Entered CNET Catalog: 08/22/2008
SKU: 0012562893822
Manufacturer: Pioneer North America
Manufacturer description
Open your eyes to the very best in HD sight and sound. Surrender your heart to a passion for new and higher resolution multi-channel acoustic accuracy, uncompromised HD video processing, and intuitive home theater system control. Experience the unprecedented performance of the VSX-1018AH-K receiver. Discover a receiver unlike any other. A receiver that utilizes DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD surround sound decoders, the Dual-Core 400MIPS processing DSP by Freescale, iPod USB digital direct connection, and delivers both XM and SIRIUS Satellite Radio. Loaded with the most advanced technology and exclusive innovations available today, in the VSX-1018AH-K, Pioneer’s engineers have created an audio/video receiver unlike anything ever seen or heard before. Delivering the most remarkable surround sound technology available today, the VSX-1018AH-K is a testament to pristine sound and pure digital enjoyment. Built with Advanced Direct Energy power amplifiers, Advanced MCACC room calibration with a 9-band symmetric EQ, phase control, advanced sound retriever, auto level volume control, and 13 Advanced Surround Mode options - this unbelievably powerful receiver delivers more ways to experience home theater sound than previously believed possible. Experience the benefits of HD audio and video processing from engineers who simply could not be stopped - in a receiver built with full HDMI connectivity including HDMI 1080p video scaling, digital video conversion to HDMI, deep color, xvYCC, HDMI CEC system control, and high-bit rate audio transmission. All of which will bring a dimension of HD sight and sound quality to your home and deep into your soul.Product summary
The good: Three HDMI inputs; onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding; Sirius and XM-ready; upconverts analog signals to 1080p over HDMI output with decent quality; automatic speaker calibration; control iPod onscreen using USB port.
The bad: Competition offers more HDMI inputs for less money; cluttered remote; old-fashioned text-only onscreen user interface.
The bottom line: The Pioneer VSX-1018AH's solid sound and generous feature package make it a great value in the midrange AV receiver class.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 01/29/2009
Photo gallery:
Pioneer VSX-1018AH
Just a few years ago, HDMI connectivity was a major step-up feature on AV receivers; now, it's standard for all but the least expensive models. That's mostly a good thing, because although HDMI can be finicky, its one-cable simplicity makes it much easier to set up an AV receiver.
The Pioneer VSX-1018AH is a midrange AV receiver with three HDMI inputs, which is actually fewer than you'll find on competitors such as the HDMI switcher, it's still nicer to have it built into the unit. Luckily, that's our only major complaint with the unit, as we were pleased to find the VSX-1018AH was easy to use and sounds great. It upconverts analog video up to 1080p over its HDMI output, and actually does a decent job. We also liked that the USB port allowed for onscreen navigation of a connected iPod--the blocky white text menus don't look nice, but it gets the job done. Altogether, the VSX-1018AH has one of the more attractive combinations of features to performance in this AV receiver range, making it a good choice for those satisfied with only three HDMI inputs. Just keep in mind that its successor, the VSX-1019AH, will offer four HDMI inputs (for a list price of $500) when it debuts in spring 2009.
Design
The Pioneer VSX-1018AH has a classy look. The faceplate is covered with a glossy black finish, which means it will look right at home in most modern home theaters. On the far right and left are large knobs for volume and input selection, respectively. In the center toward the top is the LCD screen, and underneath is a line of input buttons, which seem a bit superfluous given the aforementioned input knob. Further downward are some additional front panel buttons, a headphone jack, as well as a front panel AV input, including a USB port and optical audio jack.
While the outside looks good, the VSX-1018AH's onscreen interface isn't quite as nice. Competitors such as the Sony STR-DG920 include a basic graphical user interface, but the VSX-1018AH is limited to just white text on a black background (think VCRs, circa 1991). That being said, the onscreen menus are relatively easy to navigate, which is more important than them being nice to look at.
We weren't big fans of the included remote. It's filled to the brim with small square buttons, and even important functions like volume aren't properly differentiated from less important buttons.
Setup
We liked the onscreen menus' straightforward appearance and navigation, so making our way through Pioneer's MCACC (multi channel acoustic calibration) auto setup was a breeze. The system automatically determines speaker sizes, speaker-to-listener distances (including the subwoofer), sets the volume levels of all of the speakers and the sub, and calculates the subwoofer crossover point.
To initiate MCACC, simply plug in the supplied microphone and follow the instructions of the onscreen prompts. The MCACC sent a variety of tones and whooshes to our speakers and subwoofer for close to 8 minutes, but unlike the Audyssey-based auto setup systems we didn't have to repeat the process over and over again in different positions in our room. The MCACC is easy enough to implement and is highly effective.
Features
| Key features |  | |||
| Dolby TrueHD + DTS-HD MA | Yes | Onscreen display | Text | |
| Analog upconversion | 1080p | Source renaming | Yes | |
| Selectable output resolution | Yes | Satellite radio | Sirius + XM | |
The key features for the VSX-1018 are fairly standard. There's no graphical user interface, but, as mentioned before, there's a basic text-based onscreen display. The VSX-1018AH will upconvert analog signals to 1080p, but note that it will not convert 1080i component video signals to 1080p over the HDMI output.
| Connectivity | | |||
| HDMI inputs | 3 | Optical audio inputs | 3 | |
| Component video inputs | 3 | Coaxial audio inputs | 2 | |
| Max connected HD devices | 6 | Stereo analog audio inputs | 2 | |
| Composite AV inputs | 5 | Analog multichannel inputs | 7.1 | |
| Max connected video devices | 8 | Phono input | No | |
Connectivity is mostly solid on the Pioneer VSX-1018AH. Three HDMI inputs may be enough for most home theaters, but it's worth noting that competing receivers such as the Sony STR-DG920 and the Onkyo TX-SR606 both offer four HDMI inputs (as does the aforementioned 2009 follow-up, the Pioneer VSX-1019AH). We're disappointed to see the VSX-1018AH doesn't offer any S-Video ports, which are still available on the Denon AVR-1909 and the Onkyo TX-SR606. The Pioneer, however, does still offer five AV inputs with just composite video.
We were also happy to see enough input "slots" so that six HD devices can be connected at the same time. All of the inputs are also renamable, which means you'll have no problem assigning your inputs to something easy to remember like "TiVo." It's worth mentioning that three of the input slots (BD, HDMI 1, and HDMI 2) are locked into being assigned to their respective HDMI input. Still, there are plenty of slots to go around, so it should suffice for all but the most complex home theaters.
The VSX-1018AH also has a USB port for listening to MP3s on a USB drive. What makes the feature even more useful is that if you connect an iPod you'll be able to browse your music collection using the onscreen display. The onscreen display is certainly a little rough on the eyes, but for many it's a better option that getting off the couch and using the iPod. That said, it would've been nice for a USB port to be on the rear as well, so you wouldn't need to have the white iPod cable so prominently hanging off the front of your receiver.
| Multiroom features | | |||
| Line level 2nd zone outputs | Yes | Line level 3rd zone outputs | No | |
| Speaker-level 2nd zone outputs | Yes | Speaker-level 3rd zone outputs | No | |
| 2nd zone video output | Composite | 2nd zone remote | No | |
The VSX-1018AH's multiroom features are pretty standard, although the addition of the second zone composite video output is relatively unique, as competitors such as the Denon AVR-1909 and Onkyo TX-SR606 don't offer this feature at this price point.
Audio performance
Pioneer's latest version of MCACC features "Professional Acoustic Calibration EQ," a new room/speaker correcting EQ program to further improve sound quality. We're always skeptical about such claims, as these programs usually change the sound, but rarely improve it. However, this time MCACC made good on its promise, enhancing the sound of our reference Aperion Intimus 4T Hybrid SD speaker/subwoofer system. Bass went deeper, and it was clearer; front-to-rear surround imaging was more coherent. Overall, sound quality was significantly improved by MCACC.
Our Aperion Intimus 4T Hybrid SD speaker/subwoofer system needs a fair amount of power to sound its best, and the VSX-1018AH was definitely up to the task. We started our auditions with the Blue Man Group's How to be a Megastar Live concert DVD to use as many of the Pioneer's 110 watts per channel as we could. The Blue Men play drums and a vast range of percussion instruments, and the VSX-1018AH let us hear their full dynamic impact. The bass was a wee bit clearer and more precise than what we were getting from a Denon AVR-1909 receiver. With the VSX-1018AH we felt each thwack of the drum head.
Next up was the Ratatouille Blu-ray. The opening sequence with rain sounded especially realistic; we weren't aware of each speaker's placement in the CNET listening room. The individual speakers disappeared as sound sources, so the rain seemed to be coming from all around us.
The rats in the restaurant's kitchen scurrying about demonstrated the VSX-1018AH's softer side. Every plop of the ingredients as they were tossed into the simmering pots was palpable. The knives chopping the vegetables; the clicking of the rats' paws against the tiled floors; and the hushed murmurs of the restaurants' guests in the dining room were all very natural sounding.
CD sound was also above par. With classical music strings sounded sweet, with just the right balance of warmth and detail. The sound had a weighty, three-dimensional presence.
Video performance
The Pioneer VSX-1018AH is capable of upconverting analog signals to its HDMI output, so we put it through our video testing suite. We connected the Panasonic DMP-BD35 via component video to the Pioneer VSX-1018AH, with the DMP-BD35 set to 480i output. The Pioneer VSX-1018AH was set to output at 1080p over its HDMI output, connected to the Panasonic TH-65VX100U, which was set in "external scaler" mode, to disable its own video processing.
We loaded up Silicon Optix's HQV test suite on DVD, and the first test was disappointing as the VSX-1018AH did not preserve full horizontal resolution on the test pattern. There was also a good deal of image instability that was not present when we connected DMP-BD35 directly to the display. The rest of the tests went better, with the VSX-1018AH looking good on a video-based test with a rotating white line, and doing an OK job of a test with three pivoting lines--although the bottom-most line clearly had too many jaggies. The VSX-1018AH also passed the difficult 2:3 pull-down test, although we'd note that the processing took longer than usual to kick in.
We switched over to program material and the VSX-1018AH fared better. It looked good on the introduction to Star Trek: Insurrection, clearly rendering the curved boat hulls and bridge railings. Similarly it did a good job with the difficult Seabiscuit opening sequence, showing much less jaggies than we often see. While the movies did look a touch softer than we'd like, it was relatively minor.
We attempted to test the VSX-1018AH's ability to convert analog 1080i signals over component to 1080p over HDMI, but the VSX-1018AH lacks this capability. The VSX-1018AH also does not scale incoming HDMI video signals, and instead passes them perfectly through to the display. This means that if you only intend to use the HDMI video inputs on the VSX-1018AH, you can ignore the previous comments on video performance, as they only apply to analog signals.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5out of 5 user reviews
Outstanding mid-level receiver with plenty of features
Pros: Simple automatic surround sound setup, great upscaling, crisp and clear sound with movies, music, pretty much anything, plenty of different surround settings to choose from, ipod connection is awesome, great price for all the features.
Cons: On screen menus are boring but tolerable since you rarely actually use them, sound not quite as powerful as I expected but it could be because I'm used to the subwoofers in my car, there's nothing I really can say I don't like about this receiver.
After careful research and consideration, I purchased this while it was on clearance at best buy for $418, and because I purchased it early I had plenty of time to browse through the instructions. I can understand people's gripe with the organization of the instruction manual, but like anything that is fairly complex, it has to be taken as a whole instead of trying to find a step by step guide. Everyone's setup will vary so if you read through each section, you should be able to figure out what setup is best for you. I have the Kuro Link to my Pioneer plasma that another reviewer spoke of and I'm really confused as to how he was having any problems with it. Everything works perfect with my setup and it switches easily and conveniently from one input to another using the remote or the knob on the receiver. I have everything hooked up HDMI so maybe that's why everything is so convenient. Let me just add that sometimes it's better to just play around with the remote and see what happens in order to really learn more about what you can do with the receiver; it worked well enough for me.
I also followed the reviews for the Energy Take Classic 5.1 surround speakers and I used the automatic setup with the receiver so I didn't have to worry about making any audio adjustments myself. It's an awesome feature and although I still can't figure out why it leaves the subwoofer setting so low, it actually creates a cleaner, more crisp overall sound that isn't muddied by the bass of the subwoofer. The speakers alone have dynamic range and although the sub still shows its power on occasion, you begin to appreciate the clarity of the sound, especially when watching a blu-ray with TrueHD sound. It's tremendous and blows away standard Dolby 5.1 by leaps and bounds.
As for the picture and sound quality, well they are both top notch. The upscaling on dvds and even standard 480i digital television is evident and, depending on the quality of the signal, can be surprisingly close to HD quality (although this could also be attributed to the standard definition processing of my TV as well, but I'd more than likely say it's thanks to the receiver). As I mentioned the sound quality can be outstanding especially with blu-rays, and I frequently hook up my ipod just to hear my music on the surround. There is one surround setting customized for music and it adds just enough of the rear channels to give your music a full sound while keeping the majority of it coming from the front and center channels. Once again, the clarity is top notch, and although I haven't heard enough other home entertainment systems to compare it to, I don't know how much better this sound could get.
Overall, the only reason I didn't rate this receiver a full five stars is because I really don't have enough experience in this department to compare it to other receivers, but I know good sound when I hear it, and as a musician, subtle nuances in sound quality are evident to me no matter where it's coming from. I've had great sound quality in my car for four years and every time I go in another car, I hear the difference, so I'm no stranger to what makes great sound. This receiver makes great sound.
What I would recommend for people is to understand that if you have cable, like Comcast, accept the fact that their signal is going to be compressed for the time being and you may not get the best picture or sound quality. Where you get the best picture and sound quality is from DVDs, Blu-rays, PS3 and XBOX360 games, or ipods. Every time I turn on my TV, receiver, and PS3 to watch a Blu-ray, it's an amazing experience thanks to this receiver and setup. I'd recommend it to everyone if you're on a budget but still want the best you can get for the price. I couldn't be happier with it.
out of 5 user reviews
Awesome A/V Receiver
Pros: On board Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, all video sources up converted to 1080p, excellent sound and image quality, Neural THX surround sound, great connectivity, easy setup.
Cons: Manual setup (although optional) is a pain to setup.
out of 5 user reviews
Feature heavy
Pros: Sounds great. Lot of features for sound and image quality. Very happy with the purchase.
Cons: Occasional HMDI switching errors (sound will work fine but snowy screen, toggling between fixes). You need extra time for the remote. It is tedious but you can work through it. The menu is totally Old Skool.. lol. It works tho.
Updated on Apr 28, 2009Address what I meant by 'toggling between fixes":
On the remote and front of the receiver is a button labeled "HMDI". When you press it, it switches from HDMI 1 to HMDI 2. By toggling, I mean switched from 1 to 2 then back again.
out of 5 user reviews
Great Bang for the Buck!
Pros: Built-In Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master, and Video Up-Conversion.
3 component video, 3 HDMI, and 4 digital audio inputs = Easy Setup.
Great auto audio calibration.
Assign/Rename Inputs
Amazing features and performance for the price.
Cons: Nothing significant, but I did find a few annoyances:
On-screen menu is old-school; black and white block text went out with DOS!
Remote is dissappointing. Get a good, programmable universal!
S-video and THX certification would have been nice.
Then this unit came along. I was upgrading from an older VSX-1014T-K that was still serving me well, but the lack of HDMI was starting to be a strain. So, this unit with 3 HDMI, 3 Component, 4 digital audio, video switching/conversion, and support for all the right audio decoding options was just the ticket.
On the downside, it seems that Pioneer had to do some shaving to maintain the features to price-point balance. The newer unit has a somewhat "cheaper" feel and appearance to it than its older sibling and the remote is a big step backward in my opinion. It's also a little disappointing to see that their on-screen display hasn't moved into the new century and that S-video and THX certification didn't make the cut.
However, none of these is a deal breaker and are best termed as annoyances rather than problems. S-video, like composite video, is becoming less important with the advent of High Definition, so the only folks that are likely to miss them probably aren't shopping in this range anyway. Similarly, while the unit is a a bit glossy for my taste, it's not ugly (I'm told some people even prefer the gloss) and it is slightly smaller than the old one which helps in tight installs. Further, though THX certification would have been good for an extra warm and fuzzy feeling, I've compared the specs to the 1014 (that is THX certified) and the specs are virtually identical. Plus, let's face it, any self-respecting gadget nut, even at this price point, probably has (or needs) a programmable remote these days anyway and a disappointing OEM remote can collect dust in a drawer just as well as a good one.
Performance wise, I have found no real faults; the auto MCACC has only gotten better and, so far, I've been very pleased with the video conversion and sound quality. Then, factor in the flexibility of assignable HD and digital audio inputs along with the ability to rename those inputs, and it gets hard to deny what a sweet deal this package offers.
Granted, it may not be able to compete with the high-end Elite receivers or their ilk. But, on balance, I believe you would be very hard pressed to find a better receiver with these features for the same price.
out of 5 user reviews
Good product...but expensive
Pros: Loads of features.
I like the different modes it has for various sound theme.
Cons: The remote can be quite confusing.So get a universal remote (Logitech) which helps control it easily.
