Got me a Pioneer Rarity (hiccup!)

[Arkay]

that is sooo cool, what did one of those units sell for new ? and what years were they made ? it will give me something else to search for lol that's the real fun of this hobby is finding something like that....Roost

There is a thing on the front (you can see it in the pic) which looks like one of those "awards seals" they put on some whiskey bottles. It's not an award, it's just a sort of logo, but it does contain the year "1990", so these might have dated from then. Then again, online sources (Japanese) indicate a later year, around 1993 or -4, for their sale, and they DID win a high rating from a magazine in 1990, but that might have included older models in their evaluations. All I can say for sure is that it dates from the nineteen-nineties. If I find out anything more definitive about the thing, I'll post it here.

As for price when new, I don't know that either. The guy who sold it to me indicated it cost about US$1000 new, but he may very well have been blowing made-up smoke out of his hole. (Many do here, under such circumstances.)

Hey Lee....great story man! I am NEVER that lucky when I cruise The Apliu street area!;-(.

Gotta post pics! Innards too.

I'm almost never this lucky there, either (most of my real finds come from elsewhere than that street), and I "cruise" the street much more frequently than you do, since I live here. This was just one of those lucky moments. [Of course, you had a chance to beat me to the punch on another thing (the SX-1980). I felt a little bad about that at first, but now I'm glad you didn't, since it led to our meeting up, and you got yours eventually, anyway. All's well that ends well.]

Wow...that's one of the prettiest CD spinners that I've ever seen.

You've had a lot of luck lately!

Yes, it's been a good month. I got not only the Pure Malt CD Player, but also the two Counterpoint NPS-200 power amps and the Yamaha NS-1000X speakers. A lot to be grateful for, and I can't complain!


Sort of makes up for some that I just missed out on, in the previous few months, like a "minty" TD-124, a Garrard 301 (fair price, not a steal) in a big plinth with two good tonearms, and 200 rare NOS metal cassette tapes. NOT getting those hurt a little, but I wouldn't trade them for what I have gotten recently. I'll focus on what I have to be grateful for, and look forward to whatever else may come in the future. You can't (and I don't want to) own them all!

 

[xlbee]

Pics in situ or it didn't happen.

Agreed. Come on, Let's see some real pics!!!

 

[bhundu]

I've a couple of entry level receivers here with long lost cabs due to their console installations that I'm wanting to DIY replacements for. The recycled timber idea could be an option. Thanks for the inspiration.

 

[zebulon1]

Fun read. :thmbsp: Nice score.

 

[bimotarich]

As a fellow Pure Malt owner I thought I would chip in my 2cents… My unit was purchased in Japan along with the matching Pure Malt Amp… mine are from 1999 which I think it the last year of the run. The CD player was being used as a Headphone Demo station and the amp was just sitting unboxed with it… I got them at a 20% discount because they were demo units and now a year old (bought in 2000)… I used them to power a pair of B&W s2 tower speakers for about a year… then moved it to my office where they powered a pair of B&W solids. When I moved to the States, I brought the pioneer gear with me. There they powered a pair of Klipsch Forte II speakers. My over all impression was that they matched the B&Ws a bit better than the Klipsch speakers… which seemed to somehow lose some of their warmth (normally powered by a Kenwood M2 power amp (660 watts of surprisingly clean power)… I love the look of the Pure Malt gear… very high WAF… and the CD player is smooth and error free… The amp is not so impressive… but not bad for what it is… I do not think it is quite as nice as the associated equipment. Headphone sections on both are excellent however. And they look classy. The PM speakers are better than anything I have heard from Pioneer before… but I have not heard them with the PM Cd and Amp… only demoed at a dealer… anyway… I moved back to Japan and left the PM gear in the US… and now it just sits… and only gets used when I come back for a visit… which is almost never… sad that… I wish they would do another run with updated equipment… you can still find the speakers from time to time.. I have seen 4 different speaker configurations… one book shelf, one big sloped tower, one conventional tower and one sort of in-between and rather narrow tower… all sounded good but were costly… and not phenomenal… sorta how I feel about the whole line… but damn they all look good! And if that is important to you… and you need good but not amazing sound… they are a sound choice…

 

[onwardjames]

Great score, beautiful find.

You're lucky on that one, Arkay.

 

[bimotarich]

I have that same player and the matching amp that I bought new (well actually they were demo units)! I bought them in Japan and then brought them back with me to America... where they now power a pair of Klipsch Forte II speakers... but I left it all behind to go back to Japan... and just came across another of the CD players for sale here used. The timing is bad though... just bought a projector and screen... and it is car tax time as well.... DOH!... But if the unit is still available in a month's time I may go for it... would make for a great transport in my current system!