Pioneer Elite DV-09 DVD/CD Player

Pioneer Elite DV-09 DVD/CD Player
The new DV-09 is Pioneer's first DVD player in its Elite line. More than simply an upscale version of a standard Pioneer DVD player, the DV-09 was built from the ground up to be a flagship product. It's also the first DVD player I've seen to have been certified under THX's DVD-player certification program

The instant you take it out of the box, you know that the DV-09 is no ordinary player. The standard high-gloss Pioneer Elite cosmetics are clearly evident, but more significantly, the weight—nearly 35 lbs—is a surprise. This first impression of robust construction isn't misleading. A look inside reveals solid workmanship, including extensive use of copper and copper-clad parts for the chassis rear and bottom, internal partitions, and parts of the player mechanism.

The DV-09 sports all the important features currently offered by today's best DVD players and then some. These include 10-bit video D/A converters, component-video outputs, a complete complement of composite and S-video jacks, and digital and analog audio outputs. The DV-09 plays DVDs, CDs, and Video CDs, but not CD-Rs; in addition, it should not be confused with Pioneer's combi players (no laserdisc playback here). The DV-09 is also specified to be compatible with the upcoming DTS DVDs. (None were available for test when I wrote this review.) The capability to play DTS DVDs is announced by a cosmetically jarring red-and-white sticker on the front panel. (Fortunately, this sticker can be peeled off.)

The DV-09's variable dynamic-range compression for Dolby Digital sources is redundant when the unit is used with a high-end Dolby Digital surround processor or receiver, which typically includes this feature. And because this player will most likely be used in such a system, Pioneer has wisely chosen not to include a Dolby Digital 5.1-channel decoder.

The analog audio outputs incorporate Pioneer's Legato Link Conversion technology. It's claimed that this process extrapolates the extreme high-frequency overtones that are rolled off by CD's inherent 44.1 kHz sampling frequency.