Page 1 of Opinions please

Hi

I am looking at buying the following:
Pioneer 545S
Pioneer VSX-C300S Av receiver
Pioneer S-V50K Speaker package

I have been able to find reviews on the DV444 player and I know it gets top billing at home entertainments latest issues but would like to know if anyone has any idea of the differences between that and the 545 performance wise.

Also if anyone has any of the other components could you please let me know what you think. I know I could buy more powerful etc but looked at this package as its very discrete compared to some. Or if anyone knows of any links to sites that may offer reviews I would be most grateful.

Cheers

Funnily enough, I was gazing at these two players in Superfi, Nottingham today, and got into a very interesting discussion with the salesman there, who quite obviously knew his stuff.

Both the 444 and 545 come in black or silver, and are slimmer than a very slim person from Slimsville, Arizona. The 545 is supposed to be much much better as an all-rounder (ie DVD AND CD), whereas the 444 (and What HiFi back this up) is pants with music.

The geezer told me that they sell multi-region Pioneers, and that Pioneer themselves actually modify the players for them (hmm, interesting...) as they don`t trust anyone else to do it.

I think there is quite a significant mark up between the 444 and 545, so you may want to consider what purpose it will serve in your AV system - if you`ve already got a good CD player, then go with the 444. If you want a quality DVD player, plus a decent CD player in one, go for the 545.

Mind you, he was a salesman, so it may have been rubbish ;-)

i have the 444 and was looking at the vsx300 today, although the guy in the shop hadn`t had a chance to test it out yet he did say it got good reviews in this months what hifi , which is the only review of it i know of. Would like to be able to help you more but im in the same boat. Want to find out if this is any good before opting for some chunk of an amp.

Cheers Guys

Wanted the 545 rather than the 444 for the extra scart (RGB throughput for digibox) and the VSX300 cos it makes the total height of both DVd and AMP approx 30cms. Girlfriend does not want huge audio set up sat around, and I thought the whole set up looks really good. Room is only 13 x 15 feet after all. looks like i`ll have to get a copy of what hi-fi (unless anyones got a link) spent most of saturday going through mags in newsagents but couldn`t find a great deal of info -

Anyone else??????

If you want it in black, you`d better go for the 444 - 545 only comes in silver (according to Pioneer UK Customer Relations).

I was going for the silver along with the VSX-C300S not the C300K. Wanted the 545 for the sound quality over the 444 and the extra scart for RGB throughput.. also seems odd that although the receiver looks to be made to compliment both the 444 and the 545 it does not have a co-ax audio input although both players have co-ax audio output Still can`t find any reviews on this receiver anywhere though.

Haven`t quite decided but again, if anyone has one or has any info on the C300 then it would be much appreciated. Going to scour the shops to see if any of the audio outlets has a set up.

May splash out a bit more and go for the Marantz SR4200 receiver and the 3100OSE player instead but liked the look of the pioneer.