[DrH]

After taking up the great offer by TLC Broadcast on their 10% off Pioneer products today i became a proud owner of a Pioneer lx52 blu ray player.

I had the good fortune of having a demo at TLC with some other awesome kit (their Pioneer speakers are as tall as me almost!!) and i must say very very good customer service.

Anyway once home a good comparison with my Panasonic BD30 at present on a Pioneer 42 inch Kuro Plasma.

My impressions are that the picture quality is pretty much on a par for blue ray, dvd as yet untried at home.

However the sound quality has teken a step upwards. I am using a Pioneer LX60 receiver and Mordaunt short speakers

The Pioneer build quality is way above the rather flimsy Panasonic, in fact on my equipment rack the Panasonic shakes some ornamental cats that the wife has but not the Pioneer.

The GUi is superb and the remote feels solid. It is very easy to navigate.

The loading times do not bother me but without timing them they seem a little faster.

It does run quiet, mind you watching Transformers quiet does not come into it!

The Pioneer feels like it is built to last. I did have a Pioneer 626 DVD player until a year ago 8 years with no trouble at all.

The LX52 along with all the Audio gear is going into a garage conversion with a Panasonic AE3000 PJ next week so will report back.

Is it a step up from the Panasonic bd30 i would say yes it is. Not night and day but a step up none the less.

Dave