StereoNET: Pioneer A-70DA Integrated Amplifier Review

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