I dont really see any reason to change. (I am probably to deft to notice now anyway. ) But unless something happens to this reciever that would make me change my mind, I will buy Pioneer Elite from now on.
I am not knocking any other brands, just answering the question "is there any other pioneer owners here" is all.
Welcome to the Shack, Shooter! The only major flaw to the Pioneer receivers is the lack of Firmware update via ethernet. This day and age, it really is essential, in my opinion. I owned a Pioneer Elite back a couple years ago, but ultimately got rid of that because there was one time I required a firmware update to fix an issue I had with HDMI and the overall process took 2 months. That was with me dropping off my receiver at the service center, not being shipped out, too. Electronics get upgraded to quickly to not have the benefit and convenience of firmware upgrades from the comfort of the end-user's home.
Aside from that, Pioneer makes fantastic products! I just wish they made dedicated pre/pros, too.
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx
This is the link to do the online firmware update for the SC-27, I think you can update the 25 from the same link, if not I am sure it has one of its own.
■SC-27 HMG Firmware Update Instructions
(note: I did try to post the Internet address for the update but as I have not had five post on your forum as yet it will not allow me to do so. However if you simply google the above line it will pop up for you on Pioneers website.)
I don't know how they were years ago, but with the Internet connection built into them I just assumed they were updateable online. According to the factory instructions this happens to be true.
I checked my firmware and it is current. There has been one update since it originally came out however, but it does not look very complicated to update. Especially if you are used to updating the firmware on computers..etc.
If this was your only complaint about their equipment maybe you will consider Pioneer the next time you decide to update your equipment.
Thanks for the advice though, it did make me get off my butt and look.
Hi Don,
Thanks for the warm welcome. It seems like a very nice forum.
I have been lurking here for quite some time now. In fact this is where I got the name of the place in green bay to buy my pioneer at. There is not a certified dealer within almost 100 miles of me here, and they gave me a great deal on the new SC-27 with the full warranty on it.
I am sure I will be lurking around here for a long time. I learn something new each and every time I read the posts here.
Thanks again.
Gary*
I'm not using a Pana Tv or the Pio remote..everything on the 919 is controlled with my Harmony remote..
If you're having problem with the remote, it might be worth looking at a Harmony..
) But unless something happens to this reciever that would make me change my mind, I will buy Pioneer Elite from now on.
.
