Cheapest previously seems to be ~$270.
5.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby True HD, DTS Decoder, DTS-HD Master Audio
4 HDMI inputs
4K Ultra HD Pass Through
Front USB music playback
Great receiver for the price!
Cheapest previously seems to be ~$270.
5.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby True HD, DTS Decoder, DTS-HD Master Audio
4 HDMI inputs
4K Ultra HD Pass Through
Front USB music playback
Great receiver for the price!
Bought one today in melbourne. Can confirm it comes with the calibration microphone that higher end models have (no mention in the specs or on pioneer's website)
Thanks for that. How are you getting on with it? :)
It's great. Very easy to setup. Coming from an 11 year old Sony that only had optical inputs.
Only had a issue with sound over HDMI with asrock motherboard. Easily resolved by downloading latest mobo driver from intel directly instead of from asrock. No fault of the pioneer.
Excellent. Reviews on Amazon are awful. You finding the remote easy? Will be connecting apple TV, sony TV, ps3 :)
I dunno, the remote that came with my Yamaha AX-3030 is pretty damn decent (apart from weighing a tonne)
Besides most AV recievers have apps now anyways which you can use as a remote (for an all in one solution)
@Copie:
Do you really think it's fair to compare a $200 receiver to a $2000 one? I presume you're referring to the RX-A3030.
Yeah, the A3030, they are a bit more then 2k though (2.3k)
If you look under audio features it does list MCACC which stands for Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration System, which is Pioneer's microphone calibration to your sound field. Good price, but I'll prob hold out another 12 months to buy the newer model..
$5 less if you sign up to the email newsletter and get a $5 discount voucher.
Damn I forgot all about this haha.
Yes. Hey people's don't forget to get your $5 discount voucher if you can. Would be $202.75 :)
Yeeew, just what I needed!
Anyone want to suggest some good speakers to go with this? I wouldn't mind setting up a 5.1 system for my parents living room. Nothing fancy, just something better than their current soundbar.
Depends on your budget. I have some Accusounds 5.5XD's and I think they're great, only paid $400 delivered for them. They're sold by The Audio Australia Shop but there's no problem with them at all, and they're all 'carton damaged' so that the range that's sold in HN and the like aren't devalued even though they're worse than the range that AAS sell.
Take a look at their eBay store - http://stores.ebay.com.au/THE-AUDIO-AUSTRALIA-SHOP/Speakers-… their prices have gone up though since I bought mine last year, use to be able to get the 8.6XD's for $699 delivered, but think that was just an extended sale.
Cool. Thanks, Porthos.
I had a look online but it seems Harvey Norman doesn't stock the VSX528.
I'm interested in a receiver with at least bluetooth or airplay. Any other deals out there for a step-up model of any brand?
Yeah for Pioneer it's either the VSX523 and VSX828 from Harvey Norman online.
The next priced AV receiver from the Pioneer VSX523 is the Denon AVR-X500 but it's $374 and then the Onkyo TX-SR313 for $409. Bit of a jump nearly a 2 fold increase in price there with the Onkyo AV.
Denon AVR-X500 $297 here - http://www.videopro.com.au/p-6759-denon-avrx500bk-black-av-r…
Was considering buying it, but saw the cheapie Pioneer and figured it would save me $100, plus remove the temptation to upgrade speakers down the track. KISS principle.
Broken link, fixed it —> http://www.videopro.com.au/p-6759-denon-avrx500bk-black-av-r…
And yes, before anyone points it out I only saved $90 on the pioneer over this, and I'm not sure what is the better buy, this just suited my budget. Seeing as it has gone back up to $277, almost the price of the Denon, perhaps someone could work out if the Denon is a bargain at $297. I'm not convinced on the RRP of the Denon being $549, as the Pioneer arrived with a retail sticker on it of $499.
Having airplay built into the receiver does not have the same benefit as connecting an Apple TV separately to your receiver http://www.cnet.com/au/news/should-you-care-about-built-in-a…
Thanks Unity1 - interesting read. It doesn't cover a topic though that I've always wondered: do the AV Receivers with built in AirPlay "wake" by themselves? I.e., the receiver is in standby, you select the receiver from your iPhone and hit play, will the receiver turn itself on? Or, when the receiver is in standby, does the AirPlay server (ability to select the receiver as an output from your iOS device) also turn off?
There are separate standby modes, one of which keeps the network active.
So yes, it'll work. If it doesn't - read the manual and find the setting.
AirPlay audio only.
Showing $277 now…
Is 4k ultra hd pass through really different to the pass through features of older receiver? Or is it just a gimmic to get 4k tv owners to upgrade their receivers?
Older receivers won't pass 4k video from sources that output 4k video, a receiver that supports 4k video is needed.
Also some will only pass 4k @ 24 or 30 fps, newer models will likely support 4k @ 50/60fps, like the VSX-524 which isn't available in Aus yet.
At least it shouldn't matter too much at the moment as the tv is the only device with 4k support. Not until bluray players, consoles and other devices support 4k would there be a need to upgrade the receiver. Even then, you could actually get away with just plugging the videos to the tv directly and only sent the audio to the receiver.
My first heart broken moment concerning ozbargain. I waited to see this for over a year and when I did last night I thought I would buy it first thing in the morning. Never again will I wait!!!!
Now you know not to procrastinate but to buy straight away. Some times deals don't last over night.
You snooze, you lose
I'd suggest going in store and haggling - you know they can do this price, it's just getting them to do it :)
Good price as part of Harvey Normans 25% of Home entertainment and receivers. Which has now unfortunately ended.
Wait what expired??!
Wait what expired??!
It's back up to $277.
Is it still a good buy for $277? I need a receiver (I already have the Pioneer VSX-324) but need another one for the lounge room.
Bought one anyway. Couldn't find anything cheaper and at least I know this is a good sounding receiver. :)
DAMn - Any Left - will JB match it today??
Super impressed by delivery! Received phone call around 9.15am to ask if I would be home for delivery this week, I said today, they said sometime around / after 10.30 / 11.00 - 'it' arrived at ETA.
Surprised they ended the deal. I'm sure it said expires 21/07 under T & Cs on HN website.
Must have meant expires by 21/07
Was in need of a cheap replacement receiver, pity i missed this one
Bought one of these or very similiar when JB hi fi had em on sale for $200 just before X-MAS very happy with it. Apparently you have to make sure they dont overheat
I looked at this when i needed a 5.1 amp and speakers at the start of the year. Im assuming its pretty much the same amp as whats included in the HTP072 kit from JB Hifi. Personally i thought the build looked awful. The back looked so basic and looked like it had come from a DIY kit. I ended up with the Yamaha HTR-3066. Been quite happy with it, though have noticed every once in a while a glitch when playing back files with DTS. It just goes to static noise and have to re-start all equipment. Only happens randomly though. May have something to do with the encode.
Wow, nice price, good spotting there