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$170 CDP - Pioneer PD-10AE

ClipdatClipdat Posts: 6,217
edited October 2017 in Electronics
Just came across the Pioneer PD-10AE CD player on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-Player-Home-Black-PD-10AE/dp/B01M5DV119/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1508867906&sr=8-3

pd-10ae%28b%29.jpg?itok=jSmCpvBf

Specs:
AKM-DAC 4482VT DAC
›
S/N: 107 dB
›
THD: 0.0029 %
›
Dynamic Range: 100 dB
›
Frequency Response: 4 Hz-20 kHz

Looks like a no-frills player, with basic features - no digital output even.

Interestingly, the power transformer is stamped "Onkyo", and it has a very similar internal layout to the Onkyo C-7030.

Pioneer:
1479744049000_IMG_711604.jpg
Onkyo:
5479573.jpg


Possibly made by the same OEM? The Onkyo is $30 less on Amazon.

Thoughts? I wonder how this budget Pioneer player would sound.



  • "Electronic music is human sound adapting to indulge technology, and for some, it feels like the signature sound of energy. New and abstract sounds over hypnotic rhythms can conjure vast soundscapes for escape, pleasure, and transcendence."

Comments

  • UpstatemaxUpstatemax Posts: 2,272
    From what I can tell, the Onkyo has a different DAC (wolfson) and the Onkyo has a headphone amp.

    IIRC, Onkyo and Pioneer and one in the same now...
    Living room:
    Samsung PN50B860 50" Plasma : XBOX One : Roku Ultra : Oppo UDP-203 : Pioneer Elite SC-87 : APC H15 : Focal 806V mains : Focal 806V Surrounds : SVS SB2000 : SVS SB12-NSD

    2Ch:
    Sonus Faber Venere S : Parasound HCA 1500A : Oppo UDP-205 : Furman Elite 15 DM i : Sony XBR 55X810C Monitor :
  • mhardy6647mhardy6647 Posts: 21,246
    Upstatemax wrote: »
    ...

    IIRC, Onkyo and Pioneer and one in the same now...

    That is correct. Pioneer sold that part of their business a while back.

    So -- in 2017, who the heck is the target audience for a player like this "Pioneer"? I mean, you can pick up a $29 DVD player at the drug store that will play CDs and provide digital output if one prefers to use an external DAC(!).

    I am truly puzzled by this one.
  • rooftop59rooftop59 Posts: 5,247
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    Upstatemax wrote: »
    ...

    IIRC, Onkyo and Pioneer and one in the same now...

    That is correct. Pioneer sold that part of their business a while back.

    So -- in 2017, who the heck is the target audience for a player like this "Pioneer"? I mean, you can pick up a $29 DVD player at the drug store that will play CDs and provide digital output if one prefers to use an external DAC(!).

    I am truly puzzled by this one.

    While on the one hand, I agree with you; not too many people at this price point looking for a quality disk spinner (most audiophile disk spinners have their sights set higher). On the other hand, surely this will sound better (without factoring in the external DAC) than the Walmart DVD player. Less vibration (a LOT less), less noise from the power supply, smoother mechanism, etc. But when you factor in a $150-200 DAC, it probably a wash.

    But yes, I would b every curious to see the US sales numbers on the pioneer and onkyo. Can't expect them to be very high...
    HT Rig:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Peachtree Audio NovaPre; B&K TX4430; Bryson BPD-1; Mains: Dynaudio Emit 10; Center - Polk cs400i; Heights, Center Surround - Klipsch KHC - 6 In-Ceiling; Surrounds - Monoprice in-ceiling; Sub - HSU VTF-2 MK5; LG UP870 4K BDP; NVidia ShieldTV
    ;
    Master Bedroom
    Marantz SR-5007; Parasound HCA-1000A, PSB Imagine B, NHT Super One CI surrounds, Martin Logan Dynamo (original), Squeezebox Touch
  • mhardy6647mhardy6647 Posts: 21,246
    Well -- if the transport actually were any better than the 29 dollar DVD player, I'd see a use for it (e.g., as a transport) -- if it had even the capability of getting at the digital data for an outboard DAC.

    Do you think any components in it actually are any better (than the 29 dollar throwaways)? I am skeptical.
  • rooftop59rooftop59 Posts: 5,247
    edited October 2017
    Surely this pioneer running analog into a comparable stereo integrated (like this https://amazon.com/Onkyo-9050-Integrated-Stereo-Amplifier/dp/B009JBZFVK) would surely sound better than the 29 buck DVD player running digitally into a HTIB or even an even level AVR right???
    HT Rig:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Peachtree Audio NovaPre; B&K TX4430; Bryson BPD-1; Mains: Dynaudio Emit 10; Center - Polk cs400i; Heights, Center Surround - Klipsch KHC - 6 In-Ceiling; Surrounds - Monoprice in-ceiling; Sub - HSU VTF-2 MK5; LG UP870 4K BDP; NVidia ShieldTV
    ;
    Master Bedroom
    Marantz SR-5007; Parasound HCA-1000A, PSB Imagine B, NHT Super One CI surrounds, Martin Logan Dynamo (original), Squeezebox Touch
  • mhardy6647mhardy6647 Posts: 21,246
    edited October 2017
    but how about a standalone DAC and a decent hifi.

    Heck, I use a dump-find, cheap-jack Denon DVD player as my CD transport upstairs. It was taste-tested against other decks and sounds darned good to me.


    r2vledc0l1m9.jpg

    I actually don't mean to be argumentative :) I am just baffled as to why, in 2017, there would be much of a market for a product like the titular one in this thread.

    Maybe I should look it up & see what Onkyo/Pioneer has to say about it, eh?

    I'm on it like a bonnet -- because I truly am curious!

    EDIT: Maybe they figure the DAC they put in it is future-proof enough to justify a 170 expenditure(?).
    https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/2-Channel+Components/PD-10AE
  • rooftop59rooftop59 Posts: 5,247
    I agree with you doc, that this has a VERY small market, and I doubt we will see them for much longer. But I am just saying that someone on budget, who only buys new gear (that's why Emotiva exists after all, when used amps that sound much better are cheaper), and who wants a simple, quality two-channel rig, might, just might, find this unit appealing.

    But yes, I would buy something like my Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai which retailed for 1200 in 2004, which I got on ebay for I think $70 shipped, over this unit any day...
    HT Rig:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Peachtree Audio NovaPre; B&K TX4430; Bryson BPD-1; Mains: Dynaudio Emit 10; Center - Polk cs400i; Heights, Center Surround - Klipsch KHC - 6 In-Ceiling; Surrounds - Monoprice in-ceiling; Sub - HSU VTF-2 MK5; LG UP870 4K BDP; NVidia ShieldTV
    ;
    Master Bedroom
    Marantz SR-5007; Parasound HCA-1000A, PSB Imagine B, NHT Super One CI surrounds, Martin Logan Dynamo (original), Squeezebox Touch
  • mhardy6647mhardy6647 Posts: 21,246
    yrby9b5yjns5.png


    heh -- I also see that, ex-US, this thing's available in "silver" :/
    That'd be nice, eh? :)

    http://www.pioneer-audiovisual.eu/uk/def/products/pd-10ae


    3uykbnw5tfmz.png
  • teekay0007teekay0007 Posts: 2,087
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    I am just baffled as to why, in 2017, there would be much of a market for a product like the titular one in this thread.


    Heh, heh...He said, "titular"....Heh, heh... :p


    I too think that it not having any digital outputs would be a deal breaker. How good can the internal DAC be on this thing?

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