Pioneer unleashes VSX range of AV receivers

Posted by David Walker on Thu 16 Apr 2009

Take your living room audio and video to new heights

Not just any old AV receivers, the newly-launched VSX-1019AH, VSX-919AH, VSX-819H and VSX-519V from Pioneer are some of the industry’s first to feature iPhone and iPod certification.

The top three models in the range (1019, 919 and 819) offer up HD-friendly DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD audio, while the 1019 and 919 also allow the conversion of conventional analogue inputs to HDMI, carrying digital audio and video signals in one cable. Additionally, the 1019 provides 1080p up-scaling of all video signals. Also present is a HDMI repeater function for single HDMI cable transfer of both HD video and a Lip Sync function for synchronised audio and video playback between your speakers and the screen.

Not a bad standalone living room audio system either, packing a a multi-format front panel USB port for hooking up to everything from an iPod and iPhone through to a humble USB drive. And once in, you can access your playlists, view album sleeves and track details on the TV (1019 and 919 only) and take advantage of Pioneer's Advanced Sound Retriever and Auto Level Control audio improvement technologies, which enhance compressed audio files to a 'fuller and more natural surround sound'. Essentially, it puts back what compression has taken out. Alternatively, you can hook up the top two models in the range to a Blu-ray player for 'perfect', distortion-free CD playback.

And just to add the cherry on the cake, the top three models also feature Pioneer’s Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration (MCACC), taking stock of the room's speakers before optimising audio output for their position and room layout. The VSX-519 and VSX-819 AV receivers will be available as from May 2009. The VSX-919 and VSX-1019 will be released in June 2009.

Link: Pioneer

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