MSRP on Pioneer 47Ai and Upcoming Relacement? (1 Viewer)

[Doug_B]

A couple of questions on the Pioneer 47Ai and 45A universal players, as I am considering purchasing one of them and getting it modwrighted.

- What's the current US MSRP for these units? The Pioneer web site has the retail prices listed as $1200 and $700, respectively. I question whether the 47Ai is accurate, as I've read in multiple forums that folks are getting this unit for much less on the street (close to 50% off of this), suggesting that the retail price may have been reduced. I have a dealer from whom I would buy and would thus like to be armed with this info.

- Is Pioneer planning on coming out with any new Elite universals before the end of the year? Might be worth a buy if Dan Wright has intentions of modding (or alternatively, a better bargain on the 47Ai is also possible, and I'd get a modded unit much earlier).

Thanks.

Doug

 

[Brian L]

As for the 45A, there are numerous posts from 45A owners that are said to have paid about $350 for new units from factory authorized dealers.

I think you are right that the MSRP for a 45A is around $700, not that anyone ever pays that.

Back in October, I paid about $490 from an authorized B&M store.

BGL

 

[Doug_B]

Brian,

Thanks. Just like to use the MSRP as a standard reference point, from which the dealer's cost can be estimated. Can anyone confirm or refute the $1200 MSRP listed on Pioneer's web site for the 47Ai?

Thanks.

Doug

 

[Gary SI]

Hi Doug,
I saw it at "Tweeter`s" , there price $999.99 , on sale for 899.99.
Don`t know if you have a Tweeter near by , or how long the 100$ mark-down is good for.
Gary

 

[Ben LG]

Can someone tell me what happens if I dont purchase from a authorized dealer? Initially I was going to pick up the Pioneer DV-45A from one call for $400 but it seems as they do not sell it over the internet. Then I found this company soundpros.com that had it for $355 which was also listed on Ebay for $330. I called them up and the rep said he will give me the 45A at the Ebay price which is $345 shipped. Regarding the warranty policy, he told me that soundpros is not a direct Pioneer dealer but Pioneer will repair the unit if I have problems in the future as long as I bring along my reciept to a authorized Pioneer repair center.

Doug_B, etronics.com has the Pioneer Elite DV-47AI for $618.99 but I dont think they are a authorized dealer either. Im hoping someone can answer my question to see if it is possible to get service for it if I buy from one of these etailers in case something goes wrong with the unit.

 

[Doug_B]

Gary,

I saw it at "Tweeter`s" , there price $999.99 , on sale for 899.99. Don`t know if you have a Tweeter near by.

Thanks. The closest Tweeter to me is ~ 40 min. Since Tweeter usually has a base price = MSRP, this suggests that MSRP is $1K. If so, I should be able to do much better than this sale at my dealer, who is also authorized.

Ben,

I don't know what Pioneer's policy is on authorized dealers, but since they use the terminology and identify dealers as such on their web site, it would appear that purchasing an Elite player from an unauthorized dealer would be deemed a risk if warranty repair service was needed. However, at the price quoted for you (esp the 45A), you may feel it is worth the risk.

As for me, if I'm intending to get one of these models modded, then I'd lose my warranty anyway. However, I'd probably like to get through an infant mortality period prior to such a mod (and ensure that I can live with the ergonomics of changing DVD-A groups and SACD 2ch/mch), and I expect to get a good deal from my dealer anyway.

Doug

 

[Kevin C Brown]

The Pioneer's MSRP actually is $1200, but also remember that this player has been out since roughly Oct of last year, so add in "economics" and the fact that the Yamaha 2300 and Denon 2900 came out *after* the Pioneer, such that the street price is really reasonable right now.

DanielSmi has posted about the upcoming 59avi, but I don't remember a list price. Maybe do a search, or maybe he'll turn up here.

I also thought about getting my 47ai mod'ed. But I decided to wait, in that no matter what the mod is, will only improve audio and won't fix the chroma bug. I'm hoping that the 59avi doesn't have it.

 

[Doug_B]

Kevin,

Yes, I recall the recent 5900 thread where he discussed the 59avi as an expected rival to it. I'm not necessarily jumping into this right away (even though I'm dying for satisfactory DVD-A performance), as I'd like to hear the feedback on the 5900 once it's out, and maybe also the 59avi, depending on its timing. I'm also considering a 2900 mod (via underwoodwally / Partsconnexion); I have heard the stock 2900 in my system and had a mixed reaction.

Something to keep in mind is that an audio mod such as Dan Wright's, esp his truth mod w tubes, is intended (IMO) as a long term audio solution. The DVD-V market still has a relatively quick turnover rate, so I fully expect to be upgrading my player from a video perspective in the not-too-distant future while keeping the modded unit for audio. Given that you already have the 47Ai, I think it would be an easier decision to get it modded and then upgrade your video as you see fit. I doubt that a stock 5900 or 59avi will compete with Dan's 45A/47Ai tube mod from an audio perspective (based purely on guesswork and Dan's reputation). Of course, if you're gambling that one of these newer units will eventually be a candidate for a mod and have a better build quality (along with the video improvements), then it may be worth waiting. However, one would be investing more $ in a unit that would be stripped of its warranty after the mod (in most cases).

Doug

 

[Dalton]

DV59AVi

Looks pretty impressive.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Doug- I guess the way that I look at it is that for me, the 47ai is bought and paid for, and I've gotten about 8 months of use out of it. But I still have a hankering for a player that I can intend of having for 2-3 years in my system. Because of the chroma bug, the 47ai isn't it. But... I fully expect that once the 59AVi comes out, that the mod'ers will figure out how to improve it as well. *That's* what I'm looking forward to...

Dalton- Beaucoup thanks for the link. $1600 list. Burr Browns. Dang...

Any of y'all get a feeling that there is some undercurrent of competition between the yet-to-be released Denon 5900 and the 59AVi?

 

[Doug_B]

Excuse my ignorance wrt video matters, but is HDMI equivalent to DVI (maybe with HDCP)?

Also, the Pioneer 59AVi link above mentions availability in the winter; hopefully, it's a loose definition.

Thanks.

Doug

 

[DanielSmi]

Hi it's me. It's weird reading about people mentioning me. Anyways, the MSRP is $1200, dvd players go at about %50 off online. I got my DV38a at about $1000 and MSRP was $2000 same with the 45a, and 47Ai. I'd also expect the same from the 59AVi and even the 5900. I'm stuck between these two and will wait until the come out before purchasing.

HDMI is like DVI except and can pass uncompressed hi-res audio and video while DVI can only pass hi-res video. Currently HDMI can't pass DVD-A or SACD since it hasn't been approved by the DVD forum (necessary to pass DVD-A) or 5C/DTCP approved (necessary to pass SACD).

Daniel Smith

 

[Robert Fellows]

FYI...

I had a probalem with a Pioneer Elite receiver I purchased over the internet, the store is probably 2500 miles from my house.

I took the unit and a copy of the receipt to an authorized pioneer service center and they fixed it no questions asked.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

DanielSmi... Hee, hee. He *did* turn up here! (I do try and remember the references for these tidbits...)

 

[Dom P.]

So, for you guys with the 45 & 47's, how happy have you been??

How bad is the Chorma bug and is it worse in the 45 vs. the 47??

These two players still seem like very good values in the universal player world.

 

[Brian L]

Dom,

I have a 45A, the poster boy for piss-poor DVD player performance. Having said that, I am relatively pleased with it.

I have not been able to see the CUE on my main display (Pioneer 533HD). The reasons why are unclear, but correspondence with Don Munsil (one of the Secrets authors) has lead me to think it is perhaps due to my display not being as sharply focused as it could be (I have tweaked with Avia, but not had it ISF'd).

I have seen it on a smaller interlaced display, however it is not something I would have noticed without coaching on what to look for from Don.

As for poor deinterlacing (it is a flag reader, so you can have problems with poorly flagged material), the 45A allows you to manually enable/disable 3.2 detection, or leave it in auto. If you leave it in auto, it can have problems with incorrectly flagged material, which can result in an intermittent softening of the image.

As a bonus, the 45A has a OSD that will show you how the film/video flag is set. So, if it looks like it randomly drops in and out, just set 3.2 detection to on, and forget about it.

I have one title that is so poorly flagged (101 Dalmatians II) that I got severe combing. This was solved be setting 3.2 detection to off. I have a couple hundred DVDs. That is the only title where I have seen that problem.

On the audio side, I am very impressed with CD, SACD, and DVD-A. There are a few bass management quirks (search for 45A, you will find lots to read), and the crossover frequency is too high for my rig. As such, I mated the 45A with a ICBM. BM problems solved.

For the money, I am pretty happy with it. If I were shopping today, I would perhaps try the new Pioneer 563a. It has most of the features and function of the 45a, at 1/3 the cost.

There are several long threads on that player as well.

BGL

 

[Steve_AS]

Brian,

Which 45A OSD toggle sets 3:2 detection on/off? Just curious, I'm sure I've played with it before, but I don't have the player or manual handy right now. ;>

When I do my next system overhaul, it will include a receiver and player that pass all signals digitally, and do (user-adjustable) BM and delay management identically for all signals. Something along the lines of Pioneer's top-end elite system. Enough already with this silly 6-channel analog nonsense!

 

[Dom P.]

For the money, I am pretty happy with it. If I were shopping today, I would perhaps try the new Pioneer 563a. It has most of the features and function of the 45a, at 1/3 the cost.

There are several long threads on that player as well.

BGL - thanks for the tip... I am looking into the 563 and am in the process of reading the mega-thread(s) about it...

Can you give me a couple summary points (i don't want to miss the big picture while getting hung up on the benefits).

thanks

 

[Brian L]

The 3.2 on/off/auto setting is in the Video settings menu. Just hit the Video button on the remote, then switch to one of the user defined Video presets (you have to be in Progressive mode for this to work. If in interlaced, the 3.2 option is not present).

There is a user setting for "Pure Cinema". Thats the 3.2 detection. Choose on, off, or auto.

The OSD flag indication I mentioned can be invoked by hitting the Display Button twice while playing a DVD. The 1st brings up audio data (DD, DTS, etc.), the 2nd push brings up video data. There is a # symbol that indicates if the content is video or film based.

With many titles (Disney in particular), the flag toggles on and off. Monster's Inc. does that.

FWIW, the 45A handles alternating flag stuff OK. Its when the flags are just random that it seems to get confused).

Dom, as for the 563, I have not seen this with my own eyes, or heard it with my own ears, so I can only convey what I have read.

Most users are thrilled with it, although a few have said it is not up to par with other players for video. Some have said it does not have the CUE, but I will await judgement from the Secrets shoot-out on that score. I would have said the same about the 45A.

As for audio, it seems to be on par with the 45A. BM seems to work OK, but has too high of a cross over. It also seems to have the low .1 channel issue. Although I can not prove this, it appears some newer receivers and pre/pros have built in compensation for this.

Denon receivers have a switchable .1 channel boost, while the Outlaw 950, as well as the NAD 762 seem to have a non-switchable boost built in.

All I can say is that with my old receiver, I needed to boost the .1 channel from the 45A by 10 dB to get it equal to the main channels. That created an imbalance with sources decoded in my receiver. With my new NAD 762, I don't have that problem.

Back to the 563, for the price, its worth a shot if you can buy from a store that allows a 30 day, no questions asked return.

BGL

 

[Doug_B]

Brian,

Thanks for the feedback on the 45A. Your comments are strengthening my thinking on going with this unit together with a Dan Wright mod, as opposed to waiting for the 59AVi or 5900 (with potential mods for either one), or even going with a modded 47Ai. Seems like it makes more sense to keep the base price down for a unit that will lose its warranty after being modded; it doesn't hurt to have excellent Faroudja-based processing in my projector, either (plus, video is not a high priority for me).

Now all I'll be waiting for is for our former HTF friend m**c to get and review his modded 45A .

Doug