Entered CNET Catalog: 08/25/2004
SKU: 0012562675947
Manufacturer: Pioneer North America
Manufacturer description
This next-level AV receiver provides customized audio performance for your home. Yes, yours. With the use of an included setup microphone, Auto-MCACC (Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration System) evaluates the acoustic characteristics of your media room and automatically calibrates your speakers and components accordingly. It works in any room, regardless of shape or size, and the result is professional-level sonic performance. The powerful VSX-D914-K sends a blistering 110 watts to six channels (even a dual surround back speaker) and features advanced surround processing, with DTS-ES Discrete, DTS 96/24, Dolby Digital EX, and Dolby Pro Logic IIx decoding. Its sophisticated, heavy-duty construction utilizes one compact circuit board for all digital signal processing for exceptional purity, plus a double-precision Motorola 48-bit DSP engine that's used in top theaters worldwide. The VSX-D914-K is ready for DVD-Audio and SACD next-generation audio, and provides the convenience of Advanced Quick Setup, a full complement.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 08/31/2004
Pioneer's slender learning/preprogrammed remote is also crowded with too many buttons, but its LCD does keep you informed about which source it's controlling.
The VSX-D914-K's MCACC (Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration) automatic setup function is easy to use and remarkably comprehensive. After you plug in the supplied measuring microphone and push a few buttons on the remote, the D914-K goes about its business, performing a three-minute process accompanied by beeps, whooshes, and tones. MCACC can significantly improve the sound of your system. The surprisingly thorough process determines speaker size and speaker-to-listener distances--including the subwoofer--and sets the volume levels of all the speakers and the sub. We found it more accurate than Harman Kardon's EzSet calibration system and easier to use than Denon's Auto Setup routine, as implemented in the Denon AVR-2805, respectively. The Pioneer VSX-D914-K's jam-packed feature set includes six 110-watt channels and a Motorola 48-bit chipset that provides the latest surround processing modes. Dolby's EX and Pro Logic IIx are onboard, as are the ES Matrix, Discrete, and 96/24 options from DTS.
The D914-K's abundant connectivity choices will likely suffice for all but the most complex home-theater systems. There's component-video switching for two sources, along with three A/V inputs, one output, and two audio-only stereo inputs. A full set of 5.1 preamplifier outputs provides a possible future upgrade path. A 5.1-channel SACD/DVD-Audio input set completes the analog selection. You also get four digital audio inputs (two optical, two coaxial) and one optical output. The front panel's jack set accommodates gamers and video camera users and even offers an additional optical digital input.
Please note: The D914-K is a six-channel receiver, but it can be used with up to seven speakers; the sixth channel can drive one or two back-surround speakers in mono. There's also a B set of speaker outputs that can deliver sound to another room, but when you engage both A and B speaker sets, the D914-K reverts to stereo operation for both pairs of speakers. People I Know is a gritty drama set in New York City, starring Al Pacino as Eli Wurman, a show-biz publicist on the skids. The Pioneer VSX-D914-K dropped us into the DVD's urban soundscapes. The DVD isn't as taxing as the big special effects-driven films, but we were wowed by the sheer realism of the sound.
The swashbuckling feats of Captain Jack Sparrow on the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD came alive over the D914-K. We especially enjoyed the scene where Sparrow narrowly escapes from a ship as the crew fires their muskets. We just about smelled the gunpowder.
The Crystal Method's new DVD-A, Legion of Boom, unleashed a torrential storm of beats, crashes, and slashing guitars--so we nudged the volume way up. The D914-K obligingly pounded out the band's fiercest grooves without strain. Bass sounded crisply defined, never veering over to the boom or the bloat we hear from lesser receivers. The disc's evenly distributed surround mix ripped through the 5.1 channels, putting us in the middle of the action.
At this point, we performed a shootout with a Yamaha RX-V550 receiver ($449 list), which sounded a little richer than the D914-K. Switching back and forth between the two receivers, we also determined that the Yamaha's soundstage was more spacious and laid back. The Pioneer sounded closer, or more up front, and performed better when we upped the volume levels. Which is the better receiver? That's a matter of taste, but we preferred the Yamaha's more spacious sound, when we held the volume to more neighbor-friendly levels. Beyond that, the Pioneer's slight power advantage won us over.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4
User Rating: 
9/10
Great sounding receiver
Pros: Quality sound and power output
Cons: Messy remote
User Rating: 9/10
Pioneer is the best
Pros: Great receiver for the money. Has the learning remote and the MCACC auto setup, which you wouldn't expect to find on something this inexpensive. Plenty powerful.
Cons: The remote is weird and not backlit, and there is no THX, but for a little more money you can upgrade to the 1014 and get the THX plus 7.1, but you sacrifice the extra 10 watts/channel
User Rating: 
8/10
great buy for the $$$$$
Pros: Great for cheap! compared with the other choices onyko, ect. the pioneer offered betterpower with great features, such as the auto surround, and easy tuning. you can really crank it up with no noticeable distoration, or cut out
Cons: the remotes have way to many buttons that seem useless.
User Rating: 9/10
Nice Receiver
Pros: Great movie A/V receiver. Super easy to setup speakers - 6.1 Hsu VT-12 and STF-2. Lots of virtual music modes - changes 2.0 to sound like 6.1. Lots of connectivity choices - I have digital coax from cable box and digital optical from DVD.
Cons: Remote is just OK. Volume level is tough to read. Only available in black.
