Pioneer DV-45A - Anyone have one yet? (1 Viewer)

[JackJD]

Myki,
Thanks for the info... I am going to check out ecoustics.com now...

Kevin,
I look forward to reading your hands-on experiences with this machine... Have you ever used/listened to the 47a? Have you used any other DVD-A/sacd players for comparison of the audio quality on the 45a? Thanks. -JD

 

[Kevin C Brown]

JD- This is my 1st DVD-A/SACD machine. So I can't compare it to anything there.

But I have what I think is a very nice analog rig that I'll be comparing it to. But will be a more valid comparison in about 4 - 6 weeks when I get my 950...

(No analog passthrough on the Sony pre/pro I have now.)

 

[KeithH]

Jack said the following about the '45A:

Judging by what I observed, it seems we are paying to have one of the first "universal" players... because it is certainly not build quality Elite had in mind

This is exactly my view of the '47A. The build quality does not represent what I have come to expect from Pioneer's Elite line. The '45A seems to have been made from the same mold as the '47A, but at the least the '45A is much cheaper.

 

[JackJD]

...Still looking for some input/conversation on this piece...

Anyone else have a recent hands-on with this machine?

Hey Kevin, when do you expect yours to arrive?

 

[Kevin C Brown]

JD- I ordered Tues I think. From NY/NJ or so. Could be mid to end of this week.

The cool thing? I just call the call for the 950 too. That should be here early in the week.

The bummer? (Keith knows this I think.) I ordered 2 Stones SACDs *last* Fri. But the cheeseball outfit I ordered from "lost" (or accidentally deleted my order, as they put it). So I re-ordered from Amazon today. But with the free shipping deal, could be a while for those too. Might have to hit a local record store to see what I can find...

 

[Patricio M]

OK, I have had mine for a week now, and the verdict? I love this machine. The reason I bought it was like many of you, the universal play feature, and it doesn't disappoint. All I have been able to get are SACD's because our Best Buy's DVD-A selection stinks! However, the SACD sound is indeed very good. I have never auditioned SACD/DVDA before, so this is a first. Some people have said the 45a/47a's SACD isn't very good, but anyone who is used to listening to Red Book CD's will be very pleased with the performance.

As for the Video Quality...excellent! I must say, the unit does suffer from the chroma bug as per my previous post, but I only notice it when sitting very close to the video screen (36XBR), my seating position is 12 ft from the tv. I watched Monsters, Inc. (saturated colors), and only noticed the bug a couple of times (around edges and such), but the entire movie was visually stunning.

Build quality is decent. The unit is light, and the button's have a very plastic feel, but that really does't matter much to me since I am only concerned with the audio/video quality.

For $500 msrp this is an excellent machine. It is the first affordable universal player and for that reason I recommend getting one. If you need audio/video excellence you will have to spend $1000 more on perhaps the Denon or wait till more universal players are released (Yamaha has one coming out in Oct for around $1000). Also, CEDIA is in a couple of weeks, so more may be announced. Really, at this price, there is no need for complaints! Let me know if you guys have any questions!!

 

[KeithH]

Patricio, thanks for the review. Glad to hear you are happy with the '45A. Sounds like a lot of player for $500. Continue to feed us some thoughts as you experiment with SACD and DVD-Audio. By the way, check out www.circuitcity.com for an excellent selection of DVD-Audio discs cheap. They have the Warner titles for just $13.99 each. They also have a very good selection of SACDs, thought their prices are not nearly as favorable with them as with DVD-Audio discs.

 

[Michael Hartwig]

Patrico
Have you used the bass management? Does it have a variable crossover selection? Is it available in DVD-A, SACD and with only 2 channels out (L and R) for CD playing? That is where the biggest concern is for me.
thx

 

[Mike Likens]

I picked up this player the other day for the same reasons others are looking at the 45A - SACD/DVD-A compatability at a reasonable price.
I've only had this player for 2 nights but these are my initial impressions. Video playback is very good in the interlaced mode (no progressive scan display yet:frowning. But the real reason I purchased this player is for SACD and DVD-A. The dealer let me borrow a disc in each format. The SACD disc is a dealer demo disc with 4 tracks on it. Each recorded in 5.1. James Taylor, a classical track, a jazz track and a blues track can't remember the other artists. I am very pleased with the quality of this disc. Very open, smooth and detailed with good subtle use of the surrounds. The DVD-A is Steely Dan's "Two Against Nature" which is also an outstanding recording. I admire both formats and believe both formats offer considerable advantages over CD.
Now, as far as bass mgt, yes there is a setup menu for speaker size and distances. You can select large, small or none with or without a sub for each speaker. A crossover point is not indicated in the menu or in the manual. To be honest I had a hard time telling if BM is working properly. All speakers are outputing a discreet channel and the sub was working properly while playing both discs.
I am quite happy with this player for under $500 with 6 patch cables it is a bargain. Recommended.
For reference here is my setup. Elite 24TX receiver as prepro, Rotel 1075 5 channel amp, Energy C-7 mains, AC-300 center, RVSS Surrounds and DIY Adire Shiva sub.

 

[KeithH]

Mike Likens, isn't Steely Dan Two Against Nature outstanding on DVD-Audio? For me, it is a reference disc. If you like the music, get this disc. Also check out Eagles Hotel California, Fleetwood Mac Rumours, and Metallica Metallica if you like the music. We can give you a lot of other DVD-Audio and SACD suggestions if you post a question over in the Music Area.

 

[JackJD]

...Bought one on Saturday... Been lovin' it since...

Excellent!!!

 

[JackJD]

Brief review:
Pioneer ElitE 45-A
Video:
Absolutely beautiful picture... both progressive (108" 16:9 projector) & interlaced (35" TV)
Chromabug: yes;
Do I care (does it bother me)? Not even the smallest amount...
But as I stated before, this machine is primarily for audio duties.
Audio:
DVD-A: As good (or perhaps a bit better) as anything else I've yet heard (inc. Pan. 91, DV 47-A, Toshiba 4800 etc.). Wonderful... Bass management, speaker size/distance settings, all there.
sacd: I am only able to compare the sacd performance to the 47-A, sony 9000es (2 ch.), and lower sony models, (775 and such). That said I believe this player to be the best sacd I've yet heard... Great depth... I would dare to compare it to the 9000es (God help me!); Very close in quality in 2 channel, and the 9000 doesn't do multichannel... so no comparison there... More importantly, the 45a is miles ahead of the 47a in terms of sound quality w/ sacd. Although I'm not sure what would attribute to this , my guess is that it might be the result of the use of triple Burr Brown DACs this time around. The cheap sonys don't even come close...
You cannot change the distance of the speakers for sacd mode; Also you must change the 2 ch., multi, redbook layer from the menu. But if you set the menu to multi and the sacd is stereo only, it defaults to the stereo automatically.
CD: Quite nice... I'm very pleased with both the digital and analog output of the player. Of course I have many terrific CD player/transports, so this will not be used for CD anyway. And unfortunately, I'm now extremely spoiled by the quality of the former mentioned formats...
The remote is more than adequate... I still prefer my own (pronto). It has TV power, volume, and channel buttons for DVD-A. The documentation is also well done.
Overall, it is everything I hoped it would be... I have very few complaints (and these are very menial (ex. there is and energy compliant sticker [removable, I guess] on the face; these are not big complaints...), and find it well worth the $435 I bought it for at the local ElitE dealer. To be honest, after auditioning it, I would have payed up to $800 (...don't tell my ElitE dealer) for the player if that was what they were asking. I could have had the 47A months ago for that price, but after auditioning it, I never even considered for a minute to pay $800 for that machine.
I really love the thing...
So, what are you waiting for?
GO GET ONE!!!
I'll report back after I've had a bit more time/experience with the player -Cheers, JD
Test Discs:
DVD-A:
Fleetwood Mac -Rumors
Tchaikovsky -1812
Vivaldi -Four Seasons
Guarneri String Quartet -Ravel, Debussy, Faure
Eagles -Hotel California
Doors -L.A. Woman
SACD:
Toto -IV (stereo)
Sopranos -Peppers & Eggs (stereo)
Thelonious Monk -Straight, No Chaser (stereo)
Orff(Atlanta Symphony) -Carmina Burana (Multi-Hybrid)
Prokofiev(NewYork Phil.) -Alexander Nevsky(Multi)
B. Joel -The Stranger(Multi)
B. Joel -52nd St.(Multi)
Miles Davis -Kind of Blue (multi)

 

[Brennan Hill]

Thanks for the review Jack! Are there any magazine reviews yet that anyone is aware of?

 

[Lewis Besze]

Jack,so the BM is a definite thing with both formats not just the usual DD DTS mislead?Too bad we don't know the Xover value.
This sounds better every day!
Miles Davis's Kind of Blue is a multichannel SACD?
Damn, I'm there!

 

[Mark Davenport]

Hi
Did you previously own the 47-A. Just curious I own one and would be very interested in the sound comparisons with the 45-A. I'm a little surprised that you report the 45-A sounds much better than it in SACD I would be wondering if you were able to do long term listening with each unit. I'm happy with the SACd sound of the 47-A but would be a little put off by a cheaper unit outperfomring it just a few months later. Please give more desciprtions as to the sound differences.

Thanx
Mark

 

[Craig Rosenthal]

Lewis,

Yes, bass redirection works in all modes (including CD, SACD, DVD-A and even MP3). Based on everything I've tried, it works as it is supposed to. While no crossover frequency is specified, by ear it seems to be lower than the Sony SACD players that use 120hz (based on my experience with the Sony player, my guess is around 80hz to 100hz).

Please note that the manual states that the speaker distance settings (time alignment) do not function for SACD. My speakers are relatively equidistant, so it's not an issue for me, and I really don't know how to test if time alignment works for DVD-A.


Craig

 

[KeithH]

Jack,
Did you do a side-by-side comparison of the '45A and '47A? Like Mark, I would not expect the much-less-expensive '45A to beat the '47A.
Perhaps the '45A is a case where looks can be deceiving. Aside from Kevin's statement that it weighs less than 6 lbs., I looked at a picture of it on Pioneer's web site, and it doesn't look like an Elite component. In my opinion, the '47A doesn't look or feel like one either. Well, looks and feel aren't everything. Maybe the '45A has the goods under the hood.

 

[JackJD]

No, I have never owned the 47-a... I auditioned it quite a few times... As stated in my mini-review, I never considered the performance of the 47 up to par.
I don't mean to upset the owners of the 47 who paid more money for their player, but I really think Elite ironed out some of the rough spots and produced a winner here.
The DVD-A/sacd quality is truly superb.
The detail and subtlties of the music (alot of which I felt the 47 was lacking) is wonderful.
That said, I do believe the video & CD sections to be better on the 47 than on the 45. The LegatoPRO and such (not present on the 45) helps the CD performance.
I did compare them side by side before purchasing the 45... but only for 2-3 hours. I don't know if that qualifies as enough time to adequately compare the two... Suffice it say it definitely was for me.
As I stated quite a while ago, (after the first time I saw it, but was unable to listen to it)it is VERY light, and relatively samll/unattractive... Not what I would hope for with Elite products. BUT I stand by my claim that the performance is awesome.
I think you should go audition one for yourself, and then tell us what you think... I believe you'll be quite impressed...
Mark,
The good news is that if you hear the significant differences that I do (and don't mind giving up the superior video) it is less a less expensive piece... You may be able to swap it with your dealer and get a few bucks back as well!

Perhaps the '45A is a case where looks can be deceiving. Well, looks and feel aren't everything. Maybe the '45A has the goods under the hood.

Keith, I think you hit it right on the head.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I have mine hooked up, and I'll still want to test the bass management, but I got to be honest.
I'm taking it out of the box, thinking, geez, what a cheap piece o' crap.
But I got it hooked up, and the manual is quite well written, although why it has channel config stuff in 2 places (pg 49 & 64), I can't figure that out.
The onscreen menu setup stuff is a lot more straight forward than the previous Pioneer's I've had (414, 333, 05). It is a lot harder to misconfigure the screen aspect ratio, for example. Although you really have to read the manual to figure out what happens if you default the output to 2 channel vs 5.1 channel for example, depending on the source, and whether you're listening through the front channels of the 5.1 outputs, the audio 2 channel output, or digital.
Just straight CD so far, and it sounds fine. No better or worse than the DV-05 it will retire (but that's what I expected anyway).
But my Stones SACDs aren't here yet!
One more thing: out of all the Pioneer's I've had, I liked the remote for the 333 the best. Luckily, that remote worked with the DV-05 (a big honkin thing), so I bought another one from Pioneer when I got rid of the 333.
The remote to the 45a is a slightly less big honkin thing, but still not as straight forward as the 333 remote. For example, if I just pick up the 333 remote (VXX2702) in my right hand, I can reach the display button with my thumb. (Display cycles through time into track, time left in the track, and time left on the CD.) With the 45a's remote, nope, can't reach it. Stoopid ergonomics. But the 333 remote works with the 45a. Coolness.

 

[KeithH]

Kevin,
Don't fault Pioneer! Your thumb is too short! Seriously though, at least you can use the '333 remote for most functions on the '45A. I had a similar experience with Harman/Kardon CD recorders. Last year, I upgraded from the original CDR 2 to the CDR 30. I still had the '2 when the '30 arrived, so I got to compare remotes. The two remotes are the exact same size and shape with buttons placed in the same spots. However, some key buttons were taken off the '30 remote and others were put in different spots relative to the '2 remote. It's incredible how readily we can become a creature of habit with remotes! I sold the '2 with the remote, so I ordered a new '2 remote from Harman and now use it exclusively with the '30.
Jack,
Thanks for the insight on the '45A. Given your comments, I wonder if Pioneer has done more in designing the '47Ai than merely adding a firewire port to the '47A.