The name conjures up a very relaxed late-night meeting between engineers and marketers: This receiver and its two lower-priced siblings include new Pioneer Hybrid Amplifier Technology (PHAT). As always, our test report contains the most credible numbers. The 120 watts that Pioneer’s Website lists uses a more lenient specification method. The VSX-918V is rated at 95 watts of continuous power times five (not seven). If you prefer to tweak your receiver manually, Pioneer recommends that you run the auto setup, then copy the settings to the custom menu and take it from there. But MCACC will get the surround newbie up and running with minimal fuss. My SPL meter is virtually an extension of my hand, and I need to know how amps sound in their virgin state. With the remote, you’ve got three, count ’em, three ways to pick sources.Ī large, bright-orange MCACC logo gaudily celebrates Pioneer’s auto-setup and room-EQ features. It also has an angled panel where the source-select buttons reside. The front panel, however, is not entirely flat. The VSX-918V is a black box with a volume knob on the right and a matching source-select knob on the left. This is quite a fine-sounding budget receiver. The VSX-918V outperformed my expectations. I’m going to depart from the norm and tell you my conclusion up front. As you’ll see later, that comes in handy. Although it doesn’t have onboard decoding for the latest lossless and other surround codecs, it can accept a high-resolution PCM signal from a Blu-ray player that does its own decoding. At $349, it won’t strain anyone’s budget. The Pioneer VSX-918V hails from the value line where it is second from the top. Pioneer has two receiver lines, the higher-end Elite and a value-oriented line without any special moniker.
A budget A/V receiver can also form the basis of a starter system for the hardheadedly practical person who’s dubious about surround sound but doesn’t want to be left behind. They don’t provide best-case performance, but if you’re living on a tight budget, you’re just happy to be there. Happy with what you have to be happy with.īudget receivers are like the cheap seats at Carnegie Hall.
0 kommentar(er)
