Pioneer Expands Hi-Fi Range with New G-Clef Series

The range consists of two stereo amplifiers, the A-A9MK2-K (£749) and A-A6MK2-K (£450), a pair of Super Audio CD players – the PD-D9MK2-K (£749) and PD-D6MK2-K (£400) – plus a DAB tuner, the F-F6MK2-K (£400).

All share a "more elegant"cosmetic design, says Pioneer, with a "silk-soft hairline finish black aluminium" front panel and blue LCD display. The remote control has also been redesigned and is made from aluminium.

Tuned at AIR Studios
Like some of Pioneer’s other components, the amplifiers and the SACD players were developed in conjunction with the engineers at AIR Studios in London.

"The AIR Studios quality seal is proof not only of the extraordinary engineering that has gone into these units, but also of the exceptionally high quality of their craftmanship and carefully selected electronic components," says Mike O’Mahony, general sales manager of Pioneer GB.

The A-A9MK2-K amp delivers 70 watts per channel, and the A-A6MK2-K version 60 watts. Both feature Twin Mono Symmetrical construction designed to prevent signal interference by separating the left and right channels.

Rigid aluminium side and top plates help to minimise unwanted vibration, and signal paths are designed to be as short as possible to reduce distortion.

Pioneer’s ‘Sound Retriever’ feature is said to breathe life back into compressed audio formats, and users can also play PC audio files via the USB input terminal. Vinyl lovers are catered for with an MM (moving magbet) phono stage on the ‘A6 model and MC (moving coil) on the ‘A9.

Two SACD players
Like the amplifiers, the SACD players were tuned at AIR Studios too. They have twin digital-to-analogue converters – Wolfson for the PD-D9MK2-K and Burr Brown for the PD-D6MK2 – Legato Link Conversion PRO (which quadruples the sampling rate) and low ESR capacitors with Schottky barrier diodes.

The ‘D9 uses twin R-Core transformers, while the ‘D6 has a new Lap Type transformer.

A crystal oscillator in both players is intended to produce stable, low-jitter pulses, allowing it to serve as a precision master clock, says Pioneer.

In addition, the ‘D9 model has TAOC hi-carbon composite metal feet for extra stability.

And a DAB tuner too
Finally, radio fans can tune in to DAB, FM and AM broadcasts on the F-F6MK2-K tuner. It has a 192kHz/24-bit DAC, RDS Radio Text, 100 programmable DAB stations and the same number for FM/AM.