Customer Reviews

Pioneer VSX-520-K 5.1 Home Theater Receiver

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I ordered this for a friend as a replacement for a Panasonic SA-HE70 (which got good reviews a few years ago). He isn't disappointed. He now is set for both 3D and blu-ray HiDef. With his Bose speaker system, he doesn't need much power, but this little receiver seems to have alot of it for the money.

This is Pioneer's bottom of the line, but don't let that fool you. It has 3 HDMI 1.4a inputs, decodes Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Audio, and Dolby Pro Logic IIz, is Blue Tooth ready (need adapter), and 3-D video ready. Quite a bargain for $200.

Cons: Spring Clips for surround sound speakers (binding posts for the mains).
If you don't connect with HDMI, DVD audio is monitored thru the "CD" connection. It took a little while to figure this out -causing much anxiety.

If you want a basic surround reciever that is fully capable of supporting all current forms of video and audio, you could do alot worse than the VSX-520-k, and, for the money, you would be hard-pressed to do better.

Well, let me start by saying that I selected this receiver due to its specs and features being among the best for this price range. Pioneer's reputation for providing solid products was also a factor. With support for the latest audio codecs from Dolby and DTS, as well as HDMI 1.4 support, this receiver is a great buy.

Prior to purchase, some of the other reviews that I saw had me afraid that I may be returning this product. However, upon setting up my receiver, I realised that some of the complaints that people noted regarding sound quality probably had to do with the receiver's default settings being optimized for satellite/subwoofer 5.1 speaker packages with small satellites used for front, surround, and center speakers. Therefore, the receiver attenuates low frequenies prior to them being sent to these speakers, as they can't typically reproduce them anyway.

This pioneer receiver lets you set a speaker size setting, which in turn adjusts the frequency range that will be sent to each speaker accordingly. If you have large speakers, the setting will need to adjusted to "large" from the default of "small". This will allow for lower frequencies to be passed to the speakers in question (front, surround, center, etc).

This receiver also has a "xover" or crossover setting, which sets a frequency cutoff between your main speakers and subwoofer. In a 5.1 channel setting, this allows your subwoofer to output the frequencies below the frequency threshold that you set. Frequencies above this threshold will be handled by the other channels in your setup. If you do not have a subwoofer, and have main speakers that are capable of producing low frequencies effectively, you should set the "xover" setting to its lowest frequency setting so you are not removing this range of frequencies from your audio.

This really is a solid receiver for the price. It produces more than enough power for the average listener, with lower total harmonic distortion than comparably priced counterparts from Denon, Yamaha, and Onkyo. I am an electrical engineer whose studies were emphasized on audio, so this was a big draw for me.

I hope this review clears some things up for those looking for a solid value-priced receiver, as well as for those who had complaints about sound quality.

Just hooked eveything up this week and was pleasantly surprised. I had been using what was at the time (19 years ago) one of Pioneers top of the line receivers with Dolby Pro Logic surround sound. It still works fine, but I tell you: the sound from this inexpensive receiver blows away the old one. For me, just for the Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound feature playing through my Bose Acoustimass system is just amazing. I will play with it a little further for sound enhancements and see where it goes. The connections were simple and the HDMI hookups make it easy for the TV install.

I purchased this product as part of an overhaul of my home theater arrangement, which included a new HDTV, Blu-Ray player, and receiver. I chose the Pioneer product because it offered HDMI switching and current-gen audio format decoding at a very good price. My two previous receivers had been Sony products, which I liked, but I thought Pioneer would be a solid brand.

My home theater arrangement includes the following components:

-My computer, connected via HDMI for video and S/PDIF (optical) for audio
-LG BD570 Blu-Ray player, connected via HDMI for audio and video
-Cable HDTV DVR, connected via HDMI for audio and video
-Panasonic TC-P65S2 HDTV connected via HDMI to the receiver for video only

Connecting everything was no more or less complicated than any other receiver. This receiver switches the HDMI and does decode the current-gen audio formats. It also allows for the selection of the digital audio source for each HDMI input, allowing for audio from a source other than the HDMI connection (such as the optical audio source from my computer).

However, I've encountered several nagging flaws with the product:

-The "programmable" digital audio input does not work about half the time. I use one of the two optical audio inputs for my computer feed, which I always use for that HDMI input source on the receiver. Approximately half the time when I turn on the receiver, it changes to a "no audio source found" mode for the HDMI input used by my computer. I have to cycle through all of the possible digital audio inputs (using the remote) to get back to the one I'm using, at which point it works fine. This happens even if I have audio being outputted from my computer - the receiver still does not detect audio input. I never had this problem with my previous Sony receiver.

-When audio does work from my computer (over the optical audio connection), it emits a loud "pop" when resuming paused sources that have digital audio (Dolby Digital or DTS). This happens about half the time. I never had this problem with my previous Sony receiver.

-Audio processing has a bit of a "lag" relative to video processing when starting something. That is, video will be displayed, but there will be about a second or two before the audio from the scene is output. The audio is not delayed, there is just no audio output for the video being displayed. This happens for HDMI audio and optical audio. I never had this problem with my previous Sony receiver.

-The remote does not work particularly well. I'm not certain if it is the sensor on the receiver or the output of the remote, but it fails to respond to about 1/3 of the button presses. I typically have to angle the remote carefully to ensure proper usage. None of the other remotes I have have any such difficulty interacting with their respective devices, so it is not a matter of placement or interference.

-The subwoofer output frequently fails to activate my subwoofer. My subwoofer has a standby mode such that it shuts off its amplifier if no signal is received after a certain period of time. Once a signal is received, it activates. There are many instances when I'm watching something and it fails to send a (sufficient) signal to my subwoofer to activate it, or it fails to provide signal during viewing such that my subwoofer goes into standby while watching something. I never had this problem with my previous Sony receiver.

-Not really a flaw, but one of the things I liked about my previous Sony receivers (and I've seen this on other brands) is a display on the front of the model that indicates which speakers are being utilized with the current audio source and decoding method. That is, a Dolby Digital or DTS source in a 5.1 mix would cause the unit to illuminate the front left, front right, center, surround left, surround right, and LFE "boxes" on the display. Furthermore, if a stereo source is mixed to a higher number of speakers by something like Dolby Pro Logic II or DTS NEO:6, the display would indicate the targeted speakers. This receiver has no such display. All it has are small word/icon elements that indicate the decoding/mixing technology, which are illegible unless one is about 2 feet away from the receiver.

In summary, if all of your A/V sources connect across HDMI *and only HDMI*, this receiver is a decent entry-level product. However, if you want to mix input sources and have a more informational display (a budget-minded enthusiast), this is not a product I would recommend. I am seriously considering purchasing another Sony model after my experience with this unit.

This receiver has HDMI Inputs for everything and an HDMI Out to TV. Just connect the Blue Ray player, DVD player, Cable Box, DVR etc with HDMI inputs, run an HDMI cable to the TV and connect the speaker wires and you are done. This was far simpler than my previous setup which required a variety of connections.

Just replaced my 10 year old Sony Receiver with this guy.. great price! and has everything a home theater needs... maybe not for an extreme enthusiast.. but 3 HDMI ports, 5.1, 110 w speaker out put.. its great.. hooked up to my PS3 and Dish HD DVR... simple set up.. controllable with my Harmony 680 remote... and its 3D ready.. for when I am.. in 2-3 years...

its running my bose floor standing front speakers, and bose surround as well... for the price.. i absolutely love it.

Needed a budget receiver to compliment a 47" LG in my bedroom. Found it at a local retailer open box and had to buy it. Center Channel went out the 1st nite - darned open box! Returned that and found it on Amazon + free shipping - Hallelujah! Ordered Monday got it Friday - 4 days! Center channel (and all other channels) work fine. Really wanted a good receiver that decoded both Dolby TruHD and DTS-HD Master Audio,100W RMS per CH @ .09 thd, 3D READY!!, 3 HDMI In/1 out, HDMI upconvert, and this had it all - for under 2 BILLS! I use this in my bedroom to drive a Magnavox Blu Ray player w/ HDMI 1.4 cables, JBL N-Center, 2 Aiwa 50W rms bookshelf spkrs L+R fronts on stands (6" woofer, 2"Midbass, 1-1/2" tweeters), 2 Aiwa cubes (L+R surrounds) and a JBL PB10 150W rms 10" sub (.1 LFE). Fronts at +2, Ctr 0, SRs +2, Sub +5, x.over 150, Phase on Auto, DRC ON and the set up friggin Sounds F A B U L O U S!!! Wife told me she thinks she's sleeping inside a movie theater. I have huge system in my LR and did not want to spend alot for a 5.1 set up in the bedroom - this receiver brought decent components together to make it sound top notch. Most Blu Ray movies audio incl DOlby TrueHD and DTS HD Mast Audio - AND IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN CLARITY. The Pioneer 520 receiver decodes it perfectly! Even regular DVD movies look AWESOME! Not sure if it's because of the upconvert on this Pioneer receiver or Blu Ray player or the HDMI 1.4 cables - I'm sure it's the combo of all of them. THE BEST RECEIVER w/ THE best features of any receiver for the under 2 bills!!!

Setup was easy with this receiver. I use it to power my turntable, computer, CD player, & cassette deck. All of the components sound great thru this receiver. The remote works great. So why can't I love it? The "receiver" aspect of it just doesn't do it. Of the dozens of FM radio stations in my area, it picks up three. A Top 40 station, a religious station, & a country station. That's it. I've tried the antenna in a ton of different positions and still, just three stations. AM stations come in just fine, but I don't listen to AM stations. And the FM stations that it picks up are not stations I listen to.
So, I give it four stars for great sound. I would like to have loved it...

So I bought a nice 46EX700 tv. The sound from flat panels is awful as everyone knows. I had 4 Bose bookshelf speakers that my parents bought and never used. So i decided to piece together a 5 channel setup. Im in an apartment so i dont want to p!ss off the neighbors with a sub. I picked up this received because Amazon kept jerking the price around on the 820 and then decided to keep it at $280. The 520 is going to give the same sound quality as the 720 and 920 as it has the same decoders and converters. The 520 and 820 differences are the OSD, 4 hdmi inputs, ipod and sirius connectivity, and the MCACC. Not worth an extra $100. IMO the bananna plugs are a pain as they are in very close proximity; the push connectors work fine. Using the remote and the display on the receiver to set it up is not difficult at all. I would prefer to use my sense of hearing and setup the speakers myself anyhow. The manual is not hard to read. Yes there are a lot of foot notes. READ THEM. It will clarify some issues such as the lag in video and sounds when modifying sources. The unit was not initially detecting the HD source. I was not showing Dolby HD or DTS HD as active. I read my bluray player's manual and had to change a setting for this to work. As for the sound, it is excellent. I can't see being able to hear any difference from this to a $1000 unit. I think speaker quality and placement will have more of an impact once you have a decent receiver with HD decoders. As for speaker wire, use lamp cord! Copper wire at 14 or 16 gauge is all you need and white matches my walls! No need to pay extraordinary amounts of $$$ for Monster cable. When installing this receiver, try to leave some space above it to increase heat dissipation. I have experience with Pioneer DJ equipment and it is all help very highly in the club scene. I figured this receiver would share equal quality and it does. Buy this one NOW. NO firmware or hdmi compatibility issues, such as the Onkyo's.

It is truly amazing that Pioneer can pack this many features into a product selling at this price point. While nobody is going to mistake this unit for an "audiophile-level" product, it packs many features that were only found in audiophile units just 2-3 years ago. The Amazon specs fill you in on most of the technical details. However, there are a few details left out or in need of clarification that I would like to fill in for those who are interested:

1.) There are no switched power outlets on the unit - this means that you will have to centrally control power to your home theater setup via some other means.

2.) You can use the unit as an HDMI switch, but with three HDMI inputs and one output, your options are limited.

3.) Subwoofer output is strictly a line-level RCA cable output. You will need either a powered subwoofer or another amplifier (my personal preference!) to drive an unpowered subwoofer. The crossover frequency is selectable via the unit at 4 specific crossover points - 50Hz, 100Hz, 150Hz and 200Hz.

4.) All 6 speaker outputs are level-controllable via the unit (this was an audiophile-only feature only a few years ago). This allows you to balance output among your speakers according to their sound reproduction capabilities.

5.) The menu system for setting up this receiver is merely adequate. There is room for improvement. Most owners will not be able to setup this system properly using only the prompts on the receiver's display. The owner's manual will probably be required to understand some of the more cryptic menu choices.

Overall, this is a very pleasing product. Highly recommended for those on a tight budget.