Pioneer Home Theater Receivers...?

[CRAW]

So I told a guy here in my office that I need to (eventually) buy a new home theater receiver, and he mentions to me that he has the following just sitting in his basement and would sell it for $150:

Pioneer VSX-D711 (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/HomeEntertainment/AV-Receivers/PioneerReceivers/VSX-D711?tab=B)

He said it's no more than four years old, and everything still works on it (including the remote). I've never owned anything Pioneer, as I don't like the way they look, but they're popular, and I've never heard of anyone saying anything bad about them.

So, I'm asking you guys, members of the greatest forum on the net, what do you think of the deal? Are Pioneer receivers good? Does this unit have all one would want for building a new home theater? I've been out of the home audio loop ever since getting married. :(

Thanks!

EDIT: Can someone move this to the appropriate forum for my stupid ass? kthnxbye

[Haps]

I'm on my third pioneer av receiver due to upgrading over the years. There's nothing wrong with them at all and they usually provide great bang for their buck.

$150 bucks though??? For $75 a no-brainer. But for $150 I dunno. I'd probably keep looking around for something that was 7.1 or at least 5.1 with HDMI switching.

[jrees]

Looks like a decent unit for a basic setup, but lack of HDMI would be a tough pill to swallow. I guess it depends on what you want it to do.

HD gaming (360, PS3)
Movies (bluray, or just standard DVD)
Cable/Sat (HD, or SD?)

HDMI is a HUGE advatange if you're going for the best sound and picture....I'd be hard pressed to want an older unit without that. If you have a need for a 2nd one at some point, then this might not be bad for now, until you get what you really want.

[Charlutz]

The receiver itself is going to be fine for most things. 5.1 is good sound. Most people are usually surprised at how little sound comes out of the two surround speakers, even less so when you get to 7.1 and 4 surrounds. Most dvds are 5.1 as is all broadcast/cable/sat television. In most cases, you don't get 7.1 til you get to Bluray.

I also don't have a problem with a receiver not having HDMI switching. You only need it if you use your receiver to process your video signal. It's useful if you have three or more source devices (Satellite box, DVD, game system, BDP) and don't have enough inputs on your television. You run all the cables into the receiver and then one cable to the tv. The receiver then takes the appropriate signal and sends it to the tv. You need the hdmi switching if you are using Blu ray, and you can use it for dvd players with hdmi or dvi outputs, or satellite boxes with dvi or hdmi outs. Beware that early receivers struggled with switching the hdmi. If you have enough inputs on your tv (most now come with at least 2 hdmi inputs) and you can run your source device cables directly to the tv, you don't need the hdmi switching. It's one less place for things to go wrong. The downside is that when you are switching from one device to another, say from watching satellite tv to popping in a dvd, you have to pick up several remotes (turn the dvd on, switch the tv to the dvd input, switch the receiver sound to the dvd). If you have everything running through the receiver, you only have to turn on the dvd player and then hit one button on the receiver remote to switch both audio and video.

It's a nice feature, but still cumbersome compared to getting a decent universal remote. The Harmony remotes, some which you can get for 75 bucks or so, are great for new users, visiting family members and babysitters. One button press takes care of all your switching. I used to have 5 remotes in my system. Once I got the Harmony, they all went in a drawer and they don't come out unless I am diving deep into the setup menus to recalibrate everything. My Harmony controls my projector, receiver, dvd player, satellite dvr and the lighting dimmer. It's not like the "universal remote" that comes with your satellite box or receiver. The difference between the two is like saying that a dvr is a slightly different version of a vcr.

Anyway, more than you probably wanted to know (it's always that way with technology, isn't it?) but I wouldn't rule it out if you are just getting started. If you follow the track of most HT purchases, you will have your speakers nearly forever, but will upgrade the receiver, sub, and source devices many times. Spend the money on great speakers, starting with the front three channels and a good sub.

[big0mike]

I'm on my second Pioneer receiver right now. It's a VSX-6xx and is great. I've still got my first and last time I tried it it still works just fine. I would not hesitate to buy another Pioneer.

And I'll second the comment about the Harmony remotes... I've got the newer Harmony One and it absolutely ROCKS! Makes life so much easier.

[CRAW]

My head is swimming right now, as I've been out of the loop of home theater for SO long. Thanks guys, and after looking at some prices of other used receivers, I think $150 is a bit high.

[Magic Rat]

For just a hundy more, you can have this far superior product....with a warranty to boot.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=191644&om_keycode=67

[CRAW]

I just went to the local high-end A/V store over my lunch break...

www.audiovideologic.com (http://www.audiovideologic.com/index.html)

My God! Shit is still expensive! I love that store though. They too suggested the HDMI switching, and their Pioneer Elite receivers sound really, really nice.

The Pioneer and Pioneer Elite plasma TVs were simply breathtaking!