The Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD Owner's Thread... - Page 271

Hey everyone, I have a question and I hope its ok that I ask it;

I asked this in the help me decide thread and got zero response, and seeing as how the bdp-09fd was part of, thought it would be ok to ask it here;

If you had the chance to buy one of these brand new still at this point in time for a semi-decent price would you? I have a line on a brand new sealed in box unit.

I have both a pro-141 and pro-151 plasma;

I dropped the ball by not picking up a couple bdp-09fd's when they were blowing them out a year or whatever ago.

So as I say I can still get one or possibly two brand new, but I am also now looking at either of the new oppo's 93 or 95, as well as a cambridge audio azur 751.

I should state I have no budget, I just want the best video/audio quality player(s) I can get

should I be concerned with upscaling? dont know how many dvd's I will be watching but still...

as well I welcome your suggestions on other brands! Even though I know this is the bdp-09fd thread, as I said off the top, I got zero help in the help me decide thread so, please dont get mad for me posting this here....

Thanks for your time and help

I would take my 09FD over a Oppo 95 for a few reseaons, I don't care for 3D and I LOVE the dead silence of the 09FD's operation. There are several complaints of fan noise on the Oppo 95. The only thing the Oppo 95 offers over the 09FD for me is the load speed, which I don't really care about.

BTW, how much will you be able to pick up a 09FD for? If you have an extra brand new in the box, I might be interested too.

If I could choose today it would most likely be the Oppo 95 over the 09FD - even if they were priced the same and even if the 09FD were priced cheaper. That said, I'm not sure if I'd be selling myself short. I bought the 09FD because my system is and will likely always remain a 2 channel analog system. Even with a balanced analog output, I'm not sure the Oppo would beat the Pioneer for analog sound because of the sheer heft of the 09FD's transformer. But the Oppo does 3D (in case I might one day care), streams video and supports all the high end digital audio formats. I've no doubt they both excel at DVD upscaling and BD video. The Oppo is also potentially upgradeable (not just for firmware) while the 09FD has been end of lifed. The Oppo would come with a warranty and the 09FD would not. I would be scared to no end of getting an 09FD manufactured with a drive destined to go bad in a year or two or so, as many clearly have.

303_GSS:

I have a little contradictory answer..... If I had to do it over again going back to Feb 2009, I would still get the 09, if I was making the choice now... I might favor the Oppo... Keyword might....

If I take my repair out of the equation, the 09 has been everything I wanted and expected from a player. However the repair (even though Pioneer did step up to the plate and handled it under warranty) has me a bit nervous looking forward. Personally I've got some serious health issues and dropping approx $400 to replace the drive again if this one goes bad is something I really don't need in the future....

Getting back to the performance of the 09, as I said it met all expectations I expected from the player. Picture on the 09 is absolutely as close to perfect as one could expect considering my HDTV is a 2003-2004 vintage Mitsubishi WS-55413 RP CRT. I personally like RP over plasma, LED and LCD, I think it's the closest to what I would see in a theater. As a migrane sufferer, 3D is of no interest to me either... For blu-ray and DVD, I really love the picture from the 09. Audio wise I feel the same, while I still use my DV-59AVi for CDs (iLink to my VSX-59TXi receiver), for BD audio I really enjoy the decoding the 09 does for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA soundtracks. My objective in buying the 09 was to extend the life of my 59TXi and it's a winner in that regard. At the time it was the best solution since my BDP-95FD did not decode TrueHD and DTS-MA via analog. Outside of the drive issue, I still think it was the best answer. My 59AVi was IMHO the best DVD player I ever saw or owned, the 09 is even better for upscaling to 1080i.

You mention that you have no budget in a way that I think you're saying if the performance is there, you don't mind paying for it. Normally I would think the same. So I would recommend going with the 09 while if I was to consider buying one now, I would give the Oppo 95 some serious consideration only because of the drive issue and the $1000 price tag because of personal financial considerations. So if lets say in 2 years or so, you don't mind dropping a few bucks to possible replace the drive, buy the BDP-09FD.

Another personal consideration I have is the fact that Oppos are made in China, but that's a a generational issue...

Fred

If your primary consideration is video quality, the OPPO may be a better choice. OPPOs have a slightly better picture output than the Pioneer. OPPO is known to have their firmwares updated quicker than Pioneer. The load speed and the remote response is superior in the OPPO.

The Pioneer has excellent CD performance over the standard OPPO but the upgraded OPPO (SE versions) are said to be better.

Overall, I think the determining factor now would be the price you would have to pay for the Pioneer. If the Pioneer is a lot cheaper than the OPPO, it might be a better deal, but if the Pioneer and OPPO are of a similar price, the OPPO may be a better deal.

gentlemen,

I thank you all for your responses and very knowledgeable input.

mgfred, I feel the same as you regarding the 3d thing, I have zero interest in it as well.

I dont want to get into a price talk on here, but I am in Canada, and we never got the $500 bdp-09fd's that were available through the bb/magnolia's down the states.

That being said I would be paying virtually the same price for both units, thats why the dilemma.

jon s, video quality is probably my main priority, I thank you for the added info as well.

Have you auditioned the Oppo 95? Also, the Oppo 93 doesn't have a fan and the noise is an exaggeration on the Oppo 95. The few (3 or 4) who have heard fan noise either have overly sensitive ears or their units may have a defect, because everyone else on that thread has never heard their fan after extensive use or it is not audible from 2 or 3 feet away. Since, most peoples primary listening postition is probably in excess of 6 feet; fan noise wouldn't be an issue.

The 09FD is a fine machine based on postings here, but I PERSONALLY wouldn't be buying one in September of 2011, unless there is a DEEP discount say 75% off MSRP.

Again, just my personal opinion and I hope nobody takes offense. Also, there are other options beyond the Oppo or Pioneer.

303_GSS:

bakerwi makes a good point about buying a Jan-2009 player 2.5 years plus a few months in Sept-2011. So there's some major bells and whistles the 09 won't have.

I don't know the relationship you have with the dealer and their return policies. Here's what happened with me at Magnolia with a couple of purchases:

Late 2004 I went into Magnolia to buy a DV-59AVi to take advantage of my VSX-55TXi receiver's iLink for SACD and DVD-Audio, but the salesman talked me into buying a DV-47Ai instead at about 1/3 of list. He said try it out and you've got 30 days to return it for full credit. During that time I did my homework and found that I could use the HDMI with a HDMI-DVI converter to connect to my Mits WS-55413's DVI input for 1080i upscaling. I brought the DV-47Ai back and left with the DV-59AVi for roughly half of list.

Late 2005 I went back to Magnolia to buy the VSX-56TXi, I have moved a few months earlier and the 55TXi really didn't have the punch to handle the accoustics of my "great room" that I use for my HT. Even though the 56TXi was supposed to be 10% louder, it really didn't handle the room any different from the 55. So I brought back the 56TXi and picked up the VSX-59TXi which I still use. My 55TXi became the bedroom receiver...

So you may want to audition the Pioneer and if you don't like it, bring it back and get the Oppo. If your Plasma is a Kuro there's some features on the 09 you can use with it. Be sure that you first check out the extra features that the Oppo has and see if any of them would be something you would use. I bet there's some things on my 09 that I don't use, but then again I just like to listen to and watch Movies and TV shows......

You never mentioned what receiver you have and whether you would do decoding at the player level vs HDMI to the receiver. Decoding and connecting to the receiver via analog is the main selling point of the 09. If you're going to use HDMI for audio... Go with the Oppo.

Fred

If you haven't been reading this thread, the 09s are failing and would be a poor investment at $500. Especially when you might pay close to $500 in [possibly] a matter of months to replace a drive.

The Oppo is pretty bullet-proof and Stereophile had the 95 on it's cover as an excellent BD and audio player. That's a pretty big honor! It is the base player in the Theta and others. Don't let the high, original MSRP wow you... that was a life time ago. There is no dilemma and this player though great through analog outputs, is no better and less reliable than any other $500 player.

Good luck!

With the announcement of the 53FD today, I would say anyone looking for an 09FD should take a look at the 53FD. It appears to be right up and possibly superior to the 09FD, except for the analog section if that is needed.

There's quite a few owners that wish the failure was in a matter of months.. It's much more like 20-26 months, just about when the 2 year warranty expires.......

Fred

what other options are there besides the oppo and the pioneer, please send me a pm if you would like? would be curious to hear your thoughts on the others.

There are probably several reasons, both objective and subjective, to get either player. When considering players, I tried to look at things as objectively as possible, which meant research and a realistic assessment of my system and habits. You've identified several players, so perhaps you'd consider digging into each one's pros and cons and make comparisons as one plan of attack. And if you use a video processor, take that into account too. Some have reported issues between the 95 and the iScan Duo, for example.

I would also submit that if you want the best PQ, then upscaling is important if you do watch DVDs at all, regardless of how many.

Thanks for your advice. The reset procedure did not work.
I called Pioneer and they arranged to have it shipped back to California at their expense. It has since been repaired and they gave me a tracking number for it's return home. I do not yet know what was wrong.

I got a phone call from my Visa credit card's "Warranty Manager Service". They told me that I should expect a check for the full amount of the repair ($352) thanks to the one year extension of Pioneers 2 year warranty.

Great news!

Was it Visa Purchase protection that took care of it?

Fred

Does 2.72 specifically fix some particular titles? I'm at 2.70. Didn't bother with 2.71. Have read posts about some having problems with 1.71 for the 05/51's.

Usually I want to keep FW updated to the latest but not if it's going to break something.

Any problems with 2.72?

The complaints regarding the fan noise of the Oppo BDP-95 are simply untrue. I owned the BDP-95 and I never heard fan noise even when I put my ear to the unit.

I confirm, there in no fan noise at all

Steve:

I searched this thread and the net to see if any particular title or fix was identified by the last two updates and didn't see anything. Pioneer tried pointing me to 2.71 when I initially called about the "unknown disc", they said a new firmware was "coming" and to call back if that didn't fix it. I almost think their customer service doesn't know what the issues were...

However I have been running 2.72 since the middle of August with no issues.

Fred

v2.72 was released to fix issues with the latest DRM scheme used by Sony/Columbia.... Some movies ("Just Go With It" comes to mind) would not play....

Just Go With It - hmmm, no loss there...if it didn't play it wouldn't matter to me in the least

OTOH, Star Wars is a different matter entirely

Thanks, guys! I'll go ahead with the update.

I have not been on this thread for while now, is it true that a lot of people are having their 09 drives failing?
I have had mine since day way and it's still humming right along. My only complain. Is load time and certain
blu-rays, but other that that no issues and man in sure sounds good.

When have these failures occurred, and what happens?

Ozzie:

The problem will present itself (at least this is how it happened to me) as an occasional "cannot play" followed by "unknown disk". In my case the disk would work on a reload and I kinda thought maybe just a load error. This started in January maybe two times and by May I could not load any blu-rays without the error. I loaded two new versions of firmware (what Pioneer told me to do when I called) and neither helped. DVDs played fine with the exception of a single bad one that screwed up on three different players I tried it on. What may have caused my failure to take so long to become a "solid" problem was that my receiver was in the shop and I was not using the 09 that much. From what I've seen it shows up about 20-26 months into ownership and normal use.

Hope this helps!

Fred

Hm. And I am just finishing my 30th month. I will need to be sure I use the player normally and pay attention. While I bought the 09 for use primarily as a DVD player, since it plays Blu-rays I want it to play them well. I'd not want to set up a separate player just for BDs under any circumstance, even a temporary one.

My receiver was in the shop for 11 months and a day (easy time frame to remember) and anything I was interested hearing in better sound than my HDTV's 2 15-WPC speakers I watched on the bedroom HT. So while I am a low usage user to begin with, the last six months before the error started was even lower. So if your primary use of the player is DVDs, you are probably in the same area of usage that I normally am. Another thing to look out for is the player taking a few tries (you'll hear the gyrations) before a sucessful load as well. There was no difference in DVD loading (since that is seperate circuitry than the BD mechanism). Since replacement of the drive, it's loading BDs faster than it was previously with the dying drive.

What we see with the drive failures in this forum is probably a small fraction of the total number of drive failures. I don't think the problem is limited to just us AVS forum members.....

I think Pioneer knows about this issue, even knows the range of serial numbers affected, but is acting like a car manufacturer and keeping silent and repairing and making even more money from those that repair it off warranty.

Just my humble opinion....

Fred

11 months to fix a drive, what excuse in the world could they give you for such a a long repair job?
What is the normal procedure after you call Pioneer with your issue and you are out of warranty?

Eleven months! Was this through a 3rd party, or Pioneer directly?

Since the disc loading time is a bit slow to begin with, I'll have to pay close attention. I recently got Thor on BD (2 weeks ago), and it played fine; that's the last BD I played on my 09.

Ozzie:

It was 11 months and a day to fix my VSX-59TXi receiver. My cat spit up a hairball on top of it, I came home.. did not notice... hit the power button on the remote and "POP" blew out 2 power boards. Had it fixed at an authorized repair shop. The long wait was for 2cd of the two boards. Reason I bought the BDP-09FD was to decode via analog the TrueHD and DTS-MA audio since the 59TXi does not have HDMI and cannot decode them as well....

Fred

My 09 has been returned and is working properly. The paperwork says that the "Main Assy" (VXX3348) was replaced.

I also received the check for $352 from Visa reimbursing me for the amount I paid to have the drive replaced.

Bogney:

With the exception of the inconvience and time spent, you've done alright. My unit needed the Main Assy replaced as well, it's a near $800 part!!!

I misunderstood your earlier post about the refund and initially thought Pioneer refunded the $352 to you. That's what I get for not using my reading glasses.....

I'm really glad things worked out for you.

Fred