Pioneer DV-47A is supposed to get a big brother this summer. (1 Viewer)

[Rachael B]

I looked at the DV-47A today. My dealer told me that the Pioneer rep told him to expect another SACD/DVD-A player to join the line-up this summer. It was described as having the build quality of the old DV-09 model, big and heavy, and an approximate $2000 price tag.
I was suprised how slim, small, and light that the 47A was. I'd say it weighed no more than 12 pounds...? I did't audition it for sound as I'm not serious about buying one. I did play with a demo model hooked to an Elite 520 set. A copy of GLADIATOR was in the player. It looked really good at a glance. I was sitting too close to the set and I didn't see any blockyness.
I may buy my first Elite DVD player yet, but I'm waiting to see the 47A's, as of yet unamed, big brother.

 

[KeithH]

Rachael, thanks for the info. Sounds like it could be a real giant killer. Someone on Audio Asylum posted on the Digital Drive that the '47A only weighs 9.5 lbs. That's truly disappointing.

 

[Charles J P]

If this is true, does that mean the 47A will be purposefully underengineered to leave room for a higher model that doesnt suffer poor sales due to diminishing returns?

 

[KeithH]

Charles, could be. Wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Andrew_Ballew]

Hey Rachael- are you talking about Statement? That is the only dealer in town I know of other than NOW! that carries Pioneer Elite. I am pretty sure NOW! would not have it. Or maybe someplace else?? Do tell! I wanna see it in action.

Thanks!

Andrew Ballew

 

[Rachael B]

The 47A is about the size of a DV-05 maybe a tad lower. Given what it will do at it's price point, it's proably a real good value player. If I get tired of my RP91 I might consider one. Six months from now I bet the 47A will be widely available for about $699, or thereabouts?

 

[KeithH]

Rachael, it just occurred to me that maybe this super player you heard about will have rosewood sidepanels. I love them on Elite components. The '47A has none, a la the '05 and '37. Maybe the high-end player will have them, a la the '09, '38A, and PD-65. That would be cool.

 

[Rachael B]

Keith, I talked to the Pioneer rep myself about six weeks ago when he was in the store to train the employees. He said the side panels are history. Notice that the VSX-49 has none and that it has scalloped sides like the DV-AX10 and HLD-X9. The VSX-49 sure would look nice with a gold finish. I told their rep make gold available on everything. I predict more of the black though, ugh. I'm sick of black!
Andrew, I am, indeed, talking about Statement. I had to go to the bank accross the street today so I droped in. They got 3 in and sold 2 already. They want $1000 for them. Two sundays ago I was in Now and asked about the 47A and they offered me one for $900, but wanted me to put a $200 deposit down on one. They didn't even know when they would arrive. They must have/or had them by now, proably?
I was leaning towards a stand-alone SACD player at that point and declined their $900 offer. I've since bought a Sony 555 changer and love it. My RP91 does not please me as a DVD-A player. I love it's video though. I might eventually buy a 47A to replace it? Or, it's alledged big brother, maybe? I'd call ahead to Statement and make sure they didn't sell the demo this eve. It's in the back room hooked up to a Newcastle reciever. They don't have it hooked up for SACD & DVD-A. Now may have some? The 47A will proably be in short supply for a few months. Best wishes guyz!

 

[KeithH]

Rachael, now that you mention it, I recall you or someone else mentioning that Pioneer had dropped the rosewood. Oh well. The scalloped sides look nice. I also like gold components and am tired of black.

 

[Stan T]

Can anyone verify or know of where to check to verify that Pioneer Elite is releasing a larger version of the DV-47A in the next few months. I just purchased the 47A but possibly would have held off if I knew they were releasing a beefier version. I've only had it for 1 day but so far have been impressed with the 47A. I haven't tried everything on the player yet but a quick run through last night was impressive. Like Rachael said it's very light. I was using a Elite DV-38A before this player so it is a big change. If anyone can verify the new player is coming out soon please post.

 

[Rachael B]

Stan, this is just second hand from one of their reps. There is no way to confirm anything yet.
Keith, it just mkes me ill when I'm on fur-in sites and see the beautiful gold components. I wish they'd atleast give us a choice, more often. My HLD-X9, LD-S9, RP91, JVC 9800, and my Victor Muse decoder are gold. It's a start...Best wishes guyz!

 

[CarlP]

I received my 47 last week. While the sound and video quality are impressive, it would not surprise me there would be an upgrade in the works. This player could not be used as a paper weight! 12lbs seems high for the weight. The lack of rosewood panels (like my CLD99)is not a big deal. The fact the 47a is and inch narrower than my 49tx is. IMHO, this looks shitty. Again, I'm sure the new-and-improved version will take care of this.

I did not know of this upgrade model when I made my purchase. I do feel cheated.

 

[KeithH]

It seems as though Pioneer occasionally throws the "Elite" badge on components that are not really elite. The '47A appears to be very much like its non-Elite components in terms of build quality, but it could be a step up on the inside. More than anything, Pioneer probably put the Elite name on the '47A due to its uniqueness. Universal players obviously aren't common yet. Hopefully Pioneer will bring out a higher-end version.

Rachael, yes, a choice between black or gold components would be very nice. Perhaps someday.

 

[Rachael B]

Carl, there's always a bigger fish, three's always a faster car, there's always a better player.... It may be quite some time before before big brother shows up. The 47A wasn't exactly on schedule. We all expected it before Christmas. These boards make us all too accutely aware sometimes, si? It does me anyway....
Keith, I have a bunch of the black Elite stuff with side panels, C-72, SP-99D, F-91, CLD-99, and MJ-17. It makes for a nice bedroom system these dayz. I got AC-3 back in '96 when they droped the price on the SP-99D. It's pretty stuff but I'm ready for a change. Sometimes I'm tempted to order all my equiment from Hong Kong where it's often hard to find black, gold and silver rule. The 733A is gold, region-free and in the same price range as the 47A even after shipping. I told the Pioneer rep to offer gold and that I'd buy a pre version of VSX-49 if they offered it, and I prefered it in gold. Best wishes!

 

[KeithH]

Rachael, that's a great deal on the '733A. It may be worth it just to get the gold chassis. What if you need to get it serviced? Would Pioneer USA service it?

 

[Dzung Pham]

I'm a bit surprised about all the comments regarding the weight of the player. How much of an indication of quality is weight? It seems to me most of the weight of any player will come from the power supply transformer and the chassis. I don't believe dvd/cd players require that much current so is a large transformer necessary? As for the chassis, I guess a heavier chassis will absorb more vibration but the audio rack is more important in this regard.
Frankly, I prefer something that's light so I don't hurt my back moving it around. Slim is also a good thing so that it doesn't take up as much space. On the other hand, does this player feel cheaply made? I don't think that's the same as just having a low weight. It does have a two year warranty, which is pretty decent and the same as the warranty of other Elite players.
BTW, for people who haven't seen it, there's a review posted here:
http://www.docdvd.com/reviews/pioneerdv47a_review.shtml

 

[Rachael B]

Keith, that's the key question! It's always a worry when you own fur-in stuff. I don't worry about that as much with LD players. They're more reliable, generally. I have service manuals for the S9 and X9 too. I could of gotten a DV-AX10 last fall for $3300 from HK. I was tempted but possible service problems and the advent of SACD multi-channel convinced me to back off. I'd be more inclined to take a chance on a cheaper player like the 733A though. I'll send you the Chinese Club's site. It's fun to look! Best wishes!

 

[KeithH]

Rachael,

The warranty issue would concern me. I seem to recall reading on a message board awhile back that Sony will not honor the warranty in the US for products bought overseas. I don't know if that's true, however. I appreciate your sending me the link for the Chinese Club. That site should be fun to peruse.

Dzung,

I have not spent much time poking under the hood of front-end components, but higher-end components typically have larger power supplies and/or dual power supplies. For example, while the Sony SCD-C555ES has separate power supplies for the analog and digital sections, the lesser expensive SCD-C222ES has just one power supply. That will impact the weight of the player somewhat and should impact sound quality. Also, chassis thickness will affect the weight and often gives a perception of product quality or lack thereof. I prefer weighty components.

I just got a Sony SCD-CE775 multi-channel SACD changer for my second system today and have it alongside an SCD-C333ES stereo SACD changer. There is no comparison in terms of build quality. The 'C333ES weighs around 23 lbs., while the 'CE775 weighs a bit over 13 lbs. The 'CE775 is flimsy and the carousel drawer is clumsy in comparison to the 'C333ES. Still, the 'CE775 sounds very good with SACDs. Weight only tells part of the story, but it is still an important factor to me. I just like the feel and build quality of a weighty component.

Given that the '47A is an Elite product and a universal player, I feel it should weigh at least 20 lbs. That's just me. By the way, there are those who say that a sturdy chassis will improve sound quality by better absorbing vibrations. Some audiophiles modify CD players by adding dampening material (Dynamat and the like) to the underside of the chassis top for this reason.

 

[Mike_Ch]

Rachael,

I take it that you have bought equipment from chinese club? How was their level of service, and who can I contact by email to discuss purchases? I am considering buying a sony sacd player from them, but am concerned about the 1 year warranty that they offer and the fact that Sony Australia will probably not service equipment from unauthorised dealers- though I still have to call them.

Also, as a general kind of question, how reliable are Sony ES products? Will buying them without a warranty be a huge risk? I have read of stories where Sony ES components have broken down within the year.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Rachael B]

Mike, I'm impressed with the Chinese Club's customer service. I bought two Japanese Pioneer LD players players from them before this website was up. I dealt with Daniel law via e-mail and fax.
[email protected]
I had a $2500 HLD-X9 arrive broken. The box was banged up. It had obviously been droped, hard! The drawer wouldn't open and when you turned it on all it did was make clicking noises. It took about 4 weeks for me to get a replacement. Independent inspection service had to come see it. Fedex and Daniel settled it. Anyway, I didn't have to pay a cent extra. All I had to do was take the player to a Fedex office. About a week later my new X9 arrived. Does that story speak volumes or what?
I've toyed with the idea of ordering Pioneer DV-AX10 & DV-733A from them but haven't. I know they have plenty of Sony and Pioneer stuff. I like Sony ES stuff. I've had good luck with it. None of my ES stuff has ever been to the shop. I had a TAE-1000ES pre for about ten problem-free years. I sold it about 6 months ago. I just got a 555 SACD changer and it's nice. I have a TA-55ES power amp that's 5 years old and never a problem. I have a DVP-S9000ES and it's a nice piece. Truthfully, I imagine my luck is above average.
Sony makes so many units! Somebody is going to take one home and have it smoke or breakdown prematurely. Maird happens! My first Rotel RB-993BX smoked the first time I turned it on. How many pople come online and post,"my unit is getting old and won't break"? I'd say your odds of good service out of a Sony ES unit are above the curve. If you just had to I think you could ship back to Hong Kong for service. I imagine non-warranty service would be available for you at worst.
Which player are you considering? Best wishes!