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

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 DiMora Diamond ( A ) on July 31, 2003 at 21:20:04
IP Address: 68.154.32.248

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After living with the player a longer time period, I have noticed that bass response was lacking vs. my old JVC DVD-A player, so I broke out my RadioShack SPL meter, and found that the audio balance amongst the channels is unsatisfactory unless some serious adjustments are made. The final adjustments required me to boost the sub output 6 dB, cut the center 6 dB, cut the fronts 2.5 dB, and cut the rears 4.5 dB. Doing so gave me an even response using the test tones the DV-45 generates, with all channels playing 77 dB with my Denon receiver set at 0 dB Volume. Now I am in sonic nirvana. Some users in posts concerning this unit are claiming it does not have bass management for DVD-A and SACD...It actually does, if you set it up correctly. The older DV-45 unit did not, but the DVD-45A does. I did find one major issue concerning setup...you MUST press ENTER on the remote after changing a speaker size (say, from large to small) or changing a speaker distance for the time alignment when using DVD-A (Time alignment does not affect SACD. I also wish to clarify that you MUST use analog audio cables (6 of them) for DVD-A and SACD...you CANNOT get SACD or DVD-A to play through this units TOSlink or Digital Coax connector. One other concern...the manual, for time alignment, says that you set distance from listener to front mains, then set all the others (center, surrounds, sub) relative to the fronts. The user menu, however, says "distance to listener" for all speakers, and the distances in the menu do not match those described in the manual.

Product Weakness: Difficult to use setup menu, must press ENTER to get settings to change, user manual disagrees with on screen menus when setting time alignment, poor bass management WITHOUT seriously boosting sub (+6dB) and cutting all the other speakers (-6 to -4.5 dB). Poor tech support from Pioneer...they seem to be clueless.
Product Strengths: Good video performance, especially progressive output, stunning audio quality when set up properly.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Denon AVR-1802 / NHT SA-3
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Pioneer Elite DV-45A
Speakers:	Mirage FRX Series
Cables/Interconnects:	http://www.ClearCables.com
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Jazz, Rock, Blues, Bluegrass, Classical
Room Size (LxWxH):	35 x 25 x 12
Room Comments/Treatments:	Carpet / high ceilings
Time Period/Length of Audition:	3 Weeks
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Difficult to use setup menu, must press ENTER to get settings to change, user manual disagrees with on screen menus when setting time alignment, poor bass management WITHOUT seriously boosting sub (+6dB) and cutting all the other speakers (-6 to -4.5 dB). Poor tech support from Pioneer...they seem to be clueless.
Product Strengths:	Good video performance, especially progressive output, stunning audio quality when set up properly.