The new Pioneer pdp-140 - what do you think?

[stephennic]

Hi all,

There is a new pioneer bluray player pdp-140 in the shops. Has anyone had a chance to try one out? How does it compare with the sony budget bluray player. Its under $200 AUS and it has 3d and sacd, I wonder how it compared with the sony s480. What is its picture and sound like?

I use to own a pioneers dvd player that sounds warmer and more musical than my current sony s370 so just wondering if this new pioneer bluray player sounds good too.

Cheers

Steve.

 

[v1c]

Steer well clear of the BDP 140 at the moment.

Recommended one to my cousin as a first BDP as he was upgrading some kit (3D TV , Amp). Well the disc draw opened and closed at random even when not in use and had trouble playing various discs. Exchanged for another one same thing...... decided to get a CD player instead and keep his PS3 for playing Blu rays. Very Very dissapointed with Pioneer on this to the extent that i'm seriously not sure about going for the LX55 as a result of this. Everyone knows the LX54 was a let down i would have expected Pioneer to have resolved this issues pre realese. If the LX55 has any sniff of these issues it's GAME OVER PIONEER. As a Pioneer Fanboy it pain me to say it but it's not looking good.

 

[bigboss]

As far as I'm aware, the Pioneer 140 & 440 is actually made by Sharp & rebadged as Pioneer. I'm not sure about the LX55; the lens is Sharp but the rest is Pioneer.

 

[v1c]

As far as I'm aware, the Pioneer 140 & 440 is actually made by Sharp & rebadged as Pioneer. I'm not sure about the LX55; the lens is Sharp but the rest is Pioneer.

This is what makes it even worse apparently they are not Sharp rebadges... not according to Chris Walker (if it is genuinly him of course)

"All of the new BD players are our own. No sharp involvement at all...

Lots of features people were asking for......

Chris Walker
Pioneer Electronics"

 

[bigboss]

No Sharp involvement at all? That's obviously a lie. Check this official statement: http://pioneer.jp/press-e/2009/pdf/0409-1.pdf

 

[stephennic]

Hi all,

I just notice too at the rear of the machine there is no longer any coaxial input which is a shame as my older amp does not have HDMI inputs.

I seem to get the best sound from my marantz amp wth the coaxial input. This is disappponting, pioneer made fantastic kuro tv too so is Pioneer struggling as a company at the moment?



Cheers

Steve.

 

[bigboss]

Every AV company is struggling at the moment, especially Japanese due to higher prices of the Yen. They're not able to compete with Chinese & Korean counterparts.

If your receiver doesn't have HDMI, ideally you should go for a player with analogue outs. You won't get the benefit of HD audio with coax.

 

[v1c]

No Sharp involvement at all? That's obviously a lie. Check this official statement: http://pioneer.jp/press-e/2009/pdf/0409-1.pdf

The statement is over two and a half years old and had further schedules to be meet..... don't think it quite proves Chris Walker is lying.

But i would agree that as a Sharp/Pioneer partnership exists is does seems strange that Chris would make such a point in an online forum.

 

[bigboss]

The joint venture is called Pioneer Digital Design and Manufacturing Corporation & still exists today. There hasn't been any announcement of the venture being called off. Sharp has a controlling stake in Pioneer Corporation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharp_Corporation

I just find it hard to believe that Pioneer can come up with a budget deck on its own, & that its build quality has gone down since last year without the involvement of Sharp.

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

I would still get DTS with coaxial though whereas with analogue I would only get stereo etc.

Cheers

Steve

 

[The_Lhc]

I would still get DTS with coaxial though whereas with analogue I would only get stereo etc.

Bigboss is talking about multi-channel analogue outputs, generally 8 of them, one for each channel plus the sub, these connect to the equivalent inputs on your amp (if it has them) and allows the BDP to deliver full multi-channel HD audio to the amp. BDPs with this are becoming increasingly difficult to get hold of though, especially at the lower price levels.

 

[michael hoy]

As far as I'm aware, the Pioneer 140 & 440 is actually made by Sharp & rebadged as Pioneer. I'm not sure about the LX55; the lens is Sharp but the rest is Pioneer.

The Pioneer guys at the Manchester show told me the LX55 was Pioneer's own engineering and build admitting that build quality on previous players was not very good.

 

[Anonymous]

The pioneer BDP LX 55 is out now, I picked up one over the weekend.

I needed a player that had dual HDMI to start with so I was toying with Panasonic 310 and the Oppo 93. Both of which have a strong following. Also important to me was the ability of a player to upscale effectively my DVD collection which I cannot replace like for like with Blu Ray discs (I would get shot). I also do not really care for web features, if I want to watch youtube videos I will use my PC.

I could not really justify the £500 price tag of the Oppo and as the Pioneer slots in neatly at £350 I thought I would see how it stacks up against the Panasonic. A friendly local dealer had both in stock so I was lucky enough to do a side by side comparison. I was impressed with the Panasonic which certainly does a good job for BR and DVD. Then I put the Pioneer in action and I could see a perceptible step up in image for the DVD upscaling. So for me the decision was easy, take the Pioneer. So far I have had no issues, I am sure it will be used heavily over Christmas with new discs and will give it a more thorough work out.

I have finally joined the HD world. First run of the Avatar BR on my Panasonic GT30/Pioneer BDP LX55 was stunning...

 

[Anonymous]

The pioneer BDP LX 55 is out now, I picked up one over the weekend.

I needed a player that had dual HDMI to start with so I was toying with Panasonic 310 and the Oppo 93. Both of which have a strong following. Also important to me was the ability of a player to upscale effectively my DVD collection which I cannot replace like for like with Blu Ray discs (I would get shot). I also do not really care for web features, if I want to watch youtube videos I will use my PC.

I could not really justify the £500 price tag of the Oppo and as the Pioneer slots in neatly at £350 I thought I would see how it stacks up against the Panasonic. A friendly local dealer had both in stock so I was lucky enough to do a side by side comparison. I was impressed with the Panasonic which certainly does a good job for BR and DVD. Then I put the Pioneer in action and I could see a perceptible step up in image for the DVD upscaling. So for me the decision was easy, take the Pioneer. So far I have had no issues, I am sure it will be used heavily over Christmas with new discs and will give it a more thorough work out.

I have finally joined the HD world. First run of the Avatar BR on my Panasonic GT30/Pioneer BDP LX55 was stunning...