Here is an Ad for the receiver I bought as a 20 something which I still own and use. I also still use the same vintage little sister, the VSX-5700S which powers my Elan OM650 outdoor speaks.
Early Nineties Pioneer Integrated Behemuth
Pioneer VSX-9900S For much of Pioneer’s history since the late 1960’s they have been known for making superb hi-fi audio integrated receivers. Their gear from the so-called “Silver Era” of the 1970’s are still widely hoarded today among collectors. During the 80’s Pioneer followed suit with the high-tech styling of the time with the push for more buttons, advanced computer displays, and more features stuffed into a single box; a trend that continued into the early Nineties. This culminated for Pioneer with the VSX-9900s, a flagship model that preceded the Home Theater boom that would become the focus of the home hi-fi market and continues to be today. The VSX-9900s was produced in the early Nineties, but its design and engineering is still very late Eighties. While many enthusiasts will snub their noses at a relic hold-over integrated from the “Dark Period”, those who give it a second look may find themselves surprised to see the VSX-9900s boasts an integrated power amp that challenges most power amp separates even today. Pioneer was arguably the best for years at creating solid integrated receivers, but even the most die-hard Pioneer advocate would concede that if you wanted really good sound you needed separates. It would seem as if Pioneer was trying to prove those people wrong when they made the VSX-9900s, as if to say that you didn’t have to sacrifice quality when you buy a Pioneer integrated.
Lots of connections in the back, as well as a very solid amp section. The main amp boasted some very serious specifications, 125 watts per channel at 8 Ohms with no more than 0.005% total harmonic distortion. Even nearly twenty years later that is something difficult to match for less than $1000. Pioneers own pull-out-all-the-stops Reference Series separate power amp from the same time period only just bested it with 200 watts per channel and 0.003% THD. Despite these awesome specifications, not everyone at the time was convinced. Many buyers did not see it was worth the top-of-the-line price tag when lower models in the line-up had much of the same functionality and still very capable amp sections for a much lower cost. Others were convinced that models from rivals like Yamaha and Denon sounded better despite having lower published specifications, and of course few owners of separates were swayed. But this was the early Nineties, Home Theater was beginning to take a foot hold, bringing Laserdisc, SVHS and ProLogic with it. For those seeking to have the ultimate A/V rig in their living rooms the VSX-9900s had everything. Connections in the back can be found for not one, or two, but three VCRs, each supporting Composite and S-Video. Other video inputs for Laserdisc and TV can be found and audio inputs include CD, Tape 1 and Tape 2, plus a Phono preamp input for turntables. ProLogic decoding was built-in and the VSX-9900s fully supported a 5.1 speaker configuration. The main amp section could drive two sets of front speakers, A and B, and three more amp channels drove the center and rear surrounds. Interestingly Pioneer was also kind enough to put a full set of Preamp outputs for every channel instead of just for the mains as was common on other integrated A/V receivers. This potentially allowed the use of separate amps for each channel, or to drive a single separate power amp to run the front mains as was more common given that many were still transitioning from stereo to surround.
ProLogic built-in, and future-proof six channel inputs. A full set of discreet six channel inputs, thoughtfully included in an already crowded back panel, gave the ability to use an outboard surround decoder. This meant that not only was the VSX-9900s capable of playing the latest surround sound technology of the day, it would support any new encoding the future would bring. When AC-3 would be introduced later and render ProLogic obsolete the VSX-9900s would still keep up, making it a safe investment. Only now as high definition video is taking over is the VSX-9900s really starting to show the limitations of its age. The VSX-9900s is a bit of an under-appreciated model today, and this makes finding one these days a bit rare. As pricey as it was, most people who did buy one tended to hold on to them for as long as they still worked, and even when retired from active duty in the main room their owners would rather keep them for use in a second system, or hand them down to friends instead of hocking them at a local pawn shop or online. They can still be found occasionally for less than $200 in most cases, which is worth it for the quality of the amp section alone. Even if you need another piece of gear like you need another hole in the head, keep an eye out for this and if you find one give it a listen.
