Pioneer Elite Dv-45a Universal Player

[BIG FISH]

Does anyone own this unit? How does it compare to the Denon 2200?

 

[Rob Babcock]

I have both- the Denon is superior in every respect.

 

[rgriffin25]

Rob,

Can you please elaborate? I am also considering each of these players basically for the SACD/DVD-A playback. I would really like to know why the Denon is so much better. I am on a budget so the Pioneer looks great for the price. With that in mind I don't want to be disappointed with what I get, just to go out and do it all over again.

Thanks in advance,

 

[Rob Babcock]

There's a thread elsewhere on this site where I do go into a bit more detail. But I'll recap some of my observations here.

The Denon sounds a lot better with Redbook, IMOHO. Cleaner, crisper, with a *seemingly* quieter background. But the improvement is even more pronounced with DVD-A & SACD. I feel the Denon is a touch warmer but more detailed at the same time. It's hi rez perfomance is simply more liquid & musical. I'm reluctant to resort to the Purple Prose that so often passes for critique, but it just flat out sounds better.

One problem with the Pioneer is the lack of bass managment. The Denon offers full bass management in digital domain, and unless you have 5 large speakers, this is a critical ommision for the DV-45A. Sure, if you have an outboard crossover, something like an Outlaw ICBM, this wouldn't matter. But MC music often has serious bass mixed into the center & surround channels, and you'll never know how good they can sound until you've heard it with the system configured properly.

Lastly, the Denon has better video performance. The Pioneer is good indeed, but the Denon seems to have a tad better color & detail. Plus, the Denon reads thru a memory buffer- this is a wonderful feature that prevents the pause or "hang up" you get when the DVD switches layers.

I'd suggest that if money is an issue, you might want to check out the Pioneer DV-563A or its new replacement. As old as the '45A is, I suspect the cheaper yet new machines offer similar perfomance for even less money (in fact, around $150). The new Pioneers also seem bullet-proof, and will play any disc including unfinalized CD-Rs and DVD-Rs where the burn failed.

BTW, one final issue I had with the '45A is the supplied remote- it has a very limited angle of operation. You must basically have a straight line of site between the remote & player. The boneheads that designed the remote recessed the emitter deep inside the front of the unit instead of near the surface. That was a major flaw to me as I sited the player directly behind my listening/watching position. And unlike the Denon, the Pioneer remote isn't powerful enough to bounce off the screen in front of the room and operate the gear at the back. Just an FYI.

 

[krabapple]

There's a thread elsewhere on this site where I do go into a bit more detail. But I'll recap some of my observations here.

<snip>

One problem with the Pioneer is the lack of bass managment. The Denon offers full bass management in digital domain, and unless you have 5 large speakers, this is a critical ommision for the DV-45A.

This isn't correct. The DV-45a definitely has some bass management for both DVD-A and SACD sources (as well as CD and DVD-V) . It will route bass from SMALL speakers to SUB if SUB is set to ON., for all sources -- the main use for bass management in most systems. However, it will *not* do the reverse -- route .1 channel info to other speakers if SUB is set to OFF.
This makes it a poor choice for people running 5 full-range speakers w/no sub. And there are two differences in how it processes SACD versus other formats: 1) -6 dB/octave high pass slope for SACD, vs -12db/oct for other formats; 2) no time alignment for SACD sources. Finally, some DVD-As may display authoring-dependent bass management defects (see my tests at hometheaterforum).

Sure, if you have an outboard crossover, something like an Outlaw ICBM, this wouldn't matter. But MC music often has serious bass mixed into the center & surround channels, and you'll never know how good they can sound until you've heard it with the system configured properly.

In the vast majority of cases teh 45a has no problem routing bass properly from mains, center and surround to the sub.

I'd suggest that if money is an issue, you might want to check out the Pioneer DV-563A or its new replacement. As old as the '45A is, I suspect the cheaper yet new machines offer similar perfomance for even less money (in fact, around $150). The new Pioneers also seem bullet-proof, and will play any disc including unfinalized CD-Rs and DVD-Rs where the burn failed.

I realize this is an old report, but it turned out that the 563A was even *less* consistent in its cross-format handling than the 45a. it applied *very* different crossover frequencies to SACD vs DVD-A, for example.

 

[Jason Coleman]

Jeez, and I kinda like my old 45a...though it's been gathering dust since the arrival of my 3910!

Jason