Yung

John,

I hope everything works out with you. I went with OneCall because I heard their customer service was pretty good in that they would even ship a new unit out even before they received the old one back. Good luck.

john_FE

Well after this Vanns better be shipping me a new one tomorrow. Its comes physically busted and I have to charge a new one before they will send me a new one?

no way

Joe Mihok

Okay, I picked up the Pioneer VSX-1014 yesterday for $758 CND. I don't have much time to do a review, but I'll give a quick comparison with my previous Denon AVR-1803. First of all, the Pioneer is MUCH warmer and almost every audio CD I listened to sounded very nice. The denon was warm, but not like the Pioneer. The Denon was fantastic for Jazz/Soft rock, but was a bit thin for Rock/Dance music. Rock and Dance tracks sound much better on the Pioneer and I can finally listen at loud levels without straining my ears. Now, Jazz/Soft music sounds great, but it's not quite as detailed as the Denon. Overall, I was happy with the Denon, but probably more happy with the Pioneer. The Pioneer can go much louder and the room EQ feature is VERY slick. Also, on the Pioneer, dialog is MUCH better and easier to understand for movies (probably because of the EQ). If I would pick only one, it would be the Pioneer. Sorry to be short but sweet but I'm at work and as you can guess, should be doing other things .

Pioneer VSX-1014:

- Very nice warm sound.
- Dialog is excellend for movies.
- Auto EQ feature really does help give a smoother sound.
- Powerful effortless volume.
- Fast mode switching for Auto Surround.
- Not as detailed as the Denon AVR-1803

Denon AVR-1803

- Very detailed with Jazz music and female vocals.
- Very easy to use and set up.
- Not as warm as the Pioneer.
- Ears can be somewhat strained at moderatley loud listening levels.
- No Auto EQ feature kinda bites.
- Not as powerful as the Pioneer (no real headroom).

Also note that I'm using Paradigm Monitor speakers which are fairly bright. The Pioneer IMO, mates better with these speakers than the Denon due to it's full warm sound.

JohnGag

Well I just picked up my Yamaha RX-V2400 today to replace the 1014 I sent back because of the problem with the Digital on my Satellite receiver. I paid a little more but this baby's got alot more features that I can use. I'll let you all know how it goes, I'm going to hook it up tonight.

Yung

Joe, I have NEVER heard the Paradigms to be considered bright. I've always heard them to be laid-back and warm. Well, its good to know that they mate well with the 1014TX because I will probably be picking up some Paradigms next week..although it will be the Performance Series..Atoms or Titans for mains instead of Monitors.

Enjoy.

john_FE

Well I finally got a working 1014 tonight and hooked it right up. The MCACC was great, misjudged the surround distance a little.

The sound is very warm, nice harsh or bright at all. The detail is great as well. There are so many different ways to listen to everything your almost lost playing around with them. I listened to 2 channel music and I loved the 7ch stereo mode. The PLIIx was nice too but I dont feel like Im getting enough from the rears at times, really its just supposed to be subtle I guess.

I put in a movie (the Mummy) and everything was handled great. Once I have a sub in place then things will be perfect.

Yung, I also thought paradigms were a little bright but it was the studio series. Each his own though.

Jan H

This is a honey of a unit. I'm using it in my classroom with a Denon 1910, an Acoustic Research HC6 6.2 speaker setup, with an Infocus 4805 that I carry to and from school. In my drama class, I showed the kids the PBS 'Kiss Me Kate' and they were blown away. The 1014 is the best value ever in an HT receiver, especially at the prices you can get it at these days.

Bill Will

Best Buy has it advertised in their new 10-31 flyer for $499.99 Happy Halloween !!!

Yung

John,

Good to hear you got your new receiver in. What are your impressions of Vann's now?

Steve Blair

Ok, some questions here. I have the following paradigm speakers in my setup. 2 monitor 7 towers, 1 cc370 center and 2 mini monitor surrounds plus the 10"sub. First of all, these are all 4 ohm speakers correct? Does this receiver handle a 4 ohm output? If not should I not buy it for use with these speakers? Also, is the receiver powerful enough compared to the outlaw 1050 that I've used for the last 3 years?

I also want that "warm" sound like I have now as opposed to a bright sound that I've heard mentioned the denon's having. Is this the receiver for me? Any former Outlaw 1050 owners have this pioneer now? Anyone using it with paradigms? Thanks in advance for the help!

al lout

I went to onecall.com and printed out the price there which is $449 and have bestbuy pricematch it. They gave me $449 but then I have to pay tax. End up paid $487. Not bad at all considering that I can get the unit right away. I just don't like the internet hassel.

Al,