Pioneer 45 news........... (1 Viewer)

[Brad Newton]

Has anyone heard that Pioneer has stopped shipping this unit because they are fixing/upgrading it to eliminate the shut down problems caused by 4 ohm speakers?

 

[Steve Schaffer]

There's an entire longish thread on this over at AVS, with lots of speculation about this supposed "defect."

The gist of it is that one store that sells the unit has told some folks that shipment of their 45txs has been delayed because of this supposed modification.
So far there's no other source for this rumor.

The manual for the reciever states on page 26 "Use any speaker rated between 6-16 ohms." If the owner's manual for a receiver says don't use 4 ohm speakers I can't see how shutdowns when this is ignored can be considered a defect. If the owner's manual for an automobile says to use premium gas, and it pings on regular, that's not a defect either.

Until some verifiable information from Pioneer appears regarding this I can only assume it's a rumor.

 

[MikeRP]

I saw the post over of HTF and I'm interested in knowing the real story. So, I wondered if my unit wasn't playing well so I went in and fired her up and man was I happy.

Nice sound!

Love my 45.

Mike

 

[Brae]

So far, the only verified is what two posters have said, which is that their reseller (they bought from the same reseller) has informed them there is a hold on the VSX-45TX for a technical reasion when this unit is mated to 4-ohm speaker loads.

Consider the fact that the receiver isn't even certified for 4-ohm loading, any consumer not doing this kind of research in the first place is not doing themself any favors.

Until several resellers start advertising the same information (thus verifying what the one reseller thus far has said privately), or direct feedback from Pioneer (area rep or customer support), then this is all speculation. I would expect anyone running speakers rquiring high-current with a receiver not designed to be run at high-current to have a problem going into clipping and the protective circuit shutting the receiver down instead of delivering distortion to potential expensive speakers.

God, I feel like I should be worknig for Pioneers marketing department.

 

[MikeRP]

You and me both, friend. We ought to be getting paid.

Pioneer - send me a PM!


Mike yea right..........

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Got updated on that report over at AVS--apparently several posters have been checking with other dealers. One even sat in while his dealer called Pioneer's distribution dept.--no board replacement reported anywhere except for that one vendor.

 

[Scott_Jua]

I am one of the many people this "vendor" in question had an order with. I have since cancelled my order, but he indeedly did state:

As of Friday afternoon, Pioneer has stopped shipment and release of the current batch of 45TXs to replace the internal board inside the unit to correct the now infamous "shutting down" problem when the receiver is
combined with speakers below 4 ohms. We can not ship ANY units we have, and new units will not be available for approx. 2 weeks. This is from EVERY authorized dealer nationwide, not just us.

I will let you know you as soon as the new units arrive in! Again sorry for the delay, but an
upgrade in firmware is well worth it!

this is what started the whole thing more or less. A few of us that frequent both this and AVS forums had sent in credit card info and ordered the 45TX.

In my own personal situation I could not ever get the kinds of repsonses I was looking for regarding my shipemt, my order, the receiver, or any other detailed question about his operation. The only basis I had for ordering was word of mouth reccomendation. I got the runaround for THREE WEEKS, with only a small bit of info on why my receiver had not shipped. The first reason was that Pioneer had put a nationwide "allocation" on the Elite receivers...and the second reason being this recall for a firmware "fix".

Needless to say the debate still rages as to whether this is for real or not. BUT, on my end I have made many calls to Pioneer direct, local Authorized Elite dealers, and other dealers over the phone and NO ONE has heard a word of this "vendor's" story before.

I ordered from another place last night...and already have tracking on it. I should have gone this route three weeks ago!

 

[Steve Schaffer]

If I may I'd like to quote a subsequent AVS post from the person quoted above regarding this issue. This person was the original source of the information posted over at AVS. It pretty much explains the technical aspect of this issue and may go a ways toward allaying some fears.

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The problem has been corrected and the replacment units will be shipping this week....I have had no word on an upgrade at all, but I would imagine Pioneer will fix it if you contact customer service. I have been misquoted here quite a bit, the unit is not defective, but the safety switch was set at 8ohms, causing a "virtual" overload when combined with 4 ohms at high volumes. ALL THX RECEIVERS have this switch, it just depends on how it is configured in the firmware. I can duplicate shutdown problems on EVERY THX receiver from every manufacturer on the planet, and have gone this issue with several receivers over the years. Pioneer is one of the best at fixing problems, but you must contact customer service for upgrades, not the dealer I recommended you, or the store you bought it from. That's how the warranty works! Nothing to be worried about!
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In yet another subsequent post, this gentleman goes on to state that his source for the information was Pioneer technical reps for both the east and west coasts.

I'd also like to repeat that the owner's manual for the 45tx specifically states that it's intended for 6-16 ohm speakers, NOT 4 ohm speakers.