good basic receiver
Written: Dec 28 '02
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Pros: cheap but has DD, DTS, and PL II
Cons: limited outputs
The Bottom Line: Inexpensive, easy -to -use receiver with DTS, DD, PL II sound
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| j6494's Full Review: Pioneer VSX-D411 5.1 Channels Receiver |
This is a great receiver if you need an easy-to-use receiver with lots of useful functions. You can set the whole thing up very easily without even opening the manual, practically. Unlike many receivers, you can set this one up using only the remote for most of the setup (occasionally, you might have to adjust somehting on the front of the receiver, but not often).
This receiver has 1 optical and 1 coax digital input. The sound seems good for my very average, non-discriminating ears. The Prologic II decoding seems to steer Dolby Prologic VHS soundtracks almost to the degree that 5.1 Dolby Digital sountracks are seperated (but not quite all the way like true 5.1 sound). The crossover can be adjusted easily, and the manual even tells you where to set it if you don't have a subwoofer.
The only thing I'm a little hesitant about with this receiver is that there are some listening modes that aren't well explained in the manual. I don't think these are the typical DSP modes where reverb or echoing is added. To explain, this receiver has "standard" and "advanced" listening modes. Standard seems to encompass DD, DTS, PLII movie/music. The advanced modes also contain options for movie and music and a few other things, but nowhere does the manual say how these modes differ from the standard PLII movie and music modes. I think this is probably a minor point that won't matter for most listeners.
There are no S video inputs and there is no A/B speaker switching (i.e. you cannot run a second set of speakers on your porch with this receiver).
The price is also right-between $150-190 at circuit city.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150
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Epinions.com ID:
j6494
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Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 0 members
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