When I had my Pioneer installed with the Empeg, I used the Aux in converter - so the Empeg played into the Pioneer. I also setup IR translations so the Pioneer remote (Pioneer P/N CXB2758) worked for both. The volume keys and a few others were not IR mapped so there would be no conflict. When in Aux mode on the Pioneer, most of the remote buttons have no function on the Pioneer so no conflicts there either. I also set up the CD and Radio source select buttons to set the shift state to on, so when I was using the radio or cd, none of the buttons would affect the Empeg. Pressing the Aux button would un-shift the IR xlations. I was actually a pretty elegant solution IIDSSMS. I liked the Pioneer remote better 'cause it was much more ergonomic (though you do lose a little functionality). In fact I still use it, and I removed the Pioneer 3 weeks ago! I think I saved the .ini file if anyone wants it...

Cheers!
Phil