WOW, Great Surround Sound Made Easy -Very Easy
Written: Jun 22 '03 (Updated Jun 26 '03)
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Pros: Microphone assisted automatic surround setup, nice remote. Also Has 7.1 surround capability.
Cons: Cautions against using 4 ohm speakers
The Bottom Line: This powerful receiver is easy to use, has a very good remote, and is loaded with features. The mic-assisted auto surround setup is amazing.
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| dhlacey's Full Review: Pioneer VSX-D912 7.1 Channels Receiver |
I did a lot of research into home theater receivers by playing with them in stores and reading reviews, specs, and prices on line. I wound up with a D912 for a few reasons:
1: Relatively high power delivered up to seven channels
2: Bells and whistles
3: My old "Dolby Surround" Pioneer receiver is still good
4: At $318 (shipped) on line, it was a great deal
When this thing arrived, I was chomping at the bit to get up and running. I connected my seven speakers which consisted of front left and right with passive subwoofer, center channel, side left and right surrounds,and left and right rear surrounds to the D912's binding post/bananna plug terminals. This was a new installation in a new basement room designed around a 42" widescreen TV. Without getting into brand names, let's just say I purchased all good stuff.
All receivers and remotes now look like you need a pilot's license to operate them, so setting up your home theater can be a daunting task. I'm sure there are even a few pilots out there who've had trouble, too. I was amazed at how small the manual was and wondered if it would cover all the stuff. I read it quickly once, and put it aside for reference and bedtime reading. The manual was fairly easy to understand. Then I fired up the D912 and did the initial (QUICK)setup which took about a minute. Using the jog dial, you are prompted to enter speaker sizes, the number of speakers and approximate listening position, which was straightforward and simple. (I was determined to go through the manual procedures just to better familiarize myself with the unit, but one could just plug in the mic and push the MCACC button on the remote and do the setup in about three minutes). I forged ahead instead. After a few minutes, I became impatient and decided to let the D912 do the hard part by using the mic-assisted QUICK setup, or Auto MCACC. I plugged the supplied microphone into the front panel and after sitting in the best listening position in the room, I held the mic at ear-level and pushed one button on the remote. The receiver went through a series of test tones for about three minutes, during which time I had little to do but sit there. I was prompted by the unit's front panel display if an input was needed. This happened once, I believe. I could hear that sound levels were being tested and set, and at the end of the process, the front panel display scrolled the words COMPLETE...RESUME... Being somewhat skeptical, I said to myself, "Yeah, right, this thing is all set up now". This was too good to be true...Well, I plopped Saving Private Ryan into the DVD player and within minutes was in the middle that horrific opening battle. The screams, shouting, bombs, gunfire and ricochets were coming from all points. As blown away as I was by the sound effects, It came to me that all I did to get to that point was push a couple of buttons and sit there like a dummy holding a little microphone for three minutes. I repeated the process after adjusting some speaker locations, just to use the feature again. The result was the same. Should the process be interrupted by external noises such as arguing teenagers, telemarketers or nagging spouses, no big deal. Just run it again. Adding new speakers? Changing the room around? Run it again. You're good to go in about three minutes. Of course one can do a MANUAL SETUP, then push MCACC without the mic plugged in and make custom adjustments, which I might do when I'm in a tweaky mood. The AUTO MCACC is a great feature, people. I was extremely pleased with it.
Operationally, The D912 gets warm, but not hot. I wouldn't put any component right on top of it, though. The manual says allow eight inches above the unit. I'm using two inches with plenty of side and rear space, and everything seems fine heat wise. This unit has plenty of power, but before buying a D912 or any of its siblings, do check your speaker impedances. Pioneer advises against using four ohm speakers on this unit. Conversely, my older Pioneer has worked extremely well with a pair of very large four ohm, four way Marantz HD 880's for years.
Appearance-wise, the seldom-used controls are hidden by a damped hinged cover for a cleaner front panel appearance. I like it, but some may not. Even with the cover, this is not a pretty unit, which is typical of today's receivers. No need to consider form here at all. It's just how easy it is to negotiate the controls. In that respect, Pioneer has done a very good, if not outstanding job. There is also a blue light at the top of the volume control knob. I guess it's just for illumination, because it doesn't move when you make adjustments. My old Pioneer had a motorized volume knob with an indicator LED that rotated and showed the position of the knob. I like that more than the dB numbers on the 912's display, which you can't read from far away. Of course, it's your ears that really know the volume setting. If anyone from Pioneer reads this article, please go back to the motorized volume control knob! It was cool, and helped prevent the life being scared out of me when I unknowingly switched from a quiet source to a very loud one. I hate when that happens! And so do my speakers!
The remote is quite good. It feels solidly built and it has an LCD display so that you know where you are, but it would be even nicer to have the buttons backlit. I read some on-line advertising (not Pioneer's) that alluded to the remote being good even in a dark room. This wasn't the case. But it's still a good remote. I managed to program all my components into it either by learning, searching or finding a pre-programmed set of instructions from a list. Still, I'm the only one in the family that knows all the buttons though, and I still keep the TV remote nearby, because it's a widescreen HDTV and having that one around makes it all easier. Also, the D912 does not have an on-screen TV display. It's not a big deal to me.
As far as connections, this unit has plenty to go around, including optical and coaxial digital audio. Without going into too much detail, the D912 also has two sets of component video inputs and one set of outputs, which means that you can switch the video from an HDTV tuner or DVD player to the TV if the TV has only one component input.
In my case, the TV has two component inputs so I do not use the video switching on the D912. That allows me to watch DVD's and HDTV without powering up the receiver. I have the analog audio outputs of those units connected directly to the TV for sound when the receiver isn't on. When the receiver is on, it receives digital audio from the HD tuner and DVD player through digital optical and digital coax cables. My DVD player also has a coaxial digital cable audio output, which I use instead of the optical one. There is no difference in quality between the two types. Use coax if you can. The cable is simply a normal video cable. I got an 18" one at Radio Shack for $2.00. An optical cable costs about $30.00, and there is NO difference, and don't let a salesman sell you a "special" digital coax cable at a premium price. You don't need one! It's the same thing as these "super" component video cables that are color coded to match the jacks on the equipment. Ordinary, decent quality shielded video cables will do the trick for a lot less money, and you can get them in shorter lengths to avoid cable messes. Maybe if you have a run of over ten feet, a super cable might be better.
Sound-wise, There are a lot of surround functions one can choose from. A thing I like is that when it is in the Standard surround mode, it auto-detects the various Dolby formats and sets itself. Sometimes you will see DOLBY DIGITAL or DOLBY DIGITAL EX on the display. A big plus on the D912 is a set of six 7.1 INPUTS which are used by a DVD player with six 7.1 OUTPUTS so that you can play DVD AUDIO discs, yet another format for the home theater user. I have heard that this format blows away conventional stereo CD's and is the future of audio-only home entertainment. There are lots of DVD players now including the six outputs, but my year-old Toshiba doesn't have them. Guess what I want for my upcoming birthday! (and don't tell my wife, but I already ordered The Eagle's Hotel California DVD audio disc). I would advise anyone, especially music lovers shopping for a receiver or DVD player to make sure it has these connections.
The AM and FM Tuners work well, and a plus is that you can assign four station call letters to each preset. That feature won't make it work any better, but it sure looks good. I don't think I'll be listening to much radio on it anyways. For me, the tuner seems to be more than adequate.
I will continue to edit this opinion as my experience with the D912 grows. At this time, I find it to be a well-built, very functional and easy to use home theater receiver.
Update 6/26/03
The 7.1 DVD Audio inputs...
The Eagle's DVD Audio disc came today, and I was resigned to listening to it without the seven channel hookup because my DVD player lacks the outputs. Much to my surprise, the disc was coded to play in Dolby Digital 5.1 and other formats suitable for DVD video players. Even in 5.1, it is absolutely incredible. Sounds and voices come from all around, but not in an artificial way. Everything seems well placed for the musical moment, and the effect is stunning. There are details in the sound of various instruments and voices that were simply not noticeable before this recording. The DVD Audio format allows you to listen to this fine, classic recording in a detail level one has to hear to truly appreciate. The CD version sounds like GARBAGE now. In just one test, I'm hooked on DVD audio, and if you like listening music at home, you'll be, too. And get this, I haven't even heard the 7 channel version yet! Home audio will never be the same. BYE BYE stereo CD's.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 318
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Epinions.com ID:
dhlacey
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Member: David Lacey
Location: Reading, MA
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Consumer Reports has been my magazine of choice for over 30 years.
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