I own a Stan Warren modified Pioneer CD/DVD 5 disc changer.
I have personaly taken the unit to 3 audio salons and at least 7 other audiophiles houses. It also has been the digital reference for 3 Chicago Audio Society Meetings.
Sean, your friend took Stan Warrens words out of context. When Stan said that the unit was soft in the bass, he was referrng to the new pioneer dvd players with the new (cheaper) dac. He doesn't recommend modifing the brand new units. Please get your facts straight if you are going to badmouth Stan Warren or something that you haven't even heard for yourself. You told a friend of mine that you know Rich & myself. We do not believe that we know you.
Rich and I have spent the last 3 years trying to find the best affordable digital products. We have listened to $100.00 cd players on up to $20,000 dac and transports. The Pioneer may not be the best unit that we have heard but it sure is one of the top 5. It has sounded better to us than units from Wadia, Theata, Electrocompaniet, Krell, Levinson, and Sony SACD units to name a few. A couple of months ago we brought it into an audio salon that sells Accuphase and put my Pioneer up against a $12,000 cd player with upsampling. 3 out of 4 audiophiles strongly felt that the Pioneer was the more accurate sounding player. The person that disagreed worked for the store.
The Pioneer definately ranks up their with some of the best digital available reguardless of price. The only reason that I am selling my pioneer is because the Stan Warren modified MSB/Aiwa combination is the best that we have ever heard reguardless of price. We obviosly have not heard every unit out there, but we have heard a substantial number.
The Pioneer is also very finicky for getting the best performance. It needs to be mass loaded. A 5 lb. bag of sand on top of the unit works best. We found the Pioneer to sound the best when you use Mapleshades Isoblocks sitting underneath a 2" thick solid maple wood block with Final's Durumas sitting between the maple wood and the Pioneer.
I have personaly taken the unit to 3 audio salons and at least 7 other audiophiles houses. It also has been the digital reference for 3 Chicago Audio Society Meetings.
Sean, your friend took Stan Warrens words out of context. When Stan said that the unit was soft in the bass, he was referrng to the new pioneer dvd players with the new (cheaper) dac. He doesn't recommend modifing the brand new units. Please get your facts straight if you are going to badmouth Stan Warren or something that you haven't even heard for yourself. You told a friend of mine that you know Rich & myself. We do not believe that we know you.
Rich and I have spent the last 3 years trying to find the best affordable digital products. We have listened to $100.00 cd players on up to $20,000 dac and transports. The Pioneer may not be the best unit that we have heard but it sure is one of the top 5. It has sounded better to us than units from Wadia, Theata, Electrocompaniet, Krell, Levinson, and Sony SACD units to name a few. A couple of months ago we brought it into an audio salon that sells Accuphase and put my Pioneer up against a $12,000 cd player with upsampling. 3 out of 4 audiophiles strongly felt that the Pioneer was the more accurate sounding player. The person that disagreed worked for the store.
The Pioneer definately ranks up their with some of the best digital available reguardless of price. The only reason that I am selling my pioneer is because the Stan Warren modified MSB/Aiwa combination is the best that we have ever heard reguardless of price. We obviosly have not heard every unit out there, but we have heard a substantial number.
The Pioneer is also very finicky for getting the best performance. It needs to be mass loaded. A 5 lb. bag of sand on top of the unit works best. We found the Pioneer to sound the best when you use Mapleshades Isoblocks sitting underneath a 2" thick solid maple wood block with Final's Durumas sitting between the maple wood and the Pioneer.