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| Pioneer VSX-1020-K 7.1 |
Pioneer VSX-1020-K Receiver : Internet Radio and Portable Connectivity, Multi-Zone Support, and the Latest High-Definition Audio and Video Standards
There's only one way to get closer to an artist's true intent--and that's to get as close as possible to exactly what the artist created. With this in mind, Pioneer ushers in an entirely new era of high definition stereophonic performance. From enjoying the very best 1080p high definition picture available to hearing every last nuance with award-winning audio capabilities, Pioneer's range of receivers offers nothing less than a miraculous performance at every level. And with an ever-increasing list of connectivity and integration options as well, these receivers will also guarantee to get you closer to the original experience than ever before.
The Pioneer VSX-1020-K delivers amazing home theater performance in an elegant package. With connectivity options for all your latest high-definition home theater components and digital 1080p upscaling from any source, the VSX-1020-K takes performance a step further with multi-zone support: choose either a 7.1-channel configuration, or create a second zone with 5.1 + 2 channels. And the VSX-1020-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), turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into the ultimate control center.
The Ultimate iPhone Experience--Now In Your Home Theater
"Works with iPhone" Certification Provides iPhone Users the Ultimate Plug-and-Play Integration
Get a truly plug-and-play iPhone experience with your home theater. Thanks to the VSX-1020-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-1020-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.
Customer reviews from Mr.Rich Glod he say.
"This thing is loaded with features. My favorite by far is playing internet radio directly from an internet connection. It has an easy way to program and rename stations from an http site. It has a nice glossy front and runs really cool especially compared to my old Onkyo oven. The iphone control is pretty cool although it would be nice if you could turn on the receiver from the iphone app. It plays an ipod well and does display cover art for music although very small. It's pretty cool that you can use a standard USB cable to connect an ipod as well as some other USB devices (Haven't played with that). I do wish the USB input was on the back. I have an ipod dock that i want to leave plugged in and it looks pretty bad plugged into the front.
This thing switches inputs relatively quickly and can scroll through audio settings without long interruptions in sound. Powering up on the other hand is extremely sluggish. I timed 40 seconds from power up to get picture and sound rolling. I really like that you can customize the input names although the method of scrolling through each letter takes a while. It's also nice to be able to hide some inputs so that you don't have to scroll through a bunch of inputs that are never used when scanning through.
The remote is setup like a universal remote. You have to select a specific mode for most inputs. Say you're in ipod mode, you have to go back into receiver mode to use many of the settings buttons. This makes it very difficult to program a universal remote to control the receiver. you have to have a different set of arrow commands programmed for each input. Also, for programming a universal remote. All inputs have a separate button that you can program except of course HDMI inputs which are the ones I use. To select one of the 5 HDMI inputs you can continually press the HDMI button to get the one you want which is not a good method when you just want to hit one button to get to the correct input. There is a backwards way to reassign the analog input selection to use an HDMI input then rename it, but it takes some work. It is impressive that the included remote can be programmed for other devices and can even learn commands and perform simple macros.
The display on the unit I received has a small thread of some sort hanging down inside the display. This is probably just rare defect but it is annoying when looking at the display.
HDCP ERROR
I see this message flash multiple times on the display every time I power on. This is some kind of copyright nonsense built into HDMI cables. Although all HDMI inputs on my TV are HDCP compliant and I have used the same HDMI cables on a previous receiver without issues I had all kinds of problems getting my receiver to work at all because of this error. Time and time again I would be watching TV and then without touching anything I would see this error, then no inputs would work and it would take a while for anything to come back up. After playing with lots of setting and trying multiple cables and inputs on my TV now I just get the error without losing picture and sound. The manual says this: "Some components that are compatible with HDCP still cause this message to be displayed, but so long as there is no problem with displaying video, this is not a malfunction." Ummm, sorry Pioneer but when an error is displayed incorrectly that is called a bug and IS a problem. I'm sure they are being forced by law to incorporate this HDCP stuff in their unit but they are doing a very poor job.
Zone 2
Buying this receiver I had a plan to wire an adjacent room as a zone 2 so that I could play music in that other room. Unfortunately the zone 2 feature on this unit does not work with any digital inputs. Because I have everything connected via HDMI this makes zone 2 a worthless feature to me. As an alternative I decided to hook up the other room to the Speaker B connection. This won't allow me to listen to two different inputs simultaneously as zone 2 does, but at-least I can listed to digital inputs in the other room when I want. The problem is for some reason the speaker selection cannot be controlled with the remote. So I have to walk to the receiver to select to use Speaker B and then walk back to turn it off That may not sound like much, but part of my plan was to use an RF remote to control the music in the other room while in the other room. There is just no way to really get this unit to perform in such a scenario."
And P. Colin McGraw "AV, Computer & EnviroTech Nut" Say reviews
"I tend to do a lot of research before making large purchasing decisions and so far this receiver is receiving a pretty rosy reception! Its predecessor, the 1019, was CNET's and Gizmodo's top mid-range receiver. Both reviewers had just as high hopes for the 1020, and Gizmodo already called it the best receiver $550 can buy, saying the 1020 "hit the sweet spot" that gave the most bang for buyer's buck.
The critics I read all raved about the excellent sound quality, but the 1020 brings some new offerings to the table for a mid-range receiver.
In short, the most valuable features you get with this model that you don't get with the next step down are:
1. A fifth HDMI port in back, an extra sixth in front (for digital cameras, computers, etc.).
2. Analog video upscaling (which I don't care too much about since most of my content is HD already or played through an upscaling player).
3. The iContolAV iPhone app. Very cool for controlling volume and switching inputs. Works simply by having your receiver connected to ethernet and your iPhone connected to the network via WiFi. A few times the app has had trouble properly connecting, but it usually works well.
4. Internet radio with programmable stations, which is cool, though you can't currently control the station selections from the iPhone App, unfortunately.
5. A color configuration interface output to your TV via the HDMI output. I can't imagine trying to configure all my speakers without seeing a graphical representation of their location on screen.
That last feature feature, the HDMI 1.4 ports that support 3D, the 7.1 surround capabilities, excellent sound quality and the iPhone App are what made the VSX-1020 the clear choice for me. I also appreciated the automatic calibration with the included microphone and the included iPod cable/compatibility, but those weren't as strong of selling points.
The only negatives of note for me is that the little front port cover is a little cheap. It's not even a door, simply a little plastic piece that pops out if you push one side. I, like others, have also experienced the issue where the receiver switches to TV/Sat when first turned on, but I've yet to determine whether that's a problem with the receiver itself or my Harmony universal remote (I'll update the review as I get more information).
One last tip to buyers, however. If you're considering listening to your phone's music over Bluetooth by buying the $99 AS-BT100 adapter, I'd consider buying a $99 Apple Airport Express instead (assuming your music is managed through iTunes). It lets you stream music from your computer to the receiver over WiFi and control what's playing via iTunes or Apple's robust "Remote" iPhone app, but more importantly the Airport Express acts as a USB print server and a one port wireless bridge (something that lets you connect wired devices to a wireless network).
That wireless bridge capability is especially valuable, since you'll need it or something similar for internet radio and iControlAV iPhone app support if your VSX-1020 receiver isn't close to your wireless router (mine isn't). Buying the Airport Express kills two birds with one stone.
UPDATE:
A few ideas have been thrown out by other Amazon posters to help alleviate the issue with the receiver switching to TV/Sat when it first turns on. The first idea is to change the receiver's settings thusly:
"1 Press Receiver , then press Home Menu.
2 Select `System Setup', then press ENTER.
3 Select `Other Setup', then press ENTER.
4 Select `HDMI Setup', then press ENTER.
5. Set Control to 'Off'."
The second idea is to adjust your TV settings like so.
"Go into Menu under HDMI-CEC and turn it Off. If the set is a Samsung look for AnyNet+ (default is normally On) and turn it Off."
I'm still having issues going directly to a given HDMI input when the unit first power on (going to "HDMI Input 1" simply toggles the current HDMI input instead of going directly to the one you want), but I've made the quirk tolerable by programming one of the buttons on my universal remote to toggle inputs, so it's easy to fix."
See more technical tips from : Pioneer VSX-1020-K 7.1
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