Pioneer DCS313

This Pioneer is priced OK for quality but then it won't stay going, I thought the first one was just a bad egg, now I will change to some other model.

I went into a (Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer), TV / Audio shop at Llansamlet, near Swansea to look at LCD TVs and was aware that a very good sounding surround sound system was playing along with a 'Lord of the Rings' DVD which was displayed on a large LCD screen. I was totally amazed at the sound quality and the depth of bass on the system. Obviously this had to be one of the high priced set-ups to sound so good. After a while, a salesman came up and we discussed this high quality system. I was amazed when he showed me the little plastic speakers and the main unit. When he told me the price and that it included a DVD and CD player and other bits, I was smitten. I took my Wife down the next day and we ended up taking one home with us.

I had just sold my original Hi-Fi system on eBay which comprised a 'Mod Squad Line Drive' passive pre-amp, Two Rotel Stereo RB-850 Amplifiers that Bi-Amped my tall Floorstanding Rogers speakers also my top end CD player and other bits including high end interconnects. All of the equipment sat in a large custom made unit with thick glass shelves. The 32" CRT TV sat on top of this large imposing unit. Unfortunately, 'She who must be Obeyed', wanted a Fireplace plus huge Fire Surround where my Hi-Fi Unit and speakers were standing. So, the good, huge gear had to go and the cheap, small gear came in. At home, I was totally amazed at the sound that comes from the Pioneer system and as such I can thoroughly recommend it. One snag that I discovered was that it was very deep back to front and I had to cut a large section (half) of the back off her chosen oak cabinet to allow the connectors to be fitted. This also serves to ventilate the cabinet as it is not fitted with any other means of cooling. Half the back still remains on the cabinet to stop the CDs and the DVDs and Videos from falling behind the cabinet. The only other snag was that I couldn't fathom out how to set up the FM tuner onto the presets, so I gave up and now we use the radio channels off NTL of which there are many to suit all tastes. Coming as I did from a comparatively expensive Hi-Fi system to a small cheap system, I am happy to say that I am delighted with it. The older huge stereo system did sound a bit better and it did look impressive when compared to a single unit like the Pioneer, but it is so much neater that actually I am glad we went for the Pioneer. Don't tell my Wife though as she thinks I am wonderful for giving up my old Hi-Fi system that was the love of my life (acoustically speaking of course). The Children and Grandchildren love it particularly now that we have got a 32" Samsung LCD TV on the oak unit. It all looks wonderful and more to the point it all sounds great too.

I bought the DCS313 to replace my Panasonic SCHT500. First impressions are good, it's a cool looking system/speakers though in my opinion the player itself is a little to bulky. Annoyingly there are very few actual controls on the player itself - you can't even change tracks on a CD without the remote! Set up is easy - colour coded wires etc. Picture quality is very good, (around the same as the Panny). There are an infinite number of sound settings you can mess with and most music really sounds great...well for about 90% of the time. The sub however, is rated as only 75W (compared to the 200W of the Panny) which means in all honesty it's not to difficult to distort it. A relatively bassy track (eg J-Kwon Tipsy/Fatboy Slim Right here, right now) played at a vol >30 will cause the sub to get well out of sorts, distortion all over the shop! This is less of a problem with films though. Don't get me wrong, 30+ is LOUD and I'm sure most people will stick to the 20-30 range most of the time so in all honesty it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Under 30, the subwoofer sounds really quite good! Overall, this is a great system 90% of the time.

Pioneer DCS313 - I would recommend this machine to anyone, being a technophobe it is relatively easy to use, produces an excellent sound, and is a great buy for someone wanting to get rid of their hifi and space-save with a home cinema option. This is an elegant machine.

The Pioneer DCS313 DVD Home Cinema System delivers 450W RMS. That's a lot of volume to go around and it's frighteningly loud to turn this up. I haven't got passed the 30 mark (can go up to 50) which makes me think I'm wasting some wattage somewhere!! Looks are very stylish and the unit fits in very well with the surroundings. Speakers are small yet powerful and the subwoofer really delivers. The set-up is virtually foolproof and VERY easy and there are more than enough I/O connections at the back.

The only bad points I can raise after some hard thinking are the extra controls on the remote can get a bit irritating and there seems to be a shortage on visual settings(might be that I haven't figured it out yet!). I will definitely recommend this unit as I don't think you'll get more sound and quality unless you go for individual set-ups. This must surely be the best all-rounder yet!!

I bought this Pioneer DCS313 DVD Home Cinema System 2 weeks ago and cannot find a bad word to say about it. Volume goes up to 50 but have not got it past 23/24 as it is pretty loud at this point. Sound & picture quality are excellent. Music CD's sound excellent even better than on my HiFi. This system is alot better than more expensive home cinema systems that i have looked at. You will not be disappointed

I've had the Pioneer DCS313 DVD Home Cinema System for one week but can report excellent sound reproduction from all inputs, sufficient interface availability and quality build. The speakers are small but pack some power, volume goes up to 50 units, the most I would ever use in 25-30 and that is LOUD!

I replaced a Technics HiFi that cost me £700 in 1990 with this unit and boy am I satisfied with the range of adjustments, and quality of sound. I had to wait 6 weeks to get this unit after I was let down by one large internet trader. I cancelled and ordered from Peter Tyson on their website. The Home Cinema and another item came next day - great service and highly recommended. I bought the latest Pioneer set top box next day from Dixons and it fits nicely on top of the DCS-313. Digital audio via fibre optic cable out of the STB into the DCS-313 makes for the finest quality sound available.