I'm trying to get rid of my Pioneer vsx-1019ah-k 840 Watt 7.1 channel AV receiver and figured I'd start here before resorting to CL. The unit is less than six months old and has been replaced because of a feature that doesn't jive properly with my system. Nothing is wrong with it, it's just part of the way it's designed. That issue has to do with the way in which the system handles a sub and should have no bearing on most people. I have both a sub as well as bass shakers in my couch, and the way it uses it's high pass filter makes them not operate the way I want. Not a situation that most people encounter. Other than that it's a wonderful unit. Great sound, impressive feature set, more audio settings than you can shake a stick at, and sleek design. One of it's biggest features are the four HDMI inputs. It also comes with an iPod cable in the box, and doesn't require any kind of expensive add on dock. The iPod can be controlled by the remote and shows as an interface on the TV. It's gotten rave reviews; cnet has it listed as their pick for best midrange A/V Receiver. Home Theater Magazine also has it listed as a Top Pick. Price: $400 Included items: -Receiver -Remote -Setup Microphone -iPod Cable -Manual -Original Box -FM and AM antennas
I don't need this (have mine already) but are the HDMI ports pass-through? FYI to others - pass-through is not really a big deal you just have to hook up an extra cable to get the audio back from your tv to your receiver (digital of course)
Nope. It must be on to pass any signal. Nice receiver for those not looking to spend a grand (or more). OP, can you describe your issue a little more? Curious more then anything.
All pioneer receivers, even their Elite line, it turns out will not allow you to run complete full range audio through the front speakers AND have the sub active. When you activate the sub it engages a HPF on the fronts in normal mode, and it also has a "plus" mode which tones down the HPF some for a more even blend. I live in a townhouse and basically don't use my actual sub, or it's just barely on. Instead I rely on the full range audio through the front mains and the two bass shakers that are built into the couch to help supplement my low end. It's not the same as a nice sub, but it keeps me in my neighbors good graces. If I had a sub running, like most people, this wouldn't be a big deal; the sub and fronts cross over for a nice full sound. But I get either my bass shakers or full range audio with this unit. It's one of those issues that I didn't really dig into until after I couldn't return the receiver and ended up replacing it with an Onkyo TX-SR607 which is a 9.2 channel unit. It doesn't sound quite as good as the Pioneer, but doesn't have this design characteristic. Hopefully this made some kinda sense.
So basically they don't let you set the front speakers to large and have a sub hooked up to the LFE port. How odd that they do that. There's plenty of big name speaker companies out there at have pretty good full range capabilities out there... the Def Tech BPs with the built in super cubes come to mind. So what did you end up doing with the Onkyo? Large fronts or small and a manual adjustment of the Audyssey settings (if you ran MultEQ )? Bummer that single feature made that receiver no good for ya. That model and the one before it really set the standard for receivers in that price range!
