I have bought the cd-player two months ago, second hand ( cause of high prices in Holland ).I like the player very much, the sound is vey clear with much detail, but the bass it reproduces with drums is outrageous just like the real thing ! This model however isn't available anymore but in the USA it has a younger brother the PD-65 ( Looks the same, shining black with wooden sidepanels) and in europe it has a younger brother also and is called here PD-77 ( Goldfinish).
These models have got another d/a converter and I have never listened to those but I think it will be very much the same.
There's only one disadvantage : there is no nummeric keyboard at the front ( only at the remote) and this is one feature I really miss. Before this player I had a Kenwood DP-3030 with a nummeric keyboard at the front with 20 keys so with pressing one key I could go to track 20 instantly.
Well about rating, there is a big bro of my player wich is really excellent so I'll rate mine at 4 stars cause it's also affordable

fantastic sound, unbeleivable build, quality parts, beautiful looks

remote is basic

Before upgrading from a Philips player, I tried out every Cd player in every store in this city and in Vancouver. The best ones I took home for an audition. I have Krell amps and the Pass Labs single ended amps as well as a Thorens turntable.

Results: the Sony models were very detailed but there was too much harshness that led to listener fatigue. The Denon models lacked details when directly compared to Sony. Everything was either too harsh or lacking in details thus too soft. I felt that in direct comparisons in my home that the Pioneer had the best sound: detailed but not harsh. Beautiful tone, big tight bass, rich colours. The emotions of the musician come through. As a pianist, I am able to easily hear and thus recognize when Horowitz lets go of the key as well as when he hits it. The top model Pioneeer (forgot the model name) was surprisingly one of the too soft ones, so I knew it had to be model PD75 for me.

Luckily I was offered a demo-model and am happy.

Perhaps someday I will switch to a really good DVD-A player, when the prices are down - but I will certainly compare the sound to my reference carefully.

Similar Products Used:

Sony top lines, Denon top lines, Arcam, Rotel, Nad.