PioneerVSX-834 7.2-Channel AV Receiver

Nothing makes ordinary TV sound like I am in an expensive theater than this AV receiver. It is easy to setup, comes with a ton of features to make my viewing and listening experience unique. It has high quality sound when paired with the right speakers. I use Bose theater surround speakers for my system, but there are plenty of great speaker systems available to choose for your home theater needs. The accompanying microphone refines the sound quality so that I get the best possible experience from my home theater system. This AV receiver allows me to connect up to 6 speakers plus a subwoofer and offers several sound selections to fit the movie, sporting event or whatever I am watching to a realistic event that makes me feel like I am actually there. If you are looking for a new, or replacement AV receiver like I was, this one will definitely satisfy.

I've set up enough receivers, I figured I don't need no stinkin' instructions. Went through the settings several times last night, and could not get the rear surround speakers to fire, nothing. I was getting a test tone to all the speakers through the setup mode so I knew I was ok there. I read through the manual on the Panasonic site this morning (manual not included with the receiver - what the?), and had a few more clues to go on. I think it was the "Surr" (Surround) button on the bottom of the remote that you are able to toggle through the different Stereo and Surround modes that got me there. Sounds amazing, and there is all the versatility that you could ever need between the different modes, cranking up the decibels on the sides & rears, and turning the sub up or down, it's just a little learning curve. For the money, it's a hard act to beat compared to some of my more expensive systems. I'm not sure that other brands, Onkyo, Denon, etc, are not all using the same components, you start looking at the back of some these systems and they all look the same, maybe just different operating systems.My one complaint: Who the heck designed the speaker clips? If you are running 16 gauge speaker wire you are fine, anything larger than that, have fun. The terminals for the front speakers are screw cap, so no worries there.

I had never heard of arc TV so I had a hard time setting up the receiver because I had 2 digital audio connections and only 1 connection on this receiver. I scratched my head then finally did some research on arc TV. I connected the hdmi cable to the arc input on the TV and receiver. Bam. I disconnected the hdmi cords from the the TV and connected them to the receiver and disconnected all the audio wires and everything worked great.The sound is fantastic. It's weird that the volume starts from a negative number for no sound to positive for max volume. Either way who cares. Once everything was connected it was easy to set up the speakers in the room for maximum surround sound.I tested it with the modern day Midway movie and the planes were flying all around my room. My old onkyo stereo never sounded this good but it was top notch when I bought it 10 years ago. I would recommend this stereo to all.

This unit requires a TV hookup to setup the unit. I don't have a TV in my barn, so setup was cumbersome. A couple of features did work now they won't, will have to call the Pioneer help line to correct it. The sound is excellent and easy to use.

I remember when you bought a head unit, and whatever speakers you hooked up, played sound. I have 7.2 Klipsch system (I know, way too good for this turd head unit), and I’m lucky to get 3.2 out of it. Never plays rear speakers. The surround it will play now and then. This is the worst pile of dung of a receiver I’ve ever bought in my 32 years or so of audio equipment. It’s far past the return date, so I’ll be using this as a piñata when I get a higher quality unit very soon.

love the microphone works great for odd size rooms

We've owned a Pioneer receiver since the 1990's and due to newer technology, we needed to upgrade to a better receiver. After some research which included several brand names including Denon we decided to go with the Pioneer brand. The sound system experts recommended either brand would work but with our needs that Pioneer would be sufficient for our needs. We had HDMI cable, 4 inside wall and ceiling speakers, a bar-type speaker for surround sound, exterior speakers and a CD player (I know what you're thinking but, hey, we needed somewhere to play, 'The Best of Bread') We're super happy with this receiver, versatility and the quality. Great purchase! patc

My old Onkyo died and needed replacement. This unit was very easy to install and set up. The ARC function works perfectly with my Samsung TV. The sound is awesome. Highly recommended.