Pioneer A400 golden oldie?

[Jules_S]

Still using my A-400 with my original Monitor Audio 14s and a turbocharged Pro-Ject Essential in my second system (office). Bought it back in about '93 or thereabouts I think form memory. Used it and the speakers for a number of years until I could afford to move up the hi-fi ladder, then I gave them to my best mate to use. He had them and used them right up until the beginning of last year, and when he treated himself to some new kit, he let me have them back again! The amp and speakers are doing sterling service, OK yes the phono stage really isn't all that but overall the sound is far better than you might expect.

[Jac Hawk]

I find it funny that people are surprised at an older amp like this or any other piece of HiFi equipment from 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years ago sounding good, it's not rocket science folks it's just good design, well made with quality parts, the HiFi industry have obviously told us the opposite, that new stuff is better but the fact is it just isn't and in many cases modern stuff is inferior. Good gear is good gear whenever it was made period!

[AlexB]

I find it funny that people are surprised at an older amp like this or any other piece of HiFi equipment from 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years ago sounding good, it's not rocket science folks it's just good design, well made with quality parts, the HiFi industry have obviously told us the opposite, that new stuff is better but the fact is it just isn't and in many cases modern stuff is inferior. Good gear is good gear whenever it was made period!

I think we are told that the more accurate the sound the better it is, truth is older equipment has a much more pleasant sound to my ears, Maybe it’s the aged components or higher distortion figures on old amps?

I always wondered what the term “warm” sounding meant but after listening to some old receivers I think I now understand

[dantheman91]

I Appear to have bought another A400 one came up local for a fairly cheap price so grabbed it i last sold one in 2013 lets see if times change

Pairing with KEF Reference 103 Speakers
Pioneer PDS 703



and Beers

[Alex_UK]

An A400 is an itch I really need to scratch... currently using my Aura amp with my Spendors and turntable and I think the Pioneer would work well with them... way back when the A400 was the darling of the hi-if mags I just couldn’t afford one, but always really really wanted one... seem plentiful on eBay, maybe tonight’s the night if I drink any more wine!

[Macca]

An A400 is an itch I really need to scratch... currently using my Aura amp with my Spendors and turntable and I think the Pioneer would work well with them... way back when the A400 was the darling of the hi-if mags I just couldn’t afford one, but always really really wanted one... seem plentiful on eBay, maybe tonight’s the night if I drink any more wine!

£140 buy it now https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pioneer-A...MAAOSwRK9fB0aW

£140 is within the guidelines for a punt.

[Alex_UK]

£140 buy it now https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pioneer-A...MAAOSwRK9fB0aW

£140 is within the guidelines for a punt.

Cheers Martin. I'm sure it would sell for similar money if it doesn't scratch the itch... (Have done similar and even made a profit with Pioneer Stable Platter CD Player and Rotel phono stage in the past...) Let's see what happens in an hour's time once the wine is finished!

[Barry]

I find it funny that people are surprised at an older amp like this or any other piece of HiFi equipment from 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years ago sounding good, it's not rocket science folks it's just good design, well made with quality parts, the HiFi industry have obviously told us the opposite, that new stuff is better but the fact is it just isn't and in many cases modern stuff is inferior. Good gear is good gear whenever it was made period!

Roughly 95% of my audio gear is at least 40 years old, and that includes some of my cartridges!

[dantheman91]

Dug out the high end Audio Note ANJ/D speakers to use with the A400 - Superb

My A400 was £75 sure lives up to its pedigree of an all time classic and the audio nuts of this world need to try one in there audio journey

[Filterlab]

There was a glut of excellent amps at low prices from the late 70s through into the 90s: Pioneer A400, Audiolab 8000a, A&R Cambridge A60, Cyrus 1, NAD 3020, Denon PMA 250, Marantz PM66, Arcam A85, Primare A30 etc. They all offered performance way outside of their price range and several really changed the Hi-Fi landscape. I got into Hi-Fi in 1991 so read about and heard many of these amps in budget and higher end systems. I’ve owned several of them too (still own an A85), and they really are still quality bits of kit.

Pioneer had lost their name as a quality manufacturer at the time, but the A400 reignited their name and they made some astonishing pieces of kit. Nowadays they make good kit, although their current cream of their crop seems to be their AV receivers, some of which have lounge-demolishing capability at comparatively low cost. Their SSDs are also brilliant quality.

Another one of their popular lines was the Stable Platter Mechanism CD players, which was a TEAC invention if I remember correctly (known as the VRDS - Vibration Free Rigid Disc Clamping System). Fed to a decent DAC these players still produce awesome sound compared to transports of much higher price. They are sought after and many fetch more money now than they did when new. In this case the name ‘Pioneer’ really is true. Some quality electronics came in this phase of their manufacturing, and that’s before one considers the Elite range. Have a look at the C91 preamp, the M91 power amp and the PD91 CD player - absolutely gorgeous and real “Accuphase” type components. Rock solid build quality and a lot of attention paid to details, layout and reduction of interference and vibration. Plus wooden cheeks and deeply polished finishes oozed quality.

Worth a look nowadays as I bet they still rock.