Pioneer PD-F1007 i picked up this unit for $299.99 at Best Buy based soley on the fact that it holds 301 CD's. Spent a very long time programming the CD Text and Title information. Was disapointed that you could only input 12 characters though. This unit as does all mega changers needs a pc keyboard input. After two weeks of use the unit lost all of it's memory and deleted all my hard work. Called Best Buy and they said this happenes on all CD players and is normal. They don't know what they are talking about. This unit is suppose to have a memory back up that will hold your information for about a month if the unit is unplugged which it never was. Called Pioneer and they said that you can NEVER use the power switch on the unit. You had to use the remote or the player could loose you CD info. It does not say this in the directions. These mega changers should also have a battery back up. Lost $50.00 returning it to Best Buy. Can't find any mega changer on the market that does not have some problems.

With 12 prior reviews I was going to pass on this, but everyone is being so generous, I just had to jump in. At this instant I have a Sony cdp-cx220 to compare with, along with my previous cd player, a Panasonic lx200 laser disc player. The Pioneer beats the Sony in every category, faster, mechanically quieter, holds more, better display, ....>BUT< it really sounds poor. The differences between the other players I have are minimal, but the Pioneer is really lacking in sound stage, has the classic "digital grit" (painful violins) a vocalist gets lost. I'm really surprised by this, but both my wife & 10 year old boy immediately picked up on it. Neither has much interest in audio. It is quite obvious. It has nothing to do with cables, or other esoteric audiophile debates. It is worth noting that the Elite version uses a different DAC, among other things. Pioneer has chosen to provide similar bells & whistles, but presumably distinguishes its high end with better sound, instead of more buttons. My system would be dismissed by many audiophiles, Yamaha DSP 2070 as pre-amp, MX2000 power amp, & JBL L100t3(love 'em) spkrs. Sad to say, steer clear of the Pioneer if you have a revealing system. I'm giving it a one just to balance some of the other 5 star ratings. PS If anyone has anyone tried an optical hookup with one of these, email me!!!

I've had this unit now for 2 weeks and I can honestly say that it's the most advanced, state of the art mega changers on the market today. I have put my 247 CD's in this unit and have trashed the storage unit that used to hold them. I have also downloaded a program called "Keep it Kompact" that automatically catalogued my cd's for this player using CDDB on the internet. What a wonderful experience it has been having my own jukebox in my home which I can access at any time using the database as a guide. I am slowly inputting the artists and titles of my cd's into the player as I play them. It is rather difficult to read the remote but with enough light and a little practice, inputting is not as tough as it seems. Defintely worth the $299 price tag I paid for it. After I reach the 300 CD mark, I may just buy another one and string them together. No more CD cases for me!

Great product at an affordable price!!! I am currently using this player as the main music source for the in-ceiling speakers throughout our house. It is great to be able to have people over and throw the player into random mode and listen to the variety that comes up...no worry about changing discs or hitting the same song twice. I also tried the "Keep It Compact" software package for catalogueing my collection but was unhappy with the reports. I plan on using it just to catalogue the collection via the CDDB link over the internet then exporting to Microsoft Excel and printing my own musical listing containing Artist, Album, Track Title, Track #, and Disc #/location. That way I also will have the ability to sort via Artist, Album or create different lists such as one just listing artist & Album and a separate more detailed list including tracks as well. That seems much simpler and useable than trying to program a limited # of characters into the player. I started to do that but it takes too much time and really has no advantages over the aforementioned method.
The remote is o.k. but does have small buttons with difficult to read descriptions. I will definitely buy another when I fill this one up!

Pioneer, I hope you saved more than $0.75 by omitting the keyboard connector. That would amount to approximately $0.09 per hour to force us chimps to spin the little wheel until the cows come home.
As for the remote, I can tell the front from the back easily, but the rest requires a lot of guessing. Could you have used more confusing and darker colors for labelling the buttons?

As for the rest, a great piece of technology, worth every penny. The player occupies about 1/3 of the space of the CD cases it replaces! And the sound is quite respectable, IMHO. I set up the player in the basement with a pair of infra-red repeaters and high quality audio cabling, so it's out of the way, out of sight, and out of danger.

$219 at Smile. They are rude, lie to you and hang-up on you, but they always deliver, eventually. Don't bother asking if they have it in stock, their answer is yes. You'll only find out the truth after a couple of weeks...

The fifth star is for a usable remote and a keyboard connector.

UPDATE & WARNING: There is a hidden defect in the IC that controls the selection mechanism.
This defect evidently does not reveal itself until you try to use two units together. To understand the problem, and its impact, please read my two previous posts regarding this problem.

I have been trying to resolve the problem since I purchased my second unit in January. I have been going through all sorts of swapping and shipping hell with Best Buy and Pioneer. It took them over a month to finally swap out the IC in one of my units and get it back to me in a condition where I had to return it to the service center at BB for readjustment because the power switch would no longer work correctly and there were screws loose.

My second unit came back, a week later (they lost track of it), so smashed up, that I refused to accept it and demanded a new unit. The new unit, of course, does not have the latest IC in it (Manufactured in Sept of 1998). Now, I'm back to where I started -- only worse. I'm not getting any response from the Pioneer rep. or the Best Buy service center. Maybe it's because I asked them for the name, address, phone number and e-mail for the presidents of both companies.

I suggest that if you are even thinking of hooking two of these together in the future, forget it! Either that, or wait until the new stock comes out with the updated IC (although I'm not really sure that that will work since they haven't been able to prove it to me).

Because of all of this, I am going to downgrade my rating. I'd like to give it and Best Buy a minus 5. But, at this point I can't.

Pioneer PD-F1007 Spent a very long time programming the CD Text and Title information.
After two weeks of use the unit lost all of it's memory and deleted
all my hard work. I've never unplug the unit from the wall and always use remote control to turn on and off the player.

It took almost a month to get the player back from the service center to change simple capacitor.
Two weeks later it happened again.

Another three week have been pasted at the service center for another replacment parts(some kind of REM)

I'm afraid to try again. I can't believe this cd player and manufacture.

I'm in the process of evaluating Sony vs. Pioneer CD Jukebox. The Sony (CPD-350CX) is a 300 disc changer and the Pioneer (PDF-1007) is a 300+1 changer. I actually purchased both so I could compare them side-by-side and will return one before the 30 day money back guarantee. It is so hard to make a decision as they each have features I want and each has missing features but neither has everything. Does anyone know anything about these beasts or have any opinions regarding Sony vs. Pioneer?
Thanks, Goody

Don't you hate it that you have to categorize your "audio enthusiasm level" to post a review? I'd call myself an audiophile, but I don't want to be confused with the folks who pay $100 a foot for 1/2 inch thick cables and speaker wire. I've got some magic beans I'd like to sell them.
Anyway, since my first review of this product (way down there, from February 99), I've had one SNAFU with mine, but I've also since bought another one.

I lost my entered titles just as several others posting here have. Partly my fault for turning the machine off manually (not using the standby off setting via the remote) and partly bad luck--I think it was a power surge that killed the memory. My apartment's wiring left a lot to be desired. Since then I have solved the problem. I numbered a bunch of pages in some CD binders and put all my liner notes in them. Not very elegant, but practical.

I outgrew my original changer so I bought another one. A floor model (which goes against my instincts) from a local electronics store. I have had it now for a couple of months. I haven't had any of the problems outlined by one reviewer here when he hooked two up together. The "master/slave" setup works well. It is neat to watch the units work together and it is nice to never have to stop the music--play music from one while searching around on the other one.

The transport seems bulletproof on both players (which get a lot of use). I get around having to use the small, hard to use supplied remote by using a great backlit learning remote from Radio Shack (on sale for only $20 this week, I think).

Something I have noticed since my original review is that these players are excellent at playing badly scratched discs. I found a CD that literally was missing chunks of the reflective layer, and every part of it that was physically present still played. These players just focus right through any surface scratches. Amazing.

Unfortunately for Pioneer, Sony was quick to see the potential in this market and is now offering what is essentially an identical product for the same price--with one exception. The Sony unit includes a keyboard input for entering titles. I don't have time to go through the cumbersome title entering process again with my Pioneer changers, but if I had a keyboard input... I've bought Pioneer equipment for years and have never been disappointed, but all things being equal, I would have to go with the Sony if I was just starting now.

I'm going to stay with my original 4 star/speaker rating. The Pioneer PD-F1007 is a great buy for people with lots of CDs who want convenience and value. But if you're interested in putting in your titles, I'd give the Sony changer a hard look.

I saw that at the last CES Pioneer showed a 300 DVD changer. That would be nice. In a year or two, what I'll really want is a changer that will handle high-def DVDs, DVD audio discs, CD, and CD-R. And I want it to connect to my PC for control purposes. Are you listening Pioneer? I would pay a LOT for one of those.

Capacity, digital output

DACs, lacks Coax digital out

Well, I had to do it, I broke down and purchased a mega disc changer from the nearest Best Buy. I have to say I love this thing. I had to get the service plan, because I'm a little nervous with this much motion in a cd player. I hooked the unit to my Acurus ACT3 via it's optical output, and the analog outs. WHAT A DIFFERENCE A GOOD DAC MAKES!!!!!. I could listen to the player via analog outs, but the digital out it's like night in day. Smooth without the grain. Much tighter bass, I would rate the units analog 3 stars, but the ACT3 really make the unit sound like a much more expensive player. I would give 5 stars because I just love not having to search for that disc I listen to once in a blue moon. Get this unit, but use and outboard DAC or the one in your preamp/pro or receiver. You cant go wrong.