Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K user reviews

Pros Input/output features are amazing! Powerful output for a great price.

Cons Very confusing to setup correctly. Manual is of little help. Trial and error got it working but took a few hours.

Summary For the mid-range price, this is the best receiver out there. Tons of input and output options gives you choices on setup... which can get you confused. Setting up this system can be tricky for people who haven't gone to this level of receiver before. Plan on a few hours to get everything right. Graphical menus only appear when everything is setup correctly and are of minimal assistance so don't buy this receiver for that feature. Buy it because you get the most for the least $.

Pros Great crisp sound, very good speaker setup, looks good not to big, not to heavy

Cons Remote, no glossy easy setup guide, HDMI handshake issues initially but works fine now

Summary IMHO sound is the number one most important feature for an AV receiver and this receiver does not disappoint.

I listened to this receiver side by side an expensive ONKYO receiver and this one blew it away. (ONKYO was too boomy) I actually chose to get the VSX-919AH-K instead of the VSX-1019AH-K because I didn't need the extra HDMI port (three is enough for me, XBOX & DVR) I also don't need up conversion (which I expect a Blu-Ray player to do once I get one) . The up conversion and HDMI cable are the only differences between the 919 & 1019. Unfortunately BB doesn?t carry it, I used B&H and saved lot?s of money.
I have very nice L R Center and Sub woofer speakers, cheap back speakers and the sounds are great. Games like COD MW2 are amazing. You are surrounded by sound, games and movies that take full advantage of this receiver are fantastic.
Sounds are very crisp and full, not loud, so even listening to TV late at night is better with the sound turned down. You can hear it so much better. This is compared to an older expensive receiver (before HDMI and Digital audio) with the same speakers. Increasing the volume it nice and gradual unlike my old receiver which always seemed hard to hear or too loud.

I thought I was going to have to get rid of my center speaker (Cambridge Sound Works) because I was not getting good sound from in on my old receiver but it turns out it's great with this Pioneer.

Now at first when I received the receiver I thought it was broken. I had no video no matter what I tried. The first video I got working was with the IPOD (actually my G3 iPhone)

I have two HDMI connections in and one out to the TV. I was getting no video from them at all. I was almost ready to box in up and send it back. I was using HDMI 1 and 2, then switched to the BD and 1 HDMI inputs and everything worked. Not sure if this is what fixed my problem or if I just didn't get a good initial HDMI handshake.
If you?re not getting a video signal turn all of your the devices off and back on together. A good HDMI handshake between devices is very important. Once I got it, it worked great and I haven?t had a problem since.

Areas for improvement. BB should carry the 919 version it?s a great version, better than the 819 because it is 7.1 instead of 5.1 and more economical if you don?t need a fourth HDMI connection.
They should also supply a simple glossy easy setup guide with a nice picture of the back of the receiver on it. I find them very helpful. After you put your receiver on a shelf and realize you need to connect something but can?t see the markings a picture is worth a thousand words.
Also the remote is nothing special, i don't like it.
I also think the sound displayed in negative numbers is annoying. I watch TV and -34BD according to the receiver.

Summary

Great receiver, fantastic sound, all the necessary features and a nice IPOD feature. Good automated speaker setup. Setup screens are not pretty but they get the job done. Remote is not great but won?t be used since I like most others I imagine will use universal remotes like the Harmony ( I have the cheap xbox model and it works fine)

I highly recommend this receiver and can?t believe I get this kind of sound from a receiver I picked it up for well under 4 bills.

Pros Great value, love the on screen GUI and iPod connectivity. Easy to set up.

Cons Had issue with the sound not switching between a high def and standard def audio when watching sattelite. Had to switch the receiver off and back on to get sound back.

Summary Loved the product when I first got it and after having continuing issues with the sound I just returned it. 500 is a lot to spend on something that doesn't work properly. Looking to replace it with new Sony 1000 series.

Pros Has everything that you can need for home theater and more, room setup is a snap with teh automatic sound system

Cons Operation manual is clueless, no logic to it.

Summary Best value for the money, great sound and upconversion, and if I ever learn it, it will be great. They need to think about an online course for operationl.