Hi-Rez Highway: REVIEW: Pioneer Elite DV-45A DVD Players by Russtafarian

Model:	DV-45A
Category:	DVD Players
Suggested Retail Price:	$700
Description:	DVD-Video/DVD-Audio/SACD Player
Manufacturer URL:	Pioneer Elite
Manufacturer URL:	Pioneer Elite

Review by Russtafarian ( A ) on December 06, 2002 at 15:49:28
IP Address: 204.118.110.140

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I just made the leap from a Sony C555ES to a Pioneer Elite DV-45A. Just shipped the Sony off after eBayâ€™ing it last weekend. The Pioneer has been sitting the system since last Friday. I knew the risks going in that I might be giving away some SACD and redbook performance with the Pioneer. But the ability to play DVD-As and feed my DLP projector with progressive scan video was enough to convince me to make the move. I was able to sell the 555 for more than the price of the DV-45A.

After a week with my Pioneer player, here's what I've noticed. First of all, putting the player up on a Mapleshade base (tiptoes, maple block, rubber/cork supports) made a huge difference, much bigger than with the Sony. The sound immediately went from AARRRGGGHH to Ahhhhhhhhh. With only a few hours on Pioneer, so far SACD is not as good as the Sony. It sounds softer, less dynamic. I donâ€™t get the same leading-edge transient snap from the harp on the Telarc Hovhaness disc, or the percussion on the Mondo Head disc. Spatially, MC SACD sounds better because the center and rear channels are now time aligned. CD playback seems to have more detail and information retrieval but doesn't have the big, lush soundstage of the Sony. Since I only have a few hours on the machine, I'm reserving judgement of CD and SACD playback until it gets broken in.

This is my first experience with DVD-A, and for the rock/pop titles Iâ€™ve picked up (Metallica, REM, Doors, Dead, Blue Man Group, KD Lang, Toy Matinee, etc.) I think it sounds great. These are not purist recording to begin with and I like the DVD-A experience more than the CD recordings of these titles. Iâ€™ll qualify this by saying that Iâ€™ve found that I like creative, immersive surround mixes as much as convincing 2 channel mixes.

DVD-Video into my NEC LT150 projector looks fantastic! And that's using the interlaced composite output. Blows away the PC DVD player I was using. As soon as I build a 25-foot component to VGA video cable, I can try out the progressive scan output which should look even better. And the decoding of DD/DTS movie sound is clearly superior to what was coming out of my HT receiver.

So in terms of SACD and CD sound quality, I may have taken a small step back but I wonâ€™t know that until the unit gets broken in a little more. In the near future I plan to have Ric Shultz work the machine over.

Product Weakness: SACD, CD as compared to the Sony SCD-C555ES. This is after only a few hours of break in. I will post a follow-up onec the player has a few hundred hours on it.
Product Strengths: DVD-A playback, Prog Scan DVD-V

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Meitner
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	HK AVR-300 (used as 6-channel preamp)
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Pioneer DV-45A
Speakers:	Gallo Nucleus Reference
Cables/Interconnects:	MIT Speaker, Homemade Silver Interconnects
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Eclectic
Time Period/Length of Audition:	One week
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Equitech Balance Power
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	SACD, CD as compared to the Sony SCD-C555ES. This is after only a few hours of break in. I will post a follow-up onec the player has a few hundred hours on it.
Product Strengths:	DVD-A playback, Prog Scan DVD-V