Good Reciever for the Price
Written: Dec 31 '01
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Pros: Price, 6 channels, tons of input and outputs, component video switching
Cons: Weak amplification, confusing remote, no DPLII
The Bottom Line: For the beginner who is on a budget and wants the most feature he/she can get, this product can't be beat.
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| mxy15's Full Review: Pioneer VSX-D810S 6.1 Channels Receiver |
This is a very good receiver for the price. It has just about every feature an average consumer would want or need. It provides 6 channels of amplification for DTS ES, has component video switching and even Pre-Outs for all channels should you decide to upgrade to a separate amplification at a later time. From a feature stand point, the only thing that's missing is Dolby ProLogic II but this is only important to you if you have a lot of two channel soundtrack movies. Otherwise, IMHO, DPLII is something most people can live without. At this price point I think this product will be most attractive to first time buyers of H/T receivers.
Layout:
The receiver is fairly well build and decent looking. It has a front cover that hides most of the buttons and an extra set of audio and video inputs. The display is simple and neat but certain things are hard to read. The display can be dimmed which is a nice feature if the light is too bright for your liking. The remote is big with a lot of buttons on it so if you intent to use it as your primary controller it might take some time to get use to. And since the remote is not backlighted it would be hard to use in the dark.
Video:
The layout in the back is somewhat confusing for the video in and out so make sure you take a closer look at it before hooking everything up. The receiver has three composite and s-video inputs and two component inputs in the back. Basically, the D810S allows you to hook up to three different video sources in the back, VCR/DVR, TV/SAT, and DVD/LD and that’s it. So if you are a real videophile, there might not be enough inputs for you. There might be other ways to work around it but I am not familiar with it so I’ll leave it at that.
Sound:
Not too bad for a receiver in this price range. It’s not as musical as Denon or Marantz but it doesn’t cost nearly as much either. The sound is dark and doesn’t sound as exciting in stereo mode but it does a fairly good job with movies. Fortunately Pioneer equipped this receiver with Pre-Outs so you can upgrade to a better amp in the future. Once I hook this thing up to my Acurus A125x5 external amp, the sound came alive.
Bottom Line:
Depending on where you get this machine you will pay somewhere between $400 to $250. At $250, as far as I am concerned there is nothing that comes close to the level of features you get with the VSX-D810S. And with DTS ES, Pre-Outs and component video, anyone who’s on a budget can keep this machine for a while and not worry about being outdated and need to replace it anytime soon. This is why I give it 4 stars for the overall rating while everything else is just average.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 400
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Epinions.com ID:
mxy15
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Location: NJ
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Home Theater and HiFi Hobbyist. Electronics junky.
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