Pioneer VSX 1121 receiver. Good? Bad? Comments? (1 Viewer)

Anyone have one of these? What do you think? They're goin for around $450 now that they're towards the end of their model year or whatever. That seems like a great deal to me! Any comments or good or bad info about this model? Thank you all for your time!

Pioneer packs a lot into their receivers these days. One reviewer calls them the Swiss Knife of A/V receivers. I own an Elite 23-vsx which is kind of a predecessor to the 1121. The 1121 is similar to the Elite 52-vsx which is a direct decendant of the 23. I've also owned an Elite 32-vsx which is a year or two newer than the 23. The good about Pioneer is reliability (depending on who you ask), crystal clear sound, good looks (in the eye of the beholder), easy to setup and operate (to me, anyway), they run very cool to the touch, weight over 30 lbs, detachable power cord, include 9.2 channel assignable pre-outs for adding additional amplification and have a pretty nice remote control. The 6 MCACC presets is a big plus to me. Like having six seperate equilizer and speaker volume controls in one receiver. They also now allow video processing (via the excellent Marvell Qdeo video chip) through the hdmi inputs. Previously, any video input through hdmi went through the receiver un-touched. I'm quite happy with my vsx-23 (and the Elite SC-27 in another room) because I think they are the best option for me. Denon, Marantz, H/K, Yamaha, Onkyo, etc might be better for someone else. But all is not rosey in Pioneer land. The bad is, they only allow one crossover setting for all speaker groups set to Small so if you have tower speakers in the front and tiny satellites for surrounds (like my brother) then this might be a bit of a problem. Also MCACC doesn't eq the sub like Audyssey MultiEQ does. It also doesn't have multi-channel analog inputs or s-video inputs (both of which are quickly disappearing from receivers these days). And the amp sections on their entry-level models might not be as stout as some other brands, but the 1121 should be fine in this area. Most any receiver in this price range will have enough inputs and outputs so features and price are the things to really look at. I'd down-load the Manual and Product Sheet from their website and give them a good going over to see if Pioneer has what you're looking for. Also, if you buy from an un-authorized dealer Pioneer probably will not honor the warranty. This includes Walmart and Costco where the 921 and Elite vsx-31 have been selling recently.

Thank you! I'll look into it more before buying. I like the fact that Pioneer seems to have a good thing going with Apple, cuz' we have iPhones, and a Macbook, and an iMac etc, etc...so that's cool. I haven't purchased a new receiver in 20 years!! How sad is that??? I've been living with Dolby Pro Logic for 20 yrs, I've never actually heard DTS, or Dolby True HD or any of those digital formats...I'm so far behind. But, I just haven't had the $$ to upgrade. I'm very excited, and can't wait to check all this stuff out. With a wife and kids, it's tough to find the time to enjoy surround sound, but I'm confident this receiver and speaker system upgrade will help with that! My wife didn't think she cared about HDTVs or Blu-ray, or 3D tv or any of that stuff until she's gotten used to all of it-now she loves it! Anyway, thanks for the great info!

You will be blown away by the difference between Dolby ProLogic and DTS Master Audio. You're in for a real treat! BTW, what speakers and sub woofer will you be using with the new receiver?

Still shopping...leaning towards the Cadence CSX12 Mark II sub, which will leave about $600-800 or so for my 5 speakers. Maybe towers up front, don't know yet. Any good suggestions? I want some punch, but my budget is limited... Are the Fluance packages good? Customer reviews are good...anyway, still looking...

In that price range with towers the Polk Monitors from newegg.com are the usual recommendation. Monitor 70's ($400/pr) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290209 Monitor 40's ($130/pr) CS2 ($150). Also check out Vanns.com and OneCall.com's clearance centers for special deals on customer returns and floor models. Any interest in building your own from plans or kits? Check out Partsexpress.com's Speaker Building Projects.

Thanks! Love all the good info! Not gonna build, I have enough crap to do around here...Thank you so much for the Polk links!! That is totally awesome! Exactly what I'm lookin for! I don't care if they're not the latest models, cuz they're 10 times better than anything I've ever owned, and they'll fit my budget! When were these speakers introduced anyway, just cuz I'm curious...Thanks again!!