Elite VSX-31 A/V Receiver Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Incredibly highly functional receiver for a great price. I originally was looking at the VSX-30 but then after I learned you can play iPod to Zone 2 I went with this one. A couple of words of caution, which is why this receiver gets four instead of five stars:
- I upgraded my existing receiver because I needed more HDMI inputs and wanted to have a second zone, i.e., I wanted to install patio speakers. I also bought Apple TV and really wanted to stream via Apple TV to my patio speakers. The manual says the VSX-31 allows for iPod output to Zone 2 and so I incorrectly thought this meant I could take a digital source, i.e., an HDMI input, to Zone 2. Wrong. This receiver does not output digital signals (except for iPod and Internet Radio) to Zone 2. The manual isn't quite clear on this. In the receiver's defense, using the supplied cable for the iPod/iPhone works fine and is an upgrade over the VSX-30. I have not tried Pandora thru my iPhone yet.
- Activating the receiver for Zone 2 is not nearly as intuitive as it should be. The manual is not clear whatsoever, only through trial/error did I get it to work. Basically, the manual tells you to select Zone 2 in the speaker setup menu of which there are five options for speaker setup (Zone 2 is one of the options). What it DOESN'T tell you is select Zone 2 AND THEN EXIT THE SPEAKER SETUP. There isn't anything that shows you a summary of the speakers you selected so there's no way to check it.
- The receiver is definitely more deep than advertised. My cabinet has a total depth of around 15.5-16". After you connect all the HDMI cables and the power cord you quickly learn that you need a little more. Make sure the depth of your cabinet is at least 17", preferably 18". We had to cut a hole in the back of ours to make it fit and be able to close the door.
- I use a Harmony One Remote. When I set up the VSX-31, I plugged my Directv HDMI cable into HDMI 1. I then set my remote such that when I hit Watch TV it set the receiver to HDMI 1. However, what I kept finding was everything worked fine very briefly and then the receiver for some unknown reason would automatically switch to TV/SAT (instead of staying on HDMI 1). Hitting Help on the remote fixed that but I didn't want to hit Help every time I turned on the TV, so I assigned TV/SAT to HDMI 1.
Nitpicks, perhaps. There's many, many good features of this receiver and the price ($400) was right. I wish it would have been more clear on true Zone 2 capabilities and setup.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Elite VSX-31 A/V Receiver

Get 53% OFF

Click here for more information about Elite VSX-31 A/V Receiver