PT694BT

This is my first home theater reciever. The price point was the selling ticket for me with not wanting to spend a lot having already spent $500 on the klipsch 5.1 reference theater pack. I'm not sure what the negative reviews are all about. Boohoo you have to use 2 remotes, not pyles fault because your tv doesnt support them. Set up is simple, took me less than an hour to stretch the wiring and hookup the hdmi cables. I'm not sure all the issues people have reviewed about using the ARC function, I'm using the cheapest smart tv (hisense) that money could buy 6 years ago and I am currently experiencing zero issues. The individual channel control is awesome in my opinion, allows you to set speakers to what you feel is optimal. Sure other more pricey models may have a microphone to set up the speakers but at the end of the day the microphone is a default algorithm that doesnt tune things to your personal preference. Now the only I dislike I have the the am/FM tuner, it would be nice to be able to glide through radio channels without stopping, going to make setting presets a real pain in the butt. However I got what I paid for on that end of the spectrum and I will live. The units fan is quite as a whisper, remote gives full operation. For the price, I am happy. Maybe I will upgrade later. But if anything changes with this I'll definitely update.

The sound is not 5.1 surround, every speaker plays the same thing. The ARC doesn’t work. You can’t lock in a number for each speaker level, it goes up and down with the volume. The controls for left and right rear speakers on the remote are backwards from the wiring terminals on the receiver. The 1990’s receiver I replaced with this one sounded better and had true 5.1 surround. I know it’s cheap but it should still at least work as advertised out of the box and it definitely doesn’t.

This was purchased to replace a 22 year old Philips receiver which still works wonderfully, it simply does not interface with newer sources. Over the years I've replaced the surrounds, center and sub with higher quality than that which came with the Philips receiver, and so I was looking for a receiver which has output for passive sub. This actually seems to be the only receiver with this feature anymore, at least that I have found. A bonus here is pre-out for sub to add powered sub. First and foremost, the sound quality is great. The qualifier here is, of course, you must have quality speakers. I tried the speakers from a newer Samsung surround system, and this receiver over-powers cheaper speakers at just below mid-level and higher volumes. The Bose and Polk I'm using handle it very well, clear lows to highs, and clean at up to about 3/4 volume. Much too loud for most, but a test is a test. One quirk I've gotten used to is the lack of ability to set default input. Also, the difference in volume output between digital and analog modes can result in a shock when changing modes dependent upon the last volume set for either. Again, I'm used to it, but my wife will never get used to it. The remote is simple, effective. The volume controls on the remote in lieu of an on-screen interface is actually somewhat convenient in setting up sound for individual programs "on-the-fly": sports vs movies, and action vs drama vs comedy in movies. I cannot attest to the HDMI functionality, I am solely utilizing optical input directly from the tv. I will add that the quality of optical cable is paramount - the more you spend (to a point) the better the sound. I have tried four different cables starting at $24 and the one I'm using at $67, the difference in sound quality is significant. Overall, the PT694BT is a great purchase, definitely recommended for the price-point. Update 08/17 - still operating and generally pleased with it, though at times when I’ve got the sub volume below “12” the channel seemingly shuts down completely. This may only be associated to my unit, cannot attest to overall, but it’s a bit of a bummer. Going to the big D.

I am using this product and a separate blueray player to replace an older unit that combined the two functions. I was looking for an inexpensive amplifier that could use my existing surround speakers and subwoofer. It was very easy to set up the speakers. The challenge for me was trying to understand how to set up the amplifier with my Samsung tv and Sony blueray player. On my first attempt, I could not get the sound to work from my tv, and I was afraid that I would have to return the amplifier. However, when I realized that I had not attached the HDMI to the ARC port on both, that began to open doors for me. Using the remote, I then set the Digital Input to HM1, pressed the ARC button, and then success. My next problem was setting up the blueray player. I had initially connected the HDMI from the player to the amplifier. Using my tv instruction book, I realized I had to hook up the player to my tv. Then when I set the Digital Input the HM1 and pressed the ARC button, I again had success. I understand the frustration of other reviewers with having to use the Pyle remote along with the other remotes, but I am just glad that everything works now, and it works very well. I still need to adjust the sound for each of the speakers. I thought I could do it with the remote, but the instructions are not detailed enough to explain it for me. However, I see from the book that I can adjust them from the amplifier itself, so one day I'll work on that.

Update - I've had this unit for a few months and questioned the surround sound output since the beginning. A test disk I use did not property output to the individual speakers as expected. As a whole everything sounded good, but I couldn't validate the surround sound. The receiver only shows "Prologic" on any channel you set it to but a clear, distinct surround effect is not apparent. I finally caved and bought the original Sony STR-DH590 I intended to yesterday and after hookup and testing I'm giving the Pyle an evil side-eye for wasting my time and money. My test disk worked as expected and I've been able to validate true 5.1 surround is coming from my unit. I don't think the Pyle has a true 5.1 output but some sort of digital re-interpretation of the original surround sound signal. It's been a good receiver for listening to music, especially with the bluetooth function, but for movies it is sub-par and now unforgivible. Please note, I spent months adjusting TV, Firestick, and Blu-ray sound outputs knowing something wasn't right. I changed absolutely nothing on the settings of my inputs when I hooked up the Sony and it immediately relayed all the input data and output confirming a true surround sound, something I always felt was lacking in the Pyle. Lesson learned - Now the original review left to get my rebate I never collected --- Still adjusting to the upgrade and so far/so good. I needed a system with pass thru for the bass and not only does this offer the option, but it also includes the outputs for 5.2 powered subs as well, allowing me to upgrade my speakers at a later time. A couple of setup issues with running audio to the coax and optical inputs, but it was only a simple adjustment to the audio output on both devices and I was up and running. Clean output on all channels.

Works fine, optical cable set up, Satisfactory , Ha bright light, set it on the bottom shelf of yr Entertainment display not eye level, PYLE GOOD Product

DON'T LIKE: 1. The blue "Power on" LED, is SO bright, that I just about need sunglasses to watch t.v.! 2. The flouresent DISLPAY, is SO DIM, it cannot be distinguished what it is, at all. I literally, have to get on my hands and knees, right next to it, to see what is displayed! Hey, that is what remote controls are for, besides man, I am 77 and crippled. Don't need that "crap"!! 3. The Manual is MUCH more than defficient, it sucks. You have to literally, push a remote button, and watch what happens !! 4. Setting up the speaker balance, rear volumes vs. front volumes is tedious, and then if you accidently push the "reset" button, well, it's all over but the shouting. 5. Very hard to tell the tone differences between preset "settings", such as for clear voice, etc. 6. The worse thing, in MY pitiful opinion, is the input selection method. You just push the selector button, wait 5 seconds, then watch what happens, because you CANNOT SEE what the display says. Hopefully, you can find the right spot for the DVD, VCR, DVR, or whatever you want to watch. Also, when running the audio through this receiver, if the wife pushes the MUTE button on the actual tv remote, then all audio hell breaks loose, and your ears are delivered an ungodly LOUD, destructive white noise, modulated with a machine gun "bam bam bam ......" which results in my wife yelling at ME, to "make it STOP." 7. So, I got on the "Gomer" Pyle website, and "contacted" them in their correct manner, explaining some of the above, mainly the DIM display and BRIGHT LED, "trivia", and ASKED them if there is a way to (maybe the "secret buttons" way) to make the display brighter? Know what they replied??? "Sorry you are having problems with our product, you may return it... blah blah blah.." I don't really want to go to through all that trouble if I could make it better (I have been an electronics repair guy all my working life), but no, they apparently don't care to have any conversations with the common "customer", I guess. So, no help there. It is going back, and I shall look to other brands for an actual working unit, some company with humans at the helm. And that's how I see it. End of blab.

Sounds and works great, exactly what I needed!! I have an old Panasonic surround sound system that I didn’t want to change, and my old receiver died. The problem was that my old subwoofer wasn’t internally powered, it is what’s known as “passive”. In that case you either have to buy a receiver with a built in subwoofer amp, or buy an external amp to power it. After hours of searching options, I finally came across this receiver, and despite the negative reviews, decided to give it a try. With the low price point I could afford to take the risk. Setup was simple, and my old speakers fired right up, and sound great without even deep diving into the settings! My only gripe is that there is no remote code for a universal remote, so I’m stuck using two remotes, or I’ll have to pony up and buy one of those remotes with the “teach” function.