Pioneer Elite VSX-01TXH - AV receiver - 7.1 channel Review

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(More customer reviews)With a stereo receiver, you can't go cheap. You'll find that out right off the bat after upgrading to a piece of quality equipment. I consider the Pioneer VSX-01TXH a piece of quality equipment. My dad's old Pioneer receivers power source eventually failed after like 25 years. So to replace it I bought a Sony. Well the first Sony broke after six months, so I bought a more expensive Sony with DTS capabilities. That one worked ok for movies, but I remembered the old Pioneer having a crisp, clear, encompassing 2ch sound from the vintage Klipsch Heresy IIs. The Sony couldn't deliver that, even after spending $500.

Well I'm not a Best Buy shopper anymore and I stopped drinking the Sony KoolAid, so decided it was time to upgrade but I wanted something a little better this time. I was looking for that lost sound I had with the old 80s Pioneer. I checked out online ratings and found the Pioneer brand has sort of built a great reputation lately, after making some cheaper stuff geared towards the Best Buy bargain shopper. I sold the old Sony and got the Pioneer VSX-01TXH. It was the base Elite Series model, has 7.1 capabilities, and more than adequate power for my setup.

The moment I plugged it in I put in a concert DVD and as I plugged in each additional speaker, I was more and more pleasntly surprised. With the factory default settings, this complemented my speakers perfectly. There was no muffled or drowned out echoey noise. There was no unbalanced sound where I had adjust volume levels for each speaker.

Well I found out that this is only the beginning. The receiver comes with a microphone that you can use to optimize the sound acoustics of your room. I placed the microphone where my fat head usually is positioned while watching a movie or listening to an album. The result is a perfectly set speaker system with each speaker being absolutely right. I'm not one to pay hundreds on having some professional survey my room, but I don't think they could do much better of a job than this microphone and receiver/thinking computer. The screen display from the receiver to the TV looks old but who cares. It's simple and only on there for what, the fraction of time you spend setting it up compared to listening time.

I stream music from my laptop to my XBOX. Sound is 50x better than the Sony. I thought there was a problem with my XBOX before, but now I realized I just had a inferior stereo. I'm sorry did I mention it plays directly from a USB port? Yes you can play IPODs and even Flash Drives right from the front panel. The remote control controls the songs so you don't even have to get up off your backside to change the song.

The features of this thing are abundant and it has 4 HDMI ports. It has basically everything you need. There are so many different listening modes and I've still not managed changing Bass or Treble. But I don't really feel the need to, it sounds just the way I want.

I had no idea what I was missing out on. The sound is indescribable, it's like what the songs were supposed to sound like. The only thing I can compare it to are listening to my Koss PortaPro headphones. You really hear the subtleties that don't show up on your typical equipment. You have options for direct sound with no processing, or the amazingly better procesed sound. I thought tube amps were only capable of 'warm' sound like this. If you are in the market an upgrade, or are just starting with a system, get your act together and buy this! I understand this is very subjective, and I don't spout off specs, but I know good sound when I hear it. This gets a 10/10.

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Product Description:
Set your sights on the new Elite? VSX-01TXH 7.1-channel receiver and experience a home theater command center unlike anything you've ever imagined before. With unprecedented audio and video performance from this incredible multi-channel surround sound receiver, enter a new dimension of sight and sound.Brace yourself for 110 Watts x 7 of High-Power Direct Energy Amplification for big, bold beautiful sound. Awaken your senses to high-definition home-theater surround sound from Dolby? TrueHD and DTS-HD? Master Audio Decoders, processed with THX? Select2 Plus Processing and Certification. Discover a world designed with optimal sound tuning capabilities from Pioneer's innovative Advanced MCACC room calibration and Phase Control technology to ensure the audio arrives at your listening position in complete synchronization.Enjoy your digital music like never before with iPod Digital USB, USB Memory Audio playback, and both XM? & SIRIUS? Satellite Radio ready inputs*; all fully integrated, ready and waiting for you to turn them on. And now access to all your devices can be easily set up and the devices controlled using an on-screen display and a multi-zone remote control.Enter a realm beyond imagination with a receiver that is fully custom-installation-ready and offers a discrete 2 Room Multi-zone A/V output plus independent Zone Control from a remote that enables you to enjoy all of your A/V entertainment throughout your home.Discover a receiver that delivers audio and video so rich, so pure, so powerful and so completely different - how you think about home entertainment will be forever changed.