Looks, Remote, Power

Tempermental, certain things work when they want to, second time in less than a year it has had to be sent for repair.

With-in the first five months of owning it, there was a computer chip blown, now ten months after owning it, the receiver would not read the fiber-optic signal from my Pioneer Elite DV-09. Then the volume control became intermittant. It is a very good product when it works but for the price it should not be broken this soon or this often after beening purchased.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, was more reliable but not as versatile.

Performance. Looks. Remote.

Remote!

Great sound. I mostly listen to CDs in "Direct mode". Or play DVD's in standard 5.1 mode. Most other modes are useless for me.

I don't claim to have knowledge of expensive gear out there. But I did look at couple of units (upto $1000 pricier) and concluded this receiver is very good.

Noise is very low-- I cranked the volume to max and you hear very low hiss. The other two units had similar power rating were lot noisier (this is not exactly a true comparison because speakers etc in each setup were not same).

The noise issues raised by somebody regarding Tape (MD input) leaking into CD etc is true, but that is true in other units I tested! The point is the leakage is very small, and is audible at highest levels of amplification. My guess is: it is well within the design specifications.

I have not much to say about the performance except that it sounds wonderful. I am not sure the additional sounds I hear now in the same CDs are because of the new player or because of the new receiver. Clarity is awesome.
I can now notice some clicks in Schindler's list which I wish they had digitally cleaned while mastering the CD. This is very subjective of course. The clarity is very good. I had the good fortune of playing as my first DVD "Saving Private Ryan". Excellent sound.

Remote: I guess it does not come cheap. Its design is a step in the right direction though. This remote helps in getting rid of all other remotes. But IMO this is the first step and this remote can be improved a lot. I am not a fan of seeing everything on a LCD screen and miss the touch of buttons. Remote is slightly sluggish. Remote shape is square, and you can not operate with one hand! There are five programmable buttons on the left bottom corner which adapt a context for each input (4 arrow keys + central button). That means if you are playing thru DVD player, the buttons can mean different from when you are using them for CD player. But the oversight of some Pioneer programmer is: the remote goes into sleep after say 1 minute, and then it forgets for these 5 buttons its context! I have to again press "DVD" before these buttons work for DVD. So if you suddenly want to pause you can do it in one of the two ways:
1. Press DVD. Look at LCD screen carefully and press pause there.
2. Press DVD. Press the button you programmed for Pause.
What it should do: since I am playing DVD, I just press the button for Pause! The remote should remember the last context.
The remote could have some additonal buttons on left side of the panel for programming! At one time I thought the more I program these 5 buttons the more the remote forgets about previous commands -- as if there is an upper limit to how many commands can be stored. But the manual does not say so.

Overall, once again, very good remote. I have not seen any Receiver with a better remote!

Manual: Not detailed enough. I have not seen other companies' receivers, but let me hope they do better than this manual. There is a mistake on the connection diagram (Page 9). You should connect Video Out for TV Monitor to not the one shown but the connector above that. They have shown it connected to Video-Out for Multi-Room! I call the customer service and was not too impressed. He did admit it was a mistake on the diagram. Was very happy to hear a human voice at the other end!

I don't know why a lot of receivers now don't have a LED on the volume knob. This unit does both: shows in dB as well as by the LED. Smooth knob!

In conclusion, I have tried to illustrate some minor shortcomings here. It is a very good Receiver overall. I recommend it.

great sound, versatile choices, no problems.... but I'VE HAD A COOLING FAN ON IT SINCE DAY 1!!!

of all things, the remote is a little clunky sometimes...but none really.

I love this unit so far....and I am definitely perplexed by the recent reviews. I can't recall ever seeing so many problems with an ELITE product. Anway, I want to make it clear that I Did notice immediately that the unit ran hot and so I affixed two 4" cooling fans to the unit and have never had any problems. The unit is often on for hours and hours at a time...and still no problems.

With that...i would like to point out one extremely useful and often overlooked tools that really works.... in the surround sound settings... you have the options of setting distances of each speaker from the listener.... this works extremely well...and allows for great "theater" reproduction...especially when coupled to my NHT sound system.

Good luck and let's all hope the rest of us don't experience the problems of recent posts.

Similar Products Used:

TNTC

Simply Put, Everything!!! From Looks to Sound to Ease of Use

None at the Price i Paid

Well, I was happy with my onkyo. No complaints with it, i guess i just did not know any better. One day my girlfriend called me on my way to work and said she kept hearing commercials for this advertised at only $999. I told her it must have been a different model. Anyway, i stopped at Tweeter on my way hom,e and to my amazement it was only $999. For this price at a retail store it would have been a crime not to try it out. Upon hooking it up the difference was so substantial it was like going from a boom box to a live show. Everything was so much cleaner and more pleasant. DVD's are excellent. In fact i have been pulling out old movies and cs's just to hear them all over again. It is a beautiful looking piece of equipment as well. It is very large and wqould not fit in my audio rack. No matter though i have it sitting on top of the rack, which diplays it nicely as well as allows it to breath better. I can't say one bad thing about this unit. I don't think i would have paid the $2300 thta it was last year but at less than 1G i havent had one second thought. If you have a tweeter near you i would suggest getting one before they are sold out (my store already is).

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 575, If that is even similar

If there was a way to post a 6-star review I would ! The VSX-29TX is simply amazing ! Wicked power, great features, excellent construction, simplicity and a great price. I wasn't sure I would buy the 29TX when I strolled into Soundsaround - the price was $2700. But the 29TX is only around $400 more than the 27TX and the 27TX doesn't have the power or 'brute' components that the 29TX does - it also doesn't have the killer remote ;-)
I figured for the small difference in price why comprimise - and am I ever glad I didn't !!!

I have admit I was a little intimidated when I first turned on the remote. It looks more like a StarTrek console than a remote. But after just a few minutes it became obvious that this was a *very* simple remote - bravo Pioneer!! I love the 'point and click' kind of interface - just like my PalmPilot. You simply point to what you want to set. I might finally be able to get rid of all of my other remotes with this remote's exceptional universal support/programming.
The first thing I noticed after firing up a DVD was the amazingly natural sound this amp produces - not harsh or tinny, even at mind numbing volumes.
The 29TX produces exceptionally clean sound without breaking a sweat.

System:
- Pioneer VSX-29TX
- Pioneer DVL700
- Nuance Spacial Grand 3DS (front and rears)
- Nuance Spacial CenPro (center)
- Nuance Spacial Grand Sub RS N200 (sub)
(please read my review of my Nuance Spacial 3 speakers).

Note, DTS has yet to be tested sufficiently as my DVD is not DTS-capable.
My buddy and I hooked up my amp to his system (which does support DTS) and we were totally blown away. We were able to test THX with his Klipsh speakers. I think both our jaws are still on the floor !

Way-to-go Pioneer !!!

Sound, options and remote.

Have not found one yet

Great sound for those seeking an excellent stereo receiver as well as home theater system. Remote is the best out there. One of the few A/V Receivers that has a phono input.

ease of use, remote, clarity, build

none so far

I auditioned several receivers and was amazed at the clarity the receiver produces. I matched it with the monitor audio silver series speakers and sub and was absolutely amazed by the sound. The MA which is usually a little bright sounded perfect with this receiver. Its a must especially with the cool remote.

Similar Products Used:

denon 5700, yamaha asp1, sony555

Great job Pioneer. This is one of the best receivers I have seen or heard in a long time. I was looking at the VSX-27tx first - but for the little extra money to get the on screen remote - copper chassis and a few more features I went for the 29TX. I purchased it from www.sounddistributors.com for a great price. This unit has a RF demodulator built in for my lasrer disc and also optical inputs to handle my DSS and DVD players. If you are interested in this unit - go get it!!

LCD remote, THX, DTS, Burr/Brown DAC, build quality....

not one flaw...........

After reading the Joe Hageman review about this receiver in Home Theater December issue, I decided to go listen to it at my local dealer. They were using Klipsch reference series speakers, Pioneer elite DVD, Denon CD. I currently have H/K 2500 and the 5800 with Klipsch 10.5 and SF-2, with KSW10 sub and the sc-1 center. First, I listened to two channel stereo. It was decent, but it could have used some help from a sub. The highs were perfect. Then we listened to all five channels. I must admit, I was very impressed with this receiver performance. Then we popped in a DVD, Tina Turner live in Amsterdam. Man, this thing blew the roof of the place!!!!!!! Never have i heard such clarity, deep rich bass, smooth highs. This receiver is "TOP NOTCH" all the way. However, I wiil be pre-amping out to my 5 channel H/K 5800. I am looking forward to charging the neighbor's admission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Similar Products Used:

Denon 5700, Yamaha DSP-A1

To John: Why mess up the ratings on a excellent piece of equipment. Yes, two channel stereo is only average, but the 5.1 DD is a killer. And as far as THX goes, yes Mr. Lucas is benefiting but so are we. If you want to get technical, we the consumer isn't gaining anything when we purchase any piece of equipment, the manufacturer is the one that is gaining........Hence, the word "CONSUMER." The LCD remote is worth buying this receiver.....Much better than the Denon remote and 100% better than any Yamaha remote......