Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Pioneer VSX-1015TX-K Review

I have to do up another system for a friend of mine and again as I did with my last one, I'm going to use the Pioneer VSX-1015K. But this time I'm going to keep it for a week and post a little review on it. I went and picked it up today and will be keeping it in my main system until sometime next week. The main reason for this review is to address some of the absolutely bone headed comments that are flying around some of the other audio forums regarding this receiver. Some are saying it's not musical, underpowered and some are basically saying it's junk.

YEAH RIGHT!

It's easy to spot the people who have actually tried something versus posting what they think they know......and from what I have seen at some of the other forums, a lot of people are blowing smoke.

Anyway, so I went and picked up my second VSX-1015K in the last two weeks. The buddy I got the first one for is rather happy with it and has no complaints.



I have already hooked up the second one to my main system in a 5.1 configuration. (I gave up on 7.1 a long time ago!) I have been listening to music for roughly two hours and this thing like the 1014 that I reviewed many months ago, SMOKES with two channel and multi channel audio. Anyone who say's otherwise has never tried it or is expecting way to much from a receiver at this price point. It has ample power for most folks but when the going gets stupid, another amp for the front channels might not hurt. The VSX-1015 also does very well with movies. I haven't spent a great deal of time with movies but I did spend about an hour playing around with Bad Boys II Superbit version..................and the VSX-1015 does just fine and dandy thank you very much!

I will post more on it after some time has passed but here are my initial pros and cons:

PROS:

- Great sounding receiver
- Lot's of power for the average person
- Auto set-up is rather unique and comes close but SPL set-up works better
- Ability in main menu to bi-amp your fronts with the remaining surround amps if your not running a 7.1 system. Very nice for those that like this stuff.
- Idiot proof set-up menu
- Menu system is laid out and is a snap to get through
- Video up conversion is excellent. When switching between inputs there is zero delay and it's a fast clean switch.
- For those who like EQ's, this thing has a very good one


CONS:

- Variable crossover setting is missing 60 (Huge over sight on Pioneers part) 40, 80 and a host of others are in it but no 60?
- Speaker settings and crossover settings are global. It's one for all.
- Remote is cute but I don't like it. It's also missing several input setting buttons. You have to scroll to hit certain inputs. This is really dumb!
- If this sucker has on screen display, I can't get it to work
- Not enough digital inputs. 2 optical on the back along with 2 coax on the back is not enough. There is one more optical on front but more in the back would have been better.

I can't think of anything else at the moment but like I said, as more time goes by, I will post some more on it.

..........and one more thing, my glowing review of the 1015 should not be looked at as an endorsement of the THX certification standard! lol

I still think THX is a joke! If your willing to pay, you get the "Stamp" of approval. But this is for another thread.

I tried the 1014 when it was all the rave. I was apparently in the minority which didn't care for it. To me, it looked cheap, felt cheap and sounded cheap. I have since moved up the totem to Denon. The experience has turned me off to Pioneer probably forever.

That just goes to show everyone has there own tastes. I had the Denon 3805 and thought it was ok, but nothing special.

At the price point, the Pioneer holds it's own. Would I come out and say Denon is a step up from Pioneer regardless of model? Nope.

In reply to:

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when the going gets stupid, another amp for the front channels might not hurt

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Classic!!

Thanks for sharing your experience! The lack of independent crossover points is the thing that really bugs me about my Denon 1804, so I don't think this unit solves my problem. That thing looks like a beast, though.

Neverhappy liking a Pioneer? I guess I have now seen it all.

Thanks for the review.

I'm still not giving up my NAD stuff!

Speaking of which, how is that going? I know that you had posted saying that you liked it, but you certainly do change your opinions after a bit of time :-) Now that you have had the 773 for a while, are you still gung-ho for it?

I don't necessarily change my opinions, I just change my stuff a lot. It has nothing do to with anything being bad or good, I just like to change stuff out. I tend to do it faster with stuff that I have a fair bit of money in that I don't think is ultimately worth what I paid. It may still be a good receiver or whatever but if I don't think it's worth the money, it's out the door and I try something else.

People call it "Upgradis", with me it's more like I really do enjoy trying stuff out even if I'm moving up or moving down. I find it amazing what you can get for $500.00 or $600.00 these day's.

As for the NAD, no complaints. It's an excellent piece of equipment.

I just noticed that you are from Halifax. I was just there. Very nice part of the world and dam, are people friendly out there! I had the chance to get out to PEI and New Brunswick also. All very nice!