loud, powerful, and stable

too many complicated features

I always liked Pioneer cause they seemed much more durable than Yamaha which I used to like. I wanted an Elite cause I wanted the heart of my system to be good quality and have a good tuner. I paid more cause I got it the week they came out I haven't expierienced any technical problems yet hopefully I wont. right now I only have it set up in basic audio format with no center or sub speaker and they are turned off. I dont like the way that you need to use a menu on a tv to set everything up and all the bells and whistles they have there. I mainly listen to hard rock cds being that there is no decent radio station in los angeles. right now I have it hooked up to a pair of dcm kx12 series 2 speakers and the bass is so powerful there is really no need for a subwoofer. I would definitly recommend this receiver.

Similar Products Used:

I also have an older Pioneer dolby surround which is 100 a side in front and 20 in the back. I kinda wish they still made things like that much simpler

Wonderful warm sound. Nice digital features and sound processing. Excellent match for my home theater. Intuitive menus. 4 assignable digital inputs. Lots of ins and outs.

Runs hot. "no-sound" common problem on this vintage. The posts on the rear are crowded.

FYI, If you have one of these recievers and you get the "no-sound" problem, find a shop that has a machine called a "sniper" to do the repair on the board. It's the only way to make the repair last.

Similar Products Used:

Old Yamaha pro logic receiver.

Great Sound. Looks like a piece of art. If not for the problems, I would give this unit 5 stars. A little pricey but the performance was breathtaking.

Problems with the 3 tier circuitry overheating and melting itself. My experience with Pioneer customer service was poor.

I wish that I had found this website BEFORE I purchased my Pioneer VSX-27TX. I researched and researched many different A/V Receivers. Carefully reading specs and comparing prices. I was so proud of myself when I finally made my decision to purchase the Pioneer VSX-27TX. The day finally came, I wouldn't let the long difficult set-up dampen my anticipation. I slid "Independence Day" into my DVD player (Pioneer Elite DV-05, which is awesome but a different review)and WOW!!! I was completely in awe. The highs were so clear and lows rumbled without any distortion. My hair literally stood on end. This was even more then what I hoped for. I felt like an audiophile. But after 9 months, I felt like an idiot. I do not have to list the problems I was having. They have been well documented by others. The biggest message I want to relay is Pioneer knows about this problem. They refuse to recall this receiver when they rightfully should. I had a very rough time getting this resolved from Pioneer. Although I bought this unit new (factory sealed), it was not from an authorized dealer. I had to make phone calls, write letters, send faxes before Pioneer made this right. They first agreed only to pay for the repairs but after it failed again after 3 short months I was embarrassed and pissed. I began writing them letters until finally a Pioneer rep offered a resolution. They agreed to sell a new 47TX for $1200 or swap a refurbished 37TX at no charge. Although I was not happy to settle with a reburshed unit, it was my only choice since the 47TX was just out of my budget. In addition, I wasn't too sure I wanted to reinvest $1200 into a product I had recently lost faith in. On the bright side, I haven't had any problems with the reburbed 37TX. But for whatever reason it just doesn't sound as good as the first time I fired up the 27TX. I actually believe the unit works fine, I just think the experience soured me a bit. Would I buy anoth Pioneer product? Thats a tough answer. My Pioneer DVD player is the best (non progressive scan)unit I seen. I am thrilled with it. But I don't think I would buy it from anyone but an authorized dealer. And buying it from a dealer pretty much makes it unaffordable.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha

Many inputs. Great looking. Wonderful sound.

Many problems with What has ben defined as DSP units. Simply has failed many times. Mostly when you really need it to work

When this receiver works, it sounds extremely good. Problem is after 1.2 years the sound started cutting out. Just a little at first, but became progressively worse over time. As I don't use it that often, I ignored it for a while. As time went on the problem got worse. Many times I would turn the unit on and get no sound at all. After 10 to 30mins the sound would kick in- most of the time. Finally after a few months of being too busy and just struggling with this thing, I took it to the dealer. They kept the unit for over 1 month and returned it to me on the day before Thanksgiving. I hurried to get it re-integrated with my Home Theatre unit till 2am Thanksgiving morning only to realize that the receiver was exhibiting the same problem. Oh well, we didn't want to watch anything over the Holiday anyway. I took it back to the dealer a few days after Thanksgiving and fully expect to see it again sometime in the new year. Oh well, I really didn't need it to hook up to those new Cerwin Vega's I'm expecting from Santa on Christmas anyway. For now, I will use my very old but reliable Yamaha unit till sometime in the next year. I surmize from similar posts that there is a problem with many of these receivers.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha

warm sound,kicks ass on movies.

runs hot, dsp circuits ,pioneer should have been straight about problems with the 24,26,27,29 series

well it lasted 2 years 3months . no sound in dsp,surround modes. was sent to united radio in new york,after 3months was deemed unrepairable.after bugging pioneer forweeks on end they agreed to replace it with the vsx 37 tx . it's on it'sway hope it will last at least 15 years.( i still have a vintage sx-737)

Similar Products Used:

vsx 5700, vsx 602, vsx 906 (kept as backup) sx737.

Nice looking, great sounding

obvious manufacturing flaw in the dsp boards. Only worked for 1 year. Pioneer knows about it.

Ok, it finally happened to me too. I got a refurb. 27tx from ubid. about 1 month later the sound cut out. Pioneer paid for the repair at my local dealer. about a year later it died again. Out of warrenty. I''m SOL. So I thought. Pioneer offered to ''upgrade'' me to their flagship receiver - the 49tx - which has an msrp of $4200.00 but you can get it online for $2600.00. My upgrade price was 1700.00. So 1700.00 plus my original 550.00. 2250.00. So I went for it. Pioneer knows they have problems with the 27tx line and if you ask they may give you a ''deal'' like mine. Another guy was offered the 49tx for 1200.00 and the 47tx for 650.00 but his circumstances were different like he bought his 27tx from an authorized dealer for 1200.00. Anyway call Pioneer customer support and tell them about this board and maybe you''ll get some help. Thanks

Similar Products Used:

Sansui G-901db

When it works is the best receiver I have ever had, and i have had some great stereos

currently is a 35lb brick. Pioneer having problems with DSP chips in alot of units. I already called BBB on the repair, and if pioneer cant help me BBB again

well it has finally happened. After 1 1/2 years of great sound my receiver has finally given up. If you read my earlier posts, my Cd controls were lost and had to bring it in to be repaired. The repair company were idiots and i think they made it worse because now i can only get one rear speaker to work. GET THE WARRANTY WITH THIS COMPANY

Similar Products Used:

I had pioneers in the past and gave them to my brother in law. 12 years old and still going strong. they dont make them like they used to

Strong,Deep,Clean,Open,Accurate Sound; Feature Rich; Remote

Binding Posts a Little Close and Wobbly

I bought the 26TX about 2 weeks ago and loved it, but wanted just a little more. Yesterday I traded it in for a 27TX. The 27 seems to have the same beautiful top end as the 26, but the bottom end improvement is a bit of a surprise. It plays deeper and louder with better control, and seems to be just loafing along as it does so.
The remote is a very big improvement over the remote for the 9600S. I used the 9600S's remote as little as I could manage. The 27's remote became my primary control on the 2nd or 3rd day. [26TX and 27TX use same remote]
I began HT receiver shopping with an open mind. I had not already decided which brand was best. I love these Elites. The 9600S was a very good Pro Logic receiver for me, but these Elite models opened up the sound stage greatly. As stated above, they sound clean. They sound GOOD. Check them out before you buy.
The 27TX was expensive for my budget [$1105 locally, but I think it's wrong to milk your local dealer for info and demos then spend your $ elsewhere] but I'm glad I did it.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Elite VSX26TX
Pioneer VSX9600S [1991]

powerful, smooth, clean, sturdy

needs ample ventilation

I gave this unit the cross talk test and I got absolutely NO cross talk whatsoever. This unit is amazing. The sound stage is fantastic, the digial features are second to none. The music quality is smooth and clean. It's a great receiver with awesome capabilities and features. I can listen to this receiver for hours without any listening fatigue. It makes everything sound beautiful, especially jazz and movies.

Similar Products Used:

yamaha, sony, denon

Smooth, great D/A's, plenty of power

Binding posts too close together - a real problem for bare wire. Buttons behind door very hard to read w/o plenty of light.

It was between the great SR-18 and the 27. The Marantz was a tad better on music but the 27 won out on movies. And for a grand difference the decision was easy. Now that I have had it for several months I can easily say that it was a good investment. I have no cross talk at all. I would like to be able to electronically label the inputs, but that IS asking a bit too much. When the door is flipped down to expose the hidden buttons they are hard to read unless the lights are bright. And I can't use the front panel plugs for my camcorder because I have S running to the TV. But other than these minor nit picks, I really like this unit. It is incredible for movies and very good for music.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz SR-18