Opinions on this SACD player...

Bobsama

Conradicles wrote: »

Music = 2 channel

Most music is 2-channel. I, too, have heard some very good 5-channel mixes.

BigMac

I auditioned this player for quite a while and it was ok at best for cd and SACD. It sounded restricted in the lows and was WAY to over the top in the highs. I could have picked this up for under $200.00 and while that was a steal I felt like the Pioneer player had more of a $100.00 Sony cd player sound. Just my .02.

Forgot to add that I did an A/B demo between the Pioneer you mentioned and an old Pioneer DV-37 and the DV-37 walked all over the other Pioneer for normal cd. I did try to like the Pioneer SACD player but it was wayyyyyy to blah overall.

billbillw

BigMac wrote: »

I auditioned this player for quite a while and it was ok at best for cd and SACD. It sounded restricted in the lows and was WAY to over the top in the highs. I could have picked this up for under $200.00 and while that was a steal I felt like the Pioneer player had more of a $100.00 Sony cd player sound. Just my .02.

Forgot to add that I did an A/B demo between the Pioneer you mentioned and an old Pioneer DV-37 and the DV-37 walked all over the other Pioneer for normal cd. I did try to like the Pioneer SACD player but it was wayyyyyy to blah overall.

You sure you weren't testing the lower D6 model? Your review seems very far off the mark from every other review I've read for this model.

BigMac

billbillw wrote: »

You sure you weren't testing the lower D6 model? Your review seems very far off the mark from every other review I've read for this model.

It was this player with an integrated amp that came with it. Audio Exchange here in Richmond was almost giving these away at $350.00 to the general public. I was interested because I could have picked up just the SACD player for under $200.00 (my cost) or $500.00 for both the SACD player and the integrated amp that looks just like the player. Don't get me wrong, wasn't a bad sounding unit but the older DV-37 for regualr cds was alot more involving.

The soundstage was wider,alot better decay of sound from instruments,better instrument seperation by far,bass was tighter and more musical. I was using a demo unit that had plenty of hours on it also. The SACD player was hooked up to a McIntosh integrated with Nordost or Audioquest power cables,IC,speaker cables. The speakers used for this evaluation were B&W CDM speakers, then some Snell speakers,and finally a pair of 800 series B&W speakers. There were four of us listening to the player and we all agreed that this SACD player was "ok" but not something we would be purchasing. Next we hooked up an Arcam cd player and began listening all over again. Neither was my cup of tea but I did end up buying the Pioneer DV-37 (mint with box and remote) for very cheap as a backup to what I have now.

Right now I have a CAL cd player that I am experimenting with. I switch out components all the time since I have access to lots of different products. The only 3 things that have stayed the same in my system for more than 2 months is my B&W CDM1 SE speakers,Classe model 70 amp, and a Parasound HCA-1500a amp. I switch out amps depending on what music I am going to listen to. Everything else I am trying to find what I like still.

billbillw

BigMac wrote: »

It was this player with an integrated amp that came with it. Audio Exchange here in Richmond was almost giving these away at $350.00 to the general public. I was interested because I could have picked up just the SACD player for under $200.00 (my cost) or $500.00 for both the SACD player and the integrated amp that looks just like the player. Don't get me wrong, wasn't a bad sounding unit but the older DV-37 for regualr cds was alot more involving.

The soundstage was wider,alot better decay of sound from instruments,better instrument seperation by far,bass was tighter and more musical. I was using a demo unit that had plenty of hours on it also. The SACD player was hooked up to a McIntosh integrated with Nordost or Audioquest power cables,IC,speaker cables. The speakers used for this evaluation were B&W CDM speakers, then some Snell speakers,and finally a pair of 800 series B&W speakers. There were four of us listening to the player and we all agreed that this SACD player was "ok" but not something we would be purchasing. Next we hooked up an Arcam cd player and began listening all over again. Neither was my cup of tea but I did end up buying the Pioneer DV-37 (mint with box and remote) for very cheap as a backup to what I have now.

Right now I have a CAL cd player that I am experimenting with. I switch out components all the time since I have access to lots of different products. The only 3 things that have stayed the same in my system for more than 2 months is my B&W CDM1 SE speakers,Classe model 70 amp, and a Parasound HCA-1500a amp. I switch out amps depending on what music I am going to listen to. Everything else I am trying to find what I like still.

From the price, I have a feeling it was the D6 model that you heard. The D6 was released first along with the integrated amp. The D9 came later, and its MSRP was $1000. The the D9 is much better built and from all accounts has a much improved sound, and sounds very similar to other top models that use the Wolfson DACs, like the Cambridge 740c, but with the added benefit of SACD playback.

dougy

The Pioneer looks like a bargain to me. I might jump all over it if I were in the market right now. Of course, the Onkyo looks to be an outstanding value, too.

I don't know what the future of SACD will be. It doesn't look real encouraging at the moment, but who knows? If vinyl can make a resurgence twenty-five years after it should have been dead and buried, anything is possible.:)

I wouldn't worry over sound differences in SACD players too much. I doubt if there are too many people on the planet who could tell any difference in a double-blind comparison.

newsman

Let me assure you that unless you heard a well recorded multi-channel SACD - you have not heard Music.

concealer404

Hrm. I think the only time i've heard music behind me in a live performance was when i WAS the live performance.

newsman

But my guess that whenever you were listening to life performance you didn't have performers in the center either?
I found multichannel benefits all type of music performance.
For "life" music, either jazz or classical it creates a solid center image while maintaining wide sound stage and reproduces ambiance of the environment where performance took place.

For studio recording, multichannel again creates a solid center image and also allows for the artist to better express themselves.

Neither of this things 2 channel can do. It can create an illusion of the center image, but it's only that - an illusion. Once you move off the sweet spot, illusion is exposed.

concealer404

Ah hah... beat me to it on the ambience factor with live performances. I was thinking that's the only time that i would bother with it, to be honest.

Danny Tse

A "press announcement" was just released for the "Mk. II" versions of the D6 and D9 for the US market.

billbillw

Danny Tse wrote: »

A "press announcement" was just released for the "Mk. II" versions of the D6 and D9 for the US market.

More than a year after Europe got them. I suspect the changes are mostly cosmetic. No mention of any specific improvements in the press release.

So, has anyone jumped on the original clearance model yet? I haven't been able to scrape up the $ yet. Gotta sell a couple more things.

cnh

John,

I've heard that Pioneer player in a Tweeter before they went out of business....it was playing with the companion integrated amp and a couple of Focal Profile towers. All I can say is that with Redbook CDs it was quite sweet and melodic, smooth with that set up. I think they had Kimber cables on the speakers. However, because all this was linked together I can't say how it will sound on your system but on theirs the CDs were almost holographic in their sound-stage, enveloping in fact. For the price, I was a fan!

cnh

billbillw

So, did anyone here end up buying this? It looks like they are sold out now. I put an order in yesterday, but I noticed afterward that the purchase button was gone from the website (I had it in my cart from a prior browsing session). Not sure if they will be able to fill it or not. I should know in a few days.

billbillw

billbillw wrote: »

So, did anyone here end up buying this? It looks like they are sold out now. I put an order in yesterday, but I noticed afterward that the purchase button was gone from the website (I had it in my cart from a prior browsing session). Not sure if they will be able to fill it or not. I should know in a few days.

Well, I'm not getting this. Pioneer canceled my order due to insufficient stock

Admittedly, I procrastinated way too long and lost out on the deal. Oh well. I'll just keep a search out for used units, or maybe future discounts on the Mk2 version, which I expect to sell just as slowly as the Mk1

Krazyz1

Someone correct me if I am wrong. Local music store( Have known owner for about 20 years ) is telling me only about 300 titles available on SACD.

DaveHo

I don't think that's right. AFAIK, there are several thousand titles available on SACD. Many are now OOP & only available on the used market, but there are definately more than 300. Check out http://www.sa-cd.net to get an idea of what's out there.

-Dave

hearingimpared

Krazyz1 wrote: »

Someone correct me if I am wrong. Local music store( Have known owner for about 20 years ) is telling me only about 300 titles available on SACD.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ wrong! Unless he is referring to new releases but I believe that is wrong too.

billbillw

Regardless of how many SACD titles are available, a good SACD player almost always doubles as a good (or great) CD player. In the case of the Pioneer linked above, it is probably the best you can get for the price (at the clearance price anyway). SACD playback is a bonus. Of course, its no longer available and the replacement Mk2 model is over priced. For some reason, Pioneer decided to raise the price by $500. I strongly suspect they will not sell many at that price and it will end up with a new MSRP before the end of the year.

billbillw

Well, it took some wheelin' and dealin', but I managed to get my hands on one of these for a very decent price. Received it last night, but I barely had any time to spend with it. Just unboxed it and hooked it up. Impressive build quality. Not enough time to get a feel for the sound though. Nothing offensive yet though.

I'll be comparing it with my old standby SCD-C333ES over the next few weeks and I'll post some impressions and photos.

billbillw

Photos added here:
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1429487#post1429487

Listening impressions are favorable so far. Very easy on the ears. No digital harshness. Loads of detail and great imagining. I haven't heard many of the latest up-sampling players, but I can compare this one to the Denon 3930Ci and 2900, and my various Sony ES players (XA3 and C333ES). This Pioneer blows them all away. The Denon 3930 is the only one that is close and it might have had a slight edge on HDCD discs, but on SACD and ordinary redbook, the D9 is clearly better. The Denon is a fine unit, but a bit too laid back and tends to smooth over some of the finer details.

acmf74

has anyone heard this player?

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-C-S5VL-Super-Audio-Player/dp/B002C73WRM