Customer Reviews

Pioneer VSX-820-K 5.1 Home Theater Receiver

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

After trying a Denon, and two Yamaha's, I finally hit gold with the Pioneer VSX-820.
This is a superb receiver in all regards. It produces clear crisp sound in all modes.
There are no lip synch issues at all when linked to my HDTV. I had terrible lip synch problems with the Denon. It has all the features I need and more and has an excellent remote that is both intuitive and comprehensive. I use my receiver for CD's, FM radio and my Samsung HDTV. I use DishNetwork for my TV programming.

The VSX series is Pioneer's newest and includes several models all the way up to the 1120.
However, when you read the specs, all these receivers have the same tuner and power plant. The higher the model number, the more numerous the features. But no increase in output.
That makes for an easier buying decision. You don't compromise power for features if you chose a mid range model like the 820 or 920. I noticed that the Denon and Yamaha receivers I tried were made in China. The Pioneers are made in Japan. I'll go with Japan for high quality electronics every time. Pioneer has hit a homerun with this new series of receivers.


Update January 20,2011

My accolades now need to be tempered back. As with all 'features', they are only good
as long as they last. The IPOD interface on my VSX 820 died today in mid-song. I reviewed the manual and took the steps recommended, including resetting my IPOD with
no results. The IPOD works just fine. So I will no longer be able to hear my songs
thru my system but will instead have to be satisfied with just using the headphones.
Very disappointed with the lack of durability of this Pioneer receiver.

I have just completed an exhaustive search to replace my Panasonic SA-XR57 that was in my bedroom. I tried out two Onkyo TX-SR308 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receivers (both took way too long displaying anything on my TV via HDMI and could not do anything with the digital optical audio coming out of my satellite box) and a Sony STR-DN1000 7.1-Channel Audio Video Receiver (which was better with the HDMI connection to the TV although not altogether satisfactorily so and worked well with the optical connection but had a problem with the left surround output). After going through that many receivers within a two week period, I was nearly convinced to just give up. Fortunately, I went ahead and got the VSX-820. Although it's not perfect, it definitely has many good points

Pros:
- iPhone functionality is pretty good - you get basic functionality including the ability to stop and start and the on-screen display is functional (although by no means pretty - it's just text-based)
- audio set-up was amazingly easy and very quick
- at first the audio assignments to devices were a little confusing, but after reading the manual I kind of like how you set them up (by selecting the device you want to assign and then assigning it rather than going through a convoluted menu)
- the HDMI connection worked beautifully and quickly
- the optical digital audio worked flawlessly as well

Cons:
- does not upconvert anything, meaning that if it came in as composite it needs to go to the TV via a composite cable
- on-screen display menu requires a component connection instead of just going through HDMI
- iPhone connection in the front - this is more a personal preference, but I'd rather the connection be in the back and just have the cable available to plug in whenever. With it sticking out in front I'm concerned that someone will walk by it, hit it and break it off
- the cover over the front inputs seems cheap - almost better to have not put it there at all

All said, though, this receiver did exactly what I wanted it to when others did not and did it with ease.

I picked this up at a local retailer. Looks good and the sound is pretty good. Didn't seem much better or worse than my 10 year old Denon receiver it replaced (but that's not a bad thing). Video over HDMI looks good.

Setup is pretty usual for receivers, you will not understand many features and setup options unless you bother reading the instructions.

Few shortcomings with one that is very annoying:

1. The cover of the front USB and video/audio ports is not connected to the receiver - it's a piece of plastic that you have to take out completely if you want to hook up a USB device or any source to the front connectors. I wish it had a permanent connection because I can completely see it getting lost.

2. The receiver comes with a limited on screen menu to use the auto tuning of speakers and to set up the inputs and speakers. The problem is: you have to connect the receiver to the TV using an analog RCA cable to use it!!!! So if you have only digital sources and hoped to use HDMI as your only connection, be prepared to add another cable to the mix when you set up the speakers. Granted you don't need to use the on screen menu a lot but if you have difficult access to the back of TV and receiver like I have, it can become annoying. I don't understand what Pioneer were thinking.

3. Seems to have to crank up the volume much higher than I used to with my Denon receiver, but I guess this is something I will have to get use to.

Overall it is a great value, but I'm actually considering returning it and spending the extra $100 for the vsx-920-k so I won't have to use analog RCA cables ever again.

Ready to upgrade our family's 10 year old Sony receiver, we elected to get the Pioneer 820, because it had the iPod connectivity, along with 4 HDMI inputs. Overall, I cannot say this was an incredible upgrade, and I do not feel like the technology has changed significantly since we bought our last receiver. Here's my general take on the receiver after one weeks use:

First, the disappointing:
Upgrading to a newer receiver did not spare me the problem of too many preset EQ settings. If I'm switching back and forth between music and sports or movies/TV I have to play around with 4 different types of sound settings to avoid echoey, balance, fade and EQ problems. There is AUTO/Direct and AUTO Surround. Then there's presets for surround sound: Dolby PLII Movie, Music and Game, and NEO6 Cinema, and Music. Then there are advanced surround settings (which appear to be very similar) Action, Drama, Classical, Ent.Show, Advanced Game, Pop/Rock, Unplugged and Ext.Stereo. After reading the descriptions of all these, I get a headache when trying to decipher what combination would sound best for each of my types of entertainment, rarely using the same combo twice.

The next drawback I encountered was the FM Tuner reception. I programmed nearly every station in English in my area that I am accustomed to getting on my car stereo, but only about half of the stations receive any signal at all, and sometimes shotty. (*EDIT*) I have played around with the Tuner settings, and realized that some stations only come in FM MONO, as opposed to stereo. This switch usually catches any station that is not coming in strong enough in STEREO, but it is a pain to switch back and forth.

One big shortcoming for our household, as we used our old receiver to play music in the other parts of the house besides the family/TV room for holidays and parties, is that the B-Speakers are not specifiable to another source. If we want to watch a football game in the TV room, we must also listen to the same broadcast in the rest of the house. While this might seem as a higher-price-level feature, I thought it would be standard with newer technology.

The iPod connection is nice in theory, but its such a short cable that its rather inconvenient to control the iPod manually. Secondly, the menu to manage the iPod on the TV is so primitive, I feel like I stepped back in time, to MS-Dos or something of equal technical capability. A better route to iPod playback would probably be the Blutooth-adapter route, albeit at additional cost.

The last main complaint with this receiver may be a moot point, but my Scientific Atlanta 8300HD DVR cable box does not communicate the HDMI through the cable box correctly. Instead of simplifying my cables and setup to solely HDMI, I am forced to keep HD component cables going from both my DVR box to my receiver and thus my receiver to the HDTV. Something to research if you're hoping to use your cable box with HDMI through the receiver.

The good:
Setup was nearly painless, and intuitive. I'm an amateur audiophile, so setting up a modern receiver shouldn't be too complex. There were plenty of inputs for other audio-based inputs. If I had a record player, CD player, MP3 3.5mm input, or anything else, there's plenty of room for expansion.

Secondly, I have room to advance my HDMI inputs, including 1080p, and 3D TV. This is the major reason we bought this receiver: to simplify our video source connectivity and not be left behind for future HDTVs. Our current TV will be upgraded soon, and though it probably won't be 3D for us, it will be 1080p. Thus the 4 HDMI connections are crucial.

Bottom line: Still possesses the headache problems of older receivers (our last was 10 years old) but the HDMI (no up-conversion though) makes this not a bad option in its price range. Comparable competitors each have their similar flaws, but the VSX820 is going to work for most people today and in the future.

I really don't understand how people can complain that this receiver is lacking certain features. If it doesn't have features you want, buy something else. Also, it's a good idea to look at the user manual from the manufacturer's website before purchasing, to be sure it has what you want. That way there will be no surprises. I do understand 1 star for those unfortunate reviewers who got stuck with lemons. I wasn't personally looking for too much from a receiver, just wanted to hook up a budget 5.1 system in my family room. For around $550 I got this receiver, Jamo C400 center, 4 Monoprice 8" 3-way in-walls and Polk PSW10 sub. This receiver has performed just great, there are a lot settings to allow you to adjust the sound to your taste or you can just let the receiver decide, sit back and enjoy!

My search for a new receiver began with attempting to replace an 11 year old Sony, Brand Loyalty was important, I know how it works so why fool with a good thing.
I choose the Pioneer after reviewing many similarly priced and featured models, what I have learned about the electronics world is similar to computers, new today old tomorrow.

I wanted a manufacture trusted a product that was not intimidating and reliability.
Pioneer 820-K came out on top, after looking hard at (Onkyo, Sony, Dennon). The features where there I wanted it ready for #D (still not ready in my mind) I wanted HDMI, 5.1 channel,

I have combined this receiver with a Samsung b 740 series (240 hz) TV, a Samsung 6500 Series Blue Ray, Sony VCR (its part of the original 11 year old system), Bose acoustimass 15 speakers (part of the 11 year old system) and a direct TV satellite system.

I am extremely happy with all of the above, I tend to go for the quality in a product today.
Hookup took about 3 hours, The absolute worst part was the onscreen set up, it will only work with cabling not HDMI. So a little pain, but how many times do you set stuff up. I used the Pioneer sound set up system to set my Bose speakers, it did a great job, no complaints and it was easy. I used fiber optic on both the satellite and the Blue Ray.

Overall: I am happy with the Pioneer 820, as usual it will probably take me awhile to really test the system as the boss doe not like to "play with the system".
Would I recommend this receiver yes, simple and a good product.
The biggest negative, NOT MADE IN THE USA

Some quick background info: I am generally good at fixing things and setting up tech equipment but I'm NOT an "audiophile". Just wanted to replace 20+ year-old speakers and receiver with something that would sound great. Did the required research on CNET, Amazon, etc. and decided on the Pioneer 820 and Aperion Intimus 4T Hybrid SD speakers. I'm for the most part very satisfied with the system, specifically:
1-Set-up: All the gripes about needing component cable (won't run thru HDMI) for the On Screen Display are unfounded. You just need to connect one cable between Pioneer and TV while you set up the speakers the first time. My TV had a handy connection in front which I used and then disconnected.
2- The manual sucks. I havn't seen so many footnotes since my high school research projects. The multitude of settings and adjustments are not intuitive so a well-written manual would have been great.
3- There is an Auto Surround setting which is supposed to set up the receiver based on the detected format. It seems to choose the right format but I still end up tweaking some parameters.
4-Still haven't figured out some things (using rear speakers with stereo source won't work with tuner). It would be nice if I could set up and save different parameters depending on the source. Maybe I can- as I said, the manual sucks. Looks like a week of playing with the system may help.
5- Still, sounds great, good deal for the money- a more expensive receiver would have just been more complicated (if that's possible).

I've been a fan with Pioneer recives and amps since the 60's when I fist put together a home component stereo system.
My last reciever went belly up and I went looking for a new one.
Well ! This reciever has more things then I clould ask for at a very nice price.
It has 5 HMDI inputs and one output for your HDTV. It is also set up for the new 3D TVs.
Setting up the suround sound was simple with the mic they sent with the unit. Plus it has on screen display to take you thru all the set ups you need.
Once I was all done I was truly amazed and the sound quality coming out of my old Sanasui 3500 floor speakers. The Kenwood suround spearker never sounded so good either.
There is way more what it can do sound wise then I have time to tell.
Lets put it this way Pioneer did it again for me

For the price a very nice piece of equipment. A lot of user friendly and advanced features that are not that hard to learn after reading the manual. Was able to install and get working within minutes after connecting the equipment. Very nice sound and advanced sound fields that provide room filling sound for small to medium sized living areas. I had thought about going with Harmon Kardon or Denon or even the more expensive pioneer elite, but was unsure about quality vs. price. So I decided before I spent hundreds more on one of the more top shelf units I figured I would try something more entry line and affordable. I am glad I did. For my Medium sized living room this ended up being plenty. Granted I wont be blasting out any windows anytime soon, it does provide top notch sound quality for both music and movies at a very affordable price.

I had my wife purchase this receiver after an older Sony ES stopped working. Being short on funds but needing a receiver to replace the Sony, I picked this one. It was a decision I'm happy I made. I knew from other reviews that I needed a composite cable for the onscreen menu to work so I hooked that up first although the display on the receiver itself shows everything that the onscreen menu shows. After that I tried to use the Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration system (MCACC). For some reason I kept getting an error message saying that there was too much noise in the room even though there was none. After moving the speakers from the bookshelf to the floor the MCACC did work however I was not impressed with the results. It adjusted my speakers to large (they are small satellite speakers) and it said I had no subwoofer hooked up, which I did. It also put my speakers at 10 feet away when they were over 14 feet away. My advice is that if you do use MCAACC double check the calibrations in case you need to manually adjust them.

After adjusting the speakers to small and telling it I had a sub I was in business. I hooked up my cable box and PS3 with HDMI cables and sent an HDMI cable to my Samsung television. After playing around with the settings I settled on having the listening mode set on Direct for Dolby Digital audio and Neo 6 cinema for stereo audio. I am very happy with the sound and with using the receiver to do the switching. Even the Ipod connector worked well but was a little slow when scrolling through the play-lists.

Some people knock this receiver for it's lack of video up-conversion. To those people I say you get what you pay for. I have an Onkyo 605 that cost twice as much and has fewer inputs and less power. I paid $199 for this and couldn't find another receiver that was even close in terms of features and power for the money. I think the closest I found was a Sony for $350. This is an entry level receiver after all and it shouldn't be knocked for not having the features that receivers costing twice as much has. For what you pay this is a great choice. The reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the issues I had with the MCACC. Had that worked properly (which isn't that big of a deal anyway seeing as you can manually do the adjusting) I would have gave it a five.Pioneer VSX-820-K 5.1 Home Theater Receiver