my view on the pd91, its simply one of the very best cd players ever made, stunning build and looks, i think the analog out sounds a little dated, a little grey maybe, but using it as a transport is breathtaking, it puts out a near perfect square wave (not many do) switch of the analog out, switch off the display, and then choose a top dac, i use a denon dvd 5000, odd you may think, but it outshines all i have tried, including a wadia digimaster 64x, the denon has digi inputs, and alpha 24 processing is pure genius, thats it, i'm off to play some tunes
goodbye, and good luck with whatever your doing
chris

I purchased the pd-91 new in the mid to late 80's.Let me tell you I have used this player over and over for almost 25 years.The unit about a year ago quit reading discs.Instead of replacing the pickup,which will need to be done soon,i took the top off adjusted the gain and tracing on the board and the unit works flawlessely,I am thankfull to pioneer for still producing the pickup.This unit is by far the best unit out there.Bar none.I've already reserved a second burial plot for all my elite equipment.Im just hoping that in heaven there is electricity.And to the person who posted the info on the adjustment of the gain and tracking,thank you.

SUPERB vintage Audiophile-grade high-performance CD player.

built like a veritable tank, with gorgeous cosmetics and a fine, minutely detailed sound character.
pretty much the easiest CDP ever made to replace Laser Pick-Ups on. the pick-up is a PWY1004,
available from PIONEER PARTS to this day, and also used on several other PIONEER CDPs,
including the PD-93, PD-71 and the six-disc magazine changer PD-M50.

one can actually replace LD pickups on this player in about ten minutes, and the most laborious
part is opening the cabinet! eight screws, the two wood sides, seven screws, the metal top bonnet,
three screws (a magnetic screwdriver helps a LOT with two of these) and you flip the
disc stabilizer cage out of the way, (power up the player and EJECT the disc tray FIRST
BEFORE doing this) and you will have immediate access to the laser pick-up.

remove one PHILIPS head screw, and a hex-head machine screw, and you can lift the LD pickup
free of the transport base. remove it's connection lead from the main PCB (just gently pull free)
and reverse this process with your replacement pickup.

also, this player is rather infamous for difficulties reading CD-Rs. that is, UNTIL you increase the
TRACKING GAIN (TR.GA) and FOCUS GAIN (FO.GA) VARIABLE POTENTOMETERS found
on the main PCB near the LD Pickup harness. adjust them, designated FO.GA and TR.GA on the PCB,
with a precision PHILIPS head screwdriver, until the player spins up most/all CD-Rs.

some CD-Rs may take longer than the player's specified 0.5 seconds to load, but that cannot seem
to be helped, and the OCCASIONAL CD-R it will refuse to load at all, but nevertheless, working around
these minor idiosyncrasies is WELL WORTH YOUR TIME to enjoy such an exquisitely crafted
and magnificent sounding CD player as the PD-91 most assuredly is.

wholeheartedly recommended, without the slightest hesitation...

superlative build quality, minute acoustical resolution, all class-A analog output stage with warm sound character.

None

wow, now THIS is a CDP!! i got this baby from a fellow in california whose father once ran a service center/used shop. he closed up shop, and his son sold the remaining gear at an estate sale. i found out about it when i was a member of AUDIOKARMA and promptly contacted him about buying it. he was selling it for $25 because it would not read a disc. still, it had the remote and manual, so i went ahead and had him ship it to me here in oregon. i found that it was non functional becouse it' laser pick-up was missing it's lens! for those who don't already know, PIONEER had a rash of CDP in 1987/88 that had problems with the adhesive retaining the lens to the pick-up. usually the serviceman would find the loose lens somewhere in the chassis. my 91, however, had nothing but a completely missing lens. i happened to find a lens that looked like it would fit in a non-functional portable KENWOOD CDP that i had. it fit, like it was made for it!! still, it did not work, so i went about readjusting the seven variable potentiometers in the control section directly behind the CD transport. after 30-odd minutes of experementation, i had it reading a factory CD! another 15 minutes or less of fine-tuning dialed it in for CD-R as well!! it has now become my primary CDP, and will remain that way as long as i can keep it running. this sucker oozes minute detail and warm bass. HIGHLY recommended, an can keep up with the best of any generation. PIONEER's best CDP of all time, and one of the very best CDPs, period.

Similar Products Used:

MAGNAVOX/PHILIPS CDB-486 (1989)
PIONEER PD-M50 (1987)
DENON DCD-1500 (1986)
PIONEER PD-M6 (1986)
PIONEER PD-M90X (1987)

Just about everything!

I would like a dimmer for the display. Maybe a little dated looking. Though I like it's look. Just being picky. Otherwise?

This review is for the PD-M95 Elite 6 Disc CD Cartridge Player. This is a great unit. Great sounding, great looking, and very well made unit. Great interface. Very easy to read, large orange display. There is a display off also. Digital, and Optical Out's. There is no headphone jack. So you will need an Amp. It does not force the music to you. Has a nice neutral sound. Really hold it's own with today's players. I am sure you could improve the sound with an external DAC. I am pleased the way it is. Here's a link. http://www.elitestereo.netfirms.com/pd-m95.htm. Maybe a touch dated looking, but I think it looks great. Hard to beat one of these for under $200. As far as who should buy this. Anybody looking for a solid, great sounding unit, that's built like a tank. But that does not cost as much as one.

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Kenwood, and Onkyo to name a few.

Phone out.

I bought the PD-91 in 1988, and still use it. May be its sound is not as good as Krell's or these days' other high ends player, but believe me: if you find one, buy it immeediately (well, don't pay it $1400!). The weakness is the phone output, it's a dafect already outlined by the 80s rewievers.
Yesterday I decided to open it to see what can be inside a 15 kg CD player. Forget simple cheaps and a little transformer. Here we have spearate circuits for left and right channel, everything inside - the case, the shields, the transport mechanics is in pure copper or coppered, the transformer is outside the player. I believe it's the last object of an old generation.
Ah, some months ago I wanted to see inside my father's Sony CDP 101, the very first Sony player. Wires everywhere, and tons of circuits, transistors, trimmers! It seems to be a "beta" palyer, but it still sounds, and good, after seventeen years.

Looks, sound, build quality, functions

none

This is one heck of a player, this other reviewer is way off, this thing still after all these years offers near state of the art sound, and you can find them used for under $300, I don't know of any player out there for under $1000 that will run with this thing, nuff said. The Sansui CDX711, which was $1200 back in 1992, and a bitstreamer, although highly regarded, is WAY eclipsed by the PD91.

PS;And the looks are also second to none.
greg horn

Similar Products Used:

Sansui CDX711

Way overdue review of sorts, for the benefit of anyone thinking about buying this player 2nd hand. I got the player 7 years ago. At the time, it was stunning. Extremely well built (hasn't had a single malfunction all these years), with far from run of the mill sound, considering its competition at the price of US$700 I got it for. Now, however, it is totally outclassed. Its bass is still phenomenal in terms of weight, but it is murky sounding in terms of everything else. Works quite well as a transport now, though.

Solid as transport

Patch power cord and can't be upgraded

I recently bought this "classic" as a refurb from Pioneer. Pioneer resells new but older models as "refurbs". I was in search of this player as I couldn't afford it in late 80's and what an excellent rock solid trasport it is! Yeah, the 18 bit DAC does injustice to the sound but with external DAC, this is one great transport. The player is filled with features like analog out so it can use used as transport and where can you find 30 lb player with external power supply?

Hey if you can find one used then grab it as it is rock solid as a transport.

Similar Products Used:

Many cd players as transports