Pioneer SACD Player PD-D6 D/A Chip ?

[olaychang]

Is any one who can tell me the DAC Chip type about Pioneer SACD Player PD-D6 ?

Thank you very much !!!

[kmj]

If we are talking about there newer model, the grey one PD-06-J, then it has a pair of BB PCM1738 according to a thread at our Swedish forum. The OPs used are NJM5532

[stephensank]

>If we are talking about there newer model, the grey one PD-06-J, >then it has a pair of BB PCM1738 according to a thread at our >Swedish forum. The OPs used are NJM5532

Then it is not a proper SACD player, as it is converting DSD to PCM for conversion. Great sounding chip, but not as good as playing SACD through genuinely DSD conversion.

[rfbrw]

Originally posted by stephensank

Then it is not a proper SACD player, as it is converting DSD to PCM for conversion. Great sounding chip, but not as good as playing SACD through genuinely DSD conversion.

No. Like the DSD1792 that preceded it and the PCM1792 that followed, the PCM1738E has a native DSD input. There is no DSD to PCM conversion needed with this chip.

[kmj]

The I/V conversion uses a double bipolar opamp per channel, the Opamp used is the NJM5532.
The LP filter that converts the signal from balanced to SE also uses the NJM5532 which is shared between the two channels.

a rough translation, I hope that I got it right...

[janusz]

All the above is true. I bought this player at reaonable price from Melbourne because it is relatively easy to modify and I already have all the necessary parts except for a clock. Off the shelf it is not a bad player in its price range but simple mods carry the potential of turning it into something really nice.

The analog section has three njm5532 soic opamps which can be replaced with Brown Dog soic adaptors and then one has quite a number of possibilities. I intend to try ths4031ID and ad844 for IV stage and opa627 at the output.

The output 47uF caps will be replaced with Black Gate 100uF caps paralelled with 2.2uF polypropylenes. A few other electros will also be upgraded. The next more expensive step is to upgrade the clock. To do above I'll wait a few more months as the player is only 3 months old and still on warranty.

Screening transformers is the only thing one can do without affecting warranty as screening can be easily removed.

cheers,

[georgehifi]

Originally posted by janusz

The output 47uF caps will be replaced with Black Gate 100uF caps paralelled with 2.2uF polypropylenes. cheers,

Just use good sounding fet input opamps then you'll have virtually zero dc offset, eg. AD825's OPA627's OP275's and forget about any coupling caps, no matter how good they are, DC coupling s**** on them. Even more so I find than changing from the poor old NE5532 to an "audiophile highend opamp" as above, nothing screws up the sound more than a cap in the signal path.

My 2 bobs worth
Cheers George

[janusz]

Hi George,

No caps in audio path is THE ideal solution. I completely agree. If I manage to get offset low enough then I'll get rid of output caps. PCM1738 is not bad in this repect and there are no caps between it and the opamps.

However, I haven't done any measurements yet. I haven't even removed the cover to take a look inside. There was no need as I downloaded a few pics from the net and bought a service manual before making the final decision.

From interviews I read earlier I knew it had two PCM1738s so considering the price offer (A$550 including shipping - maybe because it is silver) most likely I would have bought it anyway. When I went through schematics I knew it was almost ideal for basic but rewarding mods.

The only unknown was the quality of the drive. I'd prefer pioneer's stable plater, which is very reliable (my 14 years old pd-s801 still works like new) and no need for frequent cleanning of lenses but hopefully this drive will also work well for a long time.

cheers,

[georgehifi]

Two PCM1738? it may be used like this, one PCM1738 for SACD and the other PCM1738 for RED BOOK CD
Cheers George

[janusz]

No, there is one PCM1738 DAC per channel.

The signal from the pickup goes to the main SACD/CD decoder MT1389EE/B2-L. Then, from the main decoder, it is taken to digital output circuits (optical and coaxial) and to PD0274A L/R channel PCM. Then there is one TC74VHC157FTS1 (PCM/DSD), fed from both PD0274a and main decoder, per channel followed by one PCM1738EG3 per channel.

Then the I/V conversion stage uses dual njm5532 per channel and final amplification and filtering is done by one njm5532 shared by both channels.

Unfortunately my Acrobat reader does not allow to take a snap shot of pages (I have the manual in pdf format as well) so I cannot show bits of diagrams and schematics here.

cheers,