Price Paid:  $299.00 from Tweeter

Summary:
Owned it for less than 2 years but used it infrequently, which may be why it lasted longer than it did for some others here. Have to agree with the others who said the changer mechanism is a total piece of junk. It always sounded clattery and took a long time to load, but finally it gave up the ghost entirely. After 3 cd's were loaded the drawer kept constantly going in and out about 1/4 inch and would not open all the way. Had to remove the case to retrieve the cd's (not easy), then plugged it in again and watched as it kept loudly cycling, unbidden, through its loading process for several minutes as if possessed, clattering cheaply all the time. Tweeter quoted me its repair policy ($50 deposit, they only call you if the repair is over $170), which made me even more aggravated (this thing was probably never worth $170 in the first place), but then gave me an outstanding deal on a floor model Sony RCD-W10 ($110!!). Tweeter is now a-ok in my book, but this Pioneer is very disappointing. I also must note that other than the one-button "Record This" function I never found the operation to be very intuitive, and I'm generally pretty good with such things.

Strengths:
Very good recording quality Nice to be able to record 3 programmed cd's (when it worked)

Weaknesses:
Changer mechanism very cheap Operations not overly intuitive

Similar Products Used:
Sony RCD W10

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
As i have read today i have had the same problem with this unit, i had it exactly 1 wk over the Manufacturer's warrenty and it stopped playing disc's, i sent it back and after 1 month of phone call's etc got it back(no charge for work done)apparently the EPROM chip inside had erased itself!!!! Mailed Pioneer and requested explaination as to how this can happen, i know that temperature variences and UV light can destroy these chips, both are not present in my living room, still no expaination. Had the unit back 10 days and then tray started not opening, as descrobed by others on this site, opens about 1/4" and that's it in and out , can't do anything with it, so i will now have to send this back again, i am very very unimpressed with this pioneer product, i would advise anybody NOT TO BUY IT, get the Phillips one, my sister has this one and it's far better build quaility. This is the first and last time i buy a Pioneer product( i expect better from such a branded name, seems they care more for making money over customer satifaction, they must have tested this product before being released, They obviously went for the cheapest mechanism going, i would rather have less features and better build quality at least we would be able to play some disc's.

Strengths:
Record's well when working

Weaknesses:
see above(very unhappy with this product)

Price Paid:  $450.00 from AAFES - Misawa Japan

Summary:
I have to agree wholeheartedly with Tom Fowler on this being a piece of junk. I purchased mine while living in Japan and had problems because I couldn't find the right medium to record on. After I returned to the states, I experienced, the exact same problems as Tom did. The CD changer making horrible noises and only opening up about 1/4-inch. I finally ended up taking it apart (past its warranty) and somehow fixed it so it would work. I have hated this machine since I bought it, but haven't been pushed to a point of replacing it.

Strengths:
Easy of creating a CD provided you have the right recording medium.

Weaknesses:
The 3-disc CD changer

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I bought the Pioneer because I was tired of buying new cds for 13.99+. I was pleased with the unit for a couple of months until the tray mechanism got stuck. After sending it in I was again pleased with the unit hoping that the tray problem would be only a one time thing. However after about a month it again got stuck. I sent the unit in again under warranty, but after getting the unit back a second time I've discovered that the recorder no longer reads the left channel therefore the playing the cdr's in my car home only plays through the right speakers. Also about 10 percent of the time I try to finalize the cd-r I would get a message saying there was an error. Because I record most of the music through the radio I lose a couple of hours of hard work putting the cd together only to find that it won't work. Furthermore the ease of use is very poor and the owners manual is sometimes hard to understand. I could go on and on but you get the point.

Strengths:
Good sound clearity,

Weaknesses:
Reliability Ease of use Weak bass sometimes Small remote Slow at reading the cd types loud tray mechanism.......

Similar Products Used:
None, but am in search of something not made by pioneer.

Price Paid:  $400.00 from JB HiFi

Summary:
I feel obliged to submit a supplementary review of this product out of a feeling of guilt that my previously favourable review dated 27 March 2002 will influence people out there to buy this machine. To those who are considering purchasing this unit PLEASE read the reviews posted on this site of the Pioneer PDRW739. One month after I wrote my review the CD changer mechanism on my machine packed it in.When I pushed any of the 3 buttons to open the tray the machine made a horrible clattering sound and the tray remained firmly shut. I returned the unit to JB's who had it fixed under warranty. Yesterday, however I turned the unit on,pressed the tray 1 button and ( you guessed it ) more clattering. This time however the machine decided to tease me by opening about a quarter of an inch only to slam shut again. Every push of the button prodused the same result. So I'll be heading back to JB's again but this time I will be returning the machine permanently and demanding a credit towards the purchase of a different brand of machine. As stated by a number of reviewers of the PDRW739 this machine's 3 cd stacker is a real lemon. One of my few complaints about this machine in my earlier review was that the CD changer was noisy. It has subsequently also proven to be unreliable and a piece of junk BUYERS BEWARE - the CD changer mechanism on the PDRW739 and the PDRW839 are IDENTICAL! I also could not help noticing that most of those reviewers of the PDRW739 who sang its praises (like I did in March with the 839) have only been using the machine for 1-3 months. 3 months appears to be the average shelf life of the CD changer mechanism in both models. It is a real pity that Pioneer got the CD changer mechanism on this machine so wrong as in all other repects it is a very good user friendly machine. The problem with the CD changer is so bad I have dropped this machines rating to 2 out of 5 in both categories

Strengths:
As per previous review

Weaknesses:
As per previous review PLUS unreliable and defective CD changer mechanism

Similar Products Used:
None yet but I will be auditioning a few shortly