Power, warm sounding, features

motorized volume control

I've had my VSX-29TX for 1 year now and I have to say that I am still absolutely thrilled with it ! This amp produces a sound so warm and so natural it's amazing !
I love the fact that even at room shaking volume levels there is still *plenty* of head room.
I only have one complaint - the motorized volume control knob gets 'stuck' every once and a while (i.e. it won't move even though the flashing light on the know indicates the remote is telling it to move - weird). The solution has been to get up and manually turn it down/up then use the remote normally. Something must be 'slipping' in the volume motor assembly. It hasn't happened enough to get me excited enough to take it in for service.
My setup includes: Pioneer DV-05 DVD, DVL-700 DVD/LD and a set of Nuance Spatial 3D Grands, center, sub (*yes* I know all the stories people tell about how crappy Nuance is so don't bother to tell me - I'm quite happy with my speakers thanks).
I recently switched everything to THX mode and I am *extremely* pleased with the results - even though Nuance is *far* from THX certified the resulting sound is outstanding.

Bass sound THX5.1 nice touch ups on the design

Got this receiver for a month. All I can say is that this is the best receiver Ive found on the market.Its got a handy nice LCD remote and THX.The sounds were amazing.Bought this for $1600.Tell ya this no receiver in this condition THX ULTRA LCD REMOTE and a lot of options can be selling for this price. Denon 5700 was nice too but no less then $2000 and sound as good as the pioneer.So why waste your money if its got the same options come with the handy remote.I would rather spend $300 less *$1700* on the pioneer 29tx then the denon 5700 for $2000..

Has most of the features you need for a receiver that will last a very long time. Easy to use touch screen remote. Many inputs for DVD, SAT, VCR and cable.

Could add "future expansion channels for different decoders that moght come out later on. Battereis die rather fast in the remote control.

Priced right - has all the features needed for $1650.00 on the net stores. I purchased my unit at www.sounddistributors.com
for that price. Easy to hook up - rather good intructions for a novice - great sound. The remote makes this unit work well. I am running Infinity speakers in a room that is 20 x 20. More than enough power. The different DSP modes change the sound dramatically. It really does bring home theater into your house.

Similar Products Used:

older Pioneer and Denon units.

Overall balanced presentation, ease of use (esp. when using Pioneer DVD players), styling.

Have to go into menus to tweak surround channels.

Just wanted to share a recent review of the Elite 29TX, in This month’s Inner Ear (Vol. 12, #1). I find it humorous that folks don’t make the connection between dollars spent on advertising and gushing reviews. Denon, for instance, seem to have ads everywhere. Now I don’t doubt they make a decent product, but come on. Do they make the best product?

Pioneer, on the other hand, hardly advertises their Elite line of receivers at all. A shame, because they are superior to just about anything else on the market.

Sound and Vision also thought so highly of the 24TX that they included it on their Editor’s Choice list. I own the 27TX and am thrilled. Do yourself a favor. Buy this reciever. Get some nice single malt. Put your feet up. And just smile like a kid on Christmas morning.

"…the Elite line should be recognized by consumers as the company’s nobility where only the best parts, the tightest tolerances and top engineering and craftsmanship are employed."

"As with all Elite components, the styling is positively striking. Pioneer kept the face plate simple, uncluttered and clean."

"As in earlier models, the VSX-29TX’s most noticeable distinction is the way it handles musical program material in any of it’s many modes…Only this unit is even better! …image precision, as it relates to the film sound-focus, coherency, localization and dimension-can be compared with a stereophonic replica of a live event’s authenticity…we believe that the Elite unit is capable of recreating film sound as it was intended to be heard by the producers….highs, though well extended, never introduced the often apparent glare frequently evident in HT components…midrange was smooth, yet lucent and explicit…bass was determined and robust…the receiver’s tonal balance is up there with expensive separates."

"…provided exemplary resolving caliber, well reproduced staging information and superb compatibility with the Bryston amp. … we believe that the Elite’s 120 watts per channel is quite enough to drive almost any loudspeaker under the sun…its versatility and preamp/processor quality is second to none."

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha 2095, Sherwood Newcastle R-945, Denon 3300, Kenwood, Sony ES

When it works, it sounds great in stereo, Pro-Logic, and DD 5.1 modes

RELIABILITY - crappy DSP board!

This is a follow-up to a previous review. I had my receiver in the shop for the third time in January of this year when Pioneer finally replaced the DSP board. The receiver worked flawlessly until today when it began to exhibit the same DSP board problems that seem to plague this model (based on other reviews) - no sound, flaky DSP display.

I am ready to sue Pioneer for ruining my listening enjoyment. There is obviously a design flaw with the DSP board, although this could be limited to builds during a certain time period. I would love to hear from others that reviewed this model but have owned it for at least 1 year and use it in a home theater type environment as well as for listening to music. My system is on whenever the TV is on and I listen to music a lot. My system is used 4-6 hrs/day.

Sound quality, Digital Inputs

Hot, Possible reliability

I too have had issues with this receiver. I was going through the Avia setup disk before a friend was coming over for a movie weekend. During the tuning, the sound cut out. I figured it was my fault for having it in a entertainmanet center cabnet without a fan or open opening the door to get some circulation and it overheated. After 2 hours unplugged, still no sound. I took back to Tweeter, told them my situation, and they gave me a Yammy 805 while they sent it in. The 29TX sounded much better with DD and DTS than the 805 even after I tweeked the 805 with Avia. I've had the receiver back for 10 months and have not had any other problems.

At the price I got it at I think it was a great deal

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Onkyo

It's a great looking receiver

BROKE DOWN THREE TIMES IN 8 MONTHS!!

The first month I bought this thing, it worked fine. HOWEVER, from then on it has been in for repair for as many days as it's been in my home. STAY AWAY FROM IT! I went on to file complaints with Pioneer and got NO help other than "it's under warranty".

I must add that Tweeter, the store I bought it from was very helpfull throughout all this and finnally gave me a FULL refund nine months after I got it. Kudos to them!

As far as the ratings go... I can't rate something that didn't work.

Dolby Digital 5.1

Reliability

About 8 months after purchasing this receiver I began to experience problem with the sound cutting out and the analog/digital signal select display flaking out. I have had my receiver in for repair 3 times and finally they replaced the DSP board. Based on the other reviews I have read, this seems to be a prevailing problem with this model. This is obviously something Pioneer should address as this is not something you would expect from their Elite line or any receiver priced over $1K.

This receiver has great sound in 2 channel, Pro-Logic and DD 5.1 modes! It seems to be lacking in DTS mode, but that may just be DTS itself as a friend of mine had an Onkyo receiver and felt that DTS mode was great on his receiver either.

When it works, this is a powerful receiver with great sound. If not for the problems I experienced, I would gladly rate this receiver as 5+ stars.

Similar Products Used:

none

Great remote. Phono ins. Pre-amp outs.

Hot. Remote doesn't program easily.

I was surprised by a lot of the negative reviews
which have come up. I've been very pleased with
the audio quality of the pre-amp. It could be
because I am not using much of
the amplifier section -- I'm using it as a pre-amp
to a Rotel RB993 for the front three channels; the
Pioneer drives the surround speakers, which are
wimpy Bose 100's and don't need a lot of power.
I was going to buy the Rotel RC-995 pre-amp
but then I would have had to buy an amp for the surrounds
as well, so it would have cost me more and... in
my opinion... the Rotel didn't sound as good.

To program the remote using the "learning" function,
you have to repeat the sequence a lot to finally
get it trained properly. In the first unit I had, the
volume knob did stick using the remote, as reported
by others, but I exchanged it for another and this one
works great. The only real bad news is I paid
$1,500 for this not too long ago -- sounds like the
price has dropped out of the market. If you can get
this new for $1,000 I think it is an awesome pre-amp
for the price.

Similar Products Used:

Older, cheaper, Denon Dolby Surround; not really comparable.

This Receiver is the best. I recently bought my Pioneer VSX-29TX from www.4electronicwarehouse.com. I was questioning spending the extra money to go from the VSX-27TX, but I am glad I did. I love the new LCD remote and the reciver sounds fabulous. I am very impressed with the sound quality on audio as well as in home theater. I am using the Energy E:XL-26 fronts with the E:XL-r and E:XL-c and the system really sounds good. I am a really beleiver in this new Pioneer Elite line. Pioneer really did their homework. They did not cut any corners. The new Motorola processer sounds awesome with the burr brownd/a's and the Crystal chip set. If any one has any questions on the VSX-29tx email me I would be more than happy to discuss this receiver with you. I would also highly recommend talking to the specialists at www.4electronicwarehouse.com they did not steer me wrong on the VSX-29tx. They also have a great price on it as well. They do also carry the other Elite receivers if you don't want to go to the extreme. I know they carry the whole Elite line, Denon line, and Yamaha line to. But why would you want to go with a yamaha or denon when you can get such an awesome sounding Pioneer Elite. If you want to talk more techinical details email me. I would definetly give the Pioneer Elite receivers a 5 star. I love to hear what others think.