Home > Consumer Reviews > Pioneer VSX-1017TXV-K - iPod Ready, XM Satellite Ready, and Sirius Satellite Ready 7-Channel A/V Receiver

I have recently purchsed an entire home theatre system including a 50 inch plasma, a PS3, relatively high end speakers, a higer end subwoofer and of course this receiver. While it is good, if I had it to do over again, I might not get it.

First, the good. For my untrained ear, this receiver sounds good. The output is there and it doesn't seem to produce any stray artifcats that aren't there. There are some surround modes (like the Neo:6 that converts 2 channel music to 6 channel music) that don't do a great job. But to be fair, when changing the original format of music to something else, you're going to lose out on something. I would reccomend sticking to the original output of the music (i.e. keep 2 channel music 2 channel).

There is also plenty of power to this. I have no problem driving all of my speakers at levels far too loud to combfortably listen to.

The iPod cord is really pretty cool. I actually didn't know this came with a cord, I assumed it would need to be purchased separately. But when I opened the box, there was a big sheet of paper saying basically that they ran out of the cords so go to the Pioneer website and give them some info (home and AVR serial number) and they will send you one. A few days later I get a cord in the mail. I hook up my older iPod via the dock connect and sure enough, I have instant access to my iPod. What I found really cool about this is my old iPod is pretty much dead. The battery lasts an hour at most (I exclusively use my shuffle now). But with this plugged in to the receiver, not only do you have access to all of the music on the ipod, it charges it at the same time (or keeps it running in my case). So if you have an old ipod that doesn't keep it's charge, and has a dock connect, this is perfect!

In addition to playing the songs, it also shows you what is playing either on the face of the AVR itself or via the On Screen Display (OSD). The OSD looks like something from a commodore 64 but it does the trick. I prefer to just see the song title and artist on the front of the receiver when it plays.

The remote is also really cool. It can control a lot of other devices. I set it up to control my Panasonic plasma. Unfortunately it really can only do volume, channel and power, but to be honest that is all I need it for as I really only turn it on (everything else including audio is done through the receiver).

Now for the bad. If I had it to do over again, this would be the deal breaker for me. Despite the fact it has 2 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output, these i/o's are for video ONLY. So in my case, I just have a PS3 that I play games and more importantly, watch movies on. I bought this receiver thinking I could just use 1 HDMI cord to connect my PS3 to the receiver and then one more HDMI cord from the receiver to the TV. Well you can do this, but you won't get any sound! So I used a HDMI cord to go from my PS3 to my TV and then a optical cable to get the audio from my PS3 to the receiver (if you are going to do the same you need to go into the PS3 setup and make sure you are outputting audio to Optical or you will still not get any sound). This works except for one small problem. I also would have liked to use my PS3 as a SACD player as it has that functionality (SACD is high end audio that outputs CD's in 5.1 as opposed to stereo so you get full, real surround sound on your music). Unfortunately, the PS3 only outputs the 5.1 SACD mix via HDMI. So I can not get SACD audio out of my PS3 into the receiver. This is a big dissapointment for me.

Bottom line on this, if you are looking to buy a new receiver that is somewhat 'future-proof', this is NOT it as it doesn't really support HDMI. If you could care less about HDMI connections, this receiver is just fine and will do pretty much anything you would need it to do.

After far too many years of 'making do' with lesser receiver/home theater packages I moved up to HD and also bought this receiver.
My new speakers are Infinity TSS-750s (I do not video game so 5.1 is enough for me though this unit supports 6.1 & 7.1) and the combination is absolutely stunning.
Friends and family are completely bowled over by the true theater quality sound even at moderate volumes.
With my DirecTV HD setup, watching football is like going to a game for sound and visuals (no tailgating of course). I ordered the receiver from Beach Camera and the delivery was lightning quick - they promised 6-9 days & I got it in 3.
As a trained industrial electrician I had no fear of getting it hooked up properly, however the rear of this unit is a BIT daunting.
The manual is 75 pages long and does not have enough info, and it could have used clearer notes on connecting the 5.1, but that is nit picking a bit. Once in place the sound is better than anything I have ever heard. There are quite a few choices for surround sound and much of it is selected automatically for the optimum listening. The auto setup was intuitive, nearly hands-free, and worked flawlessly.
One of my friends had been bragging about his Sony, but he was not happy with it after he heard my Pioneer.
All in all, this thing is a beast (the good way) and I highly recommend it.

I just upgraded my entire home theatre system. I had a Sony 5.1 receiver with Infinity speakers. I replaced the old Sony with this one and replaced the Infinity speakers with Klipsch. My local Best Buy is selling this Pioneer receiver for $499.99. I saved over $100.00 buy getting it from Amazon.com. That is a great price for this unit. The receiver is awesome and overall it was easy to set up. I only had one problem with the set up. I was not getting the proper sound from my subwoofer. Pioneer customer service solved the problem within minutes. If I bothered to read the manual, I could have solved the problem myself. Needless to say, the new system sounds amazing. My ipod and Sirius radio also both work very well. Another reviewer was critical about not having enough HDMI ports on the receiver. It has 2 HDMI inputs and 1 output. My HD Satellite receiver, Xbox 360 with an HD DVD drive, and PS3 are all directly connected to my High Definition TV via HDMI cables. I did not need the HDMI ports on the receiver and I'm getting my digital sound via digital optical cables. As long as your TV has HDMI ports it won't be an issue. There are tons of connection options with this receiver. You could easily spend much more money on any of the Pioneer Elite or comparable Yamaha receivers (which is what I was looking for until I found this one). You won't be disappointed with this powering your system. I do also highly recommend Klipsch speakers. I currently have the Klipsch RF 82 fronts, RS 52 rears, RC 62 center & RW-12d Subwoofer. I will add 2 more RS 52's soon to have a 7.1 system which is another benefit of this receiver since it also provides up to 7.1 sound & is THX certified.

I could have given this receiver a 5 star if my audio is working correctly. When play games at home or online, it is by far the best audio I have ever experienced, at "Advanced Game" setting. Only when I watch movies from my dvd player, I have experienced low volume. Some how the volume is reduced to 50%, so I really have to crank up my volume. No, it is not my dvd player. If I switch my receiver to my old Onkyo, my volume is fine again. I'm not trying to say that Onkyo is better, it is not! I really hate their customer service. It is by far the worst customer service on this planet. If you don't believe me, you can experience it for yourself, but this is another topic. One thing that I found very interesting is when watching a movie, the best setting is also "Advanced Game", and even at that, the volume is not that loud. At other settings - Digital Prologic, THX, or anything, the volume is at its weakest. Some how my volume is weak when I watch movies. I even talked to Pioneer customer service, and they don't know how to solve it. Does anyone experienced this? Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated.

November 18, 2007
I DID IT!!! I got this receiver working perfectly after 1 month of adjustments. My movies and music sound fantastic! I don't have to crank my volume all the way up anymore, but in fact, I have to lower it down to fit my ears. :)
The solution:
1) It is not compatible or at least it doesn't work well with the Playstation 3.
2) This Pioneer receiver has so much power, my old dvd player couldn't handle it. I guess old technology mix with new technology doesn't work out too well, even though this use to be an expensive dvd player.
3) I bought a new HD-DVD player from toshiba A-3 and it works beautifully. Just make sure you go into the dvd player setting and set audio to dolby digital, the default is stereo.

Now I can give it a 5 STAR!!!!!!
Also, thank you for the people who responded to this review.

Sincerly,
Your Neighbor

I am replacing a 3 year old Panasonic 6.1 surround receiver..which was a good product, help up well. Still working, in a different room now. I originally purchased the Pioneer VSX-917 and it had a problem with switching off at high volume, which other users had, so I returned it and purchased this receiver. What a great product!!!!! The sound is LOUD AND CLEAR the amplifier is VERY powerful and drives the speakers with crisp and clear sound. Movies sound very realistic..especially on the THX modes. The sound is pretty natural..no unwanted effects or fake sounding DSP's. The auto setup mic worked well..though some may choose to adjust their EQ to their preferences. It has many inputs, with video conversion (meaning you can convert composite and S video to component go to your TV. The phase control really does a job...I notice there are more sweet spots in the room now compared to using my old receiver. The sound retriever for MP3 tracks also works well, making them sound almost CD quality. Midnight and loudness modes are as effective for night time listening. receiever has many options and settings, to tune it for your needs. I have a 5.1 setup and have my Front JBL E90's bi amped through the 6th and 7th channel (setting for that in the settings menu) The only drawback to this product is its size (depth) it will NOT fit depth wise in my TV stand..had to cut out the rear cardboard piece for it to fit. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!