Pioneer Elite 9.2-Channel Black Network AV Receiver

Most recent update (Mar 26, 2023): So, I was able to get contact with Pioneer. They are sending a box (supposedly) for me to forward this to a repair place. But, I wanted to say that this unit has even more problems now. The remote stopped working entirely, for some reason. Also using the front controls, things seem "slow". Like changing from one thing to another takes like 4 full seconds. AND... now the interface with the TV via ARC HDMI, seems to have stopped working too. So, now I cannot even TRY to reset to manufacturer settings, as I have done to temporarily fix things. So yeah. My unit is likely VERY screwed up. Maybe this won't happen to you. But... good luck if it does. =================== UPDATED from: (about Mar 8, 2023) I have now grown to HATE this thing. I keeps dropping my subwoofer now. In fact I now cannot even see how to get it to actually send a signal to my self-powered sub. WHEN I have other issues like the app or unit freezing (stuck on one station of my streaming station), I have to use a TV with ARC just to reset and reconfigure the unit again. It seems to be the ONLY way to get things back in order. I've only had this like 3 months and I've done this now about 6 times. But, tonight (Mar 9, 2023) I cannot even get my sub to work anymore. But, it WILL work in the setup routine... just not when I actually play FM or streaming or anything 'live'. For the money this is one of THE WORST units I've EVER bought! The Dirac, which I've done like 8 times, does NOT overcome much, if anything in my room. If anything it just flattens all EQ points, more or less. THAT does not overcome reflections and echos, as it is supposed to do. The interfaces (app, thru TV, AND its LCD are junk). Menus are junk and not intuitive! I cannot believe a unit in 2022 is THIS BAD! I effectively USE the Boycott method. If a company completely drops the ball, I NEVER... EVER use them again. I still haven't bought ANY "Goodyear" parts or services after something really ridiculous happened in year 1995!! I tell everyone I can (if the topic arises). This I will now do for Pioneer amps, and maybe ANY products they sell. I know they're merged with Denon and Onkyo now. So I will extend my boycott to them too. I've gotten ZERO response from attempting a refund. I know it has been past the typical 30 day return window. I'm not angry with Amazon, but I am with the makers! ORIGINAL POST SECTION: =========== One main draw of this amp/receiver over others is the DIRACC auto sound adaptation feature. This adjusts levels to best 'smooth out' various frequencies in whichever room your stereo and speakers are in. This part worked quite well in my living space. I will say that, like my living room, some rooms are VERY difficult to get 'smoothed'. Because I have hardwood floors and not much else to absorb all kinds of reflections and such. But, now for the bad parts. This amp is very high priced in my opinion, for what it does. The other 'draw' for this amp is that it allows for "direct streaming" from hi resolution sites, like Tidal and Qobuz and more. But there are two MAJOR problems with this part. Their app is the only way to use this. And the app, flat out sucks. It has frozen on me a few times now. The ONLY way I've been able to get out of the freeze is to do a total factory reset of the whole amp. That brings me to another MAJOR problem with this amp... You pretty much HAVE TO use a TV to get it set up. That means that if you don't really want to or can't use a TV, you're screwed. I KNOW that it's a surround sound amp for TV and movies. But, if I want to do 2.1, I still gotta jump through all kinds of hoops, as if I'm going to do surround sound. Now for what I think the company NEEDS to do to make way better/next version. Just put a little touch screen on this thing. Those are cheap now and would ramp this thing up A LOT. They could eliminate the whole TV setup portion, for those that don't want to use that part. Then they need to build a WAY better audio streaming app, or better yet, just use an open Android or Iphone system that allows people to install their own streaming apps, right into the amp. Then they don't even need to mess with the details of those apps. They basically just say, use your own apps and we're not responsible for the functionality of those. I would have gladly paid $100-200 more to get those changes I mentioned. Plus wouldn't it be super to have a display on the unit to "what is playing". It's actually pretty annoying to use the app through wi-fi. What if my kids, who don't have phones want to play some stuff? You know? These companies need to THINK about HOW people use things, NOT just blurp out the next "unit".