Pioneer VSX-D307 Receiver
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It's a good unit... for the '90s
Pros
Sounds better than your TV's audio!
Cons
Mostly technology-based: No 5.1, no s-video, no component video, only mediocre sound, etc...
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
If you want something that sounds better than your TV, go ahead and get it. But the more you learn about home theater... the less you'll like it.
I purchased my unit as a "home theater package" as my first-ever, about 3 years ago. I was very pleased. It sounded SO much better than my Philips-Magnavox TV's factory audio. Then I made the mistake of educating myself and the erstwhile happy camper became a dissatisfied neo-audiophile.
I first replaced the speakers. The Pioneer "package" speakers were pretty pathetic. I used Acoustic Research center, fronts and rears but the old Pioneer sub (8"?) just couldn't cut the much-improved mustard anymore. So, a powered KLH 10" was added to the mix.
Of course, the high-quality speakers underscored my need for a better receiver, but that could wait. First things first, so a Sony DVD, that broke down within the first year, was replaced with a Toshiba with DTS, 5.1 Dolby Digital, digital (bitstream or PCM) audio and s-video. S-video? Whazzat? I had heard it makes a difference, but frankly, I dreaded getting into the mess in/behind the HUGE wall unit to change anything!
Last Christmas, we got our son a GameCube... with s-video. We hooked it up directly to the TV and SHAZAM!!! What a difference! Did the same with our Dish TV box and ZOWIE!!! That encouraged me to enter the jungle of cable and wires deep within the all but inaccessable crevaces of the dreaded wall unit (I had not even painted portions of the obscured wall due to its ferocity!). To my chagrin, no s-video connectors on the VSX-D307. WHAT... NO S-VIDEO???
So, a couple of weeks ago, I relocated the wall unit and put a proper A/V receiver (Denon AVR-1802) in a fully-accessable location. Today, I am a very well-connected and happy camper again. BTW, my non-audio-adroit brother is the happy (but ignorant) heir to the Pioneer... gratis. But those AR bookshelf fronts, hmmm... well, they could use a little more ooomph, couldn't they?
The moral of the story? If you want something that sounds better than your TV, go ahead and get it. But the more you learn about home theater/audio... the less you'll like it.
I first replaced the speakers. The Pioneer "package" speakers were pretty pathetic. I used Acoustic Research center, fronts and rears but the old Pioneer sub (8"?) just couldn't cut the much-improved mustard anymore. So, a powered KLH 10" was added to the mix.
Of course, the high-quality speakers underscored my need for a better receiver, but that could wait. First things first, so a Sony DVD, that broke down within the first year, was replaced with a Toshiba with DTS, 5.1 Dolby Digital, digital (bitstream or PCM) audio and s-video. S-video? Whazzat? I had heard it makes a difference, but frankly, I dreaded getting into the mess in/behind the HUGE wall unit to change anything!
Last Christmas, we got our son a GameCube... with s-video. We hooked it up directly to the TV and SHAZAM!!! What a difference! Did the same with our Dish TV box and ZOWIE!!! That encouraged me to enter the jungle of cable and wires deep within the all but inaccessable crevaces of the dreaded wall unit (I had not even painted portions of the obscured wall due to its ferocity!). To my chagrin, no s-video connectors on the VSX-D307. WHAT... NO S-VIDEO???
So, a couple of weeks ago, I relocated the wall unit and put a proper A/V receiver (Denon AVR-1802) in a fully-accessable location. Today, I am a very well-connected and happy camper again. BTW, my non-audio-adroit brother is the happy (but ignorant) heir to the Pioneer... gratis. But those AR bookshelf fronts, hmmm... well, they could use a little more ooomph, couldn't they?
The moral of the story? If you want something that sounds better than your TV, go ahead and get it. But the more you learn about home theater/audio... the less you'll like it.
