Home > Consumer Reviews > Pioneer VSX-919AH-K 120 Watts A/V Receiver with Full Color GUI/OSD, Advanced MCACC and Analog to HDMI Up-Conversion (Black)

Hooking up everything to this was simple. The GUI is a nice feature (I had a very simple one with my Yamaha RX-V730). Turning on/off inputs and renaming them are very simple and so is setting up the speakers. The manual is easy to follow.

The remote is pretty simple to use for setting up, but I will be using our Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control (Black) after the set up.

The lights on the display aren't blinding, but the shiny finish can make it a little difficult to see the displayy.

The KURO Link is compatible with AQUOS Link, so seeing the volume change can be shown on my display and turning the display off can turn off the receiver.

The sound is good. Since I am using Definitive Technology Mythos SSA-50 Speaker (Single, Silver) and
Definitive Technology ProSub 800 120v Speaker (Single, Black) there isn't really any extra setting up involved. I just turn off any delays, set speakers to small, turn on sub and it is good. The sound coming out is as good as I can tell. I mean, it makes me happy.

It is also is compatible with my Apple iPod touch 8 GB (1st Generation). I can control the music with the remote and I can also watch any videos that I have on the iPod to it on my display. I probably would never have tried that out or even thought about using it, but it actually comes with an adapter cable for connecting an iPod to the receiver so I think it will come in handy when I take advantage of multi-zone and put some speakers in our backyard.

Xbox 360 Pro 60GB Console plays games through HDMI to the receiver at 1080p and the DVDs played through it also get played back at 1080p. I played The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition) to test out some DTS using the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player and it looked great and sounded great.

The TiVo TCD652160 HD Digital Video Recorder plays back in 1080i and is connected with an HDMI cable. There aren't any issues with sound or video.

I have everything running through the receiver to my Sharp LC52E77U 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Black using HDMI to one HDMI input. When change the input on the reciver from the TiVo to the Xbox, the signal is sent to the TV and will change the input name from "TiVo Series 3 HD" to "Xbox 360" so the information passed through the receiver.

I also have a Wii connected to the receiver with component cables. The receiver takes it and sends it to the TV through the single HDMI cable at 480p. The picture looks normal.

Based on what the manual says it converts 480i to 480p. Basically makes it progressive to the HDMI cable. I don't think it upconverts all the way to 1080p.

I wanted to get a 7.1 channel receiver that had HDMI and some sort of up converting and ended up getting that and a lot more with the iPod adapter and pretty GUI.

I ordered this on Friday and if I wanted to get it on Monday, it would have been $3.99 more with my Prime account, but since this was an impulse buy, I spent $6.99 to get it the next day on Saturday. It was there and hooked up and ready to play video games and watch movies and television for a lazy weekend.

You can pay 3 times more and not get a better receiver then this Pioneer. Bought to get the HDMI switch, After a month of using I am still amazed at the sound! I would get this just for the sound clarity. The auto tune really does a fine job - better then when I brought the professional sound equalizer in. I even noted a cleaning up of the SD video coming from the sat- box. To test I took the 2 component video feeds from satellite one to the tv direct and one to the receiver to allow A-B testing on an older TV avoiding the HDTV that I know worked well. The VSX919 was better! Pioneer really tryed to get it all in. This box really hits the sweet spot for all critical video while keeping the sound as 1st priority. The Bad -such as it is: The sound processing delays the sound enough that you cannot have TV sound on from the source and have the receiver sound on too. Need to shout off the TV sound, a pain sometimes. But the clarity of sound, and control avail. make this box - and if you can live with 3 rather then 4 HDMI, save $ from off the VSX1019. Manual hard to read, but quite complete. Prepare to send some time getting to know all you can do with this unit.

Pros: . THD: 0.05 %: SOUND QUALITY IS SIMPLY UNBELEIVABLE
. EASE OF SET UP. I HAD TO READ SOME THROUGH THE MANUAL, BUT THE OSD and GUI are so easy, really, a cave man can do it.
. multiple decoding modes.
. Nice Blue screen with big letters and numbers.
. Sturdy, Well constructed, appears durable.
. programmable remote.
. 2 zones AUDIO control.
. beuatiful clear lows, and distinct highs, appeases to the musical ears.
. easy to configure manually, the base, treble, and eq,..
. nice shiny black. dimmable light, sleep mode. PS: the remote lay out actually makes sense, unlike my yamaha 565 (see appropriate rview).
.3 hdmi, 2 opticals, one coax, multiple other inputs,. easy to rename and reassign.
. ability to control crossover for subwoofer and manually set up your system. also can use included microphone.
.My biggest plus remains the beuatiful pure sound coming from the ceiling speakers. it blows my yamaha vx 565 away....far away

Cons: the manual may be a bit confusing, but once you get a handle on what button is for what, u can consult the manual less frequently. it is intuitive. also the osd diplay makes the set up a breeze.

I can not actually think of any con. having owned the yamaha 565 and 361, and sherwood receivers, i can say this one delivers the best sound and has the best controls. the price is eggcellent,..thank you newegg.

Other Thoughts: I received the VSX-919AH-K & was very anxious to set it up. i have researched it extensively before placing my order, and it came down to choosing between this receiver and the Yamaha VSX565 which i already own, but was on a discounted price prom. Avoiding duplicity, I bought this receiver knowing it has only 3 hdmi inputs and ability to upgrade signal from component only to 1080p, but in the next 1-2 years all video component would be alrready in 1080p, so unless you are using old system it will not matter.

I am extremely satisfied with the sound from this receiver, much more then the one in my main room, the yamaha 565, and here is why

. 120 watts versus 90 watts, and pay attention: 0.05% THD versus only 0.9 % THD on the Yamaha. yes the wattage is not the only criteria, getting a pure sound is the bottom line.
. great sound experience, hooked up to a 5.1 configuration with OSD speakers, C640i series, 150 watt ( each) spearkers and 100 w sub.
. easy to operate, and set up

This is a great receiver, especially for a newbie like me. Setting it up was very easy and the sounds is great. I opted for the 919 over the 1019 since I don't plan on using more than 3 HDMI ports. I have a Dish Network DVR and a PS3 which is the CD/DVD/BluRay player. I run HDMI cables from the DVR and the PS3 to the AVR and one from the AVR to the TV, that's it. The only thing I will add is an Xbox and there would be nothing else I could possibly need - hence the 919 version is perfect, plus you save about $100 this way.

As much as I wanted to rate it 5 stars, there are a few things that take away one star. Small quirks, but far from perfect.

* The manual is almost useless. That said, I had no problem setting the system in less than 15 min., wiring excluded.

* There is some feature that turns off the power to the sub if no bass is fed for a few minutes, then turns it back on when bass is fed. Maybe not a big deal, but prepare to hear a lot of clicking (On and Off) from the sub, especially if you use the AVR to listen to TV. I am not sure if I can turn it off.

* Sometimes when I start the TV or switch between TV and DVR I would lose sound. Since it happens every now and then and I have not changed anything in the meantime - the problem is not in my set up. The only thing that fixes this is restarting the AVR. Obviously this takes away from the rating of the 919.

* Every now and then an "HDCP Error" would display when I turn on the TV. Everything seems to be working just fine. The manual says that this error could be displayed even if nothing is wrong. Still, it makes me nervous...

* Does not support Zune. This really bummed me out, I was hoping to use the USB to connect my Zune, but it doesn't work (maybe it's not FAT). I did put a few songs on a cheap USB thumb drive and they played just fine.

For the life of me, I cannot find the EQ. As I said, the manual is quite useless and not much is being said on the forums. (If anyone can help, feel free to comment on my review).

All those things are relatively small, but bothersome and that's why it doesn't deserve a 5-star rating. That said, it offers an amazing sound when watching movies. I replaced a $500 Panasonic HTiB with this and now I hear sounds I've never heard before on the HTiB (my wife would often look through the house window when doors are being closed far away in the movie's background:), you hear every sound, and it's very clear (and loud if you want to).

Bottom line: If you don't mind the few setbacks, this is a great buy!

I bought the 919 to replace a 3-year old Pioneer 1016TX-V that served me very well, but was hamstrung in its HDMI handling capabilities. As my home theater was expanding, I needed more HDMI inputs and the ability to convert analog inputs to HDMI without the use of additional output cables to the TV.

While the 1019 would have been the logical choice for me (coming from the 1016), it provided more capability than what I required, since I will not require playing a digital source in a second zone nor do I believe in tasking a receiver with video scaling (that should be the domain of the TV or input source, such as a Blu-Ray player). As such, the 919 fit the bill. I did consider the Onkyo RC-160, but have never liked how hot Onkyo receivers seem to run, and was discouraged by some early professional reviews indicating sound quality that wasn't up to par.

Set-up wise, the 919 is a snap if you've dealt with other Pioneer receivers. I had previously done installations with both a 1019 and 819, and as such was versed in the setup of current Pioneer VSX lineup.

The Advanced MCACC does an admirable job of calibration, on par with Audyssey, but like Audyssey, still required some fine tweaking of the center & subwoofer levels, along with the crossover frequency. I will note that it correctly identified the size of all my speakers - something the MCACC on my 1016 did not do.

With a Sony S350 outputting bitstream to the 919, it correctly identified and ostensibly decoded the requisite HD formats, producing a sound quality that seemed to be a level above what my 1016 was capable of - even my wife remarked on the perceived difference! The difference was subtle, and could be attributed to the way each receiver was calibrated, but it was still noticeable.

The iPod/iPhone interface is something special, not only because an adapter cable itself is included, but that that adapter cable hooks into a non-proprietary, can-be-found-anywhere USB port. Kudos to Pioneer! If you ever lose the cable, I'm sure you'll be able to find a relatively cheap knock-off replacement here on Amazon.

A special note about the iPhone/iPod interface: on the 919 and 1019 it is graphically based, but on the 819, it is completely textual and rather displeasing to the eye. Something to take into account if that is important to you.

I was initially hesitant with the 919 due to its MUCH lighter weight and more compact package as compared to my old 1016, but I'm now suitabily impressed. Overall, the 919 is a great buy, especially since you can find it for $350 or less as of the writing of this review. The only improvement I would make is to add one more HDMI input.