Price Paid:  $625.00 from ebay online store

Summary:
I bought this unit online at a great price. I already owned the Sony DVP9000ES dvd player which I love a lot, but it doesn't offer DVD-Audio or multichannel DVD (I'm more audiophile than videophile). Despite having read some negative reviews in regards to the Pioneer's sound quality, I threw caution to the wind... mainly because I find most audio reviewers' claims about sound quality highly dubious at best.
Anyway, when I hooked up the player, the first thing I played was a DVD (The Fifth Element Superbit ED.) The video quality on this player is absolutely superb! It easily bested my Sony which itself is visibly superior to any other dvd player I've owned. Detail, depth of image, color accuracy... all are fantastic through the Pioneer! (Incidentally I've read one review on this site which bashed the Pioneer for its video quality... all I can say is that guy either got a defective unit or he was comparing it to one of those $5000+ jobs...) So far so good.
The next thing I played was a Rolling Stones SACD from The London Years compilation set. I couldn't believe my ears. The sound was bad...well maybe "bad" is too strong a word, but it definitely did not sound as good as my Sony playing the same cd.
"Oh," I thought, "the Sony must be louder (higher output). Afterall the ear always prefers the slightly louder version of the same musical passage." So I cranked up the volume. "Better," I thought. Then I switched back to the Sony... no comparison, the Sony was still clearly superior: more open, more focused, more natural sounding,etc. This verdict remained no matter what SACD I played (I own over a dozen titles), and held true for regular cd's as well. I will say that the Pioneer did much better with simple acoustic material than with music where several instruments are playing at once... in these instances, the Pioneer sounded nearly, but still not quite as good as the Sony.
In conclusion, the Pioneer player does an outstanding job playing dvds. In my book, this alone justifies its price... especially now that it's being heavily discounted. As for its sound quality, you can definitely do better... although without a point of comparison, even that will satisfy the vast majority of listeners.

Strengths:
outstanding video quality

Weaknesses:
mediocre sound quality

Similar Products Used:
Sony DVP9000ES dvd player

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from Harveys

Summary:
This is a great product all around. SACD and DVDA have rejunivinated my listening experience. The OSD is very functional on the audio side, including speaker distances, sizes, bass managment, and a variety of sampling options including high-bit and layer selection. Legato modes are nice for music as well as movies and the video quality is superb. Net net Pioneer did a fantastic job with this player and the price is reasonable

Strengths:
Audio options, fast loading, SACD,DVDA,CD,DVD what more can you ask for.

Weaknesses:
DVDA no ability to select DTS track (not that it matters). Seems a little flimsey construction wise, no video byppass mode.

Similar Products Used:
this is my first SACD/DVDA player

Price Paid:  $800.00

Summary:
WHEN IT WORKS, the unit has excellent video performance and very good high-res performance for both DVD-A and SACD.

I had a problem with my unit after 9 months. It stopped playing the high res formats...video, DD and DTS all worked fine, it just wouldn't play a single DVD-A or SACD.

Took it to the local "authorized repair center". They went back and forth with the totally inept Pioneer support personnel for a month. My constant nagging over the holidays finally forced a new unit to be shipped.

I had the absolute belief that Pioneer could not have cared less that an owner of one of their "Elite" products was out of commission. I actually had a customer service person pick a fight with me over the phone (despite the fact that all of his information proved incorrect). When I first called Customer Service I spent 5 minutes explaining to them what DVD-A and SACD were...amazing.

Buy the Denon or the Marantz!

Strengths:
WHEN IT WORKS...good features for price.

Weaknesses:
Build quality and CUSTOMER SERVICE. Pioneer doesn't even understand the concept of customer service.

Similar Products Used:
SONY ES

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Audio Video Systems

Summary:
This is the second review from me on this product. I have no idea why my first one is gone but I feel I should give another after using it with more DVD-a,and sacd's, and movie's. The movie play back seems very good. A hardly noticeble layer change. DD,and DTS play back on movies and music seems very good. I wasn't sure about multi-channel play back with the DVD-audio,SACD section, as I only had 2 DVD-A. Play back in multi-channel mode seems to use up power and drops volume. But after playing the reissue's of the Rolling Stones sacd of beggars banquet,let it bleed,and through the past darkly, these are stereo sacd's. It sounded much better. Even DVD-a sounded better but not as good as sacd. I don't know why the drop off in volume for MC, but after hearing stereo sacd, and dvd-a I think I made a good buy.

Strengths:
movie play back,SACD,DVD-A,price to get your feet wet in hi-res play back.

Weaknesses:
I'm not sure if it's this unit or the Multi-channel play back mode but the surround play back of DVD-A,SACD

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood,Sony

Price Paid:  $945.00 from Magnolia

Summary:
I just turned in my Denon DVD-900 and brought the 47A home.
At the store the picture looked really good, a little better than the
Denon DVD-3800, and the sound was just as good, but once in
my system things changed. I have a Pioneer Elite THW receiver
(which is warm by nature) along with a Parasound A23 amp
powering my fronts (Energy C-9's). I watched a couple of movies
and was somewhat disappointed playing DVD's. Both Tomb Raider,
and Gladiator didn't look as good as the old Denon DVD-900, it
looked a little grainy. I messed around with some of the video
settings, but not to much improvement. But what really disapointed
me was the audio. Playing the Elite 47A is like having a blanket on
my speakers. The C-9's sounded really good with the Denon, but
with the Elite, muted and to warm. Maybe it's the combination of Elite
amp and DVD that causes such warmth that it overwhelms the music.
In fact, I was listening to Phil Keagy 's Beyond Nature, an acoustic
guitar CD, and I had to turn it off. 25% of what I know to be on the
CD is now gone. The tuner sounds better.
In Gladiator, the openning scene with the horses moving across the
screen, the sharp highs that were present with the Denon have
disappeared. The whole auditory experience I was looking for sounds
better in a 300 DVD player than this.
The player is being packed up tonight for a return trip to Magnolia,
I'll try my luch with either the Denon DVD-2800, or Toshiba SD-5700.
Good luck.
Presently I'm having to rethink my ideas about Audiophile vs Non
Audiophile DVD players. Maybe a decent Toshiba SD-5700 for
playing movies (the 5700 goes for about $400) and a dedicated CD
player, say like the Musical Fidelity A3CD might be a better avenue
to get the sound I'm after with CD's.

Strengths:
Looks good, well built, sturdy.

Weaknesses:
Sound quality is poor and muted
The picture is grainy.

Similar Products Used:
Denon DVD-900, DVD-2800.