Opinions on this SACD player...

nooshinjohn

The Pioneer PD-D9J. The specs look pretty damn good and it more than fits my budget...


http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/HomeEntertainment/AudioComponents/Hi-FiAudio/ci.PD-D9-J.Kuro


PERFORMANCE FEATURES

■AIR Studios Sound Tuning to ensure music is reproduced as near to the original as possible
■Twin Wolfson® Digital to Analog Converters guarantee the most subtle music detail reproduction and delivers enhanced linearity, dynamic range and distortion-free response
■Legato Link PRO ensures minimum phase shift across the entire audible frequency band
■The SACD DSD Single-Chip Decoding in the PD-D9 reduces the digital circuitry signal path length, creating brilliant noise-free sound. An extremely stable, high performance Low-Jitter crystal oscillator circuit serves as a highly precise master clock for sound reproduction
■Equipped with an aluminum front panel and an original professional readout mechanism with smooth loading
■Pure Audio listening mode switches off the digital circuitry and display for a clean and detailed analogue sound reproduction
■Finely selected high-grade parts in order to reproduce music in its purest form
■TAOC Insulators provide added weight, stability and shielding for the ultimate sonic performance
■Sampling Rate Converter for higher resolution digital processing
■Twin Toroidal Transformers for higher resolution digital processing
■Isolated Power Supply Blocks insure each section of the player has its own power source to be shielded from electromagnetic interferences
■High Quality Pin Jack for the best possible connections with no signal loss
■Professional Level Build Quality
■Rigid Underbase Construction
■Aluminum Side Panels and Top Plate
■Rigid Laser Mechanism Cover
FORMATS

■SACD, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3 and WMA Playback

nooshinjohn

bump...

tonyb

Are you looking for a dedicated SACD player John ? Never had an ear on this one but I do own a pioneer 59avi universal that sounds pretty damn good. I would give anything in their Elite line a shot. I'm also partial to MF cdp's.

billbillw

Looks nice. Give it a try! Not much else out there in that price range, at least not new, unless you want some universal DVD player that is filled with video chips that create heat and noise in the circuit.

EDIT: For that price, I'm somewhat tempted to jump on one myself. I could sell off my hot running, slow reading 3930 and a few others to offset...

Its just strange that there is so little talk about this unit, even though its been out since 2008.

hearingimpared

Hey John, FYI, I bought a Denon 2900 from Bill for SACD. Now is it an Esoteric or Musical Fidelity kw, NO! However it sounds great and for now it's where I'm at with SACD so I say go for it and see how you like it.

Conradicles

John, I thought you bought the one from Face?

nooshinjohn

That one is going to be a bit too rich for my blood... I can get this one by just making a swap or two.

billbillw

nooshinjohn wrote: »

That one is going to be a bit too rich for my blood... I can get this one by just making a swap or two.

That's what I'm thinking. I just wish there were more reviews for it.

zingo

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1237675288

Danny Tse

nooshinjohn wrote: »

That one is going to be a bit too rich for my blood... I can get this one by just making a swap or two.

I have not heard this Onkyo, but this may be another option for you....

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/531751525/onkyo-c-svl5

No video circuitries and offered Wolfson DAC at a lower price. Both of the Pioneer Elite SACD/CD players that are being cleared out have received "Mk. II" revisions and they're out in Europe.

Btw, I was one click from ordering the D6 at a little over $250.00 shipped.

MUST RESIST :mad:

billbillw

Danny,
Just curious, where you get the info that the clearance ones are in fact Mk2? If that is the case, I am even closer to pulling the trigger.

nooshinjohn

billbillw wrote: »

Danny,
Just curious, where you get the info that the clearance ones are in fact Mk2? If that is the case, I am even closer to pulling the trigger.

The clearance ones are not MkII's... They have been replaced by the MkII and the older ones are being cleared out.

billbillw

Ok I think I see what he meant now. The way he wrote it was a bit confusing.

concealer404

Hrmmm... That Elite looks delicious.

nooshinjohn

Yeah... I think i will pull the trigger on this one.

Danny Tse

billbillw wrote: »

Danny,
Just curious, where you get the info that the clearance ones are in fact Mk2? If that is the case, I am even closer to pulling the trigger.

Sorry for the confusion.

Will the US market even get the "Mk. II" version? Many of the Japanese manufacturers keep their 2 channel gear from the US market.

Sony just announced a under $500.00 SACD/CD player called SCD-XE800. It seems to be available everywhere except the US.

Danny Tse

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Yeah... I think i will pull the trigger on this one.

Just think....you're just one step away from Pioneer's new top-of-the-line SACD/CD player, the US$29,000 TAD-D600

billbillw

Found this while searching.

http://www.lampizator.eu/LAMPIZATOR/REFERENCES/Pioneer%20PD-D9/Pdd9.html

They guy is hell bent on modding it with a tube output, but he did provide some excellent board level photos. Nice components, not overly complicated, nice power supplies, robust laser, etc.

BTW, that is the Euro version. I would expect slight differences in the N.A. version, namely different transformers.

Hawkeye

Maybe I'm living in the dark ages but, do you have enough music to warrant buying a SACD player? I don't, so I'm happy with a CD player. Now if my DAC was dead and beyond repair, I might consider it.

Gordon

billbillw

Its a very good CD player that also happens to play SACD.

nooshinjohn

Hawkeye wrote: »

Maybe I'm living in the dark ages but, do you have enough music to warrant buying a SACD player? I don't, so I'm happy with a CD player. Now if my DAC was dead and beyond repair, I might consider it.

Gordon

I don't.... I have a few SACD's that I enjoy on a normal player, but my primary CDP is a Carver SDA-490t. It is no slouch, but I am willing to bet it is now by far the weakest link in my rig. If I am going to replace it with something else, I want to have SACD capability first and foremost, as I feel these players are of a higher quality than just getting another CD player.

Conradicles

That Elite really does look like a sweet player. Buy it John and let us know what you think.

Tony M

Hi John,
This is the player I use and honestly, I can't think that music can get any clearer or lifelike than what I hear through this player. AND the price for them now... unbeliveable. I might get this if you don't so I have a spare.:D

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280538335120&rvr_id=117341637410&crlp=1_263602_263622&UA=WXI7&GUID=95a11a581280a0b582d39f13ffcf8dd5&itemid=280538335120&ff4=263602_263622

nooshinjohn

Grab it Tony... I am wanting to go with something without video playback as I have a Sony Bluray and a Pioneer Laserdisc in current use.

hearingimpared

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Grab it Tony... I am wanting to go with something without video playback as I have a Sony Bluray and a Pioneer Laserdisc in current use.

John, that may be hard to do as SACD/CD only players typically cost a lot more money and are hard to come by.

BlueFox

Find a used Sony XA-5400ES. They have been out about 3 years now so the used price should be okay. They take a while to break-in, and mine has really started to shine lately. Of course, adding the MIT S1.3 XLR ICs helped.

nooshinjohn

hearingimpared wrote: »

John, that may be hard to do as SACD/CD only players typically cost a lot more money and are hard to come by.

the one I am asking about is SACD/CD only.

rtart

What am I missing? This player does not have an HDMI output, nor multi channel analog outs. If I'm not mistaken, this unit limits you to 2-channel SACD playback only.

If that is the point, I guess you're on track. However, I play my SACD's and DVD-A's on an Oppo DV-980H via HDMI into an Onkyo PR-SC885 for multi channel playback.

If you have a compatible Pio Elite AVR, you might also consider an i-link capable player and use that multichannel hi-rez option. I owned a DV-47ai and used it with a VSX-56txi, and later a VSX-84txsi. At the time, could not be beaten.

billbillw

rtart wrote: »

What am I missing? This player does not have an HDMI output, nor multi channel analog outs. If I'm not mistaken, this unit limits you to 2-channel SACD playback only.

If that is the point, I guess you're on track. However, I play my SACD's and DVD-A's on an Oppo DV-980H via HDMI into an Onkyo PR-SC885 for multi channel playback.

If you have a compatible Pio Elite AVR, you might also consider an i-link capable player and use that multichannel hi-rez option. I owned a DV-47ai and used it with a VSX-56txi, and later a VSX-84txsi. At the time, could not be beaten.

Your missing the point. He is looking for a CD/SACD for a '2-Channel' system, that is why this thread is in the '2-Channel Audio' sub-forum. There are many of us who do not like to mix AVR/multi-channel with our pure music enjoyment.

Most of the music on SACD was originally recorded and meant for 2-channels only. The 5.1 mix is usually an afterthought. Yes, there are some that are multichannel from the beginning, but those are the minority. So, why listen to the music in a different format than it was originally recorded/mastered in?

Conradicles

Music = 2 channel

Tony M

I was looking at cost /performance. I'm frugal:)

I know my player has video but there's no video cables hooked up to it.Probably never will be. It is for my CD/SACD playback only.SACD playback is dead silent until the artists start. So cool:cool:

I can't wait to hear if I hear a difference when I use a better grade of interconnects with mine.;)

Let us know if that SACD player sounds as good as it looks if you get it.