Have had this unit 6 years! Problems? None!
Pros:
Verified outstanding reliability, excellent mechanical integrity, marvelous CD audio reproduction.
Cons:
No progressive scan, 12 letter titling limitation, overwrites entered title if disc is pre-titled.
The Bottom Line:
Still going strong even though greatly outdated. This unit was built for the long haul.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I bought this product over six years ago because I wanted to replace my first-generation Panasonic single-disc player with a multi-disc player and decided to go all the way (at the time) and gamble on this 301-disc Pioneer unit. I have Pioneer audio gear from the 70s that is still going strong, so I had a good feeling about Pioneer's reliability. Well now I've had this unit for over 6 years. What problems have I had with it? NONE! Ever wonder why this 301-disc unit, despite not having progressive scan, is STILL selling at well over $400? It is functional gem. By comparison, the latest and greatest Sony 400-disc player lists at around $400 with plenty of discounts to be found. My primary complaints about this unit are of design limitations, and have been voiced before. The limiting of movie titles and artist names to 12 characters (including spaces) is ridiculous. It necessitates some create retitling. A film such as "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" becomes just "Good & Evil" with not even enough room to spell "and" in the abbreviated title. And if you've retitled a movie that has a title generated by the disc, your title will be overwritten every time you play or move the disc, a minor headache, especially in the case of one disc I have where the disc-generated title is SPELLED WRONG! Other than those two nitpicks, this unit has been a rock. I've had no component video problems in the five years I've had the unit hooked up to that output. No mechanical problems, no disc reading problems (as long as my daughter keeps her fingerprints off the DVDs), and no audio problems. Speaking of audio, this unit had great CD specs, and it "shows". CDs are crisp and detailed, as good as any player I've heard. The fact that this player is going strong in my system and still selling 6-7 years after it's introduction, with little or no modifications, is a testament to it's overall design. I won't hesitate buying a second unit when I finally reach capacity on the first.