Pioneer A-70-K

[admin_exported]

Hi,

Cannot find much reviews on the Pioneer A-70-K recent amplifier.

http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/products/42/98/405/A-70-K/page.html

It seems to be more or less ignored here. But the specs and price of this amplifier seem very interesting. It has digital inputs, a built in DAC and a phono input.

Any clues why it has not been in any reviews? I read that this system is a class D amplifier (whatever that means for a non-engineer) and that is something that the audiophiles seem to dislike until now...

I am trying to set an audioning myself but, If anyone has yet heard this amplifier, pls drop a line and comment.

Cheers,

Vasco

 

[rimbaud65]

This was written 16 januari. Have you, or anyone else participating on these forums, tried it out since then? Maybe even gotten it for your personaI Hifi. I would like very much to hear a little review of it since I'm in the process of going with the A-70 myself. If I do decide to go with A-70 then I will use the comparable CD-player which is PD-50.

 

[DanielTura]

Hi-Fi Choice did a review on that amp in theyr Feb 2013 issue u might want to check that out.

Class D(digital) means high efficency(aka doesnt need a huge PSU to drive it).Desing is more important than the class its runing in.

 

[ID.]

Hi-Fi Choice did a review on that amp in theyr Feb 2013 issue u might want to check that out.

Class D(digital) means high efficency(aka doesnt need a huge PSU to drive it).Desing is more important than the class its runing in.

There's this recent one.

http://www.whathifi.com/review/pioneer-a-70

Just for reference the A-70-K is the black version and A-70-S is the silver version. I'm pretty sure they sound exactly the same.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Just for reference the A-70-K is the black version and A-70-S is the silver version. I'm pretty sure they sound exactly the same.

Indeed: K is for kuro.

BTW, the Pioneer is in a seven-way Supertest in the May issue of the magazine, on sale today:

/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/newsarchive5/amplifier_supertest_0.jpg

 

[Frank Harvey]

Just for reference the A-70-K is the black version and A-70-S is the silver version. I'm pretty sure they sound exactly the same.

The black one sounds a bit warmer because black absorbs heat while silver reflects it...

(for the record, I'm kidding, before a certain forum quotes out of context, which will probably happen anyway :rofl: )

As many may already know, I really like the A50 and A70.

 

[freedom1971]

I recently got the A-50 amplifier for a bargain price and think it is an excellent piece of kit. Holds its own against my main Cyrus/B&W set up.

I have not heard the A-70 but I imagine it is not significantly better and is £300 to £400 more expensive. Seems to me a lot to pay essentially just for the DAC functionality, which seems largely to be the only difference between the two, and which I personally did not need.

 

[rimbaud65]

I need some advice myself concerning the issue of A-50 vs A-70. Have pretty much decided on the CD player PD-50 and had the A-70 on a short trial period during the weekend. Absolutely, I was impressed by the A-70, a clear and open sound that really raised the bar for my speakers.

However, thinking about this from a money aspect and from other aspects of what I need I am currently going in the direction that vfc has taken. Is there really A N Y difference in sound quality between the two? Just that comparison when playing CD:s and vinyl? I know of course about the DAC that the A-70 has but the A-50 hasn't got but leaving that particular difference aside for a second. The sound quality as such.

 

[rimbaud65]

I need some advice myself concerning the issue of A-50 vs A-70. Have pretty much decided on the CD player PD-50 and had the A-70 on a short trial period during the weekend. Absolutely, I was impressed by the A-70, a clear and open sound that really raised the bar for my speakers.

However, thinking about this from a money aspect and from other aspects of what I need I am currently going in the direction that vfc has taken. Is there really A N Y difference in sound quality between the two? Just that comparison when playing CD:s and vinyl? I know of course about the DAC that the A-70 has but the A-50 hasn't got but leaving that particular difference aside for a second. The sound quality as such.

 

[kapuxino]

I need some advice myself concerning the issue of A-50 vs A-70. Have pretty much decided on the CD player PD-50 and had the A-70 on a short trial period during the weekend. Absolutely, I was impressed by the A-70, a clear and open sound that really raised the bar for my speakers.

However, thinking about this from a money aspect and from other aspects of what I need I am currently going in the direction that vfc has taken. Is there really A N Y difference in sound quality between the two? Just that comparison when playing CD:s and vinyl? I know of course about the DAC that the A-70 has but the A-50 hasn't got but leaving that particular difference aside for a second. The sound quality as such.

I was on a similar situation. Didn't have the chance to make a comparision and decided to get the A-50. I'm very happy with the sound. I'm not sure the A-70 would make a noticiable improvement in sound quality. I belive that only the 2 separates transformers could make a difference, if any. It seems your are paying for the DAC and other 'minor' features.

Anyways, I still have two and a half weeks to return my A-50, if you end up making a comparision between the 2 please write it here 😀

I'm right now considering the PD-50 player to go with the A-50. It is really dificult to find some info about the player, I would appreciate your opinion about it 🙂

 

[dominos]

review on AVF 🙂 http://www.avforums.com/reviews/Pioneer-A-70-Integrated-Stereo-Amplifier-Review_503/Review.html

 

[rimbaud65]

I was on a similar situation. Didn't have the chance to make a comparision and decided to get the A-50. I'm very happy with the sound. I'm not sure the A-70 would make a noticiable improvement in sound quality. I belive that only the 2 separates transformers could make a difference, if any. It seems your are paying for the DAC and other 'minor' features.

Anyways, I still have two and a half weeks to return my A-50, if you end up making a comparision between the 2 please write it here 😀

I'm right now considering the PD-50 player to go with the A-50. It is really dificult to find some info about the player, I would appreciate your opinion about it 🙂

Yes, my thinking exactly regarding the two separate transformers in the A-70. That is one for the preamp and the other for the power amp if I understood it correctly, which I did. I don't think that the other features are that important. So I concur that the transformers are probably the key here. Now on the A-50, it's much harder to find reviews on that, so that's a problem. It's a matter of fact, I haven't found a single review of the A-50, only of the A-70 which is not hard at all to find reviews on.

For me personally, as it stands now, I will probably go the same way and decide between the amplifiers based on the need for a DAC, while assuming that there isn't any noticable difference in sound quality between them at all while playing vinly and CD:s. So I guess I will go for the A-50. The guy in the store selling these babies has promised me that I will be able to go with the A-50 and then change it in a week or so if I find it necessary to upgrade to the A-70 nonetheless. Again, what I really would like here is that someone, who in fact has made a listening comparison, gives some kind of judgment on the matter.

I don't believe it is difficult to find reviews on the PD-50 though, is it`? I have pretty much decided on the PD-50 already without thinking to much about it.