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My First Pioneer Gear!

D

Dogman

Active Member
Hello all,

My name is Barry, and I'm an audioholic....

This is my first qualified post to the revered Pioneer Audio forum as I've recently acquired a set of Pioneer separates. I must admit I have been a fan of Yamaha and Marantz (2325, CR-800, CR-2020, etc.) and have only owned newer pioneer DVD players.

Came across a local deal on some Reference (early Elite) units - M-90 amp, C-90 pre, and F-91 tuner. Excellent shape and amazing build quality - and I just couldn't resist the Urushi face plates and shiny rosewood side panels!

Did a little cleaning up of the units and then hooked them up to my PMC OB1's. At first the sound seemed unremarkable and I was a tad disappointed. Initial observations - much greater bass response then the Cr-2020 but maybe not as clear on high end? And the soundstage seems about the same. Disappointing as Pioneer had really hyped these units as state of the art in the late 80's.

After a little more listening time the sound is growing on me as I can hear musical details that weren't apparent before.

I would be interested in the opinions of more experienced "Pioneerphiles" on the quality and musicality of the Reference/Elite units. How does this gear compare to other Pioneer gear from the 70's and 80's? And how do the Reference/Elite units stack up to Yamaha separates from the '80s or other high end vintage gear?

I'll give my new Pioneer equipment the nod on build quality and aesthetics (they are beautiful units!) - but I'm not so sure on sound quality. Could this be a case where phenomenal specs doesn't equal phenomenal musicality?

Your thoughts would be most appreciated!!
 
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Not familiar with the units that you mentioned but I can tell you that the 70's Pioneer units are quite good.Have you ever compared?
 
I've seen the photos of these but never heard any. You may have the same problem I did with my Sansui AU-D9. I was looking to compare with others and had few responses because nobody out there had one. We would like to see some pictures though.
 
Excellent score! The elite series from that era are very sought after, For good reason. Also some of the best looking gear ever put on the market
 
Great looking Pioneer with that wood accent. Check the settings to make sure they are within specs. Welcome to the A-90, M-90 club. (It's a small one)
 
Superdog - these are my first Pioneer units so I have no basis for comparison. I was hoping that some folks from the Pioneer forum would have experienced 70's receivers/amps and the Pioneer Reference/Elite lines so they could comment on them.

I guess the M-90/91 C-90/91 units are somewhat rare; they were quite expensive in the day - $1750 for the 90 set, and around $2500 for the 91's.

Always - I have not checked the settings but the amp comes out of protection in 6 seconds every time, so I take this as a good sign. I do hear a slight hum if I stick my ear right next to the C-90 - not sure if this is an issue.
 
Remember that these are not new units, and are full of components that have aged. Electrolytic caps don't age gracefully.

But I'd be willing to bet that some TLC from EchoWars on the amp and preamp could bring them back to their full glory, and my initial impression is that the effort would yield great results.

The tuner should go to Punker x, who is the Radioxtuners site and a tuner wizard. (His link is at the bottom of the page!!)
 
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