Buy Pioneer VSX-D510 100-Watt Audio/Video ReceiverPioneer VSX-D510 100-Watt Audio/Video Receiver Product Description:
- Built-in DTS and Dolby Digital decoder
- 3 digital inputs and 1 digital output, plus a 5.1 channel input for fantastic surround sound from externally decoded 5.1 channel sources
- You will find it a perfect companion for any DVD-Video player, especially with its quality design
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful.
Long road to satisfaction...
By A Customer
I didn't know anything about home theatres when I purchased this product. I didn't even know what "Dolby Surround" meant, nor how "5.1" and "stereo" differ from each other. The only reason I picked up Pioneer's VSX-D510 is because it was within my price range, and I recognized its brand name.When I installed it for the first time, I was sorely disappointed. Sound was weak, and regular television broadcasts were coming from only 2 speakers instead of all six. My first reaction was to refund it, but then I decided to study about proper home theatre set-up and see if I missed anything.Yes, it turns out that I missed a lot! Consider this an idiot's tale of overcoming his ignorance and accomplishing victory:
1. I heard that DVD have superior sound compared to VHS or television signals, but all my DVD movies sounded horrible. After studying the manual, I realized I could feed digital audio signal using DVD player's digital coaxial output instead of stereo signals. This receiver has one coaxial digital audio input, so I connected it with my DVD player. I still thought the sound was horrible. I figured that maybe my DVD player wasn't set right, and tried changing from "PCM" audio mode to "Bitstream" audio mode. Indeed it seemed to improve the sound a little.
2. I noticed that the receiver's "Dolby" light wasn't on. It was set to "Prologic," whatever that meant. I studied the manual again, and found out that I was supposed to set the digital coaxial input to "DVD" using the remote. When I did so, the "Dolby" text lighted up. There was amazing clarity in sound that almost brought tears to my ears.
3. Then I found out most of my VHS collection had "Dolby Surround" logos printed on their side. So why didn't my VCR play these movies with surround sound? After hours of careful examination, I discovered that my VCR was malfuctioning. I replaced it with a new VCR and surround signal started to go through. It's no 5.1 Dolby Digital, nevertheless it significantly improved the way I watch my VHS collection.
4. Until then I thought television shows were broadcasted in stereo, not surround. My cable decoder's audio output was connected to the TV, and the TV's audio output was connected to the receiver. I speculated that TV's audio output was only capable of outputting stereo signal, so I tried connecting cable decoder's audio output directly to the receiver. From that point on, all the television shows (and even the commercials) were in glorious surround. I thought it was as good as it'd get, until...
5. My cable provider started to feed some channels with digital, 5.1 audio. I didn't know how to take advantage of this at first, but it turns out that my cable decoder had a coaxial digital audio output on the back. Whenever I wanted to watch a channel with digital audio, I had to unplug DVD's digital audio cable and plug decoder's digital audio cable. It was inconvenient and I wished the receiver had 2 digital audio input instead of one. And surprise, surprise, my DVD player has an optical audio output (as all half-decent DVD players do - but I didn't know that before). I used an optical cable to connect my DVD player to the receiver and let the decoder connected to coaxial digital audio input on the receiver. Switching cables became no longer necessary.
Now I have adequate amount of knowledge in how to set up a receiver. My review doesn't actually cover many extra features that any home-theatre enthusiasts would appreciate (such as adjusting individual speaker volume, DSP, DTS decoding, etc.). So maybe this review will only be of help to clueless beginners (like me) avoid possible pit-falls of setting up a home theatre.
Well anyway, in closing, I'd like to say that this is a very good digital receiver. I bought several other receivers for my other televisions, and they have more or less the same set of features and indifferent sound quality. The only difference is that I bought this one for the lowest cost. For that I wholeheartedly recommend this product with a 5-star rating.
Thanks for reading - Have a nice day.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent bang for the buck!
By Sam W., Durham NC
I bought my Pioneer VSX-D510 as part of Pioneer's HTP-210 Home Theatre System (which contains a set of five speakers plus sub-woofer). For $400 (for the system), it's hard to beat. Sure, there are better sounding systems available, but you would probably have to pay significantly more bucks to hear any difference in sound quality. The sub-woofer has 100 watts, and can really crank out deep bass, great for the special effects in DVD movies. Fortunately, the sub-woofer has it's own volume knob.
The VSX-D510 has all the basic features of home theatre receivers. The instructions walk you through a setup routine, where you program the receiver for the distance from the center listening point to the front, the center and the surround speakers. There's also a pink noise generator that you can use to balance the relative volume of each speaker independently (very handy, in case your speakers are not positioned symmetrically in your room).
The coaxial or optical digital input are essential for feeding the surround audio from your DVD player. There's also a Dolby 5.1 input, in case your DVD player has a built-in Dolby decoder. However, that would require hooking up six cables from the DVD to the receiver, instead of just one. I use the coaxial output from my DVD player. If your DVD player has optical digital output, you could use that instead. The VSX-D510 let's you set up the audio source for the coaxial and optical inputs independently. For example, you could set the coaxial input to be from your DVD player, and the optical input to be from your CD player (assuming your CD player has optical output). You can also leave one or both digital inputs unassigned (as I have with the optical input). My CD player is connected using conventional analog inputs (RCA plugs, left and right channel).
As a tuner, this receiver works just fine. FM reception is clear and clean (provided you have good reception and an adequate antenna). Tuning is digital, and you can program up to 30 presets. You can also search for stations, or key in a frequency on the remote.
The receiver does not have S-video or component video switching capabilities as the more expensive receivers do, but that's OK with me. Suppose you wanted to watch a DVD while playing a CD (like you wanted to watch 'The Wizard of Oz' while playing 'The Dark Side of the Moon'). With this receiver, it's easy: just set the input to CD, get your CD player queued up, start your DVD, and press 'Play' for the CD player on the third roar. A more expensive, complicated home theatre receiver tends to take over your whole system. Basically, I wanted mine to provide surround sound for my DVD, as well as serving as a conventional receiver. I'm not interested in using it to switch between alternate video sources (my TV does that just fine by itself).
The remote can be programmed to control other devices (like my TV, DVD player and CD player). Of course, it can't replace all of the functions of those unit's own remote controls, but it covers the basics and then some (TV on/off, volume up/down, channel select or channel up/down, and function so you can select whether the TV input is from DVD, VCR, etc.).
Unfortunately, most of the buttons on the remote are small; it's hard to operate it by feel, and it's not illuminated. This is my major quibble with this receiver. Otherwise, it really delivers good sound for the money. If you're on a budget, you can't go wrong with this receiver!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.Don't be afraid to give this unit a try it might suprise you
By Bill Kramer
(...) If you want a Pioneer with more inputs then spring for the D810 or D850 they have them. This receiver is not their top end model and that is why it lacks all the bells and whistles. That said it still is a great deal for the $$$.
I have a Sony 35" Trinitron with the matched base, there is only so much room in it and it is maxed out. All I can fit inside the base is the receiver, dvd player, vcr, satellite box. I don't need a cd player for the family room, the dvd fits the bill for that. I doubt I will get Tivo, so the lack of inputs is not an issue for me right now.
I have my DVD player hooked up thru the digital coax, the vcr using rca jacks, satellite using rca jacks and the tv using rca jacks. The dvd video out is S-Video to my TV directly, so everything works and I still get great quality.
I decided to get the D510 to save money and be able to purchase a decent sub, which will make a world of difference from my original passive unit. I figured that was money better spent. If I need to replace the receiver in the next 5 years then I can look for a higher end unit but right now I saved $230 from jumping to the D810 at (a higher price) so for me it was worth it.
Don't be afraid to give this unit a try it might suprise you!
I am giving the unit a 5 star value rating, for (this price) you can't beat it. It is getting an overall 4 star rating just because of the remote.
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