Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The sound is excellent, slightly better than my old Yamaha receiver. Let's call it "more realistic" but the menu interface is miserable.
Pioneer flat out distorts information on their advertisements. For instance, they claim the VSX-821 is compatible with iPod's Audio AND Video. This is not entirely true. For starters you need to be a geek to figure out the connections and which iPod is compatible with what. It is not a plug and play thing they are selling you here. I finally got it to play video but if I had to explain it here, I wouldn't know where to start. Furthermore, the iPod video and images are presented as analogue video through the RCA connector on the front, both, photos and video look mediocre at such low resolution. Black bars all around. I blame "Apple" for most of these quality issues, but it is Pioneer's fault too for hidding these facts in their ads and manuals.
The most offending advertised "feature" is the so called "on-screen" menu which it is just a pixelated text only retro menu and get this, it does not work via HDMI. Yes, that is right, to see the menu you need to hook up a second cable and even then you get very limited on-screen menu choices.
The remote is a mess but I think all the new receivers have similar issues. The most frustrating thing is that the remote did not accept any of the Sony TV codes included in the instructions, and inputing the code is a complex task, more than it should be. As of now I cannot control any other devices with this remote and I resent the excessive steps compared to other remotes..
On the remote you have to keep pressing certain buttons over and over again to stay on a certain modes that time out after a couple of seconds for no reason. If you don't know what I mean, don't worry, is because no one else has built a remote that times out.
Good news, the "sync-mode" works with some Sony Bravia TVs.
The blue LED display on the front does not tell you much, and some of the icons are too small to be read by human eyes. So, I never know if I am listening to a Dolby source, or DTS.
There is no real HDMI pass-through despite what they advertise. The receiver needs to be turned on to pass the signal.
So, what is the advantage of owning this receiver? Well, if you manage to decipher the remote and the hidden menus, you will get pretty decent realistic sound for a reasonable price. Better than what you would get from a Sony receiver for sure.
My opinion? It is a good deal if you are very familiar with electronics and it works better if you never use the HDMI ports.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Pioneer VSX-821-K 5.1 Home Theater Receiver, Glossy Black
The Pioneer VSX-821 features a Bluetooth wireless audio option with 550 watts of high powered 5.1 home theater audio playback. Other features include 4 HDMI 1.4a 3-D ready inputs, hi-resolution Dolby and dts multi-channel audio playback from Blu-Ray discs, iPad / iPhone AV playback with battery charger.
Click here for more information about Pioneer VSX-821-K 5.1 Home Theater Receiver, Glossy Black
0 comments:
Post a Comment