Pioneer DRM-5004X

Pioneer DRM-5004X CD Library Resources

Specification Number of discs Number of CD-ROM drives Media diameter SCSI interface SCSI ID Audio output Disc charge time	UP to 500 CD-ROM discs (5 removable 100-disc magazines) Up to 4 drives QUADRASPIN CD-ROM readers and / or recorders 120mm SCSI-II (Single ended) SCSI IDs individually set for each drive and for the changer Stereo outputs for each CD-ROM drive 18 seconds average
Physical Characteristics Dimensions ( W x H x D) Weight (Net) Main unit Magazines Operating voltage Power consumption	453 x 1159 x 507 mm (17-13/16" x 45-5/8" x 19-15/16") 2 CD-ROM drives and 5 empty magazines - 76 kg (167 lbs.) 2 CD-ROM drives, 5 magazines and 500 discs - 86 kg (189 lbs.) 2 kg (4 lbs 6 ozs) each AC 120V - AC 230V 50/60 Hz (switchable) AC 120V 1.2A - AC 230V 0.7A

Full specifications at Pioneer Australia

Notes and FAQ:

The model was launched sometime around 1992, and was withdrawn around 1998 to be replaced with the DRM-7000.

According to Pioneer, the DR-D504X CD drives installed as standard in my variant do support digital audio extraction. Anecdotal evidence differs, though, and as yet I've seen no evidence to suggest that anyone has actually managed DAE with these drives. The drive mechanisms seem to share a number of modules with the external DRM-604x six disk changer (under some circumstances the drives are even identified as such), and as the 604x drives do not support CDDA it seems likely that Pioneer are mistaken!

Pioneer state repeatedly that the 5004X cannot be upgraded to support DVDs. Anecdotal evidence disagrees here too, however, as several users seem to have bought the units second-hand already fitted with DVD drives. [Update: I'm becoming less convinced about this as time goes on, actually.] Note that, whatever their capabilities, the drives are a wildly non-standard form factor, and replacement with any kind of off-the-shelf units is completely out of the question.

The CD drives are recognised as standard SCSI drives by Windows 2000 and Windows XP, but the changer hardware is not identified. This means that, in the absence of a hardware driver, the Windows Removable Storage Manager subsystem cannot be used to control the changer.

None of the Pioneer or 3rd-party management utilities below seem to work under Windows 2000 or later operating systems.

The Linux device and media management subsystem MTX is reputed to recognise and control the changer hardware without too much additional tweaking. One report suggests that the 2.2.x Linux kernel probably interfaces with the changer rather better than the current 2.4.x kernel, though.

If you can add information or experiences with this hardware, please drop me a line at