works the way it's supposed to, also plays burned CD's.

sound not a religious experience

This is an initial review of the Elite PD-F27 300 CD changer. It is not a review of the PD-F17 which I've heard it sort of replaces.

I have a moderate two-channel system (Arcam Amp, PSB speakers, new Grado headphones, etc.), and only a moderate understanding of sound-review. I apologize if I mislead any readers... the comments of others as to sound quality should be taken over mine, I think.

I thought perhaps that this unit would be a good way to combine the sound quality I'd heard about with the Elite PD-65, with the convenience of a megachanger. So far, the sound falls a bit short of that.

I must admit that the Sony Megachanger I had *seemed* like it had better sound quality before it started braking my cd's. I've never owned or really listened to a high-end cd player, so I'm sorry but I can't provide a really insightful commment comparing this cd player to a really good one for sound.

As to aesthetics, here again the Elite name in this case does not necessarily mean something stunning as with the other Elite stuff you may have heard about. In fact, this machine functions and looks almost identical to the non-elite Pioneer 300 CD changer a friend of mine has.

Otherwise, I'm happy. This thing treats my CD's ok so far, not destroying them or anything (as opposed to the Sony I tried). It does a great job of playing my burned CD's, although obviously you're giving up some sound quality to expand your .mp3 files to cd-audio. So, that's a big positive, but not a high-quality sound activity.

I'd have bought a Technics or Sony, because they cost about $200 less, but I couldn't take any more risks that my CD's would be hurt by the megachanger risk. The convenience of the megachanger is something I really like. If you feel ok about the Sound and quality of a sony or Technics, I wouldn't fault you for trying it. At this level, a couple hundred dollars is important, if you can get a decent non-costly guarantee.

The inconvenience of programming the thing and inputting the disks was awful. Don't make things harder than they need to be: if you have your cd's in some sort of order, go ahead and KEEP them that way when you put them in the device. Anyway, I wish I did that. The search feature on the remote is cumbersome, but once you get used to it, it's not that bad. Yes, you'll be able to find this or that cd.

For those of us who have ripped .MP3 files from cd's, it's mystifying why this device can't be hooked up to the net so it can automatically read all tracks and all cd's for you by hooking up to a cddb database. You'd think for this kind of money, Pioneer would look into that sort of thing. I've never programmed tracks....too much work..... just cd's.

I do have some misgivings that I sacrificed buying a real high-end audiophile device for this megachanger-convenience side of things, but all in all I think I'd do it over again. It does change your relationship to your collection, in a good way I think.

Another thing I've missed is buying a true .mp3 player which would play about 150 tracks per burned CD, but I guess Pioneer hasn't got round to including that capability. To the sound-police this may not sound like an important consideration, but for me it is, and so an .mp3 disc player would be a toy that might compete with this one, if you're an .mp3 geek.

Totally obscure point: there is no remote volume control for this changer (I only saw one, on a yamaha) which is sort of a bummer because I have no remote control over my amp.

I have not had any problem with memory loss. If I ever do, my rating will go down.

I rate things kind of low, in general, to stay away from grade-inflation. I'll give it a four because it works as promised and holds promise for me to use it with a newer optical hookup when I get one, and a 3 when price is taken into consideration (because $450 seems like a lot of money for a non-awesome-sound CD player just so it won't destroy my CD's)

Similar Products Used:

Sony piece of crud

The Pioneer Elite PDF17 CD Changer is worth the $350 I paid for it but may not be worthy of it's Elite title. The analog sound out of this unit is less than Elite. Congested and roled off highs and lows. This may improve with extended burn in. When used as a transport in combination with a Levinson 36S dac, the sound is much improved but still not audiophile quality, still a little grainy. I bought this unit in conjunction with a Pioneer Elite CD recorder, PDR19RW with the idea of being able to do some very automated, armchair recording. See my review of this recorder else where. Due to the grain noticed earlier, I still have not used for recording source. Buttons are too small on remote for quick selection and changing disk and track.

Ureshi Gloss Finish,

None so far!...ok!, I'll be honest - the remote gots to go!

Well, I have NOT really listened to my music collection until this 101CD Giga Changer arrived. Fortunately, I bought it at auction from uBid for $167 (New!) + $23 (shipping). This is a GREAT KICK-ASS player for this price. For a full industry-based unbiased review, see article written by etown.com. http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/reviews/Elite_PDF-17.htm

I would just like to reinforce one note from that review. If you're using either of the digital outputs (Co-axial or Toslink Optical)then the PD-F17's internal 20-bit digital to analog converters (DACs)are being by-passed. Thus, your pre-amp - receiver is doing ALL the digital to analog conversion. Thus, if you are really digg'in the fine tunes from the digital outputs as described in the previous reviews below, it's NOT because of the PD-F17 - give some credit to the other components in your system. Pioneer's ELite line of CD players use a higher quality of DACs compared to those in other players sold at the "brick & mortar" chain stores at your favorite mall. So, I advise you to at least give them a try by using the analog outputs. For the finish quality, performance and price, the challenge is on you to find a better deal. Highly recommended!