Price Paid:  $2650.00 from local store closing

Summary:
I had the Pioneer Elite 29 series, which went bad. I did a lot of research and decided that the 59-tsi would be the best for what I wanted. I looked at every other make of higher end recievers, and even with the bad experiance with Elite I took a chance and bought another. One of my reasons for this unit was the fact that instead of using rear 7-1 speakers I could use those channels to bi-amp my front speakers. That was really the right move! I have Wharfedale Emerald 99es for my front channels, super sound, but really soak up power. The Auto setup was outstanding, and made a huge difference in my room. I do not watch movies that much, but do watch a wide variety of music videos. Not just rock, but classical and almost everything inbetween. I am a professional musician (since 1961) and play a huge aray of music. I know what live music sounds like, and I get that REAL sound with this system. Live recordings DO sound like I am either on stage with the musicians, or at least in the first row.
The few movies I do watch are spectacular. I have watched some movies at the theater, and then on DVD. Sound is much better at home! With a projector type video system the whole experiance is much better at home. I now see maybe 1 movie a year in a theater. All of the sound modes allow me to find just the right sound no matter what the source material, and yes I have a large collection of Records, and Reel to Reel from as far back as the late 50es. If there is a better, more powerful audio/video reciever my research did not uncover it. This is one super unit!!!

Strengths:
Ability to use rear channels to bi-amp fronts.
Huge number and types of inputs.
Power, power, power.
Video conversion built in.

Weaknesses:
Weight, if you move a lot, otherwise no problem.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer Elite VSX-29

Price Paid:  $2660.00 from Bestbuyplasma.com

Summary:
Wonderful for Home Theater and Music.

I am absolutely delighted with this receiver. It is built like a tank (almost 70 pounds)and it looks beautiful. Most importantly, the sound is incredible. THX Ultra 2 can really put out cinema-quality audio through my 7.1 NHT system.

The i-Link is very nice, connecting my Pioneer Elite DV-59 Universal player with awesome fidelity. It auto-detects the player, and allows for exceptionally pure audio from the source material. This is just great for high quality recordings on SACD or DVD-Audio, and perfect for DTS and THX movie sound. Wow. Note: The i-link is an Audio-only connection, so be prepared to get a good set of component video cables as well.

As for cables and connections, the pionner has a very nicely designed rear-side. Hooking up all your gear will likely leave you with plenty of room for new gear. The quality of the binding posts and connectors is very sturdy as well, which is a good thing if you use heavy cables.

I have a large room, and this receiver handles it with ease. You can turn the sound UP and UP and UP, heck, it's like a bottomless well of power. My ears give out before this unit does.

The remote is the one thing I have heard people complain about, but I am more than happy with it. I have a Philips Pronto remote just collecting dust... it's a superior remote, but you have to put in a lot of effort and time to get it all set up... I am lazy enough to enjoy the Pioneer remote for now. I only wish it was back-lit like the Pronto.

The Pioneer's automated setup routines are a kick in the pants, and seem to do a very nice job. I am not sure I could improve it with any amount of tweaking. Sure, you could do this stuff with a sound pressure meter and a setup DVD, but this was very easy and effective. I was watching DVD's and enjoying music in no time.

The interface is simple, but hides a comprehensive feature set. In fact, it can be almost overwhelming when it comes to choosing the best listening mode- Thx modes for music, cinema, EX, or Ultra 2... Dolby modes for cinema and music or a bunch of modes for stereo, 6.1, 7 channel, on and on. Glancing at the manual, I see around 30 modes. Fortunately, testing these will quickly reveal your favorite while listening.

Also, you can opt for "Direct Stream" which bypasses additional processing, allowing you to hear the truest version of the source material. Works okay, but I find myself going for THX for movies, and 7 channel surround modes for music.

There are the typical DSP modes for Jazz Hall, Classical, yada yada, but I tend to avoid these. They seem like fun for goofing around, but the other modes are more practical/effective.

All in all, if there was a feature this Receiver needed that it doesn't have, I couldn't think of it. If sound quality could be improved, I doubt it would come without a large step up in cost. Frankly, for my ears, this is spot on. I think I would invest in improving my room's acoustics before I dreamed of spending more on a different unit.

Sure you could go and get separates (I surely dreamed of doing this), but this machine makes me grin ear to ear every time I am in the same room with it... So, bottom line, I HIGHLY recommend this component.

Strengths:
- Looks Great.
- Built like a tank.
- Sounds wonderful.
- Every necessary decoding format for movies and music.
- Scads of power.
- Automated surround setup with included microphone.
- Tons of sturdy connections.
- My wife started using it without any instruction or help. Very nice interface.
- i-Link is nice.

Weaknesses:
None noticed yet. Hmmm... I wish it could auto-detect the best listening mode for the source material... but that's just crazy talk.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer, Kenwood separates, Sony.