Price Paid:  $1242.00 from LaserLand

Summary:
When it works, this is a good unit with reasonably powerful amplifiers in five-channel mode. Unfortunately, after about one year of use, the unit stopped producing sound. I returned it to the dealer, who took so long to have it repaired that I purchased a Kenwood VR-407, which sounds almost as good and cost less than $300. I'm glad I purchased the Kenwood, because within days after putting back in place the now "fixed" Pioneer, it died again. I returned it to the dealer, who sent it out to be repaired. About six weeks later, I got it back, and within a few days, it died a third time. I returned it, and after about a month of inaction, I complained to Pioneer. Pioneer apologized and within days arranged for me to pick up from the dealer a different, refurbished unit that has performed flawlessly.

Strengths:
Easy to set up; amplification in five-channel mode; internal RF demodulator for laser discs

Weaknesses:
Reliability

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood VR-407

Summary:
Second update....

Once again, my great sounding 27tx has gone down. Again, no volume at all. Everything works - but no sound.

Took it back to the dealer (best dealer in the world, by the way) and they found that the problem was the same as before. Seems that the board is designed in such as way that the top of the unit presses down and causes pressure. Eventually the chip(s) will come unseated. No fix for it - not even a new board. Design flaw from Pioneer. Dealer contacted Pioneer again with the info. They are aware of the problem.

Realizing that I am a good customer both of their valued dealer and of Pioneer, they decided to replace the unit at no charge. And not with another 27 or even with a 37. They are giving me one of the new "4" series units that are just now coming to market. Now I could either be pissed and say to hell with Pioneer, or I could understand that they are doing everything within their power to make me happy. I decided to be very happy. This is my idea of customer service - they realized that they had a problem and they stepped up to the plate and made it more than right. Props to Pioneer all the way. Customer service to the max!

As great as the 27 sounded, the 4 series is supposed to be even better and I can't wait to get it hooked up to my Revel F30's. Still not in stores and it should be about a week and a half before I get mine, but it will be worth the wait.

After a few weeks I will submit a review on the new unit. But no matter what else happens, Pioneer Elite has a customer for life.

Price Paid:  $1400.00 from Contemporary Sounds

Summary:
Update to my previous post - - -

I did take the unit back to my dealer intent on swapping, and paying more for, the SR18. The dealer talked me into waiting one more day, and their tech went to work on it. This guy is incredible and I cannot imagine a better one anywhere in the free world. He spent about an hour and a half on it, testing everything he knew to test. Finally, he found a faulty solder connection tucked way back inside on a TINY little diode (I think). He literally soldered it under a high powered magnifier. I took it home with the promise that if it acted up again they would make Pioneer credit them AND trade me even for the SR18. Since that day I have never had one minute's worth of trouble and I have totally enjoyed this unit. Plenty of power, inputs and easy to use. It has great DAC's and sounds excellent. I am very pleased that I waited that extra day.

Pioneer told the dealer that they have had no problems with this unit, and they could not find the problem on either of the ones that I had. It took a fantastic technician at an incredible dealer to fix what Pioneer said wasn't a problem to start with. Not only can I recommend the unit now without reservations (even though it is discontinued) but I highly recommend Contemporary Sounds in OKC. This is what a dealer should be about. Great products and great service. I shudder to think what would have happened had I bought this from an e-tailer.

Price Paid:  $1300.00 from Jerry's Audio and Video, Scottsdale, AZ

Summary:
All I can say is thank God I bought this receiver from a reputable Pioneer dealer and thank God for the 2 year factory warranty! I had (note the word "had") the receiver for just over a year, and life was good. The performance this receiver offered was wonderful. Just turn the knob to select an input, press play and you're off! The drawback (until total failure) was the heat. This puppy generate an incredible amount of heat.
Then, one day my wife turned it on to watch some digital cable. It played for about a minute then there was a very loud "POP", and the audio was gone!
Well, to make a very long story short, after four trips to Jerry's Audio/Video repair station (who's service is totally awesome - they were turning the repair on my unit around in 2 days!), the receiver would not decode Dolby Digital (AC-3) or DTS; everything played as Dolby Prologic.
Jerry's offered to swap my '27 for a new one. So I ended up with a '37TX (this model was already obsolete). And again, life is good.
Would I buy another Pioneer Elite product? Probably not. Do I blame the retailer? Absolutely NOT. They offered me every level of service under the sun. Do I blame Pioneer? You betcha! I purchase quality products with the expectations to buy them once and to enjoy them for a long time (or at least until technology changes enough to warrant another investment). And I guess that's the key word here, "Investment". Sorry Pioneer - may be you should go back to your roots; like when you offered reliable products like the old SA9100 amplifier (which I STILL have and STILL kicks ass!).

Strengths:
Wonderful flexibility, ease of use, warm sound, good power output, good display, easy set-up, awesome 2 year factory warranty.

Weaknesses:
Generates lots of heat (CMOS), horrible instruction manual, mediocre remote, RCA jacks tightly packed, speakers terminals incredibly tightly packed.

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $1300.00 from Ken Cranes

Summary:
I picked this receiver over similar models by Denon and Yamaha last November, 1999. Not only did this receiver have a warmer, more powerful sound, but it had a LOT more features then the other receivers I looked at in the $1,000.00 to $1,800.00 range.

One big selling point for me was the built-in RF demodulator for laserdisc AC-3 sound. I have a Pioneer Elite CLD99 laserdisc player and I didn't want to deal with paying up to an extra $150.00 for a simple demodulator. This receiver has it built in! This baby also has 4 digital audio inputs and 1 digital output for minidisc or CD-R recording.

I have 9 components plugged into this unit. A SVHS VCR, a laserdisc player, a dvd player, a CD player, a CD-R recorder, an analog equalizer, a DAT deck, turntsble and a satalite decoder and progressive scan TV. It's a testement to the design of this receiver that I'm able to get the full range of features including DTS from both the LD and DVD players from all these separate components using this receiver.

One very thoughful thing someone designing this unit incorporated into this receiver is that it "remembers" speaker settings for the various components.

The remote is rather large with many tiny buttons, but on the other hand, you can do anything using the remote that you can using the buttons on the unit itself.

An outstanding piece of audio/video equipment.

Strengths:
Powerful, rich sound. Consistant, excellent performance. Wide range of features, beautiful design.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha Receiver RX-V890