Pioneer PD-F1009 301-Disc CD-File Changer (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

I've waited seven months before reviewing this product just to make sure I had some history to back up my conclusions. I had carefully researched all the reviews on the various "jukebox" style CD changers. The things the customer reviewers complained most about were the sound quality and the fact that some brands ate their CDs! I finally decided on the Pioneer PD-F1009 301-Disc CD-File Changer since the reviews were generally favorable.As for sound quality, it is excellent. My background is a classic musician, so I'm pretty fussy about what it sounds like. I might point out that since this needs an amplifier and speakers and does not function on its own, that your other components have to produce good sound in order for the CD player to sound good.As for the CDs jamming or being eaten by the unit, I am happy to report that it has never happened to me, and I play the unit hours every day.It is easy to use. I haven't yet had the time to learn all the functions, but I'm looking forward to learning more. I have teamed this up with a good computer database (Collectorz.com Music Collector) to make finding the exact CD or particular genre I'm in the mood for really easy to do.Bottom line, I knew what I was looking for. When I read this product description it sounded perfect, so I took a leap of faith and bought it. Good choice.Why is this so important to me? I am a paraplegic and cannot easily leave my room to shop for or return items, plus I have a limited income. I cannot afford the time and sheer effort needed to return "failed" shopping. In fact, I used one finger to type this review and it has taken me over an hour to write it. I rely on customer reviews to make all my product choices. So please, review, review, and review!!!!

I have a Sony CDP-CX255 200 CD changer and a Sony CDP-CX355, 300 CD changer. The CDP-CX255 has worked well for years. In the CDP-CX355, my CD's have skipped, been scratched, and basically been unplayable on an intermittent level. I bought this CD changer for my extensive Symphonic and Operatic recordings. After looking at reviews, I decided to purchase the Pioneer PD-F1009. I have never been happier with a purchase. It plays flawlessly with the most intricate music. I can finally listen to my recordings, secure in the knowledge that they will be played safely. After reading the reviews on these products, I cannot understand how Sony can still put out such a poor piece of equipment as the CDP-CX355. Thank you Pioneer for offering such a fine piece of equipment at a fair price. [[ASIN:B00004RDL5 Pioneer PD-F1009 301-Disc CD-File Changer

With a library of over 400 CD's and my 5 disc Yamaha acting squirrelly, I felt the time had come to solve both problems. Since I had good experience with the Pioneer DV-F727 300+1 DVD player, the equivalent CD magazine player seemed a good bet and,so far,this has been the case. Although I'm still not quite finished loading it, the controls readily allow one to access the last empty slot and, if you should want to remove a disc to play in an auto or other player, it is easy to retrieve/play/return it.One caveat is Pioneer's recommendation that, if the device must be moved, it should be unloaded/reloaded rather than be transported full. I suspect that stuffing bubble wrap on top of the internal carousal full of discs and then handling it gently would obviate the need to remove the discs and carry them separately with the problem of providing physical protection for them.A second unit can be combined to provide a total storage of 600+2--which implies I could increase my library by another 200 discs. I haven't gathered up the nerve to broach such an idea to my wife.

I read all the raving reviews and thought this would be a slam-dunk, but no so!I had the Sony CDP-CX400 which I had for 10 years. I always loved it and it always worked flawlessly. It started to develop some squeaking noises during CD loading so I tried to repair it and broke it while doing so.Here are the shortcommings which made me decide to return the item. They might not seem like a big deal, but having used those features for 10 years I would really miss them.1) The single biggest complain I have is that you can't scroll through your CDs to see which CD to select, even if the CD's have CD Text. How am I suppossed to find a CD? The Sony has multiple functions for that. E.g. if you scroll through the CDs (even if one is playing) it shows the full CD text (or the title you entered with the keyboard) for every CD. That allows you to easily find a CD. You can also scan alphabetically, scan by artist and so on. All this is missing from this CD player. That makes is unusable. If I am missing something then please comment and let me know (I double that I will change my mind about this player though).2) One small feature, but one I used a lot is the "delete" option. The Sony allows you to delete tracks on a CD. That is a great feature. If you buy a CD and you only like half the tracks (or it turns out it is one of those CDs where only 2 tracks are good) then you can just "delete" a track and it will never play that track ever again (normal or random mode).3) The unit does NOT show the CD Text for the track! Again, maybe I'm missing something here, but the Sony does first scroll through the entire CD title and then always shows the track that is playing. The Pioneer just shows the track number. What the heck?4) The CD title (with CD Text) is only 8 characters long (it does scroll). 8 characters? That reminds me of 1980 Dos-filesystem. Come on, it is 2011 after all.5) No keyboard hook-up. Ok, so I already knew that I had to do a compromise and copy ALL my 300 CDs on my computer to get CD text. But I'm not so sure if I really want to do this. It is nice with the Sony that you can just enter the titles directly at the CD changer.6) Sound. Not quite sure, but I think my Sony sounded better. But maybe now I'm just being totally biased. Anyway, the CD changer does not sound that great and I'm using optical out into an expensive receiver.7) Cost. The Pioneer costs $100 more (65% more) then the Sony CD changer. For what? Less features?This will be the first item I am going to return to Amazon. I never bothered returning anything, but there is no way I stick with this CD changer.The Sony still has some short commings, I really thought that today they would have a CD player which you could hook up with Eithernet and update the CD titles or so. But I guess in todays MP3 world there is no incentive for these companies to invest in old school CD technology. Bummer.