A simple answer to the org question is,i dont see anywhere that Pionner is looked down upon,dont know where that came from. Panasonic just isnt known for there recievers. Thake a poll of 100 people on here and i bet less then 10 or maybe 5 have a panasonic reciever. Having said that,i had one from 73 to 99 and it worked without ever a problem and in 72 it was a nice one but they just went to other stuff and stayed pretty basic with there recievers. I think they only make 7 or 8 recievers and the highest price one is 5 or 600 bucks. Most are under 300 when i see them.