Replacing the Pioneer PD D9mk2 - K

[zoso02]

Hi Everyone,

The upgrade bug just doesn't seem to leave me .

So here is the dilemma I am facing; I currently have the CA 840A v2 connected to the Monitor Audio RX6. I am using the Pioneer PD D9 MK2 (SACD player part of their Elite series).
The sound of this SACD/CD player is really detailed, nice soundstage, nice separation of instruments...love the weight of the sound and the bass. But I feel that it can be a little less musical. I did an A/B comparison by playing the same CD through my squeezebox touch and this player and there was hardly any difference. It seemed that the SB was a little more musical however the Pioneer had more weight to the overall sound. At the end of this I was quite impressed with what they have been able to achieve with the SB however it also made me think that the Pioneer is just about equal to the SB...which means there are much better players out there in the price range.

I know some of this can be subjective but this is what I am looking for...A player that will play CD's, SACD's and MP3's. It should be detailed...energetic...musical...not thin...not fatiguing and it should be within Rs 1 Lac

I have auditioned a few however most of them do not play MP3's or will not play SACD's which is important for me. Pls do let me know if you guys have any recommendations?

Have any of you heard the Marantz SA 15S2 (suggested by a forum member however unable to audition it)? What are your thoughts on it? Any DAC's that might be able to meet my requirements?

Btw I listen to almost all types of music...a lot of classic rock...some Jazz...some Blues...Pop...trance...so the player defiantly needs to be versatile.

Pls help!!

 

[prashanth14485]

Hi Everyone,

The upgrade bug just doesn't seem to leave me .

So here is the dilemma I am facing; I currently have the CA 840A v2 connected to the Monitor Audio RX6. I am using the Pioneer PD D9 MK2 (SACD player part of their Elite series).
The sound of this SACD/CD player is really detailed, nice soundstage, nice separation of instruments...love the weight of the sound and the bass. But I feel that it can be a little less musical. I did an A/B comparison by playing the same CD through my squeezebox touch and this player and there was hardly any difference. It seemed that the SB was a little more musical however the Pioneer had more weight to the overall sound. At the end of this I was quite impressed with what they have been able to achieve with the SB however it also made me think that the Pioneer is just about equal to the SB...which means there are much better players out there in the price range.

I know some of this can be subjective but this is what I am looking for...A player that will play CD's, SACD's and MP3's. It should be detailed...energetic...musical...not thin...not fatiguing and it should be within Rs 1 Lac

I have auditioned a few however most of them do not play MP3's or will not play SACD's which is important for me. Pls do let me know if you guys have any recommendations?

Have any of you heard the Marantz SA 15S2 (suggested by a forum member however unable to audition it)? What are your thoughts on it? Any DAC's that might be able to meet my requirements?

Btw I listen to almost all types of music...a lot of classic rock...some Jazz...some Blues...Pop...trance...so the player defiantly needs to be versatile.

Pls help!!

Here are some highly reviewed players that will fit into your budget for all I know..

Arcam FMJ CD37 (Plays SACD as well)
Audiolab 8200 CDQ (not the CD version)
Rega Saturn

Hope this helps. Good luck!

P.S - How much did you buy the Pioneer player for? I believe it is the one with dual differential Wolfson DAC and fine tuned in London's Air Studios, right??

Prashanth

 

[venkatcr]

I know some of this can be subjective but this is what I am looking for...A player that will play CD's, SACD's and MP3's. It should be detailed...energetic...musical...not thin...not fatiguing and it should be within Rs 1 Lac

At this level of musical quality, I am surprised you are even considering MP3.

Cheers

 

[zoso02]

Thanks...any idea where I could look at the Audiolab in Bangalore or elsewhere in India?

I picked up the Pioneer from my brother. Retails for around 700 pounds. A great piece of equipmet...that is why I need to be able to audition side by side to see how it performs against the others.

Venkat...I know what u mean. But there is this compilation that I do from time to time where I burn a really nice CD with many songs...the songs do loose a bit in quality but I love all the music. Also my wife has all of these MP3's that she likes to listen to...doesn't care much about the loss of quality!!

What I could also do is buy a really nice SACD/CD player and retain my pioneer for MP3

Any of you have experience with the Marantz SA 15S2? Any others that I should audition which will have that chill factor...emotional quotient...I know that is a bit subjective

 

[prashanth14485]

The marantz player in question for all I've heard is fantastic but are you sure it falls in your budget. I was under the impression that it costs well over a lac..

Seems like there are no authorized dealers for audiolab in india.. Contact "basstreble" in our forum, he deals in brands like Rega and a few others. if you're lucky, he might be dealing in Audiolab too..

 

[zoso02]

Looks like I might be able to get it for around 78K...grey...only problem...would not be able to audition...so a little scared!!

Have you or anyone else in this forum heard it? What's the sound like?

 

[grubyhalo]

As far as I know, neither of the Audiolab players do SACD...

 

[ravi_d]

As far as I know, neither of the Audiolab players do SACD...

audiolab latest 8200 series cd players have very good reviews but don't play MP3's too.

audiolab 8200CDQ has more performance tweaks than audiolab 8200CD as the CDQ model got released later.
audiolab 8200 CDQ has a proper preamp unlike quad cd players which just have volume control. If you're picking up audiolab 8200 CDQ the preamp section of either the cd player or the integrated amp would become redundant.

 

[zoso02]

No SACD would not work at this point...also can't see to find an Audiolab in India.

I am pretty stuck on the Marantz SA 15 S2...does anyone have any first hand experience with it or the sound of a Marantz CDP sound. I am looking for a detailed player however musical...lively...involving!!

Any DAC's that might provide the same?

 

[hemantwaghe]

At this level of musical quality, I am surprised you are even considering MP3.

Cheers

One should not mix scotch with Thumps Up and one should not think of Mp3 when looking for musical quality..:clapping::clapping:hyeah:

Am I right venkat sir?

 

[grubyhalo]

Here's another promising option, if it could work for you:

OPPO BDP-95 Blu-ray Disc Player

 

[zoso02]

U shouldn't but then Scotch and Thumbs up will still get u high

 

[zoso02]

Thought I would end this thread by letting you know how I got closure.

Well I have been auditioning players and comparing specs and couldn't really justify spending 70k odd as whatever i heard or read were minor differences in sound as compared to the Pioneer PD D9. Most likely just different signatures of different CDP's.

Also the more I listen to my CDP the more I like it. It is quite warm and detailed and airy. The only problem I think was that since this is my first decent 2 channel set up I was always comparing it to the my car set up which is obviously more energetic however comes with some amount of listening fatigue.

I also feel that if I need to get a substantial increase in SQ it would need to be an upgrade across the chain of components. Which is not on the cards for now.

So for now I'm gonna enjoy the music rather than obsessing on the components and I have deleted the OLX add I had placed to sell the Pioneer.

Thank you all once again...

 

[grubyhalo]

Smart move, all the best!