Pioneer VSX-918V 5.1-Channel AV Receiver
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Home-Theater surround is an entirely new, wondrous world meshing TV, Video, and Sound. Enter a world of pristine sound and flawless technology. Enjoy a world with more connectivity options. It’s a realm of engineering beyond anything previously imagined. Where Advanced Sound Retriever brings near CD quality to your compressed music files. It’s a world where you listen with your eyes. See with your hands and hear with your heart. It’s a world designed to connect to your iPod® player. An out of this world destination, where XM HD Surround Sound and SIRIUS Satellite Radio have been elevated to a whole new level of acoustic enlightenment. It’s a universe of things never seen or heard before. Where abundant HDMI connectivity, 1080p compatibility, 120 watts of audio and 5.1 surround all come together to ensure the highest quality home audio experience possible. It’s a world so completely intelligent, so absolutely brilliant, an auto MCACC room calibration system with 5-band EQ now makes it possible for you to create the ultimate listening environment at the touch of a switch in any environment you choose. Connecting to this world is easy with Pioneer VSX-918V A/V receiver. 5 A/V (4 in/1 out), 6 audio (5 in/ 1 out), 1 headphone out connections 12+2 Advanced Surround Modes, including Virtual Surround Back Luminous preset remote control for use in any light condition – SR (Smart Remote) terminal output SIRIUS Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio ready (XM-HD With Neural Sound) with OSD (subscription and antenna required) Front A/V in/iPod Direct in Sound Retriever for enhanced portable audio playback Dialogue Enhancement AM/FM radio tuner with 30 random station presets Bass Management System Large Banana Speaker Terminals Display Dimmer control Unit Dimensions – 16.56 W x 6.25 H x 13.88 D; Weight – 17.9 lbs
Features
- Phase Control (Bass Management System Ensures Precision Low Frequency Output)
- Power Output
- Front 120 Watts/ch- Center 120 Watts- Surround
- Built-in DTS/DTS 96/24/Dolby Digital/Dolby Pro Logic II Decoders
- Advanced Surround (14 modes- including Front Stage Surround Advance)
- Dimensions (W x H x L): 0 x 0 x 0 inches
- Weight: 30 pounds
Great receiver at a great price!
I’ve never had a receiver before so this is my first purchase of something like this. The price was right ($270 at time of purchase and then amazon adjusted it down to like around $260) and it’s this year’s model. There are nice blue lights and the receiver is very easy to set up. I connected the speakers to it and followed the instructions in the manual to go through setting up the auto calibration. It went through and tested all 5 channels for me in just a few minutes. Connecting the HDMI cable, digital coaxial, optical cable, etc was easy. It’s been a month and I’m very satisfied with the receiver!
Not What I Expected
I guess I went into the purchase of this receiver with expectations set far too high.I have owned Pioneer receivers for years and was saddened by the death of my Pioneer vsx-608D.I really liked that unit alot.It came out in 1999.It did have Dolby Digital 5.1 sound with DTS.When I got this new 918 hooked up I was very happy with the sound of Dolby Digital and DTS movies.They sounded fabulous.I do however like to listen to music alot.When I switched to the cd input I thought my powered subwoofer had stopped working.I tried everything I could think of to get the bass level up.I made sure the Plus setting was turned on.This setting makes sure that bass signals sent to the large front left and right speakers are also sent to the subwoofer.I ran the auto set-up where you hook a microphone up to the system and it goes through a series of test tones to determine the best set-up for your room.Well,after going through this, all I heard was a trace of bass.I turned on the midnight setting and noticed a positive result.I tried the loud setting and it too made a more noticeable difference in the output of my subwoofer.The midnight setting however was better to my ears.It sounded like the subwoofer was putting out very little bass.I finally called Pioneer customer support and they ran me through a bunch of settings trying to get to an answer to my problem.Nobody was able to tell me anything that could explain the cd input’s lack of bass.Finally I was told to take the unit back and exchange it because I had probably gotten a defective unit.After getting my new 918,I was saddened to find out that I was stuck with the exact same problem.I again called tech support and this time was told that the 918 was not designed to play cd’s with stereo sound.I was told that it just wasn’t capable of outputting a good bass signal to the subwoofer.I couldn’t beieve my ears!!He said that this model is designed as a home theater receiver to decode 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS.It is “not designed for 2 channel music”.I just don’t understand why this unit can’t do both.Why did they bother to even put a cd input on the amp?I ended up taking the 918 back and trying a Yamaha model RX-V463.What a difference.I can hear my 5.1 and DTS movies with plenty of bass but more importantly,the Yamaha puts out great bass to the subwoofer for great sounding music cds recorded in stereo.I’m through with Pioneer although in all honesty it had fantastic Dolby Digital and DTS sound.This one issue over music cds ruined the Pioneer experience for me.Pioneer 120 Watts X 5 Hybrid Receiver
Disappointed…
One of the reasons I thought I would try the Pioneer was the USB that it had on the front, after asking a sales person if the USB device would work on any USB or if it was only for ipods. He assured me it would work on all USB drives, well he was wrong, it only works with ipods. What a let down… I think Pioneer made a big mistake by making it an ipod only USB port. I did call Pioneer and ask them if there was a way to make it work with my USB flash drives, but there isnt. So I will be returning the VSX-918V.
Pioneer Receiver
This receiver has a lot of bells and whistles but was not easy to use. Unfortunately the unit was also defective and I was unable to get surround sound working. Amazon handled the return with care but I can’t say the same for UPS. Lastly, a call to Pioneer was utterly useless. The CSR rep there told me that I’d have to get the brand new unit repaired and that Amazon would not take it back. He was uniformed to say the very least!
POS – Not Worth Its Weight Or Money Paid
I am in the business of entertainment and the management and setup of sound equipment. I know what good equipment should sound like. I’m also old enough to have owned a few home systems. Compared to older systems I’ve owned, this receiver is a POS straight out of the box. I’m not sure how anyone could think otherwise. The sound quality is mediocre at best. The low and mid-range frequencies are absolutely lame.
As for setting up the unit to try and get that desired sound, it takes forever if you don’t use the microphone and auto-setup. If you ask me, that thing is for the idiot who can’t figure out how to determine his own speaker distances, or set an equalizer. But wait, with this machine all those things take forever to gage because you have to navigate down a long trail of menus to get to the desired setup functions. If you are trying to set up the equalizer, you get the pleasure of listening to static noise as you attempt to determine the frequency range that suits you. You may have to go in and out a 1000 times just to see if you’ve reached your goal.
Now as I mentioned, bass and midrange are at best poor with this unit. I’ve got the bass jacked to the hilt and yet the system sounds like all I’ve got is midrange sound. I’ve got excellent full-range speakers with 12″ woofers that can shake pictures from the wall, given the right amp. This thing barley creates vibration. Either my unit is faulty, or it just sucks. Listening to CDs or watching a movie, the depth just isn’t there. The manual will tell you that if you aren’t using a sub, to adjust the crossover so that all bass is directed to the front speakers. I’ve done that too and nothing changes. In fact, regardless of what I set the crossover to, the sound remains unchanged. For $400 bucks, I expect a lot better than this.
VSX918 Recommended
This is an extremely nice receiver for the money. You can expect Pioneer quality in this receiver. I’ve owned 2 other Pioneer receivers and was sold on their quality and power. I also have a Pioneer A/V unit and speakers in my automobile. So as you can see I’m a Pioneer fan. There are better receivers out there but if you want a basic 5.1 receiver that has a few bells and whistles then this receiver is the one for you.
I wanted a basic receiver with HDMI functionality that would work with my PS3. I looked at the newer VSX919 and was set on that one but it was a little more expensive since it had a few more bells and whistles; more than I would actually use. The VSX918 still runs the newer codecs via PCM or “pass through” from my PS3. The price was also a big “plus”. This receiver is extremely powerful and has a lot of options that can be configured if desired. It can be used as is out of the box with your speakers but the configuration will allow you to fine tune the sound.
The reciever is nicely built and is pretty heavy compared to the other Pioneer receivers I’ve owned. The sound quality paired with the Boston Acoustic MCS100 surround system is more than I could have dreamed. I’m throughly pleased with the purchase from 6ave. I do recommend this unit for anyone looking for a basic receiver or for one who is looking for a receiver that has HDMI capability along with many user defineable settings. This receiver definitely fit my needs as well as my budget. I can’t recommend this receiver enough. If you’re unsure about it please research it. I did and was pleased to find that I could save myself some money and still have a nice powerful receiver that met and exceeded my demands and expectations. Thumbs up Pioneer on the VSX918.
Excellent Purchase
This receiver was perfect for what I needed. I noted older Pioneer models elsewhere for more than the Amazon price of this one. I am completely happy with this receiver and may actually buy a second one for the basement.
Well built receiver, HDMI is evil
Receiver was well built and sounded great, especially for the price. Hate to give it three stars but I bought it for the HDMI switching which I could not get to work with XBOX360 or Motorola U-Verse box to an Epson EX70 projector.(Both work directly connected to the projector). I really do not blame Pioneer for this.
HDMI with HD video and audio signals in one cable sounds great doesn’t it? Until you add the movie studios, HDCP, handshaking, secret vectors and all the other c$$p involved in the standard. All so some 14 year old can’t copy a movie. Remember when you could plug stuff in and it worked? With DRM, those days are long gone.
PioneerVSX-918V receiver
The PioneerVSX-918V receiver is easy to hook up and works very good.It is used with a HD LCD TV and as a stereo/AM/FM receiver. The only problem is that I can not get the I Pod connection to read either of my I Pods.Shows an error code.
great value!
Excellent sound quality. Very easy set up. Really like the included microphone for tuning the sound. I don’t like that it doesn’t have connections for an unpowered subwoofer. I had to buy a powered subwoofer. It’s a small drawback, it’s a very good machine for the price. I highly recommend this reveir.
read the manual
Read the manual and every thing else you can about it. I found you need to do the auto mode first with the mic and then you can make adjustments after that-couldn’t get the suround speakers to work until I did that. Now it sounds great after I tweaked it a bit. Add your midnight and loudness settings from the remote and music will sound great too. Some reviews said not enough bass-not true-this rocks with my Sony 2500 sub which is also adjustable after you do the initial set-up. 4 stars are because it’s a bit complicated at first but after you get used to it you’ll be thinking 5 stars. Bought a Radio Shack preamp for [...] bucks and used it for the phono in the aux jacks-sounds great-receiver looks good too.
Budget receiver
I really like this addition to my set up, especially the price! The only negative seems to be the speaker connections. They had a habit of coming loose. Other than that, much better deal than the “big box” guys.
Tremendous receiver for under $300
We connected a Bose Accoustimass 6 surround sound system/Sony HD TV/Sony Blu-Ray player/X-Box 360 to this receiver and the results have been superb. The Pioneer VSX-918V-K has 2 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output. The built-in setup program used with the supplied microphone balanced all the speakers and alerted us about a misconnected subwoofer. Lower-end receivers only have video HDMI, but this one has both audio and video. Pioneer’s remote control has enough buttons to launch a NASA space shuttle, but there is a smart logic about it.
You can connect an iPod directly to the front of the receiver. If you connect the receiver to a TV or computer monitor using the monitor-out port, there is a menu screen that appears on the TV/monitor to control the iPod or the setup program. Kudos to Pioneer. Pioneer VSX-918V 5.1-Channel AV Receiver
Stay Away
I have always owned Pioneer receivers, and until now, never had a problem with anything pioneer. Everything I have is Pioneer, from speakers, TV, DVD player, receivers, car cd player and car speakers/amps.
To say the least, I’m sad to see the quality of Pioneer’s new products.
My biggest gripe about this unit is the volume control knob. If you turn the knob too fast it doesn’t adjust the volume accordingly. It will stay at the same volume that it was at when you started turning the knob until you finish turning the knob, then it will adjust, suddenly. So when you are turning the volume knob, you cannot actually tell what volume you are adjusting it to (without looking at the level on the screen) until you have stopped turning the knob. And let me tell you, this is EXTREMELY annoying.
Other than that, the overall feel of this receiver is “low quality and poor design”. I don’t like the fact that the 5 speakers use screw type bananna plugs and then the 2 “B” channel outputs are the cheap spring loaded clamps. Why couldn’t they make them the same?
Another thing I absolutely hate about this receiver is the remote control. Not only does the remote have 50,000 buttons on it, it also has a SHIFT button so you can hold shift and get another set of 50,000 buttons to use.
I am pretty technologically minded, but this thing is a pain in the butt to use. In my opinion, I should be able to take the receiver out of the box, hook it up, and be able to do basic functionality with it. It is a pain in the butt to adjust things like treble control and bass control. You have to go into different menus and such, and it just isn’t simple to use. I never read instruction manuals but I had to pull it out just to figure out how to adjust the bass.
Also I wasn’t very impressed with the loudness of this amplifier. I can turn this thing all the way up and would still like to turn it up more (and most Pioneer receivers I’ve used to have I could turn it up 1/2 way or 3/4 the way up and say “Man, that’s loud!”. Not this one. )
Now as I said, I do love Pioneer equipment, but honestly, I would steer clear of this unit. Or at least go to a store and try it out first. I wish I could return mine…
Good value…it does the job
I bought this for a secondary system to drive my mirage nanosats and it runs great. I have only owned Onkyo receivers in the past but for less than 250 decided to try the pioneer.
Setup was easy and the sound is very clear. The remote is typical however I am using my harmony one instead to control it. The MCACC speaker setup worked well although I still had to tweak it manually to my liking particuarly to increase the base level but everything else including the sourrounds are great.
Bottom line…If you don’t need more than 2 HDMI inputs and only need power for 5 channels, this will do a great job on all but the most demanding floor standing speakers.
Phenomenal Product !!!!!
I love it. All the new technology and creature comforts in an affordable price for nearly any budget.
sirius hook up
I like the pioneer system I purchased. I need someone to tell me how you hooked up the sirius connection. I already called and have it turned on to sirius but need better reception. Does anyone know who I can call to install an outdoor home antenna?
Great Reciever for the Price
I’d have given it five stars but for the difficulty I had attaching my speaker wires. Very little room to work and I had to back the screws almost all the way out before I could get the wires inserted. Other than that I love it. It sounds good and the controls are very user friendly. The remote actually looks like it was designed for normal human beings.