Thursday, March 25, 2010

Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K 7-Channel A/V Receiver (Black)


Rating :
Price on Mar 25, 2010 22:28:27 : $499.00
Offer Price : $489.99
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days






Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K 7-Channel A/V Receiver (Black) Features

  • A/V receiver - 7-channel
  • Features HDMI with 1080p video scaler
  • Analog-to-HDMI upconversion, HDMI repeater (4 in / 1 out)
  • Works with iPhone certified
  • Color - GUI


Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K 7-Channel A/V Receiver (Black) Overviews

The VSX-1019AH-K represents the pinnacle of the Pioneer receiver line. This hub for your home entertainment center allows you to enjoy your favorite movies on Blu-ray disc, DVD or VHS on your flat-panel television like never before. With standard features that include a phenomenal ability to upscale and convert analog video signals to 1080p when transmitted through HDMI to your high definition television, the VSX-1019AH-K¿s video scaler presents you with nothing but the best quality possible today ¿ regardless of what video source it receives.



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Customer Review


This is my first receiver purchase since the mid-90's when I bought a Yamaha RVX-890, which I loved. Since we've moved into a digital age, however, I felt that I needed to upgrade to something with HMDI capability as well as the ability to play a wider range of audio codecs. As with any significant purchase I make, I did ample research and my decision was eventually boiled down to the Yamaha RX-V765BL 665 Watt 7-Channel Home Theater Receiver, the Sony STR-DN1000 7.1-Channel Audio Video Receiver (Black), and the Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K 7-Channel A/V Receiver (Black).

I relied primarily on a combination of online reviews, both professional and consumer, to make my decision, and obviously finally settled on the Pioneer. I didn't actually purchase it through Amazon, but that's only because there was no price differentiation between what I was seeing online and what I would pay in a store, so I purchased it locally. I finally got it set up last night and set about learning how to tame its myriad features and settings.

When I first turned it on I was disappointed to see that my LG 55LH40 55-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Gloss Black was registering "no signal" on HDMI-1 even though I had run the proper cable from the receiver to the tv. This was actually the night before last, and since it was late I didn't want to stay up trying to figure everything out. After doing some reading online yesterday I realized that my problem was most likely stemming from an HDMI "handshake" issue caused by turning the various components on in the wrong order. Apparently when you do this you run the risk of creating a situation wherein the system can't transmit the necessary digital protection key from one component to another, hence the "no signal" message. This was rectified by turning the reciever on first, giving it a few seconds to initialize, then turning on the television, followed by the Comcast HD-DVR box. I'm not sure if it matters which order you turn the cable box and tv on, however the order I described worked fine.

Once I had the picture and sound working normally, I decided to run the MCACC auto surround sound calibration. This basically consists of a small microphone attached to a long wire that you plug directly into the front of the reciever. As soon as it's connected the system recognizes that it's time to run the test and asks you to confirm by pressing "ok". It then generates a series of sounds to check the speaker polarity and it actually showed me a graphical representation on the screen of a speaker on which I'd reversed the wires (whoops!). Once I switched the wires it ran its test and adjusted the various speaker levels and delays accordingly. I made a few minor (+0.5db) changes on my own to fine tune it afterwards, but it sounded pretty good to me.

One thing that I'd read but hadn't really digested was that this reciever can only upconvert video signals it receives through any input which isn't HDMI. This is sort of a bummer because my plan had been to just connect my PS3 and the HD-DVR using HDMI, however I might actually connect the HD-DVR with a component cable just so I can see if there's a difference between the 1080i and 1080p.

The sound is really amazing on this unit, and it gives you more ways to tweak and customize it than you could probalby ever really need. I went through and listened to most of the available modes last night and was impressed by how well they did what they claimed they would do. I won't go into specifics because there are so many options, but if you can't craft the sound to your liking using this receiver then you probably can't be pleased in general. I got this as lound as -20db, however I didn't really have anything cool to watch so I'll run up the volume more on my first bluray viewing of an action or sci-fi movie.

The remote does leave something to be desired from a functionality perspective because you need to press a button called "receiver" before you can access any of the advanced functionality, and that button is located all the way at the bottom and is totally non-descript. It makes it tough to quickly access menus and whatnot, but that's a small price to pay.

I also purchased, through Amazon, the Antec Low Profile AV Component Cooler for Media PC Home Theater Products which I will review separately. Overall, it's quiet and seems to be keeping everything running really cool, even on the low setting. Plus, it looks like another component, complete with anti-vibration feet and blue lighting. Well worth the money there.

Great purchase overall and I look forward to years of listening/viewing enjoyment with this as the heart and brains of my home theater system.

Best Receiver I've Owned - Anthony N. James - St. Louis, MO
I've had this receiver for a month now and it is by far the best receiver I've ever owned and I've had many over the years. For some reason, I've always thought of Pioneer as a substandard brand. I know they've been around forever but I avoided them. So, this is the first Pioneer component I've ever purchased. I can't be happier with this product. For years I've felt like a victim of in-store sound systems that just don't sound the same when I get them home and set them up. I've been through several receivers over the years; JVC, Marantz, Kenwood, and Sony. I was disappointed by them all.

I chose this receiver on the advice of two close friends who swore by it. Still, I was apprehensive when it arrived and I unpacked it. After being letdown by so many other receivers, I was expecting the same disappointment. I spent one Saturday morning setting the entire system up, including running the MCACC. Setup went very smoothly and easily. There are enough HDMI and optical audio connections on this to allow for many different configurations. I've made several changes to the setup over the past few weeks and I think I've found the right combination for me. Some people have complained about the manual but I found the manual very helpful and I was able to work through a couple of setup problems with ease.

Immediately after setting things up I put in Batman Returns and was totally blown away by the sound. This receiver gives me the sound I've been searching for all of these years. I figured I'd need to replace my old Advent speakers and JBL subwoofer but this receiver brings those speakers to life. The speakers now sound like they sounded in the showroom when I bought them. The MCACC gave me the perfect balance between all channels and I only needed to run it one time.

Not only do movies sound fantastic in surround but music also sounds amazing in just stereo. I don't have a 7.1 setup, I'm using 5.1 and it completely fills my large family room with incredible highs and booming lows. The dynamic range is like I've never heard before.

I can't recommend this receiver highly enough. It is a truly exceptional receiver and hard to pass up at this price!!



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