AUGUST 2017
g n i d n a t s t Ou 2017
PIONEER
A-70DA
Value
REVIEW / PIONEER / A-70DA INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
PIONEER
A-70DA
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER Distributed by: Powermove $2,099 RRP
“everything that we have come to expect from integrated amplifier offerings in recent times”
Pioneer has been active in the audio world for decades. It is really a bit of a stretch to think that anyone with an interest in audio or video products will not have, at the very least, heard of the company. I remember back in the ‘80s and ‘90s they had quite a good name in car audio, and then AV Receivers and surround sound systems into the ‘90s. Following that, of course was their very good reputation for plasma TVs. Their HiFi component offerings have always been available but have perhaps been overshadowed in more recent times, as their Home Theatre offerings have taken the lions’ share of the advertising budget. The latest offering, the A-70DA Integrated Amplifier is the subject of this review. The DA version is the second generation of the series which started with the A70. The difference between the models is small, but noteworthy. The change from A-70 to A-70DA included an upgraded DAC, added an optical input and DSD decoding, as well as the inclusion of balanced inputs.
Visuals On the exterior is everything that we have
There’s also a phono stage that will accept
come to expect from integrated amplifier
both MM and MC cartridges. The selectable
offerings in recent times. Bass, Treble and
phono stage and the balanced inputs are a
Balance controls, input switching, A/B speaker
nice touch and serve to give us just a hint that
output selection, loudness button, direct
this might be more than just another standard
button (to bypass all the tone controls and my
integrated amplifier.
personal favourite function of all time), a rather large volume knob (its bulbous shape is almost intimidating) and a dozen little blue lights to tell you what input and/or control is active. Turn the unit around and we have a choice of several analogue inputs, 3 x digital (one each USB, coaxial and optical), a single pair of balanced inputs and A and B speaker binding posts.
I should add that every single feature to be found on the Pioneer is able to be selected and/or altered via the remote, so the convenience factor here is very high. Pioneer tell us that the preamp section is a fully balanced design.
Back to their roots The A70 series of amplifiers has been
In addition to minimising electromagnetic
referred to as a “Direct Power FET” design,
designed with a combination of old
interference between the sections (which
with thickened power supply, ground and
school engineering practices and modern
minimises electrical noise) this design also
signal lines. I take this to mean that Pioneer
technical applications.
stiffens and strengthens the chassis, reducing
have designed the PCB to optimise the
chassis resonance. This chassis is further
operation of the output devices mounted
strengthened by the addition of a lower bottom
upon it.
The designers at Pioneer have separated the power supply, preamp and power amp sections of the component by dividing the chassis into three sections. Each of these
plate made of 3mm steel, another feature that usually belongs further up the price ladder.
The DAC included is the well-known and well-reviewed ESS SABRE32 ULTRA DAC.
sections is separated from the others by a
But wait, there’s more. There are also two
Digital inputs can handle PCM signals up to
steel divider. This is a design technique that
shielded transformers, one each for the
32/384kHz. The asynchronous USB input
more-boutique manufacturers have been
pre and power amp sections. This is very
can also handle 11.2 MHz DSD signals.
using for years but it is rarely seen in products
nice to see and obvious that Pioneer’s
That’s a bit upmarket for a DAC installed in an
designed for the mass market. One large PCB
engineers dislike ‘noise’ as much as their
integrated amp, but very welcome.
that contains it all is obviously much more
discerning customers.
budget friendly to design – it’s clear Pioneer are pitching higher with the A-70D.
With a nod to modern technology the A70 series design uses a class D output stage,
Pioneer claim 90 watts per channel into 4 Ohms at 0.5% THD.
“old school engineering practices and modern technical applications”
Diving in I used the A-70DA with my ETI/Lenehan S2R
than a performance feature. A gold star for
stand-mount speakers and a YBA Heritage
Pioneer’s design team.
CD100 acting as a transport. Digital signals were fed via an Aurealis coaxial cable and analogue ones via a set of nice thick, 10AWG, copper speaker wires.
The USB input is certainly simple to use but finding the driver to download it was more difficult than I feel it should have been. After a lengthy search, I found it on Pioneer’s
I have to start with a few things to say about
UK site, seemingly absent from the local
the DAC function of the A-70DA. I compared
Pioneer website.
it directly to the YBA CD100 and also a Consonance CD120 CD Player and I have to say I was quite impressed. The ESS Sabre 32 Ultra DAC is clearly in the same league as those used in these cd players. I noted that its personality was somewhere in between the two cd spinners and while the Consonance has slightly crisper instruments and a little more impact, the YBA has its signature smooth vocals, but neither of them felt clearly superior to the Sabre DAC of the A-70DA.
I set up my laptop with Foobar 2000 and a small library of FLAC files created from my own CDs to see how the Pioneer performed. In a direct comparison with the coaxial input fed from the YBA I was surprised to find that there is a volume difference between the two. The coaxial input is noticeably louder than the USB, about 2.8db louder. A direct comparison with this amount of volume difference is almost impossible. Once I found the preamp settings inside Foobar and added some gain I came to the decision that I preferred the coax input
The vocals from the Sabre were a little more
to the USB. It seems to have just a little more
smooth and prominent than the Consonance
texture to the background and a slightly wider
and the instruments were slightly crisper
sound stage. I’m being pedantic though, there
and more defined than the YBA. Overall, it’s
really isn’t a great deal in it.
an excellent compromise between the two sonic signatures.
I must confess to having not joined the ‘vinyl revival’, so was unable to put the phono
This is a surprisingly good result from the
stage of the A-70DA through its paces. What
built-in DAC of an integrated amp. In my
I can say though is that the phono stage on
experience, they’re often considered more of
the earlier model A-70D has been reviewed
an add-on as a connectivity feature, rather
several times with very positive results.
“The overall standout is without doubt, the midrange”
The sound I have a stack of familiar CDs that I cycle
There is a nice, rhythmic feel to the midrange
through on most components that I review.
which is very effective at getting the toes
They give me a quick sense of the sound
tapping and the head bobbing side to side.
signature of a review piece and what may be good, not-so-good, or indifferent.
The bass region has nice impact with a tight delivery and high level of control. While the
They’re a mix of soft and sultry, with light
upper bass region has a good level of weight
vocals and single instruments, all the way
and presence there isn’t as great a depth
through to hard rock with some alternative
to the bass on display as there could be. I
genres, orchestral pieces and some older
can’t help but wonder if this is what allows
rock and roll thrown in to the mix as well.
the midrange to shine as well as it does. The
To the A-70DA’s credit, they didn’t give me any early indication that the A-70DA focuses
bass level is not light as such, but it is not as heavy as many amps within this price point.
on any one genre. So, moving further into
Bass heads will likely be seeking to add a
my music library with a more open (and quite
subwoofer but personally I am happy with the
frankly, more curious) mind, I already had a
bass levels. They back up the midrange but
very good feeling about the result.
allow it to do most of the musical ‘heavy lifting’.
The top end was lightly rolled off but very
Female vocals come through clean, clear
carefully done so there was no feeling of a
and detailed but are missing just a little touch
heavy weight hanging above the speakers.
of breath, sitting on the slightly sweet side
Brass has a nice tactile rasp to it without
of neutral.
feeling overly hard while metallic sounds are
The stand out performers in the vocals are the
softened slightly. Triangle is very easy to listen
men, and that is not something that occurs
to but sounds slightly softer than usual and
very often. There is something about that
doesn’t ring out as long as it could. I suspect
clean, clear and detailed delivery that brings
this is a symptom of that slight roll off.
out the enunciation in male vocals. I should
The A-70DA excels at acoustic strings and piano in the mid-range. Violins are a joy to listen to and lightly played piano is as good as it jolly well should be. Xylophone performance is also a stand out as it comes through clean and clear. Orchestral music is also excellent, with Wagners ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ an enjoyable, instrumental roller coaster of a listen.
say that this doesn’t mean that the guys necessarily sound better than the ladies on the A-70DA, just that the guys sound better than they usually do. The overall standout is without doubt, the midrange. It blends in brilliantly with the A-70DA’s sound staging abilities and together adds up to much more than just the sum of their parts.
Centre stage The sound staging ability of the Pioneer
Even better were the two cases of instruments
A-70DA is quite simply, top notch. It’s wide,
leaping out of the speaker plane towards me.
high and capable of placing each instrument
I don’t think I’ve heard that effect since I was
separately within its space. I can quite easily
forced to give up my very first listening room.
say I have not heard a better stereo sound
At this rate, I’ll run out of gold stars to hand
stage in an amplifier under $7K.
out before I’m done with this review.
I will admit it could use a little more depth, but
The highs, mid-range and bass sections are
at this price point it is already far exceeding
integrated very well, while the bass supports
expectations so I won’t be greedy.
the higher frequencies and stays out of the
An often-played album, Dire Straits “On Every Street” gets a spin on each and every
way of both the excellent mid-range and that very impressive sound staging ability.
amplifier to enter my lounge. I happen to
It’s clear that the A-70DA is quite good
like it and obviously know it intimately. It is
at conveying emotion via the mid-range,
exceedingly rare for me to listen in wonder
particularly through the use of acoustic
though as every instrument in each song
strings. Violins deserve a second mention
comes from a slightly different position
here, as does softly played electric guitar.
between the speakers.
Santana’s “Supernatural” Best of album is worthy of a mention and eminently enjoyable.
SPECIFICATIONS
/ / 90 W + 90 W (20 Hz-20 kHz, THD 0.5 %, 4 ohms)
Phono
/ / 65 W + 65 W (20 Hz-20 kHz, THD 0.5 %, 8 ohms)
/ / 89 dB (MM: 5 mV input)/74 dB (MC: 0.5 mV input)
THD
Power Amp Direct
/ / 0.02 % (Rated Output -3 dB, 8 ohms, 1 kHz)
/ / 110 dB
Guaranteed Speaker Impedance
Channel Separation
/ / 4-16 ohms (A or B), 8-32 ohms (A+B), 4-16 ohms (Bi-
/ / SACD/CD: 90 dB (100 Hz), 84 dB (1 kHz), 75 dB (10 kHz)
Wiring) Frequency Response (Measured with DIRECT button switched on) / / SACD/CD, NETWORK, LINE1, LINE2 5 Hz-50 kHz, ±3 dB RIAA Deviation / / PHONO MM 20 Hz-20 kHz, ±0.5 dB, PHONO MC 20 Hz20 kHz, ±0.5 dB Signal-to-Noise Ratio (IHF, A Network, Short Circuited) SACD/CD / / 101 dB
/ / Power Amp Direct: 95 dB (100 Hz), 95 dB (1 kHz), 80 dB (10 kHz) / / Pure Audio Grade High Efficiency Power ›› MOSFET Amplifier (Class D Amplifier) / / Fully-Balanced Preamplifier Circuitry / / Separated Construction for Preamp and Power Amp / / Source Direct Mode / / Highly Acclaimed ESS SABRE32 Ultra DAC / / 384 kHz/32-bit USB-DAC for Asynchronous Transfer / / Shielded Twin Transformer for Preamp and Power Amp / / Trans-Stabilizer / / Speaker A, B, A+B Selector
Let it rock
Conclusion
With harder electric guitar, the amplifier also
The Pioneer A-70DA sounds nice and wide,
performs convincingly. There’s a well-defined
spacious even, with a lightly addictive rhythm
presence which comes across big and loud
to the midrange that combines to build up a
with a nice feel to the feedback, but at times
very pleasant momentum to the music that is
feels just a little subdued. It has a good
sure to draw the listener in.
level of energy, but is just a bit lacking in
The detail and accuracy of the soundstage
rebellious edge.
and instrument placement within the
If we pull the focus on guitar out a little
plane of the speakers adds another level
broader to cover Rock and Roll (and other
of entertainment, that is usually just not
associated musical styles), in general I would
achievable at this price point.
happily recommend this amplifier for light to
The Pioneer A-70DA represents excellent
medium Rock and Roll, Jazz, R&B, country,
value for money at $2,099 RRP. As a starting
folk and pop – you get the idea.
point for anyone serious about sound quality
The fine line for the A70-DA occurs
at a realistic price, it would be hard to beat.
somewhere in the middle of the Hard Rock
My advice? Buy one now before Pioneer
genre. I discovered this while listening to one of Guns ‘n Roses compilation albums. While I greatly enjoyed November Rain, Paradise
realize what a high-quality product they have and put the price up.
City just didn’t come across as fast and weighty enough to be effective.
WORDS: Jeff Maltby
g n i d n a t Outs 2017
Value