Price Paid:  $1395.00 from AV Experiences

Summary:
Having been a proud owner of the renowned Panasonic DVD RP-91, I was devastated when it was ruined during a recent flood. This prompted a long and arduous search for a comparable replacement, most of which are listed below. At the end of the day I chose Pioneer Elite's flagship DVD player, the DVD 59AVi.
Build quality of this unit was immediately apparent the moment I picked up the carboard box - this is a heavy unit, and the internal triple shield construction obviously contributes to the absolutely solid feel this piece has.
Connections are very generous, and Pioneer spared no expense when designing this unit - even with pressure-locking RCA connectors, there was no hint of weak or flimsy construction.
The real magic of this unit became apparent once I began watching a movie - the color accuracy and depth of this unit are absolutely unmatched - I found myself marvelling at my 50" DLP and how great it finally looked! Sound quality reminded me of something far more esoteric, with price tags approaching that of a 'DVD transport' - this unit can definitely hold its own and even outshine competitors asking 2 - 3 times as much.
This unit is intended to satisfy people who love DVD movies and high-end audio alike. It is also one of the few products I have encountered that really caught my attention - "stunning" is a very suitable description for what it does, and how well it does it.

Strengths:
HD picture upconversion
Burr-Brown ICs
Incredible build quality
Excellent ergonomics & remote
Outstanding GUI & response speed
Virtually infinite picture controls
HDMI & iLink (2) interfaces

Weaknesses:
No WMA support
HDMI cable not included

Similar Products Used:
Panasonic DVD RP-91
Panasonic DVD S-97
Denon DV 2910
Toshiba SD5970
Samsung DVD HD841
LG DV7832NCX