PIONEER PD-D9 vs PD-D6
Digital sources
Pioneeru has made it again with both the players. Especially the PD-D9 can challenge successfully any player in the one-thousand-euro price level. I am convinced that the aspirations of the PD-D9 may in fact be even higher - not a lot of CD players sound like this. The only thing I regret is that none of the Pioneers uses the excellent Stable Platter transport that was Pioneer's specialty in 90's.
Function and form
The front panels of the new CD players are divided in two halves by a curved transition. There are Sony CD transports on the right and monochromatic displays on the left. All control has to done through a remote controller as the fascias offer just very basic function (Open/Close, Play/Stop). The chassis are all aluminum, the connectivity is usual: RCA, XLR, Toslink, coaxial. The PD-D6 is 50% less costy than its bigger brother.
Bass management
There are 192kHz/24bit Burr-Brown D/A converters in the heart of the PD-D6, plus the Pioneer's Legato Link conversion circuits. In early 90's Pioneer analyzed the noise of vinyl records to find out that it contains bits of information. They added the noise to the useful signal so that it extended the audible audioband. There are several versions of the LLC - the PD-D6 and the PD-D9 feature the Legato Pro. The circuit is defeatable as well as it is possible to switch off the display and digital outputs by pressing Pure Audio button.
The Pioneer PD-D9 is built from aluminum and unlike the PD-D6 it is of sandwich cnostruction to suppress resonances in the chassis. It is also heavier (10kg). The Burr-Brown DACs were replaced by two parallel Wolfson 192kHz/24bit chips. Other than that it shares the other features with the PD-D9.
Clarity & delicacy
I could not believe my ears when I auditioned the PD-D6 for the first time. What? A 500 EUR CD player? And it is that good? The excellent Joe Cocker's You Can Leave Your Hat On in its acoustic version was just amazing. The sound was highly resolved, had enough textures and great soundstage. The guitars had nice round body to their sound and were clean and dynamic as was the choir.
When I switched from the PD-D6-J to the PD-D9 I observed even better detail, dynamics and especially more of ambient clues. The soundstage became better layered, the noises in the background became more apparent, the music was more "there" and images snapped into better focus. Pink Floyd sounded like Pink Floyd irrespective of how high I turned up volume. The SACD mode brought another improvement, especially in tonal smoothness and textures.
Tonal accuracy
Both the Pioneers have a lot in common, the way they handle the detail being one of the most prominent feature. I believe that this sophisticated subtlety is due to the Legato Link in signal's way. It was interesting to compare the Pioneers with Denon's DCD-1500AE entry-level player. The either of the Pioneers was richer, more accurate tonally and more emotionally involving, as well as it went deeper and made music more solid. The Denon was quite sterile in comparison. The other player that was used, Cambridge Audio's Azur 840C sounded veiled, too forward and less sophisticated with audibly flatter dynamics.
Spatial resolution
When I experimented with enabling and disabling the Legato Link circuits I did not arrive to any conclusion, though my reference recordings sounded better with the LLC activated. Depending on a recording I preferred one mode or another. In the end I wished this option was not included as it took my attention away from music and I was endlessly pushing the button in the quest for "the right" sound.
Recommended resellers
Basys CS, Praha tel. +420 234 706 700
Manufacturer's website: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com
Associated components
- Sources: Denon DCD-1500AE, Cambridge Audio Azur 840C
- Amplifiers: Audio Research SP17 / SD135
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Nordost Valhalla
- Loudspeakers: Usher BE-10 Dancer
- Power conditioning: Accuphase PS-510
Gallery
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