PIONEER ELITE VSX-95 A/V Stereo Receiver (1991)

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by MacGyver, Nov 28, 2014.

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  1. MacGyver

    MacGyver Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    IRRIGON, OR. U.S.
    you know, you ain't making my life any easier, EBAY.

    i mean, i pretty much made a resolution long ago that i'd stubbornly stand by the 1990 VSX-D1S receiver
    until the day i could no longer get my copy serviced, or obtain a functional replacement, i love the thing just that much.

    all the same, these photos of the 1991 VSX-95, PIONEER's very first ELITE Receiver, make a mighty strong case for an "upgrade"

    i mean it has got to be the sexiest-looking post-1970's receiver PIONEER ever marketed, IMO,
    and these shots REALLY make a strong appeal towards that assertion...


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  2. MacGyver

    MacGyver Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    IRRIGON, OR. U.S.
  3. MacGyver

    MacGyver Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    IRRIGON, OR. U.S.
    [​IMG]

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    bluemooze and Jerryb like this.
  4. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Personally I prefer the sound of the earlier Elite/Reference separates or integrated amps to their foray into multi channel receivers such as this.

    The build quality is just much cheaper with these units, witness the flimsy heat sinks, small power supply caps, a single smaller power transformer, all spelled the end of the great build quality that made the Elite/Reference line so great.
     
  5. sushimaster

    sushimaster Forum Resident

    wow, a very clean example!
     
  6. MacGyver

    MacGyver Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    IRRIGON, OR. U.S.
    indeed, the A-91D Integrated Amp is an excellent example;

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    762rob, moogt3 and bluemooze like this.
  7. MacGyver

    MacGyver Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    IRRIGON, OR. U.S.
  8. MacGyver

    MacGyver Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    IRRIGON, OR. U.S.
  9. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I own an A-91D. Nice amp for sure.
     
    762rob likes this.
  10. MacGyver

    MacGyver Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    IRRIGON, OR. U.S.
    among the most beautifully built and finished int. amp examples to be found anywhere at any price, IMHO...
     
    BuddhaBob, GuildX700 and Dave B like this.
  11. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

    When I see equipment like that the only thing running through my mind is "There is WAY too much stuff/bells & whistles, etc. packed into one box and something is bound to fail at some point and be a pain to diagnose."
     
    timind and GuildX700 like this.
  12. MacGyver

    MacGyver Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    IRRIGON, OR. U.S.
  13. 762rob

    762rob Forum Resident

    Love my A91-D play I it every day cool pics!
     
    GuildX700 likes this.
  14. 762rob

    762rob Forum Resident

    It's a pretty looking unit on the outside, but you're right. I had two of these fail and sold them as parts units. My A91-D is just a better build quality as the pics shown here will attest.
     
    GuildX700 likes this.
  15. cd fiend

    cd fiend Member

    Nice looking. I picked up a Pioneer Elite PD-51M for $15 from a Goodwill type store. I should of learned, never buy any disc player that uses those 6 disc magazines. Everything works, but the CD's won't get pulled into to play. No remote either. If you lived near me I'd give it to you. It's going out in the trash bin of no one at the Electronic's shop is in story tomorrow.
     
  16. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    The paper thin sheet metal heat sinks are a dead giveaway of some serious cost cutting measures in that receiver which will lead to transistor failure due to thermal overload.

    Even the A91D's little brother the A-717 Reference integrated has a better build than that receiver. It's like a 70% scale A-91D without all the digital stuff and frills.

    The A-91D still sounds much better than the A-717 IMO. I think they used the larger transformers from the M-91 power amp in it. I'll have to check my M-91 and see if they match up. They are quite a bit bigger then the ones in the A-717 for sure. I have an A-717 and so does my brother, we got them new as a 2 for deal back in the day, still running strong.

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  17. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    The PD-51M was nothing special to get excited about, a gigantic step down from the same era single tray PD-91 for sure. Toss it on E bay, folks still need parts.
     
    cd fiend likes this.
  18. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Oh, by the way, I'm insanely jealous that you have a Pioneer Reference-Elite PL-90 table, you dog you!!!!!

    That is the only Elite item I need to round out my fairly large Elite/Reference collection.

    Just too pricy to justify and my Empire 698 is still going strong. Perhaps someday I'll stumble across one cheap, but I doubt it.
     
  19. sushimaster

    sushimaster Forum Resident

    MMM, twin power like the old Harmon Kardons....yummy.
     
    GuildX700 likes this.
  20. MacGyver

    MacGyver Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    IRRIGON, OR. U.S.
    the early PIONEER 6-disc players from the first couple years of the system's existence are solid, reliable electromechanical wonders,
    if they are well cared for. these are the models to shoot for, if you've a yen to own one;

    * PD-M6 (1985/1986)
    * PD-M60 (1987)
    * PD-M70 (1987)
    * PD-M90X (1987/1988)

    - these four models all share identical changer mechanisms and laser pickups, as well as generally similar electronics,
    so, at the very least, the changer/transport assy. of any one of these models can be swapped out into another,
    with the unfastening of four screws, a couple/three ribbon cables and five/ten mins. of your time...
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2014
    cd fiend likes this.
  21. MacGyver

    MacGyver Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    IRRIGON, OR. U.S.

    i dunno, my very similarly-designed 1990 VSX-D1S has been chugging along quite reliably over the last 25 years...

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  22. ronm

    ronm audiofreak

    Location:
    southern colo.
    Is this Elite vsx95 and the vsx 9900s basically the same unit?
     
  23. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    You want the best Pioneer available ever in the USA, you have one way to go. SPEC series. That Pioneer Elite to me does not look too elite. Ribbon cables everywhere, heat sinks look undersized. lots of IC chips, complex circuits.
     
  24. Jim T

    Jim T Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mars
    I still have and use every day my VSX-21 5.1 Pioneer and I have only had to replace the vol. encoder in all this time. It still sounds great to me. My wife's dog chewed up two of the remotes and I was lucky to find the last one and now the dogs are not allowed in that room, period.
     
  25. 762rob

    762rob Forum Resident

    I had 2 of these VSX-95's fail and ended up selling for parts. They worked for a while then pfft!
    They look great but not the build quality of the A 91D.
     
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