Pioneer Elite CD-C5 player. It's a small thing (10"Wx4"Hx13"D; 7lbsW), silver with a nicely sculpted face. It has the inverted "Stable Platter" transport which Theta and Wadia bought from Pioneer by the container-load for their Megabuck High End players 20 years ago. Disc is inserted upside-down, and the damped platter supports it like an LP on a turntable (reducing vibration and reading errors). Laser reads from above, so no dust/dirt/eyelash falls onto the lens.
It also has the Pioneer Elite "Legato Link" processor — their attempt to upsample beyond the Redbook limit by "extrapolating" musical information up to 44kHz. (I used to have the popular Elite PD-65, which still fetches high prices, $300-400, with the same features — but that weighed 3 times as much with far more sophisticated power supply, analogue output stage and other features the little one lacks.)
I got it as a complete "Midi System" at Goodwill for $69, including FM-AM Tuner (pretty good, not great), Casette Deck (untested), 40W integrated amp with MM phono (okay, but haven't let it warm up), and gorgeous 2-way speakers in slope-sided gloss-black-lacquer cabinets (okay, but haven't let them break in). All components in As-New condition (minor scratches, one speaker), and elegantly styled, indeed sexy. Vintage ca 1995.
Strangely, there is virtually nothing on the internet about these units. Like they never existed. Which is odd considering these were Pioneer's 'high end' digital features of the day, included in a lightweight bookshelf system.
My primary interest is the CD-C5. It's nice to have a smallish CD player. It functions perfectly. It sounds great, sweet tone, and the Legato Link gives the illusion of subtle spatial cues, venue ambience, and expansive soundstage. I've sampled it from Monk Live to Mozart Quartets to Massive Attack and I really like it.
Is anyone familiar with this unit, or the system of which it is part?
It also has the Pioneer Elite "Legato Link" processor — their attempt to upsample beyond the Redbook limit by "extrapolating" musical information up to 44kHz. (I used to have the popular Elite PD-65, which still fetches high prices, $300-400, with the same features — but that weighed 3 times as much with far more sophisticated power supply, analogue output stage and other features the little one lacks.)
I got it as a complete "Midi System" at Goodwill for $69, including FM-AM Tuner (pretty good, not great), Casette Deck (untested), 40W integrated amp with MM phono (okay, but haven't let it warm up), and gorgeous 2-way speakers in slope-sided gloss-black-lacquer cabinets (okay, but haven't let them break in). All components in As-New condition (minor scratches, one speaker), and elegantly styled, indeed sexy. Vintage ca 1995.
Strangely, there is virtually nothing on the internet about these units. Like they never existed. Which is odd considering these were Pioneer's 'high end' digital features of the day, included in a lightweight bookshelf system.
My primary interest is the CD-C5. It's nice to have a smallish CD player. It functions perfectly. It sounds great, sweet tone, and the Legato Link gives the illusion of subtle spatial cues, venue ambience, and expansive soundstage. I've sampled it from Monk Live to Mozart Quartets to Massive Attack and I really like it.
Is anyone familiar with this unit, or the system of which it is part?
Last edited: