PIONEER PD-91 REFERENCE CD PLAYER (1987/1990)

[Master Tasuke]

this is my dream CD player, the PIONEER PD-91.

the instruction manual for this player describes this player's sound as "Minute Level Resolution" and that is exactly as it is.
every element of an arbitrary musical program is roundly
and sharply defined, NOTHING is hazed over on this remarkable CDP.

i have the service manual, and i intend to purchase a couple of spare pick-ups in the near future.
(they are $144.00ea. from PIONEER PARTS.)

(bless PIONEER for using a standardized,
fully compatible laser pick-up design in all their 1987/present CDPs,
single disc as well as changer. as such, they have kept their CDP laser pick-up
in production well into the 2000s, and have a large back stock
of japanese made pick-ups on hand.)

with those, i should be able to keep this beauty alive
for at least a sizable portion of my lifetime.

while this player has both OPTICAL and COAXIAL digital outputs,
making it an ideal transport to feed a modern day outboard DAC,
the player by itself is the single finest sounding CDP that i have ever
been witness to hear.

as such, i do not envision myself ever
growing dissatisfied with it's sound and adding a modern DAC as
i have seen several PD-91 owners on the internet do.

perhaps my ears are not good enough, or maybe my
amplifier/loudspeaker chain does not resolve well enough,
but when i had this player in my system, on it's own merits,
i found myself wanting for absolutely nothing, and i believe that
that is about as close to Audio Nirvana as i am likely to ever get...

 

[Master Tasuke]

my copy of the PD-91 came factory stock, with the U.S./Euro market-typical stamped sheet metal top bonnet.
i had a dead copy of the japanese-market
version of this player; the PD-3000. one of it's swappable design improvements
over the U.S. PD-91 is a solid aluminum top panel in place
of the sheet metal bonnet;

ORIGINAL;

IMPROVED;

another variation between the U.S./Euro PD-91 and japanese "PD-3000" versionis a set of isolator feet filled with the same epoxy resin as is used in the outboard-mounted transformer, plus a solid steel support foot for the transformer cradle, in place of the hollow polycarbonate foot substituted in the PD-91;


PD-91 set on left, PD-3000 set on right.
main isolator in background, transformer in fore;

(steel fender washer added to PD-3000 main isolator by me)


so, as you can see, what i have here is basically the best of both worlds,
and boy, does it ever look and sound magnificent!!
now all i need is at least a couple
of spare Laser pick-ups, and i'll be set for life!!


PD-91 V.S. PD-3000;


PD-91 (U.S./EURO MARKET, 1988/1990)

PD-3000 (JAPANESE MARKET, 1987/1988)

PD-91 (U.S./EURO MARKET, 1988/1990)

PD-3000 (JAPANESE MARKET, 1987/1988)

 

[Master Tasuke]

well, it took me these past three-odd months to get the courage to do this, but...


not long after i got my new copy of the PIONEER PD-91 CDP, i noticed something
wrong with it's display window.

there was this gooey dried substance gathered along the top edge
of the FL display acrylic, and there was also obvious signs that either
the acrylic window had either been poorly placed in the factory,
fallen off of the player sometime after initial retail purchase and had been
poorly adhered back into place by the original owner, or both.

furthermore, the red transparent FL shading sheet was also somehow misplaced
off of center on the display acrylic, exposing a line of shading sheet adhesive
all along the bottom edge of the window, and also allowing some unshaded
FL tube light to shine through.

i attempted to live with this for the last three months, but i just couldn't
take such a hideous blemish on such a magnificent CDP any longer.

the $200.00 USD i spent on that dead Japanese PD-3000 has tuned out to be
worth every penny, as it had a perfectly minty front bezel, and it's ABS plastic
inner bezel module, containing the FL display window, was indispensable in
rectifying this little dilemma.

i swapped out the inner bezels, and the result is a perfect FL window,
in the blue shade typical of both the EURO/WORLD versions of the PD-91,
as well as the Japanese PD-3000 parent design;

here is the original bezel and window, in all their F&%ed up glory...

the window should not have been removable, it should have been firmly
adhered in place, but, when i took a cleaning cloth to the bezel,
to clean the fingerprints off the window prior to photography,
the moment i applied the slightest pressure to the window,
off it popped. proof positive that it was completely Mis-applied to the bezel...

 

[speakerman1]

Well Mac there are other Pioneer fanatics on board. So hang onto your hat. Things are about to happen like you would only dream of.

Larry

 

[stuwee]

Wicked nice Pio, though you will be bombarded by other tempting CDP's that we have being modified the the labs of Dr. laatsch55, BrawwwwHaHahahaha!

I know your a true blue Pioneer nut, but we will tempt you anyway. I never thought I'd ever need another amplifier after I got the Yamaha, then one of those little X-Amps showed up on my doorstop, and I'm a believer now! The good Dr. is working his magic on a pair of monoblocks for me right now. It's gonna be fun!

 

[speakerman1]

Plus the Pioneer Spec gear coming up. Dude if he does them anything like my PL 700B Katty bar the door.

Larry

 

[nakdoc]

I've not heard this pioneer, but since you are interested in contrasts, try the DV-09 player for CD. It, to my ear, is also a superb performer. One area that these Pioneers seem to do better than most of the better Japanese models is preserve soundstage.

 

[laatsch55]

Wha have you heard about the Onix Doc??

 

[Master Tasuke]

I've not heard this pioneer, but since you are interested in contrasts, try the DV-09 player for CD. It, to my ear, is also a superb performer. One area that these Pioneers seem to do better than most of the better Japanese models is preserve soundstage.

well, the DV-09 had BETTER exceed in SQ, considering
it's elaborate, dual-mono analog stereo output stage;


http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... CF1968.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... CF1959.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... 16-113.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... 16-112.jpg


BTW; while were on the topic of the PIONEER DV-09 DVDP;

my DV-09 was out of commission for over six months
due to a blown PICO fuse on the PSU board.

a fellow on the "DIGITAL FAQ" boards was nice enough
to point it out to me, and assure me that the $100.00
professional service job i was prepared to pay for
was completely unnecessary, and that a $0.38 500mA PICO fuse,
a $5.00 DMM from HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS, and less than 15min.
of testing and soldering was likely all i needed to get the DVDP
back in working order.


sure enough, he was absolutely right.

hell, i must've had the work done in less than 10min.
it sure was a good feeling to take care of a problem
that would have otherwise cost so much!!

 

[stuwee]

a fellow on the "DIGITAL FAQ" boards

Any chance of having this nice fellow pop in over here? That would be really nice of you. He sounds pretty smart.

 

[Master Tasuke]

a fellow on the "DIGITAL FAQ" boards

Any chance of having this nice fellow pop in over here? That would be really nice of you. He sounds pretty smart.

just pointed him in this direction. fellow by the name of "Bud M" over on DIGITAL FAQ, anyway. we'll see if he wants to come by...

 

[nakdoc]

I've not heard this pioneer, but since you are interested in contrasts, try the DV-09 player for CD. It, to my ear, is also a superb performer. One area that these Pioneers seem to do better than most of the better Japanese models is preserve soundstage.

well, the DV-09 had BETTER exceed in SQ, considering
it's elaborate, dual-mono analog stereo output stage;


http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... CF1968.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... CF1959.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... 16-113.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... 16-112.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


BTW; while were on the topic of the PIONEER DV-09 DVDP;

my DV-09 was out of commission for over six months
due to a blown PICO fuse on the PSU board.

a fellow on the "DIGITAL FAQ" boards was nice enough
to point it out to me, and assure me that the $100.00
professional service job i was prepared to pay for
was completely unnecessary, and that a $0.38 500mA PICO fuse,
a $5.00 DMM from HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS, and less than 15min.
of testing and soldering was likely all i needed to get the DVDP
back in working order.


sure enough, he was absolutely right.

hell, i must've had the work done in less than 10min.
it sure was a good feeling to take care of a problem
that would have otherwise cost so much!!

Yup. A known failure and fix. I repaired one a few weeks ago that had 2 open fuses. It takes more than 10 minutes to open the DV09....many many screws!

 

[stuwee]

a fellow on the "DIGITAL FAQ" boards

Any chance of having this nice fellow pop in over here? That would be really nice of you. He sounds pretty smart.

just pointed him in this direction. fellow by the name of "Bud M" over on DIGITAL FAQ, anyway. we'll see if he wants to come by...

Hi Bud M , we'd love to have you join us!

 

[Master Tasuke]

NOTE; a lot of owners of this particular CDP tend to complain
that it is rather intolerant of CD-Rs. that is something of a half-myth,
depending upon this player's sensitivity to shipping,
and the owners skill in the minor repair/adjustment of the unit.

one factor, is laser health. it does take a lot of use to wear this player's laser down, bur most examples out there today have probably seen a lot of use, too.
there are replacement lasers out there for somewhat inflated prices,
well worth the expense if you have a cherry -91 with merely a tired LD pickup.

that said, even a babied, very low-use by original owner example such as my own can be finicky about CD-Rs even after the inevitable lens re-attachment
after shipping, and i have found the reason why.

the LD pickup is fastened to the linear magnetic HALL-drive sled
by a single shaft, a small PHILIPS screw, a small HEX-HEAD screw
and a spring steel plate. this can come loose, presumably in the rigors of shipping, and that is precisely the problem i found with my own 91.

after i reseated the assembly and fastened it all down real good,
i was delighted to find that the player suddenly spun up
just about every CD-R i loaded,
even ones it simply refused to even load up TOC on.

so, as such, i heartily encourage owners of the PD-91,
- and the PD-93 as well, which shares the very same transport assy. -
to give this fix a shot before giving up on their players...