PIONEER VSX-D1S (1990/1993)
















RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVE REMOTE; CU-AV200






i have owned a copy of this unit since 2003, and it is the ONLY component in my system that i have not upgraded from several times since then. there is a very good reason for that, too;

this is a capable two channel stereo receiver, with surround faculties added on, that is built to last, and to rival even a separates system. it can handle speaker loads from 2ohms to 16, and deliver 130wx2 continuous into two stereo channels. it possesses BASS, MID and TREBLE controls, in addition to a TONE DEFEAT mode. it has enough inputs to handle the majority of complex systems out there. it has a VERY GOOD PHONO preamp, with a variable gain control. in sum, this receive has it all, house in a neat and tidy handsome chassis. why PIONEER never made this the very first ELITE receiver, rather than the comparatively mediocre VSX-9900S/VSX-95, is beyond me, and a great loss to us all. this already magnificent audio component would have done nothing but benefit from the copper chassis, enhanced internal components, beautiful rosewood side panels and urushi lacquer front bezel that the comparatively undeserving VSX-95 benefited from. as it stands, it is still an amazing stereo amplifier that will handily run with the thoroughbreds. HIGHLY Recommended...

HT with real metal. The new junk at the Big Box retailers can't compare.

Nice. Are there buttons on the front of the flip down panel?

yep, input selectors for all eleven A/ A/V INPUT - INPUT/OUTPUTS, and one for the AM/FM Tuner.

there is also a BACK/FORWARD pair of controls for the receiver's REC. SELECTOR function, enabling you to link any two AUDIO/ A/V INPUT - INPUT/OUTPUTs together, for unlimited recording flexibility...

The early Pioneer HT receivers were hugely expensive. The VSX-99 sold for $2,000 in 1995!

well, that was probably MSRP. the real street price probably hovered around $1500/1800.

still not pocket change, by any means...



PIONEER VSX-99 (1995/1996)









i personally CANNOT STOMACH PIONEER'S 1992/1996 design ethos. sweeping front panels and curvy Euro-Mod cosmetics, oh-my!!

Unusual. Might be more common than I know. No doubt, soft-touch switches but I've seen a number of doored units with missing doors. I'll concur. that the face of that VSX99 is visually off balance.

yeah, the door on those models is purely cosmetic, unlike that of the VSX-D1S.

those cosmetic doors seem to be attached to the front bezel's underside via a decidedly flimsy, breakage-prone pair of plastic hinges, ala the somewhat more robust ones on SONY's STR-GX80ES and GX90ES;



STR-GX80ES









STR-GX90ES









fairly nice receivers, in their own right.

still, the VSX-D1S can handle speaker impedances at least as low as two ohms, and PIONEER sure didn't make a big production of that fact, and then slap it straight onto the front panel.

the VSX-D1S has a certain degree of inheritant self-confidence about it, much like PIONEER's own 1970's-borne former logo; a certain swagger, that, to me anyways, suggests that it is more than capable of taking care of things, and it is to be taken quite seriously.

product design such as that, is, IMO, fast becoming a lost art in the CE industry...

Thin sounding amp for the price range, Sherwood better bang for the buck imo.