My New Audiophile Setup

It's the season again where I've got bored of my current car audio setup and sold off the top of the line fabulous sounding & fancy touch screen Clarion headunit, Blaupunkt Velocity Component Speakers, Subwoofer and 2 Amplifiers to get the all new Pioneer Reference Series system.


Gone with the old:

Clarion DXZ956MC

In With The New:

Here it is....*drools..* Yes...it looks conservative compared to the Clarion but this Pioneer P80RSII packs a whole lot more serious features minus the fancy look.

Packed with stuff like:

Burr-Brown Advance Segment-Type 24-bit D/A Converter

D4Q+ Tuner

Ipod,USB & Bluetooth Ready

3-Way Digital Network, 16-Band L-R Independent EQ, BBE Digital Sound Processing, Bitmetric Equalizer & Auto Time Alignment & EQ

3 Gold-Plated RCA 5v Preouts

Auto Slide Aluminium Face with White OEL Screen

Pairing the P80 which shares the same OP amp with the PRS series of amplifiers, its a perfect match to create pure sound staging.

Delivering 600 watts of Max Power, it has got plenty of juice and CLEAN power to drive the speakers and make every words and notes being heard clearly.

This 4 channel amp is being paired to the front component speakers running on 3-way Active mode.

6.5 inch Component Speakers; This is the the industry’s first basalt fiber made from natural rock interwoven with aramid fiber. Used in the surface layer, this Aramid/Basalt Fiber material is highly rigid and better absorbent, enhancing stability and maintaining integrity throughout a wide temperature range.

An exclusive rear chamber tweeter enclosure that extends mid-range frequency for improved vocal imaging and staging. While the built-in -12dB/Octave HPF and LPF crossover improves the transition from mid to high frequency, for a smoother mid-range to tweeter response. Audiophile-grade capacitors and inductors are used, and all components are encased in a clear acrylic cover for protection.

Finally, the setup wouldnt be complete without the lows.

This amp driving the sub has got 760 watts of MAX power while delivering over 380 watts of RMS power is sure to pack a punch in every bass notes.

The 12" subwoofer. Said to be the benchmark for passive box subs, the WX301 bass reflex sub has a well-tuned bass reflex port to reproduce powerful bass tones.

The Injection Moulded Polypropylene (IMPP™) cone is constructed from a composite blend of interlaced, Aramid fibres, which make it extremely rigid; yet lightweight, for low distortion and powerful bass at high sound pressure levels. It also has an extended, vented pole yoke, delivering a vast improvement in linearity.

Able to take in a max power of 800 watts, it guarantees more than enough kicks and rumbles that's sure to satisfy every discerning listener.

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The results:

Powering up the system sees the OEL display coming to life and this system really does delivers as there's vast improvement in the area of staging, linearity and of course the overall sound quality.

Rich, dynamic detail, expansive soundstage and natural sounding smoothness & linearity from every sources are the words I could used to describe the end results.

The Burr-Brown 24 bit DAC sure did it's job well by delivering rich and warm sound from every recording as it reproduces natural linear characteristics for sound as clear as a breath of fresh air.

Having the system to automatically calibrate the Time Alignment & EQ, the results are truly excellent, though I do not agree completely with the Auto EQ, hence disabling it.

Auditioned the setup with a galore of cd's from audiophile recordings to MP3's, and one thing that stands out from this new setup is definitely the clearer and stronger highs delivering frequencies up to the region of 1.25khz to bring every vocal to life. While the lows filled the gap on the lower end, it sounded really great despite being low-passed at 50hz.

Nuances of every notes from guitars, piano's and sweet-sounding vocals are delivered wonderfully with every wisp and breath being transpired with a realism together with great tone and reverb, and I was also impressed at how well the soundscape maintained its posture at higher volumes, never collapsing as the complexity of the track increases.

As with every system, this setup did exhibit some flaws, but they were minor considering its price segment and as for this setup, Pioneer definitely rocked the boat of the higher end audiophile category.