Pioneer VSX-1021-K 7.1 Home Theater Receiver, Glossy Black (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

I have owned and operated the Pioneer VSX-1021K receiver for over one month now, I bought it here on Amazon for the full list price. Worth every penny I might add! While I had it up and running within 30 minutes, 30 days later I have yet to explore all the features. Once properly setup the sound quality is light years better than my 10 year old Sony ES receiver using the exact same speakers. No lack of power to drive my complete stereo system, very impressive!I bought the new iPad 2 and found this receiver by doing an internet search for Airplay compatible devices. The totally free iControlAV2 App on the iPad2 works beyond by expectations, very cool! Everyone who gets their hands on my iPad2 and this App cannot believe how slick it is to control an Audio/Video system with a touch of a screen. A+As mentioned in previous reviews there are some minor bugs that need to be worked out, but hopefully Pioneer continues offering software updates as this is a nod to the future. Controlling an independent Zone 2 with the iPad App was a major selling point for me. I like to background listen to music through my whole house/patio speaker selector, at the same time the wife/kids can watch a 5.1 movie in Zone 1. While this is possible with the VSX-1021K there are some minor limitations. Only analog inputs on the receiver and computer/server initiated (iTunes) audio streams will play in Zone 2, no sound in Zone 2 with HDMI or Digital coax/toslink inputs on the receiver. Fine, most likely a hardware limitation! The larger issue for me is not being able to toggle the Zone 2 and front height or extra rear surround speakers for 7.1 playback without digging into the speaker setup menu. While there are extra binding posts on the back of the receiver for all these speakers, you must choose which pair of these speakers you would like to power. It seems natural to me that if I select Zone 2 on the iPad that the 1021K automatically drop down from 7.1 to 5.1 in Zone 1. Yes I understand the VSK-1021K has only 7 channels of amplification and you must share that extra pair of amps, but dah, Zone 2 sound should be a priority (or option) over an extra set of surrounds.But alas there is no easy way to toggle Zone 2 amps, not even with the "Speaker" button on the receiver!For further confusement the iControl2 App lets you click Zone 2, select whatever input you might want, yet no sound comes out of the Zone 2 speakers. (Hint for Pioneer, its called gray screen when not active) So I am forced to set down my beautiful iPad interface and locate that button ridden ol'school remote and dig into some obscure on-screen menu. What is this ... some form of torture! The whole process repeats itself when I want to watch a movie in ProLogicIIz and add the height speakers back. I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, no matter what I try there is no easy way to get back. If Pioneer would at least add access to the OSM from the iControl App I could send the supplied remote control back to the 90's where it belongs. We can only hope that Pioneer adds "Speaker Selection" to the iControl App in the near future to make this process simpler and more transparent. As I said this is my only quibble with this receiver, the rest operates like a dream. Pinch me!BTW I really love the the Dolby PLIIz effect, it lifts and spreads the sound image across the entire front of the soundstage, much like you hear at the movie theater. No more isolated loud center channel speaker, then eruption into total surround chaos, then back to solar center sound. I always found this Dolby Digital process very unnerving and unnatural. If you know what I'm saying here, its time you step up to the new Dolby PLIIz. You simply add a second pair of speakers above the front left right pair, it takes the ambient sound from all 5 channels and feeds them to the front height speakers. I am using a pair of Bose 901's which work great for this sort of thing. The powerful MCASS auto EQ feature can even automatically correct the serious roll off in the 901's, now that's impressive. There is this neat 3D onscreen presentation to show you before and after EQ. The 1021K also features a PLIIz "music mode" which pulls even more energy away from center channel speaker, while its great for music, many movies sound better in this mode. Remember DVD sound mixes where made for large movie theatres ... not our living rooms! Dolby PLIIz alone is reason enough to buy this Pioneer VSX-1021K in my book.Last weekend I added the Pioneer BDP-430 BluRay player to complete my transition into 21st Century Sound, yes the iControlAV2 App also controls this device. Awesome! (Don't even think you are going to save money by buying last years models; the super-cool iControlAV2 App only works on the 2011 models). The upgrade in picture and sound made my old DVD player seem like a VCR. Of coarse Bluray's look and sound even better! Unlike older players the BDP-430 boots a disc in less then 30 seconds and yea its got 3D. Out of the box the 430 included the Netflix & uTube App's, however after a firmware update the uTube disappeared and Pandora showed up. I called Pioneer and they said they only had enough on-board storage for 2 APP's, I prefer Pandora ... so thanks! (BTW Pioneer USA had actual American's answering the phone. Wow!) I signed up for Netflix "online" and found it very easy to navigate, select, and play movies ... right from the iControlAV2 App. How cool is that! I must have been living under a rock as I had no clue this online Netflix service was available. Imagine 1000's of movies/documentary/TV shows at your fingertips for $8 month. Makes my Direct TV movie service look positively antiquated. While I understand there are cheaper Bluray players out there with more Apps, "none of them" have this super cool iPad touch screen interface. I suggest you steer clear of the new Elite Bluray players (BDP-41,43) for 2 reasons. First, they are functionally the same player with slightly different cosmetics. Second Pioneer will not honor the 2 year warranty for "Elite Products" bought online, only from brick and mortar stores. Buyer beware! Easy choice for me, I bought the BDP-430 for $220 online with free shipping. Pioneer "does" honor their standard products 1 year warranty from "authorized online dealers" such as Amazon.If your system is sounding dated like mine was, do yourself a favor and beam on up to the 21st Century. I highly recommend Pioneer's VSX-1021 receiver & BDP-430 Bluray player with an iPad interface. These things are more fun that a barrel full of monkeys.*** Another month has passed and I must say that the stereo imaging has really improved with break-in. My left/right speakers live in a bookshelf and never presented a believable stereo image in my room. I listened to music exclusively with ProLogic-IIz to get a sense of space, now I prefer the sound of direct stereo for music playback. This suggests this receiver needs a couple hundred hours of play time for optimum sound quality. I am going to add another "super" star for its 3D music presentation in stereo.I am also going to back-off my hard dislike of the stock remote, I use it quite often now with no issues. Many times my iPad is not in the same room and I was forced to reach for the included remote. To lazy to read the manual I called Pioneer and they helped me set up the "control through HDMI" feature. Now I can operate my Pioneer Blu-Ray player & TV using only the VSX1021 remote control. Very intuitive after some practice. For late night listening I turn on "only" the Bluray player and it passes the Netflix audio/video through the "turned off" receiver directly to the TV. So I guess thats proof the HDMI pass-though feature works. (You have to turn this feature on in a sub-menu in system setup, call Pioneer if you have issues)I have also learned to turn Zone 2 on/off using the discrete buttons on the face of the receiver, this has come to be my preferred method when playing music on the back patio. If I need to adjust volume I simply pop inside, click the tiny "control" button and tweak the big V-Knob and slip right back outside. The lights on the receiver flash for 5 seconds when you hit the "control" button to let you know you are controlling Zone 2. If you turn on "just" Zone 2 the lights stay on solid, I do this quite often for background listening to speakers throughout my house.My lastest trick has been setting up different room "presets" using the MCACC room calibration microphone. (You can have up to 6 presets) I have one setting for 7.1 Dolby ProLogic IIz height, one for regular 5.1, then I have a preset for 7.1 with the calibration microphone set at my favorite listening chair, and finally I have a preset for just stereo playback. You can even custom tweak each MCACC auto settings, I have yet to venture into that world as it sounds incredible in auto . The advanced MCACC is very powerful and not a toy feature like on most receivers, it takes a good 15 minutes of hissing noises and buzzing to run the full feature. Along the way is adjusts level, distance, phase, standing waves and EQ. Like I said, very powerful and effective! ***

The goodI purchased this receiver back in January and loved everything about it: amazing sound quality, plenty of features, ease of setup, etc. Also, the Amazon experience, as usual, was great.The badIn April, all the HDMI ports suddenly stopped working. Everything else worked fine. I contacted Amazon to see if I could exchange the item for another one, since it's only been a couple of months, but was informed that since it's already past the grace period, the return policy doesn't apply, which is understandable. So, next, I decided to contact Pioneer and see if I can get a replacement on the item, considering it comes with a one year warranty from the manufacturer. In response, I received a rather rude email from their customer service department stating, in summarized terms, "Sir, since you bought this receiver through Amazon, an unauthorized dealer, your one year warranty does not apply. Here is the number of a service center in your area. You're on your own." I had purchased a two year warranty with Square Trade when I bought the receiver, so I decided to contact them as well. I have to say, those guys are great; they treat you like you matter to them. They advised me to go ahead and send the receiver to the service center, and then email them the receipt and they'll cover the expenses for the repair.The uglyOn May 15th, I dropped off the receiver at the service center. They said it might take a couple of weeks to have it ready. I called two weeks later to check status and they told me that the main board needs to be replaced. However, Pioneer does not have the part in stock, and instead it's on back order. They tell me to give them about four more weeks. At the end of June I call the service center again: still waiting for parts; no updates from Pioneer either. Come end of July, and I call once again to check on status: still waiting for parts. The people at the service center tell me they've been trying to get a hold of Pioneer to try to expedite this repair, but cannot get through to them.So, here we are, August already and I have not been able to enjoy a brand new product for which I paid a lot of money. In conclusion, the receiver itself was amazing - for the little time I had it. Just beware of the type of customer service/warranty hurdles you will have to go through when it breaks. I should have saved more money and just go with Denon.