Best Buy's Pioneer VSX-516-K receiver - any good?

[richmon]

For $150. this seems to good to be true, just looking for a decent HT receiver for movies without breaking the bank.

Any feedback on this unit?
Here's the link:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=pioneer+vsx-516&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=15&sp=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories

Thanks much.

[markw]

It comes with a decent guarantee.

Please note the power is rated @ 1% distortion at an unspecifid bandwidth but, for the price, you can't expect perfection. It should, however, play adequately loud and clean for most home users.

If it has the features you need then it should be well worth the asking price. I'd go for it.

[Palmz]

Is the 1% distortion rate exclusive to that receiver? Like it's not on the 816 or the 1016?

[markw]

Is the 1% distortion rate exclusive to that receiver? Like it's not on the 816 or the 1016?I was just pointing out that it's part of the territiory in that price range. Was that wrong?

[blackraven]

I bought that receiver for my teenage son. For the price its ok. I prefer the yamaha 5930 for $179. I bought this for my teenage daughter. Its easier to use but sounds about the same. If your willing to spend a little more look into the lower priced onkyo receivers. They offer high current power.

[PeruvianSkies]

You really can't go wrong with Pioneer receivers when you are looking for something that has a budget pricetag, yet has incredible features and longevity. I have worked with many Pioneer receivers and currently use a Pioneer Elite receiver, which has served me well for the past year. I don't see the point in spending huge dollards on a receiver because if you are going to drop the big money you may as well go with a pre-amp, amp or processor instead. I use my Pioneer Elite has the brains of my operation, but use the pre-outs to hook up my NAD amp and my Parasound Amp to drive my speakers. So essentially my receiver is serving the part of being the central point for my video in and video out, plus keeping everything centralized and also as the DAC.

[richmon]

Thanks much for the feedback, a co-worker asked me for advise on this unit, my first impression was it had to be crap at that price, but you'all know much more than this two channel snop.

As an aside, if you want to check for deals advertised in all the sales circulars in one fell swoop, go to
www.salescircular.com

Thanks again lads.

[Palmz]

I was just pointing out that it's part of the territiory in that price range. Was that wrong?

Oh, not at all, and no offense intended. I'm simply just learning about the technical aspect of HT right now, and have no idea what the specs are on any of the receivers. I'm looking for a receiver for myself right now, so I want to make sure I spend enough money to avoid little set-backs like the one you mentioned.

Cheers.

[GMichael]

Seems like a good buy at that price. As with anything else, you could have better if you spend more. But as long as you are not an Audiophile, it should keep you happy for many years.
What kind of speakers are you using, or planning to use?
How big is the room it's going in?
Are you using it for music or HT?
If for both, what % of each?

[Smokey]

Is the 1% distortion rate exclusive to that receiver? Like it's not on the 816 or the 1016?

1% distortion is kind of excessive. But not to scare you away, most low end AV receivers will have excess THD if driven too hard. So if you have low sensitivity speakers, or have habit of playing too loud, then distortion will be of concern.

But for typical listening applications, most receivers will have much lower THD than what is rated for at full power output. So I wouldn’t worry about it.

BTW, that is a good price :)