1980s Pioneer Hi-Fi

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The story of vinceunlimited's top end Pioneer X-990 Hi-Fi system bought new and used in the 1980s.
Vince presents his earliest experiences of listening to music from the 1960s to when he bought, with his wife Lynda, a very nice hi-fi system from Pioneer.
The video contains full system details, a personal opinion on the performance of the equipment along with thoughts about ownership plus the details on how much was paid and what that would be worth nowadays.
Script and presentation by Vince. Filmed on an iPhone X, edited on an iPad Air 4 within iMovie using graphics and stills from Keynote and photos. All photographs and video are original by the author or his family except where credited elsewhere.
Equipment shown includes:
Waltham W155 stereo radio cassette player/recorder
Rogers Cadet III 2 x 10w twin valve amplifier
Bowers & Wilkins DM5 speakers
NEC portable 12" colour TV
Pioneer X-990 stereo system comprising:
Pioneer SA-720 2 x 65w stereo amplifier
Pioneer TX-720 three band FM/AM/SW radio
Pioneer CT-720 Dolby B stereo tape deck with metal tape facility
Pioneer PL-720 direct drive turntable
Pioneer SG-300 graphic equaliser
Pioneer DT-540 clock timer
Pioneer CS-757 triple driver cabinet floor mounted stereo speakers delivering 38Hz to 20kHz
A Film by Vince © 2021
See the second part of this series at • 1980s AV HiFi System which shows what we did with HiFi and TV system next

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15 июн 2021

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Комментарии : 58

@aviestrela Год назад

I was a kid back in 81 but my love for took off in 1984 with MTV . Listening to your story takes me back to the good old days physical format music. My first system was my older sisters centrex by pioneer it was a unit from the 70's and a loved it. Shame I didn't have a tape deck. One day my parents sold the house and we moved to Portugal and I had to make a choice but two systems the pioneer or an other cheap crappy system but I had a tape deck. I choose the crappy one boy was i dumb.... My first real hifi system was an Akai pro a 302 system which I still own. Great video thanks for sharing it.

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi, Thanks for watching my video and for sharing your story. I understand why you chose the one with the tape deck because we all curated our own music collections. it was part of our development into who we were becoming as teenagers. Nice to have kept your Akai, hope it all still works well. Vince

@cagatayalkan314 2 года назад

hey Vince, it's so nice to watch this video. i'm 21 and i'm new to hi-fi world. my first system was all in one aiwa x-75 with aiwa sx-77 speakers from early 90s. it was very nice to some beginner like me. a month ago i decided to move next step and bought exact same amplifier as you, pioneer sa-720. well, it's not exact same system(x-990) with yours, i have tx-520L tuner, ct-720 cassette deck, sg-550 equalizer and i'm super close to buy pl-720 or pl-740 turntable. i'm listening this system with pioneer cs-777. i'm so happy with my system and it shocked me that i accidentally found this video. i would be very happy for listening rest of your story, regards.

@vinceunlimited 2 года назад

Hi Çagatay, Thank you for watching and commenting on my video. I'm glad you 'found it' on RU-vid as it may be considered a bit niche giving I owned my system in the 1980s. I find it fascinating that you are trying to recreate such a system which is now quite historic, even though it was really very good when new. Thankfully good HiFi, reliant on tried and trusted components still deliver well today and to a certain extent the late 20th century May have been the best time for sound reproduction equipment. Digital music had the potential to improve quality but the ease of storing and copying it meant that many people were duped into collecting quantity not quality and the manufactures followed by introducing more gimmicks in their components and competed on cost rather than quality. I will try to get around to telling my continuing story at some time, where I fought to improve my sound systems before we all ended up with iPods and massive TVs which don't give a similar quality audio experience. I am sure you will enjoy it so why not subscribe so you will see when new content is released. And good luck with creating your own HiFi story. I wish you well in this endeavour. Vince

@niksgee3538 Год назад

I bought a pioneer around 1987/88 think paid 850 pounds. Had six cd player, twin tape, remote control and it sounded awesome. So loud and bassy.

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi Niks, Thanks for taking a look at my video and for your comment. Six CD capacity, twin tapes and a remote. My system was positively crude compared to your spec. It seems like I was not alone in thinking the Pioneer was a great bit of kit. Underrated at the time.

@bobe3250 Год назад

Walk down memory lane for me. Similar story here in the USA. Stereo systems were the rage. TV' were getting bigger so it was nice to upgrade them too. Since then I've upgraded many many times but still love some of those earlier pieces. Thanks for sharing!

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi Bob, Thanks for watching my video and for your comments. It seems we have followed similar paths and shared similar thoughts about our HiFi. if you weren't aware I have now posted a second video about the Denon system which replaced my Pioneer set up. Called Mid 1980s Denon Based AV HiFi System on my vinceunlimited channel. Vince

@bobe3250 Год назад

@@vinceunlimitedGreat! I will watch it.

@aegisofhonor Год назад

there was a few ways you could connect a TV with no "AV out" to a stereo system, one way was to get a special box that allowed you to "split" RF signals into composite audio and video signals. Also starting in 1984, Pioneer offered a couple of receivers that had direct RF input that split the audio and video signals inside the receiver from an RF signal to a split composite audio and video signal, but boxes that did this has existed since the early 1970s.

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi, thanks for taking a look at my video and the comment. Presumably, unless you had a component that split the RF into composite video and sound then a coordinated AV system couldn't be achieved. In my case I only had a relatively simple portable colour TV at the time which did not even offer RF throughput which precluded using a 'splitting box', plus I wasn't aware of such an accessory at the time. Learning about these various options becoming available and known about by me is what my HiFi stories are all about. I'm not sure whether you have noticed but I have already released a video about the next stage in my journey wherein I actually created an AV set up even before I knew they existed. Vince

@kennethbrettel8762 Год назад

Completely insane!!! Those prices how possible?? I mean i did similar In the 70's with Yamaha and Advents and only records but US is so much cheaper. You guys are astonishing to me. I know the scale of your purchase

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Thanks for your comment

@JD-lk7im 2 года назад

Very cool informative video Vince.. I appreciate the efforts put into making this. Thank you so much. John. 👍

@vinceunlimited 2 года назад

Thanks John. That means a lot. Vince

@JD-lk7im 2 года назад

I've put up a video of the vintage Pioneer set up Vince.. Take a look if you please.. John. 👍

@vinceunlimited 2 года назад

@@JD-lk7im Yes I have seen this one. Am now going through your others as well.

@JD-lk7im 2 года назад

@@vinceunlimited Thanks Vince.. More to Come..💜 ✌ John.

@thewise3551 Год назад

I like it, subbed.

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Thanks for the subscription and comment. Vince

@bobsbits5357 Год назад

corr they did spend alot of money in the past there was no stereo like this in my house 100% used gear now i have alot of toys to play with waiting all the time till i got my place was better for me love the video

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi Bob, Thanks for watching my video and for your comment. This was just the start of my HiFi journey. I see you have already commented on my next video. Hope you enjoy the other videos as much. Vince

@daveedwards9575 Год назад

My parents got the X-550 which we were impressed with so the higher end system must have been very nice. I'm selling the cabinet and speakers on Ebay this week so thanks for making this video showing the brochure which I came across, I remember the components now. The components of our system got replaced just once with some Yamaha kit thought the turntable still works.

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi Dave, thanks for taking a look at my video and for your comments. Yes, it was very nice. We also upgraded and I am working on the next episode. Subscribe to find out what we changed in the next video. And as a teaser, we did keep a key component. Thanks for sharing your memories. Vince

@Psythik Год назад

11:22 Still waiting on part 2! How much longer do you think it will take? I liked and subscribed; I held up *my* end of the deal. :P

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi Psythik, Thanks for taking a look at my video, for subscribing and liking it. I loved your comment and I WILL bring you the next episode soon. It wouldn't be the vinceunlimited channel if I only concentrated on one subject but you have inspired me to bring the next HiFi story chapter forward. In fairness I was about to do this next anyway it just finding the time. But now I know you are waiting. Your wish will be my command, hopefully within a week. I'm just glad I didn't ask you to hold your breath. Vince

@Psythik Год назад

@@vinceunlimited Can't wait; thanks for the reply!

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi, I hope you have had a chance to check out the next part of my story. Now published. Vince

@kennethbrettel8762 Год назад

Must have loved music even more than we did and in the 70 's British Rock was at its peak. Our systems were important and Advent Bass was so superior we thought to others but it took 200 watts a channel to hear it. Back in 1976 it became a reality with fairly reasonable power amplifiers. In the USA and by Japan doing the same with giant receivers power was king. But again USA was reasonable. Seems like England as we called it back then was ridiculous

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Thanks for your insights Kenneth. I also liked rock music in the seventies. At the time groups were really carving out their individual sounds and many tracks are familiar still today

@Tiger-dl1yn Год назад

nice video about the past and the components of the time, I still own the following Pioneer speakers, CS 797- CS770- CS 999-CS 757. How many watts do you give them to the CS 757? the bass they gave it? Did you feel the bass? Thanks in advance

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi Tiger, Thanks for taking a look at my video and for your comments. You sure have a good collection of Pioneer speakers. In the Pioneer set up I had it could deliver a maximum 65w per channel and the speakers handled it well with little distortion except near maximum volume. I'm not sure whether you have seen my follow up video in which I upgraded my system to one with Denon amplification. I kept the great Pioneer speakers and this time they were matched with amplification up to 100w per channel and did a great job in handling this extra power. The real problem was testing them at the higher levels as it became a bit loud to tolerate. All in all I think the Pioneer speakers were very competent and over-engineered for their original design. Vince

@Tiger-dl1yn Год назад

@@vinceunlimited Thanks for your time, I'm Italian and I use a translator, I hope my comments are understood. I will watch the video you suggested to me. My speakers that I have listed 797-770-999 have the canvas suspension and bass they give me I don't like and I will have to sell them, The CS 757 have FOAM suspension AND I have yet to test them but the FOAM bass is much more soft even if the foam It is not eternal but like it, so I only keep the CS 757 and the ESB Classic 600. I have read that the CS series For the European market is very bad, while for the Japanese and US market the quality is superior in everything . please I will watch the video you suggested to me👍🏻

@vinceunlimited Год назад

@@Tiger-dl1yn Hi, Your translations are fine. I did not realise you were using a translator. Remember the performance levels I experienced were from using brand new speakers and sound sources at the time and my experiences were based on comparisons to other HiFi stuff at the time so my memory may be affected by these factors. However, since then, the design build of a speaker has not altered as radically as other components in a system. Your speakers may be decades old and it would be unsurprising if some of the materials used had not shown some effects of wear. Vince

@Tiger-dl1yn Год назад

@@vinceunlimited Hi Vince, I'm not talking about wear, but about the type of bass, in this case due to the canvas suspension that responds with a bass of the type (dun dun) while the bass of the woofers with FOAM suspension Like the 757 Which give a soft bass like (BUM BUM) That's why I want to sell the others

@vinceunlimited Год назад

@@Tiger-dl1yn Soft bass is easier on the ear providing it is not muddied or muffled and that is dependent on the speaker construction as well as the ability of the amplification to control it. As you have discovered even similar products may not perform the same so testing them out and finding what suits you best is one of the pleasures of HiFi discovery

@abdelkaderelbachir3817 Год назад

Isn't it weird how everything got replaced by a Bluetooth speaker when I was a kid bookshelf systems were everywhere now they seem to be nowhere Alexa have taken over

@vinceunlimited Год назад

We have greater choice of content but less choice on what we can play it on

@MagnusPaul1976 Год назад

Wasn't there a headphone socket on the front bottom right of the television ? I am absolutely sure plugging in a headphone jack going into RCA , connected to the Auxiliary, would've worked !

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi Magnus, thanks for taking a look at my video and your insightful comment. I think you are right. The photographs I have show this. At the time I would not have thought of this option because I saw it as 'just' a headphone socket. It was my first set up so I was still learning the abilities of connections etc. Furthermore, had I thought about this, the lead would have protruded from the front and therefore been aesthetically unpleasant. As I didn't try this I will never know how this would have worked, for instance in controlling the volume [presumably a combination of the TV controls and amplifier setting] and whether syncing between picture and sound could be aligned. Vince

@cyberbarbaro Год назад

what was doing the timer?

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi Cyberbarbaro, Thanks for taking a look at my video and your question. The timer was a separate component included as it was a part of the whole set but really served a limited function. It has a clock display function and could be used as a timer either to automatically switch the system on or off but just as a switch. So you could set a wake up time so the system would start up in the morning playing the tuner [radio] or alternatively act as an automatic shut down when listening at night. I was always sceptical about using this because as far as I could tell it would be an uncontrolled power off so if you were in the middle of a cassette playing through the amplifier then it would act as it the power sockets were just switched off. Whether it was more sophisticated than that I'm not sure. In any case I didn't need the wake or sleep function as it was in a living room rather than bedroom so it was just really an overpriced clock and if I wanted to know the time I would just check my wristwatch. Vince

@socksumi Год назад

The 70s was the glory time for Pioneer and other big brands from Japan. The 80s was a time of cheapening and miniaturization... discreet circuitry replaced with ICs, flimsy build and power supplies the size of walnuts. Metal, glass and wood were replaced with plastic and more plastic. 1980 was the downward turning point for most Japanese stereo makers although signs of cost cutting had already begun in the late 70s.

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi socksumi, Thanks for checking out my video and for adding a comment. I think you might be right in identifying that the late seventies and early eighties were a great quality point in HiFi technology although later IC technology did bring a theoretical new dimension in sound even if unit build quality was diminishing. Serious users had to move upmarket to chase the quality that mass production was leaving behind. Vince

@weaksaucep4539 2 года назад

👍

@2steppa3 Год назад

6:55 low 38 khz bass???? Don't you mean 38 hz?

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi, Well spotted. Yes it was specified at 38Hz to 20,000Hz. 38kHz would be inaudible unless you were a dog. But conversely they couldn't appreciate the low bass level so we win I guess. I did redeem myself at around the 10min 30s mark when I was advising the cost of the system wherein I noted the 38 to 20,000Hz range. Thanks for watching my video and your comment. Vince

@RUfromthe40s Год назад

this is known by the X series that had comercials on tv, some had 79 slim amplifiers in brushed aluminium, mine had the CT-520 wich i still have it and two years ago i install new betls and seemed new again ,i have cassettes recorded there and they do sound good but in this deck they sound worse ,today using a CT-959(1990) they sound much better and try to re-record a cassette and it still records perfectelly but sounds much better in a more recent deck, nothing related with the azimuth , just the fact that they record better than they play and for the years and heavy use it still operates at 100% level with only new belts

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi Rui, Thanks for watching my video and adding a comment. Fascinating to hear about someone still using components originally produced so long ago

@romance3624 10 месяцев назад

vintage technology are the best why ? it made with good materials, made to work all life, have manual to repair and can find parts to fix it, after long time it made still works, i buy only vintage technology, this days we have only chinese garbage from china, and everything is made in china, love vintage technology

@vinceunlimited 10 месяцев назад

Hi, Thanks for taking a look at my video and your thoughts on vintage equipment. Of course when I had this system it was far from vintage. In fact all brand new. I agree that some things from this period have stood the test of time and some comments I have received confirm this. I understand what you mean by the detriment to build quality from mass market supply during the early 2000s due to customers preferring cheapness over quality but thankfully there are still some manufacturers that are producing good components with high grade materials and craftsmanship. But vintage stuff does still compete when it comes to style and ambiance. Vince

@summer20105707 Год назад

4 x inflation. Thats terrible. Over time we all are really being ripped off. Great stereo system though.

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Hi Summer, thanks for watching my video and your comments. Thankfully inflation on product prices is usually linked to increased wages, even if it doesn't always seem so. It was a great stereo system. Vince

@alainduquenois3812 Год назад

Pourquoi la pioneer a totalement disparu dans le monde de hifi

@vinceunlimited Год назад

Bonjour Alain, Merci pour votre commentaire. Pioneer fabrique toujours du Hi-Fi qui est disponible, y compris les produits Home Cinema, la mise en réseau, les composants individuels et les haut-parleurs. Bien que ce ne soit plus aussi courant qu'avant. Vince

@alainduquenois3812 Год назад

Merci

@vinceunlimited Год назад

De rien