Pioneer DVD-V7400 as a transport: INCREDIBLE

I have been on a search for a nice transport for a while now. I am a very picky person and it might take me months to come to a solid decision when it comes to new components. For a while we have been trying to find something to replace our classic Technics SL-P999 as a CD transport. We finally found one and are completely blown away by the sound quality. It is none other than the Pioneer DVD-V7400 Professional/Industrial DVD Player.

This little machine is not a consumer-grade toy but a solid piece of equipment designed for heavy duty usage and flawless reliability. To give you an idea how burly it is the transport is rated for 37,000 hours of usage before failure. The machine has no onboard display to muddy the sound so you must use an external display for setup and configuration. This is easy as ANY modern TV will work. Once set up you can forget about it and let it blend into the background.

This is a no-nonsense professional machine which is not only at home in a million dollar facility but in any hi-fi setup as well. For those of you who like to impress and one-up your friends you'll have a DVD/CD player which has features which simply NO consumer grade one has or possibly ever will have. I am focusing on the sound quality of this unit because the video features are so impressive that they are worthy of their own review.

How does it sound? Absolutely breathtaking. The soundstage is massive. I am hearing details in well known albums that simply were hidden under a veil before. I am hearing the music better than ever before and forgetting that there is even a CD playing. The DVD-V7400 does vocals, strings, and can relay a sense of emotion into the music. I feel confident saying that I would have to search far and wide to find another transport this nice.

If you're not seriously looking at adding one of these to your hi fi rig then that's fine. Just know that the next time you go out searching for a digital transport there's an absolute giant killer which you could have bought instead. After all not everyone needs the utmost detail and musicality in their stereo. Leave the Pioneer DVD-V7400 for those who do.