Brand NamePioneer
Product Specifications
Technical Details
- "Works with iPhone" certification and front USB connectivity provide iPod, touch
- Simple connectivity of high-performance HD video, HD audio, portable, internet, wireless
- The latest version of HDMI inputs and outputs provide more HD connectivity options with "future-proof" 3-D capability
- 1080p video conversion and upscaling ensures the highest quality video from any source--even "legacy" analog
- High-Power Discrete Transistor multi-hannel amplifiers. Channels 7.1 Power Output Per Channel(20Hz-20kHz,.08%THD@8ohm) 110 Power Output Per Channel (1kHz@8ohm) 120 Power Output Per Channel (1kHz@6ohm) 125
Product Details
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Product Description
From the Manufacturer
Pioneer VSX-1120-K Receiver: The Ultimate Home Theater Control Center
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The Pioneer VSX-1120-K delivers the ultimate level of control and sophistication for your home theater. With connectivity options for all your latest high-definition home theater components and digital 1080p upscaling from any source, the VSX-1120-K takes performance a step further with multi-zone and RS-232 support for home automation systems. And the VSX-1120-K brings extensive connectivity for your digital media via Ethernet and a front USB input, and compatibility with Bluetooth sources (using the optional AS-BT100 adapter, sold separately). Plus, it's "Works with iPhone"-certified, so you can incorporate your favorite Apple products into your home theater easily. iControlAVR, a free iPhone app (downloaded separately) and PC control turns your iPhone, iPod Touch, or PC into the ultimate control center. Home theater systems don't get more powerful or versatile than the Pioneer VSX-1120-K.
The Ultimate iPhone Experience--Now In Your Home Theater
 Included cable makes integrating your favorite Apple products a breeze |
Get a truly plug-and-play iPhone experience with your home theater. Thanks to the VSX-1120-K's "Works with iPhone" certification, you can enjoy music with iTunes� album art, movies, downloaded TV shows from iTunes, photos, web content such as YouTube� and more. An included USB/composite video cable makes connecting your iPhone to share your favorite media easy--and your iPhone charges automatically when connected. Unlike other receiver lines, there's no need to buy a separate dock to enjoy your iPhone with your home theater. This included cable also works with most generations of iPod Classic, nano, and iPod Touch.
Share your videos, and enjoy music with full album information and album art on your TV. Your iPhone's wireless and network features remain fully functional and music and movies will mute when you receive an incoming call. And you've got lots of control options--use the iPhone directly, or push a single button on the VSX-1120-K's front panel to switch control to the included preset remote and an intuitive, full-color GUI.
Plus, your iPhone's music will always sound its best thanks to Pioneer's exclusive Advanced Sound Retriever technology, which restores lost data in compressed music files. So even in a big room, you'll get much closer to the artist's original intent from you iPhone, iPod or other MP3 player. And Auto Level Control means a smooth, consistent listening experience with no jarring volume changes between your favorite songs and albums.
Pioneer's Free iPhone App Turns Your iPhone or iPod Touch into a Powerful Control Center
Pioneer's iControlAVR (downloaded separately via Apple's App Store) gives you total control over your home theater sound. With controls for master and per-zone volume, room calibration, and more, you've got a simple but powerful way to adjust your home theater sound any way you like.
The iPhone and iPod Touch's accelerometer controls are used to control balance and emphasis--no confusing sequence of remote buttons to remember, just tilt and maneuver your Apple portable device until the sound is right where you want it.
Connectivity That Puts You Closer To Your Movies, Music, and Photos
 Bluetooth capability (with AS-BT100 adapter, sold separately) lets you play music wirelessly from your Bluetooth-enabled portable devices |
In addition to connections for all your home theater components, a front HDMI input lets you conveniently connect high-definition devices like an HD camcorder to view your videos in all their glory in your home theater. A front USB port lets you connect your digital camera or portable media player to display a slideshow of JPEG photos on your HDTV, or play MP3, WAV, or WMA music files with full ID3 tag and album art support. And your options don't stop with your portable devices. The Pioneer VSX-1120-K is your portal for SIRIUS� satellite radio (subscription required) and thousands of free Internet radio stations --all just a few clicks of the remote away.
On-Screen GUI, PC Control, and RS-232 Support Provide Even More Control Options
There are more ways to control your Pioneer VSX-1120-K than just your iPhone. There's a full-color on-screen GUI for use with the included preset remote, and PC control capability so you can use your Mac or PC to adjust settings when your receiver is connected to your home network via Ethernet. For full-on home theater automation, the VSX-1120-K supports RS-232 systems such as Control4® and Crestron®. So you can control your Pioneer home theater anywhere, from the whole house to the palm of your hand.
Release Your Smartphone's Music with the AS-BT100 Bluetooth Adapter (sold separately)
For wireless connectivity, add a Pioneer AS-BT100 Bluetooth adapter (sold separately) to release your music from your iPhone, Blackberry®, or Android® smartphone as well as other Bluetooth-enabled sources like laptops. And the VSX-1120-K's Advanced Sound Retriever AIR technology makes sure that even your compressed MP3s are brought back to near cd-quality sound.
How Pioneer's Technology Delivers the Ultimate Home Theater Experience
 Connectivity for all your home theater components. View larger  A full-color GUI to control your home theater experience |
All of Pioneer's latest receivers support the latest HDMI specification, meaning that you're not just getting the most out of your existing movies and music, you're preparing for the next generation of 3-D video content with the VSX-1120-K. And with 6 HDMI inputs, including 1 on the front panel, you've got more than enough connectivity options for the growing number of high-definition sources available today.
Marvell® 1080p Video Upscaling from Any Source
Marvell's cutting-edge advanced video processing lets you upscale your picture to digital 1080p from virtually any source, even digital HDMI, at a quality level unprecedented in home theaters. PureCinema's extra processing of 3D noise reduction and Y/C color separation ensures you'll get the best picture possible from anything you've got.
True-to-Life, High-Definition Audio and New Dolby Pro Logic IIz and THX Select2 Plus
Of course all the latest Pioneer receivers support high-definition audio formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Audio to give your Blu-ray Disc® movies a soundtrack that's true-to-life. But Pioneer adds an extra dimension with support for Dolby Pro Logic IIz across its entire 2010 line of receivers, which adds a "height" channel for an even more immersive experience. And the Pioneer VSX-1120-K takes it even further with THX Select2 Plus certification, to ensure a true cinema-quality experience in your home.
Total Control with Custom Pioneer Technologies: Acoustic Calibration, Advanced Sound Retriever, and Auto Level Control
Pioneer's exclusive Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration system (MCACC) provides a near studio-quality, multi-channel listening experience customized specifically to your listening environment. An included microphone measures every speaker's connection, and notes its size, distance from the listening point, sound levels and timbre to calibrate and maximize performance. The VSX-1120-K has an advanced version of MCACC that will calibrate with a 9-band equalizer, auto-crossover settings, and can even send charts of its measurements to your PC via USB.
Even compressed audio such as WMA, MP3 and AAC is enhanced with another Pioneer exclusive, Advanced Sound Retriever, by filling in areas where minute details were left out during the compression process. This technology also enhances the audio quality of SIRIUS Satellite Radio and can realize an upper limit frequency of 20kHz with compressed audio playback for surprising audio richness and clarity even from "lossy" digital audio sources. The VSX-1120-K's advanced ASR can restore even multi-channel audio.
Additionally, the Auto Level Control feature can equalize volume level differences between tracks playing from an iPhone or iPod or during television programming so the volume can be enjoyed at a consistent level--no more jarring "blare" when switching audio sources.
All of these technologies come together in the VSX-1120-K to deliver the ultimate level of control and sophistication for the discerning home entertainment enthusiast.
Making Your Pioneer VSX-1120 a Complete Home Theater
 Premium in-wall speakers create a complete home theater |
7.1 Speaker Packages for the VSX-1120
- The Pioneer S-IC651-LR 6.5" In-ceiling CST Speaker for Front Left and Right
- The Pioneer S-IW551L LCR In-wall CST Speaker for Front Center Channel
- The Pioneer S-IW651-LR In-wall CST Speakers for Surrounds and Surround Backs
- The Pioneer S-W601 12" Powered Subwoofer
- The Pioneer SE-A1000 Flagship Audiophile/Home Theater Headphones
Receiver Feature Chart
| Power | Dolby Pro-Logic IIz | Bluetooth Ready (with adapter) | USB/ iPhone Certified | Internet Radio | iPhone Remote App | PC Control | HDMI In - 3D Ready | On-Screen Display | |
 | 110x5 Watts | Pre-Out |  | - | - | - | - | 3 | - |
 | 110x5 Watts | Pre-Out | | | - | - | - | 4 | Text |
 | 110x7 Watts | Speaker Assign | | | - | - | - | 4 | Text |
 | 110x7 Watts | Speaker Assign | | | | | - | 6 inc. Front | GUI |
 | 120x7 Watts | Pre-Out and Speaker | | | | | | 6 inc. Front/ 1 Out | GUI |
Technical Specifications
Product Description
Key Features are I20 Watts x 7 – (20Hz – 20kHz @ 8 ohm w/ .08%THD) It has a 7 Channel Direct Energy Configurable Amplifier with Surround Back. Dolby Pro-logic IIz or B Speaker, THX Select 2 Plus Certified, Dolby True-HD / DTS-HD Master Audio, Advanced MCACC with 9 Band EQ , PQLS – Multi-Channel, Auto Level Control – Multi-Channel, Sound Retriever AIR – Multi- channel . It has a Internet Radio. It supports iPod Digital USB / USB Memory Audio, HDMI 1.4 (6 In / 2 out), 3-D and Audio return Channel, Dual HDMI Output, front HDMi In Marvell I080p Video Scaler. Analog to HDMi Video Conversion. It has HDMI to HDMI 1080p Scaling. Component Video (2 in / 1 out). Full Color GUI. It has PC Control with Multi-Zone A/V Pre-out. 9.1 Channel Pre-outs, RS-232 & Detacheable Power and Learning Remote Control
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
126 of 134 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
Despite the rather disappointing announcement of their departure from the Plasma arena and the de facto departure from in-house blu ray players, Pioneer appears to have made a bold move into the highly competitive mid-range receiver market. Denon and Onkyo have released fiercely competitive models in the $700 price-range that couple either excellent video processing, streamed media, and ample connectivity. My recent review of the Denon AVR891 confirmed their continued competitive product line, but I did lament it lacked some of the swiss army knife approach sometimes imperfectly utilized by Onkyo (the 891 lacks internet-streaming, surround wide processing, and basic rear-panel connectivity). That said, Denon's use of the ABT chipset (begun last year with the ABT-2010 and continued this year with the ABT-2015) was my preferred AVR video processing (I performed it over Reon XV, Farjouda chips, and lower spec'd ABT chips).
Having owned the 1120's successor both in elite (21) and no-elite (9040) form, I was always impressed by their power, sonic quality, and design. That said, they lacked what had rapidly become basic featureset in 2009 (wide or height presence configuration, only four hdmi inputs, and only analogue video processing). The 1120's little brother the VSX-1020 established a reasonably high bar for the 1120 to hurdle in bringing internet radio, iphone control, six hdmi, and wide/height processing in a tidy package widely available under $500. That said, the 1020 was a very compotent and efficient entry-level receiver, but lacked some of the longer legs for bigger rooms or thirsty speakers. Enter the 1120.
The 1120 shares the same deep chassis of the 9140 and Elite 21. At over 17" deep, it is almost four inches deeper and four pounds heavier than the 1020. It's also over two inches deeper and four and a half pounds heavier than the Denon 891. The design is conservative and almost identical to last year's 9040 with a front fascia that is masculine and angular. Beneath the pop-out front input cover are a USB port for Iphone and Ipod playback, an HDMI port and the setup microphone input. The HDMI input is a nice touch for camcorders and other temporary connected inputs (Onkyo offers similar with 708 while Denon has six rear-mounted HDMI inputs).
The rear panel is also similar to last year's 9040, but four more speaker binding posts have been added for height and wide processing (Pioneer uses MCACC wide since the auto-callibration software is not done via Audyssey DSX). Importantly, the Pioneer has 9.1 pre-outs for those looking to use an external amplifier. Unfortunately, this connectivity has been removed from the Denon AVR2311 and 891 that are natural competitors of the 1120 by price alone.
The remote is very similar to the 1020 in layout, but it is backlit and contains XM and Zone 3. While Pioneer's remote is not as easily identified with small, similar buttons compared to the Denon, it is learning and back-lit, which is a step ahead of the 891/2311/991/3311. Onyko offers a learning remote in the TX NR708, but is not fully backlit.
Setting up the receiver with MCACC is quick and easy, but each MCACC setting measures the white noise and reverb from speakers from only a single memory point whereas Audyssey MultiEQ in the Denon incorporates multiple locations' measurements. This might have an impact on callibration depending on the layout of one's room. That said, I find both tend have a significant impact on accuracy and each have their tweaking benefits.
Once I had setup my 5.1 plus heights layout, I was very impressed with the 1120. While it appears to share a lot of the same audio section with the 9040, it seems to have a wider soundstage, which might have something to do with the presence speakers (I was previously passively bi-amping the height speakers with the 9040). After listening to a variety of blu rays and SACDs from my Oppo, I was nothing but amazed by the power and quality of the sound. Please keep in mind I am of the school that callibrated mid and entry level receivers tend to offer about the same quality audio with incremental differences - speakers (and power to push them) have the biggest impact on quality. That said, this is a very capable receiver that keeps putting me in trouble with my wife to turn it down!
The 1120 really shines in video processing with the Marvell Qdeo chip that offers very similar deinterlacing proficiency to the ABT-2015, but shines with multiple noise reduction settings. On my 54" panasonic plasma, I have found that video processing via the 1120's noise reduction settings does help clean up noisy 1080i hd programing. That said, its benefit is incremental, and like all video processors, is not magical in its ability to render standard definition sources as blu ray quality. The video processing settings are applicable per input, which is ideal considering most people should only use it for cable boxes and not bdps.
While this receiver does have a few noticeable shortcomings (lack of on screen display and pandora streaming), it is an incredible package at its current street price floating between $600 and $700. Its rare ability to not molest hdmi video and apply meaningful noise reduction is excellent. Its power, flexibility, and connectivity is excellent, though I would like to see 7.1 MCH inputs. All in all, it's a very competitive offering and highly recommended.
Having owned the 1120's successor both in elite (21) and no-elite (9040) form, I was always impressed by their power, sonic quality, and design. That said, they lacked what had rapidly become basic featureset in 2009 (wide or height presence configuration, only four hdmi inputs, and only analogue video processing). The 1120's little brother the VSX-1020 established a reasonably high bar for the 1120 to hurdle in bringing internet radio, iphone control, six hdmi, and wide/height processing in a tidy package widely available under $500. That said, the 1020 was a very compotent and efficient entry-level receiver, but lacked some of the longer legs for bigger rooms or thirsty speakers. Enter the 1120.
The 1120 shares the same deep chassis of the 9140 and Elite 21. At over 17" deep, it is almost four inches deeper and four pounds heavier than the 1020. It's also over two inches deeper and four and a half pounds heavier than the Denon 891. The design is conservative and almost identical to last year's 9040 with a front fascia that is masculine and angular. Beneath the pop-out front input cover are a USB port for Iphone and Ipod playback, an HDMI port and the setup microphone input. The HDMI input is a nice touch for camcorders and other temporary connected inputs (Onkyo offers similar with 708 while Denon has six rear-mounted HDMI inputs).
The rear panel is also similar to last year's 9040, but four more speaker binding posts have been added for height and wide processing (Pioneer uses MCACC wide since the auto-callibration software is not done via Audyssey DSX). Importantly, the Pioneer has 9.1 pre-outs for those looking to use an external amplifier. Unfortunately, this connectivity has been removed from the Denon AVR2311 and 891 that are natural competitors of the 1120 by price alone.
The remote is very similar to the 1020 in layout, but it is backlit and contains XM and Zone 3. While Pioneer's remote is not as easily identified with small, similar buttons compared to the Denon, it is learning and back-lit, which is a step ahead of the 891/2311/991/3311. Onyko offers a learning remote in the TX NR708, but is not fully backlit.
Setting up the receiver with MCACC is quick and easy, but each MCACC setting measures the white noise and reverb from speakers from only a single memory point whereas Audyssey MultiEQ in the Denon incorporates multiple locations' measurements. This might have an impact on callibration depending on the layout of one's room. That said, I find both tend have a significant impact on accuracy and each have their tweaking benefits.
Once I had setup my 5.1 plus heights layout, I was very impressed with the 1120. While it appears to share a lot of the same audio section with the 9040, it seems to have a wider soundstage, which might have something to do with the presence speakers (I was previously passively bi-amping the height speakers with the 9040). After listening to a variety of blu rays and SACDs from my Oppo, I was nothing but amazed by the power and quality of the sound. Please keep in mind I am of the school that callibrated mid and entry level receivers tend to offer about the same quality audio with incremental differences - speakers (and power to push them) have the biggest impact on quality. That said, this is a very capable receiver that keeps putting me in trouble with my wife to turn it down!
The 1120 really shines in video processing with the Marvell Qdeo chip that offers very similar deinterlacing proficiency to the ABT-2015, but shines with multiple noise reduction settings. On my 54" panasonic plasma, I have found that video processing via the 1120's noise reduction settings does help clean up noisy 1080i hd programing. That said, its benefit is incremental, and like all video processors, is not magical in its ability to render standard definition sources as blu ray quality. The video processing settings are applicable per input, which is ideal considering most people should only use it for cable boxes and not bdps.
While this receiver does have a few noticeable shortcomings (lack of on screen display and pandora streaming), it is an incredible package at its current street price floating between $600 and $700. Its rare ability to not molest hdmi video and apply meaningful noise reduction is excellent. Its power, flexibility, and connectivity is excellent, though I would like to see 7.1 MCH inputs. All in all, it's a very competitive offering and highly recommended.
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
This review is written from someone who has never had the experience of an A/V receiver before. So when I started looking around, I immediately felt like I was in deep water. It's worse than choosing a car, I swear. I wanted something cheap enough to be affordable now, but have enough features and specs to enable me to use it even as I expand/improve my home theater in the coming years. But I spent a lot of time combing through reviews online, product specifications, and forums before settling on this bad boy. I even went so far as to create a spreadsheet that compared weighted values of features and specs. Yeah, talk about nerd alert. So here's my overall impression. If you want to skip to the end, there's some important notes that I was confused about while purchasing that might help out.
Aesthetically, it's very sexy. I was kind of turned off from a lot of other models that had a slew of buttons or other such clutter on the front. I prefer the sleek facade. It does have enough buttons on the front to give you a good deal of functionality, without making the front look like a remote. The overall construction is very solid. The buttons don't feel cheap, the knobs are solid and turn smoothly. Although the front is plastic, it looks very nice and I'm quite sure it's polycarbonate, which is very tough. It sure does have some heft to it as well, which is reassuring. All of the speaker connections on the back feel sturdy.
The connections available on this boggle the mind. There's anything you could ever need. Sure, there's other models that have 481692437 HDMI connections, but seriously who needs that many? I can't think of how you could even use more than the 5 inputs the 1120 gives you. It offers up to 7.1 surround, which would have been real nice if they'd offered 7.2, but I'll survive. It is listed as 110 watts per channel. I realize the whole controversy about how little this can tell you and that most manufacturers inflate these numbers. But the total output is still a hefty 400 watts, which should be enough for most anyone who doesn't have power-gobbling speakers. And if your speakers are that thirsty, what are you doing looking at a mid-range receiver? The remote is a bit crowded, but makes sense once you take a minute and look at it. Plus it's got a lot of functionality as a universal remote, with preset codes for many manufacturers included in the Pioneer manual. It's a breeze to set up, and I can now control all of my electronics - except the PS3 - with my receiver remote. The backlight button is well placed, my only gripe here is that once the buttons are lit there's still no way to tell what the button does even if you can see it, so you still look like you're shooting in the dark. Lighting up the labels would have been nice, or some sort of distinguishing feature on the buttons themselves.
As for features, this has plenty. I don't much care for the i-phone connectivity, since I don't much care for i-phones. It'd have been nice if they had upped the ante to include "smartphone connectivity" instead. but something I might not have used anyway. The upscaling Marvell chipset does a very nice job of taking even standard definition pictures and making them look like 1080i. Based on my non-professional opinion, it seems to handle it better than my PS3. The on-screen menu is a god-send, I can't imagine having to set all of the options available through the tiny screen on the front of the unit. it's relatively intuitive, and not hard to find what you're looking for. Which is impressive given the number of options available. Setting up the MCACC was a breeze, and I found that I was very happy with the arrangement that it gave me. I would have preferred a little more bass, but then again I don't have a subwoofer yet.
You are also given several different sound options, which is nice. I preferred the direct setting for music, which bypasses much of the audio processing, which projected a more clear, authentic sound. For movies I left it on the Auto Surround setting, which did wonderfully for a full sound stage. I won't be using the Sirius satellite radio, but I guess it's neat that it's there, in case I change my mind in the future. The neat thing for me was the network capability. I haven't set up the internet radio yet, but I probably will.
I love this product, and would buy it again in a second. It sounds great, pushes plenty of power to my Klipsch speakers, and finally gives me a terrific anchor for my home theater system with tons of upward capability still. For the price it's going at, this is the best you'll find for your money. Happy listening.
*Notes*
Although this unit contains speaker connections for 9 speakers, there's limited capability for what you can use at a time. The gist of it is that it allows you to do 7.1 with either front wide/height OR rear surround, 5.1 with a second zone, or 5.1 with passively bi-amped front speakers (which is my current set-up).
C-net did a review of the Pioneer VSX-1020-K 7.1 Home Theater Receiver in which they said that it lacks HDMI passthrough. This may or may not be true for the 1020, but there seemed to be nothing I could find on if the 1120 contained HDMI passthrough and most seemed to assume it did not. Let me be the one to say unequivocally that the 1120 does indeed support HDMI passthrough, and I was using it just last night.
Aesthetically, it's very sexy. I was kind of turned off from a lot of other models that had a slew of buttons or other such clutter on the front. I prefer the sleek facade. It does have enough buttons on the front to give you a good deal of functionality, without making the front look like a remote. The overall construction is very solid. The buttons don't feel cheap, the knobs are solid and turn smoothly. Although the front is plastic, it looks very nice and I'm quite sure it's polycarbonate, which is very tough. It sure does have some heft to it as well, which is reassuring. All of the speaker connections on the back feel sturdy.
The connections available on this boggle the mind. There's anything you could ever need. Sure, there's other models that have 481692437 HDMI connections, but seriously who needs that many? I can't think of how you could even use more than the 5 inputs the 1120 gives you. It offers up to 7.1 surround, which would have been real nice if they'd offered 7.2, but I'll survive. It is listed as 110 watts per channel. I realize the whole controversy about how little this can tell you and that most manufacturers inflate these numbers. But the total output is still a hefty 400 watts, which should be enough for most anyone who doesn't have power-gobbling speakers. And if your speakers are that thirsty, what are you doing looking at a mid-range receiver? The remote is a bit crowded, but makes sense once you take a minute and look at it. Plus it's got a lot of functionality as a universal remote, with preset codes for many manufacturers included in the Pioneer manual. It's a breeze to set up, and I can now control all of my electronics - except the PS3 - with my receiver remote. The backlight button is well placed, my only gripe here is that once the buttons are lit there's still no way to tell what the button does even if you can see it, so you still look like you're shooting in the dark. Lighting up the labels would have been nice, or some sort of distinguishing feature on the buttons themselves.
As for features, this has plenty. I don't much care for the i-phone connectivity, since I don't much care for i-phones. It'd have been nice if they had upped the ante to include "smartphone connectivity" instead. but something I might not have used anyway. The upscaling Marvell chipset does a very nice job of taking even standard definition pictures and making them look like 1080i. Based on my non-professional opinion, it seems to handle it better than my PS3. The on-screen menu is a god-send, I can't imagine having to set all of the options available through the tiny screen on the front of the unit. it's relatively intuitive, and not hard to find what you're looking for. Which is impressive given the number of options available. Setting up the MCACC was a breeze, and I found that I was very happy with the arrangement that it gave me. I would have preferred a little more bass, but then again I don't have a subwoofer yet.
You are also given several different sound options, which is nice. I preferred the direct setting for music, which bypasses much of the audio processing, which projected a more clear, authentic sound. For movies I left it on the Auto Surround setting, which did wonderfully for a full sound stage. I won't be using the Sirius satellite radio, but I guess it's neat that it's there, in case I change my mind in the future. The neat thing for me was the network capability. I haven't set up the internet radio yet, but I probably will.
I love this product, and would buy it again in a second. It sounds great, pushes plenty of power to my Klipsch speakers, and finally gives me a terrific anchor for my home theater system with tons of upward capability still. For the price it's going at, this is the best you'll find for your money. Happy listening.
*Notes*
Although this unit contains speaker connections for 9 speakers, there's limited capability for what you can use at a time. The gist of it is that it allows you to do 7.1 with either front wide/height OR rear surround, 5.1 with a second zone, or 5.1 with passively bi-amped front speakers (which is my current set-up).
C-net did a review of the Pioneer VSX-1020-K 7.1 Home Theater Receiver in which they said that it lacks HDMI passthrough. This may or may not be true for the 1020, but there seemed to be nothing I could find on if the 1120 contained HDMI passthrough and most seemed to assume it did not. Let me be the one to say unequivocally that the 1120 does indeed support HDMI passthrough, and I was using it just last night.
48 of 51 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
like so many of you i waited, try to look at as many reviews as possible, weight the pros and cons of every manufacturer and at the end for a number of resons i decide to go w the 1120. i was lucky enough that i got mine at an incredible price from [...] through amazon and pay less the MSRP, and also got one of the very first units 3 weeks before arrives in amazon, which give me some time to put it to the test before writing this review. First things first, the unit looks amazing it is heavier and deeper than the 1020, set up took me about 2 hours ,is a good idea to take it easy and READ through the manual as much as you can since you can easily bypass important info that relates directly to your receiver functioning the way it should, for example have all the speaker connections ready and well identified if possible and take note of which components and what inputs are being used so you dont go crazy later trying to remember what is where, (before plugging the unit) obvious to do for some audiophiles, but not so, to the guys that are running to listen to this baby in action...!!
for reference only, this is my set up:
TV: 60pg60 Plasma (60 inch)
directv HD
BD: Playstation 3 Slim
GC: XBox 360,
GC:WII black
MP: HD media player (western Difital) w 2 TB hard drive.
Also using an universal remote control (Harmony 900)
Everything is behind cabinet doors away from view.
All of this components are connected to the 1120 via HDMI (except wii) and the output HDMI 1.4 to the tv, so inmediatly i free up space on my tv and dont have more than 1 cable attached to it. SET UP is very easy though, for internet connection im using a point of acces (netgear) wireless, and installation has being a breeze, the reciever identified the connection and had a whole bunch of internet radio stations pre-installed that i can edit, add, or delete if i want to. I also have the iphone and to be honest the one feature that i was looking forward to use and test was to being able to watch my music videos and movies on my plasma and i can assure anyone: i was not disapointed!!, the quality is VERY GOOD, and yes, in the event of receiving a phone call it pauses and than continues once you hang up. Same with music, even though the GUI could have being a little more sophisticated it was easy to navigate through both music and videos, also have the icontrolav app, and is not as bad as some audiophiles may say, yes is very basic, and you need to be in front of your receiver for it to work, but i like the fact that you can swith inputs as well as volume , balance, and a few more things... As Far as VIDEO.. even my wife could see a difference..YEs is noticeable even with my cable box (directv) and WII console. Also the resolution out of my WD media center is only 480P but it seems to be 720 or more (depending on the file) thanks to the marvel Chip that drives the 1120. by the way, most of the movies i have in the media center are compressed using an MKV file, and they view in dvd quality and sound, and talking about.. SOUND...finally,.. I have this receiver paired up with Definitive technologies PRO800 series speakers (5.1 configuration) and my living room is open to my kitchen a good 25ft by 15ft w ceilings 10ft high. i tested the receiver for a number of days with both music and movies, it was delightful to hear some of my old dvd and see them again with the 1120, in movies like matrix or Pirates the caribean you could hear clean ,crisp, loud explosion, rain, bone crushing without distortion even at high volume, new movies like shutter island, or avatar are amazing to the point that even at very low volumes is a treat for the ears..Andrea Boccelli concerts, Marylin Manson or Duran-Duran put you and any listener in the middle of it..in voice detail as well as high and low frequencies,instruments never sounded so good, bass is up to you,no complaints at all here, the only thing is that i did have a bit of a problem trying to decide which sound decoder to use, there are so many options and they all sound great, i think neo 6 + THX and Dolby proIIz + THX may be my favorites for both movies and music but that's just me. in case theres any doubt..SOUND is really IMPRESSIVE, the options galore, great video processing, THX, Internet radio, i phone connectivity and much more have made me a true believer on Pioneer, im glad i waited and glad that i did not received a bad unit, it happens with every manufacurer out there no matter wether is pioneer, Onkyo or APPLE...but my experience with the 1120k has being A+ all the way...will do an update in a few weeks after more "testing". but if anybody has any questions specifically let me know and will try to reply asap.
for reference only, this is my set up:
TV: 60pg60 Plasma (60 inch)
directv HD
BD: Playstation 3 Slim
GC: XBox 360,
GC:WII black
MP: HD media player (western Difital) w 2 TB hard drive.
Also using an universal remote control (Harmony 900)
Everything is behind cabinet doors away from view.
All of this components are connected to the 1120 via HDMI (except wii) and the output HDMI 1.4 to the tv, so inmediatly i free up space on my tv and dont have more than 1 cable attached to it. SET UP is very easy though, for internet connection im using a point of acces (netgear) wireless, and installation has being a breeze, the reciever identified the connection and had a whole bunch of internet radio stations pre-installed that i can edit, add, or delete if i want to. I also have the iphone and to be honest the one feature that i was looking forward to use and test was to being able to watch my music videos and movies on my plasma and i can assure anyone: i was not disapointed!!, the quality is VERY GOOD, and yes, in the event of receiving a phone call it pauses and than continues once you hang up. Same with music, even though the GUI could have being a little more sophisticated it was easy to navigate through both music and videos, also have the icontrolav app, and is not as bad as some audiophiles may say, yes is very basic, and you need to be in front of your receiver for it to work, but i like the fact that you can swith inputs as well as volume , balance, and a few more things... As Far as VIDEO.. even my wife could see a difference..YEs is noticeable even with my cable box (directv) and WII console. Also the resolution out of my WD media center is only 480P but it seems to be 720 or more (depending on the file) thanks to the marvel Chip that drives the 1120. by the way, most of the movies i have in the media center are compressed using an MKV file, and they view in dvd quality and sound, and talking about.. SOUND...finally,.. I have this receiver paired up with Definitive technologies PRO800 series speakers (5.1 configuration) and my living room is open to my kitchen a good 25ft by 15ft w ceilings 10ft high. i tested the receiver for a number of days with both music and movies, it was delightful to hear some of my old dvd and see them again with the 1120, in movies like matrix or Pirates the caribean you could hear clean ,crisp, loud explosion, rain, bone crushing without distortion even at high volume, new movies like shutter island, or avatar are amazing to the point that even at very low volumes is a treat for the ears..Andrea Boccelli concerts, Marylin Manson or Duran-Duran put you and any listener in the middle of it..in voice detail as well as high and low frequencies,instruments never sounded so good, bass is up to you,no complaints at all here, the only thing is that i did have a bit of a problem trying to decide which sound decoder to use, there are so many options and they all sound great, i think neo 6 + THX and Dolby proIIz + THX may be my favorites for both movies and music but that's just me. in case theres any doubt..SOUND is really IMPRESSIVE, the options galore, great video processing, THX, Internet radio, i phone connectivity and much more have made me a true believer on Pioneer, im glad i waited and glad that i did not received a bad unit, it happens with every manufacurer out there no matter wether is pioneer, Onkyo or APPLE...but my experience with the 1120k has being A+ all the way...will do an update in a few weeks after more "testing". but if anybody has any questions specifically let me know and will try to reply asap.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Does everything I could possible want, and then some!! POWER!!
5 Star Unit
I have been piecing together a 7.1 system from May of 2011 until today. I added the final member to the family in this beast that is one of my rears. Read more
I have been piecing together a 7.1 system from May of 2011 until today. I added the final member to the family in this beast that is one of my rears. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Master Shake
best Bang for your buck for Mid Range receiver
coming from an Onkyo 606, which died on me after a year, due to the infamous HDMI switch board failure. i finally decided to pull the trigger on a higher end receiver. Read more
Published 5 months ago by howie
Poor quality receiver
This receiver worked fine for about 3 months. Over the next 3-5 months 3 of the HDMI ports have failed. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Jean
Good but with a serious error
It should be very happy with this excellent receiver a/V Pioneer VSX - 1120 - k. Unfortunately, sent me a Remote Control wrong model AXD7595, which corresponds to the VSX-1020... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Oscar Alarco Garcia
vsx-1120
This is a great multifunctional reciever. I have it setup as a A+B: A is 5.1 surround sound in my family room and B is stereo on my patio with BOSE outdoor speaker. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Lisa Snyder
A note on external IR
I've had this receiver for several months now with no problems. It is a great product. I recently decided to switch all of my devices to RF and put them in a closed cabinet. Read more
Published 12 months ago by J. Johnson
marantz what?
after water damaged (flood) ruined my old marantz receiver, it got replaced by this.
well no regrets whatsoever ! Read more
well no regrets whatsoever ! Read more
Published 13 months ago by Serge C. Bakmeijer
Now, it's vapor ware!
Well, not much point to this review, except for those buying it used. Pioneer has replaced their line of Pioneer and Elite AVRs, dropping the VSX-1120-K. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Phillip Slepian
HDMI blew up 2 weeks after arrival
As other posters have noted, the HDMI ports are very bad on this unit. On mine the unit worked for 2 weeks max, then quit working. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Ed Strasser
Works for me...
I am another victim of the Onkyo TX-SR606 failing HDMI board. The 1120-K a million times better in sound. Read more
Published 14 months ago by jegg9
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