My pioneer elite warranty story (1 Viewer)

I have owned my Pioneer Elite 49tx receiver for over a year now and I have been extremely pleased with both the sound and the features.
During that time I have home demoed several nice pre-pros.

krell showcase
anthem avm 20
b&k ref 50
classe ssp30
tag mclarean av32r

I used the receiver as a pre-pro with my Parasound 2205 so it wasn't just a receiver against these monsters. Not to do another review about this, but the bottom line is I did find the dedicated pre pros to offer slightly better sound quality but the timber matching and individual adjustable speaker eqs presented a magnificent and seamless soundfield. Even after setting up the others with a spl meter, they still could not match the seamless 7 channel sound. The other important features were component video upconversion, numerous imputs and outputs, and all the benefits of a flagship receiver.
On the other hand, the other pre-pros offered a lot, too.

sound quality
flexibility
balanced imputs and outputs (on some)
upgradability
less heat (with my parasound amp 220x5, the 49tx and the projector all pumping out heat yikes!)

At the time, I wasn't willing to give up the 49tx and have to pay more money. I didn't feel that it was a huge improvement.

The funny thing is, a couple of months ago I noticed that when switching between imputs with the 49tx it would not click like it was supposed to. I would have to go back and forth to get it to sync. This didn't happen all the time or with all imputs so I figured that since I have a two year warranty, I would send it in and get it behind me. Well, I brought the unit to Tweeter and they sent it to their repair facility. It sat there for a month and the tech could not fix it so off to Pioneer it went. I decided to call Pioneer and complain to speed things up. Much to my surprise, a case manager contacted me within a couple of days and assured me that my receiver would be repaired and returned to me in a timely fashion. He said as soon as the tech looked at it, he would call me and let me know. He called me within a week, like he promised, and said my 49tx was repaired and on its way back to me.
After receiving the 49tx back I couldn't wait to hook it back up. I was using a 25 year old stereo pre-amp and I missed the Pioneer sound bad! Well I unpacked it and the first thing I noticed was that the foam packing was all smashed but the receiver seemed to be ok. Even the box was not that badly damaged. After taking the plastic wrap off, the 49tx seemed to look great--they even polished the finish. The first thing I noticed after I hooked it all up to the amp was the front door panel would not close or open all the way. I thought that was weird because there was not a scratch on it. Then I noticed that the volume knob was slightly bent. I figured the box must have taken a tumble or two off the loading dock.
I tried switching through the imputs and sure enough the problem was still there. Talk about being mad---I had waited almost 7 weeks to fix a simple problem and now I have a damaged unit on my hands! I called the same rep from Pioneer that was handling my claim (pretty upset I might add) not yelling at him but letting him know what had happenend and that I was not a happy camper. He paused for a moment and said, "Mr. Roulier, I am very sorry this happened to you and I am going to exchange your unit for a brand new 49txi model." I was stunned to say the least. This was only the first attempt to repair the unit and not ALL Pioneer's fault. Tweeter and UPS also had a hand in my misfortune, but ultimately Pioneer wanted me to be happy. Wow!

Now, this brings me to this golden opportunity of selling my sealed 49txi and stepping up to a dedicated pre-pro.
I would love to open it up and give it a listen but I want to keep the value up.

So what should I do?? Any thoughts are welcome

ps
This proves that great customer service from large companies is not dead yet. I would not hesitate to recommend Pioneer products to anyone.



Thanks for listening,
Bob
[email protected]

Damned if I know what you should do, but that's one hell of a pro-active approach by that fellow from Pioneer! So what's the story on the warranty on your replacement unit?

Chu, not sure what the warranty will be?


Bob

Great story Bob, chalk one up for Pioneer! I don't think you could go wrong with either, but if it were me, personally I would look into going for a pre-pro. It is like a gift so I would take it.

I also have had good dealings with Pioneer's customer support.

Had a DV-05. Notorious rep for transports crapping out. I specifically bought a refurb, because I figured they would have fixed it once already.

Thing crapped out after about 18 months. (Refurb warranty was 90 days.) It took me two very nice and flattering letters to the mothership, but they took it back, and gave me a great deal on the 47ai I have now. They kept a customer.

See what you can find out about the warranty if you sell it to someone/or its a gift.
Also we have people from my squadron that come up about 8 times a year to the Boston area.

Bob! Going to Hanscom 25-29 Aug.

Why don't you see how much the place where your going to buy your new pre-pro gear from will give you for it on a trade in. If they don't want to give you enough money for it then sell it on this forum or on ebay.

Bob,

I would love to tell you to go with a dedicated prepro, but that's me. But comments like "timber matching and individual adjustable speaker eqs presented a magnificent and seamless soundfield" and "important features were component video upconversion, numerous imputs and outputs" leads me to believe you might be happier with the 49Txi. I am one not to mess with a successful audio setup.

Unless you could prove to yourself that using a prepro would offset the 49Txi's features you desire, in addition to an improved sound quality (based on your criteria), I would stick with the 49Txi. Even if it depreciated in value because you used it, you still would get quite a bit for it on the used market should you decide to go with a prepro at a later date.

Michael

Michael, thats pretty much what I have been preaching for over a year owning the 49tx, but home demoing the other pre pros did bring other goodies to the table I made notes for myself when testing each pre pro vs the 49tx and they all had there strong points. Its funny you say that because both a local av installer who is a friend and a knowlegable salesman at tweeter who is also a friend said the same as you. The av installer told me I would need to do a lot of tweeking to my room to get it to sound as uniform and seamless like the 49tx. on the other hand i would love to have a new toy to play with

I am leaning strongly towrds the avm 20 due to the

great customer support
upgradability
great sound
endless tweekablity

I can pick up the avm 20 in canada a 4 hour drive for the same as I can sell the txi for

I would miss mcacc but I am willing to expiriment a little

I figure if I sell it and not spend any more $ and get to play with something different cool, if I dont sell it I got a free upgrade from pioneer for the time being and Ill upgrade in a couple of years


Bob

Pioneer is a great piece, no doubt about it. But the AVM 20 is on my list. I also like it that they are only 20 minutes away from my house and that they have exceptional customer service from EVERYONE I've talked to.

Bob,

I've got an AVM20 and I LOVE it!! Having said that, I think that if Pioneer went to the trouble of keeping a happy customer by giving you a brand new 49TXi, I'd probably be a happy customer and stay brand loyal. Maybe I'd see if I could pay the difference and get the newest Pioneer Flagship model (50TXi?? - this is me assuming that there is /will be a newer flagship model), but I'd be pretty inclined to stay with the company that bent over backwards to ensure that you're happy.

Customer satisfaction, maybe that's why I love my Anthem. The fact that it sounds GREAT is just one of the many extra bonuses

If you decide to sell the 49tx float me an email and I may take it off your hands.

email:
[email protected]
Please remove the X in the email address.

I wish Pioneer/Yamaha/Sony/Denon/Harmon Kardon would all get a clue and put out pre/pros of their own...

Kevin, I hear that

Btw, I have been enjoying my new infocus 7200 so much that the temptation of opening up the txi has not been so bad but I cant hold out for long


Bob

Erik, I shot you an email but I got it returned

Im looking to get $2500 for the 49txi email me if your interested.


Bob

Ok guys, heres what going on!

as you read earlier in this thread I wasnt sure what to do,well I decided to post the 49txi in the hardware for sale section and avs classifieds for $2500 I had a gentleman contact me with interest to trade his theta casablanca 1 for my 49txi and $500 I thought wow a high end pre pro with 100% uprgadability seemed to good to be true. It has superior dacs in the front 3 channels and standard for the other all balanced and single ended connections video switching card and circle surround among other things. $7800 when it was new in 1998, he did mention that it was in for repair at theta which made me think maybe thats why its to good to be true, so I called theta and spoke with a tech he assured me that the dealer who sold the current owner the piece told the tech to do what ever it needs to make sure the pre pro is 100% before it leaves theta.
I was floored for the actual money I am paying for this unit is very little. last year i purchased the tx from sound pros for $2500 had it for over a year and got a new txi for free now I get a casablanca that I can upgrade for roughly $1800 (depending on options) considering the cb2 starts at $5500 without the cards. so I can upgrade now or in a year or so when the cb3 comes out. the only problem now is do I keep my parasound amp for the surrounds svs sub and second zone power add a 3 channel theta amp with balanced connections for the front soundstage or consider another amp?, boy I was afraid of this. thanks to all for their advice and two cents I will report back with my findings when I get my casablanca


Bob

Bob,

You sound like a kid in a candy shop with all those choices. Sorry I can't contribute anything worthy for your decision process. However, thanks for providing us with an update on your Pioneer story.

Wayne thanks, I feel like a kid in a candy store, I believe that I made a good choice.


Bob