Pioneer A-30 Amplifier
A short time ago a big line of new amplifiers with different power, offered at inviting price, appeared in the line of Pioneer Hi-Fi components.
Such unexpected attention to classic Hi-Fi is not typically for Pioneer. The Renaissance of stereophony became the inevitable fact with the advent of audiophiles' life such concept as digital music and network audio player. Truly, how else can we listen to FLAC 24/96 as not on good stereo system? For this purpose Pioneer already has two network players and availability of suitable stereo amplifiers is implied, as the phrase goes, by default.
A plain index "A" is assigned to the line of Pioneer dual-channel amplifiers; there are five models, which have the total power from 50 to 180W. The amplifier A-30 stands exactly in the middle of model range and has the total power of 140W.
Aluminum foreside of the device incarnates simplicity, elegancy and efficiency - three ideas, which all the line is based on. I want to refer the design of control elements to classical, not equating to ancientry. Three small Jog Dials allow regulating tones of low and high frequencies, and also balance. There is a motorized volume control to the right of them, and one more Jog Dial is behind of it, through which you can choose one of six analogue inputs. It should be mentioned, that this manipulating equipment turns out to be more accessible than traditional buttons line, which is usually used for the decoration of stereo amplifiers' foresides.
Active input is indicated by blue LED under appropriate title (it is beautiful, but useful only for a person with eagle eye, inasmuch as reading the inscriptions is hard from the distance). In the list of inputs the phono amplifier for connection of vinyl record player amazingly adjoins with the input for connection of network player. Here modern reality is: there is only one twist from classical analogue source to super modern digital input selector. However, SDIF or USB won't be superfluous, in order to comply completely with the spirit of the time. But for these beauties you should turn to higher models of the line.
Above all, on the foreside there are 6.3mm head phones output, switch buttons on A or B speakers' set, loudness and Direct mode, which turns off tone control, and also Power Amp Direct button, which turns A-30 into power amplifier (unregulated Power Amp Direct input becomes active). Such possibility will be appreciated by owners of multi-channel audio system, where amplifier asounds front stereo pair, and the total volume is controlled through AV processor. By the way, younger models of Pioneer amplifiers can't do this.
A solid transformer with EI-shaped iron and amplification path Direct Energy, made by "double mono" scheme and assembled on MOSFET, are situated under A-30 hood.
The shortest passing signal way is one of the key aspects of firmed circuit technique; and this certainly has positive effect on clarity and purity of sound. The engineers used this method even with power unit, placed it very nearly to power transistors so that the energy goes to powerful output cascade without delay.
The amplifier sounds in detail, slightly emphasizes mid-frequency range, gives solid and well-controlled bass independently of speakers' sensitivity. Sometimes it hardly can transmit sound scale of the piano (it seems that keys stretches over audio stage from end to end), however it manages with electronic music or hard-rock really great, even if it is a vinyl recording and is played by chip LP-player (what's the use in connecting turntable of High End class to such device?). In one word, it is one of the best amplifiers in its - inexpensive - class.
