A friend of mine gave me one of these as a Christmas gift because he knows I enjoy messing around with vintage equipment,needs 4 knobs that are missing but other than that it works and just needs cleaning
I had tons of issues with the zero switching bias circuit in my SX-1980 when i first got it. I also have a SA-9800 in my rack with my SX-1980 . I love both of these pieces of equipment
4 года назад
I enjoy listening to somebody that knows what they are talking about telling me how good my amp is.
Assuming my SA-9100 has that same slight bass elevation, it probably explains why I like listening to it so much. It's very subtle - there's no lack of detail on the top end, just a slightly greater presence in the lower mid-range than my cooler, thinner-sounding Emotiva gear. In my opinion, these old Pioneer amps work wonderfully with horn-loaded Klipsch speakers. Great video! Thanks.
I have the SA-8800, and I love it! One day, there was a strange humming sound. Turned out, one of the rectifier diodes was faulty. After replacing the whole set and changing the big caps from 12.000 to 22.000µF, it performs awesome.
Thank you for the great video of this classic amp. I very much enjoyed the video and your explanation of what you were doing and why you did it. Vintage electronics restoration is a dying art form as most technicians are either retired or have passed on. I am nowhere near your level but I do restore vintage electronics all because in my opinion, the older gear was made in the days when the sound quality was more important than colored flashing LED lights that tend to be used on the new junk being sold today.
Just got hold of one that's sold with faults. Cosmetically very good, but hopefully I'll be able to find someone local who can service/repair this unit. It's a beautiful unit and definitely worth gettting this back to working condition.
Wooow what a great techinician..!! Thanks for share your experience. I´m a vintage Pioneer enthusiast and I very pleased to see this video. Greatings from Caracas - Venezuela.
I hv two of these, bought over ten years ago at sort of backyard sales, non working but still 50 dollars each. Still no time to lay my hands on them. Looks to be a post retirement item!
Hello sir. If you still have these and you would be willing, I need one of the smaller knobs for my restoration. I have an SA-9800, and that's the only cosmetic part I still need. Pretty please with sugar on top? I would pay you a decent price.
lol, I don't even own a TV but have 4 vintage hi-fi systems set up throughout the house with many more components shelved. Anyway, just wanted to thank you for making these videos. You help many of us with your knowledge.
Great video, and points for explaining these non-switching amps. My 'daily driver' is a restored SA-9800 and it never ceases to impress. Not sure if it was a brain fart but the SX-1980 isn't one of them - it's a 'fast' amp with ring-emitter outputs but not a non-switching topology, just conventional A/B. The last thing we need is another reason for their eBay prices to rise LOL
I always liked the front panel design of Pioneer, Kenwood and Sony Equipment (from the 70's and early 80's). The only piece of gear from that era that I still own is a Sony TA-2000f Pre-amp, which I re-built. It has been my only pre-amp since 1975. I only use the line&tone amp section on it today. The phono section can't really compete with the low-noise IC based phono preamps that you can buy today.
on 35:00 I usually just remove this type of switch, disassemble completely, use diamond brush to clean and polish all conductors and afterwards clean w contact cleaner w silicon lubricant and assemble back. This way I am 100% positive on it, I also do the same thing w other tumbler switches. Now I am looking for one unit for myself, want to do modification to add CD and MD inputs (instead MM/MC), do new silkscreen on front panel and this MC/MM switch put on the back of the amp.
Another awesome fix. Positive feedback: I would really like to have seen more of the actual fixing in the video, even if it had to be a 5 part series, unedited. Thank you for sharing your skills. 👍👍👍👍👍
I wish I could have done more on this project, but I have so many other things to go on the bench that I can only post a little bit from each project. I'm sure you will see a lot of other similar things on the bench soon. Thanks for watching!
Another amazing video! , I always wanted to ask you , what do you think about the recap kits that are sold in ebay? , Can a person with some little knowledge on electronics be able to recap and amp with those kits without doing a mess?, I have a Yamaha ca-1000 III (Ca-2000 in the US) I want do to the recap by myself cuz there are no people in my country which can do the job.
Tony I envy you to have that nice receiver in the living room. My wife had me put all that stuff in the basement. so that being said the basement is my man cave.
Integrated amp, not a receiver. Given this is Tony's machine, I thought it would be a receiver too! There's not much good stuff to listen to on the radio unless you can get and like Classical music or Jazz. Easier to find high quality streams of those online now.
Excellent video. I want to make you a query. My SA-9800 has the same fault in which the display lights up with very low brightness. I understand that it is a problem with the capacitors on the Fluorscan board, or it is also a problem in the power source. Thank you for your comments.
I was at a estate sale today and they have an sa-9800, tx-9800, ct-f1250, 2 cs-99A speakers and a technics sl-1300mkII turntable. today was the last day and Oddly these didn't sell so they asked me to make an offer. Was not connected so not sure if functional. What do you think I should offer? I can send photos. I have to go back tomorrow they sold the house and need everything out. Thanks for your time
Great Video and as always extremely interesting. The really Classic Consumer Electronics manufactured before 1980 were designed and built to be serviceable. The introduction of microprocessors, surface mount technology, Digital Signal Processing, Digital Sampling, etc. etc. etc. has made it much more difficult for user service friendly Consumer Products. One tiny component does the tasks of hundreds (and sometimes even thousands) if discrete components and circuits. Those propriatorey devices are usually a) difficult to obtain, if not impossible, b) exclusive only to a few select Factory Repair Outlets, or c) extremely expensive and cost prohibitive to most owners. The classic Pioneer, Marantz, Sony, etc devices before 1980 were well designed, fairly easy to be serviced by most repair techs and of a quality that allowed for a very long useful life. It seems the new modern digital marketplace has created disposable devices with planned obsolescence. So, Tony, watching your repair processes are such a treat. My personal understanding of the entire process for your projects is most enjoyable and very appreciated that you stop to give pause to explain why you do what you do. Can’t wait for the next part!
Man this amp are so great the best of Pioneer blue ligne it will cost you about 2000$ today for one that is in perfect restoration in the Eu it is 210-220 volt
Nice job Tony! I am currently rebuilding my SA 9800 and i have few question for you . What replacements did you use for transistors on AWH channel board and Power board .Can you write me what for what? Was the display only dirty or did you change anything with the current? Greeting from Poland Rafael
How do you like those Wurth brand caps? I have been using them quite a lot lately with good success and they are a little cheaper than the Japanese brand caps.
Hi Tony, first of all thank you for your excellent videos, a real joy to watch. I have a SA 9800 which plays and sounds fine with one exception that drives me a bit crazy because I can't get it together in my head. When I'm in the MC channel all sounds fine when I do not touch the tone (bass) control. The signal first crackles and then vanishes completely when I 1, switch off tone control or 2, turn up the bass (one step is enough) or 3, activate loudness. When I switch back the signal is back after about a second. All that only happens in the MC mode. The unit is not restored yet, I want to do a complete revision, but maybe you might have an idea where to look for this problem first. Thank you a lot in advance, Martin
Thanks Tony, Excellent work as always. Please, does anybody know a brand and part number of the Japanese small wire twister that they use to twist wires around pins on the PCB? I don't need anything fancy. Thank you.
First of all, thank you for the beautiful video. Like. In second order, would you please say me in wich video you teach how build a transistor couple with a matched pair and put it together in epoxy? Thanks.
Great video. I am the proud owner of one these that I bought new way back in the day. I will be restoring it as well, and probably selling it after that. But, I am in need of one thing...one of the smaller knobs. I noticed that the speaker selector knob on yours was not an exact replacement...I don't suppose you have an extra small know or know of a source?
Hi Tony. As a practicing, professional EE, I’m addicted to these videos. Curious though. Where do you find all of these vintage schematics for your projects? A big thanks from here in Taxachusetts.
Stereomanuals.com has very high quality reproductions and even in color if the original is in color. But they are not "free". Here is their page. I get a lot from them and have never been disappointed. www.stereomanuals.com/man/rep/pioneer/pioneer_manuals_sa-8800_xx.htm
It appears most vintage gear even hi-end units the speaker terminals were very cheaply made spring-loaded junk, that would be one concern to replace that with nice binding posts.
I have a few old 70s pioneer s but the sansui 2000A reciver I have is the 1 I want to fix 1 of the channels goes in and out who knows maybe just need to clean the pot ,Nice video still collecting test equipment though esr meter is a must for me
@@JeffCounsil-rp4qv my 2270 has a cracking sound, both channels. On heavy bass notes at medium to Loud volume. New main caps, recapped power supply. Voltage set 35v . Dc off set at 0 . Bias set at 5 mv. Any known bad transistor? Thank you very much!
@@curtismuma1931 Yes, there are plenty of "known" suspect transistors in the 2270. The PNP 2SA640 being one of the worst offenders. They get replaced with KSA992, and their NPN compliments KSC1845FTA (F=Gain group, TA= Tape packaging) However it could be other things as well. Burned or pitted points in the relay, and even the power switch itself can have high resistance causing a voltage drop when you up the volume.
Great work on that Pioneer SA 9800 Tony. As usual you do a might fine job. I have a question for you.... I have my Stand alone Blast King Powered Sub-woofer box and the Clipping light keeps coming on, even at low volume. I change all the electrolytic capacitors whit high quality ones and no change, it still clip at low volume. I attach the scope to the speaker out to test and it indeed clips. Can you tell me what I can check for this problem? Thanks and have a great day.
Really valuable video series and I am really appreciate your effort on this youtube videos. I am looking into each and every videos and learning many new things..!!!
Great video. I have a question for you which I have not been able to find an answer. All of the Pioneer SX series receivers have 2 prong non polarized and non grounded 2 prong power cords. Is this safe? Is it advisable to convert these old power cables to newer, safer 3 prong polarized and grounded plugs? If so, have you done such a conversion in one your past videos? If you have not done such a conversion and you think it’s advisable to do so, would you consider doing a short video on this subject? I have the Pioneer SX 1010 which I love. Thank you for any info you can shed on this subject.
Did you discharge any of the caps in this amp? If so, how was this done? I had one of these 9800 amps a couple years ago and shorted/sparked something inside by mistake when attempting to discharge.
Great question! I don't know if it showed up in the video, but just to the lower left of the oscilloscope, there was a clear incandescent light bulb in a socket with two probe wires attached. I use it to discharge the larger caps. I have alo built a "stinger cable" to discharge the higher voltage caps used in tube gear. I showed both of thes devices in quite a few of my other videos. Mark, over at Blueglow electronics even made one of my stinger cables on one of his videos and goes into detail as to how he made his. Thanks for the comment!
Good job! These late 70's and early 80's high end Japanese were generally well built, and still sound good some 40 years later. However, some are not so easy to maintain. This Pioneer is really dense, so I guess the wiring and so on was a time consuming job, specially to access both sides of boards. Your idea of getting a slope to your Multiturn pots is great! However, most manufacturers produce their pots with relatively short legs (compared to transistors). I also appreciate the wood cabinets or flanks, and I suppose you will later replace your whole Pioneer ensemble using good looking real wood. Many Sansui, Akai, Sony also shared these fragile panel. Never an easy job to replace if you don't have proper tools to get the flanges and profiles required. Last, if you want a perfect finish, you can varnish or lacquer these, but it's also a time consuming job. Best I've ever seen is some Piano lacker for JBL speakers!
Hi , Thnak you for your video. It was very usefule . I have one SA 9800 and need to restoration AWR 191 and AWM 163, Can u please send me replace list of component ( transistors and capasitors ) ? or how i can order ? Thank you . Saeed.
Nuts! I was hoping the tape deck would be reel to reel! Of course your tapes would be of family events and the like. I have one of either my mother's or my aunt's wedding. I really should go through the kit built reel to reel deck I was given, with the build instructions, to check for things to fix. It was made with discrete transistors, too early for op amps and the like..
@@BobPegram Possibly the RT-909 R2R. On a second thought, he might have the CT-1250 Cassette deck. And possibly the DX-T1000 Tuner, SG-9800 Equalizer. He might have the HPM-700 speakers too. But knowing Tony, he'll keep us in suspense and guessing all the wrong answers. lol!
@@BobPegram There were opamps back then too. Some early Fisher units have them. They looked like a ceramic array that reminds you of a resistor array, but taller, nothing like the familiar "black" colored ones.
@@JeffCounsil-rp4qv Yes I do know that op amps are older than the ones in ICs, they made some out of tubes back in that era. I could have op amps in the deck, but they would be kit built boards made of discrete xistors and wire in hole passives. There were no ICs of any sort in the reel to reel tape deck that I believe I still have, somewhere.
Hi Thank you so much for the great video. I have a few questions. 1. Do you have a link to where you set the bias? 2. I have found a service manual for my sa-9800, But there are no voltages given anywhere. Do you have a service manual with the correct voltages? 3. It would be great if you made a video about the different measurements you take on the video. Thank you Frank
Hi Frank. Adjustment should be in the manual (Chapter 8) You can download the manual from hifi engine. Be sure to use a propper voltmeter - and not a cheap one ;-)
is it acceptable to use the nichicon fine gold capacitors to replace the lower quality capacitors if you have a boat load to use up... ie power supplies and other circuits? thank you...
Hi Tony, great job on that Pioneer, it very handsome and great sounding amp. Hi have love my SA8800 but I have no use for it anymore. I have had it for 42 years and I am selling on ebay if anyone wants to get one very similar.
the flipped upside down power supply board where its discolored from the 2 transistors mounted on small alum heat sinks, cant you remount them with extended wires above the board in a new proper higher location, or leave them there and ruin all the new stuff you just swapped out with same heat stress after a few years of use , also a list of all offending transistors to get replaced with new cross ref ones would be great !!
LOL I'm sure it will be interesting. For me, I chose other paths in life but, still have the "hobby" interest in electronics, learning a little here, a little there.
Hi, just got this amp but the Florescent Display isn't working and also there is a loud buzzing sound from the speakers when connected to both A and/or B Terminals... Please advise. Thank you
You can buy just the bearing assembly in various sizes, and just attach your favorite slab of material that tickles your fancy. I use a 16" diameter bearing assembly that is very stable with larger units.
If you don't have right value of potentiometer, put next bigger value because you adjusting a current and always can reduce it to right value. Jumper for connection protection and power circuit was used for bay pass protection function and force to switch relay directly from power supply board when amplifier is on.
Very nice amp. New amps won't do better. If anything they will cost more and and do worse. The twin transformers is a nice touch. Reminds me of the Harman Kardons with the Dual or Twin supplies. Nothing like a nice healthy linear power supply. Nice work there Tony.
I wouldn't say Pioneer were not making quality amplifiers in the 1980's. I have owned a lot of their amplifiers and worked on them from the 1980's. Like the A88X from the Elite series dual mono and twin PSU's and the A70 which I am going to restore. They are of all metal construction all nobs and front panel's are made of aluminum. I have owned the Pioneer SA7800 which is from the same series as the 9800 and it was no great shakes sound quality wise. If you ever get the chance of a Pioneer A90 manufactured between 1983 - 1985 snatch it that's if you can find one!!! In my opinion this was the best integrated amplifier Pioneer ever made and the most powerful at 200 watts RMS per channel twin mono and massive dual torroidal transformers. Pioneer went down hill in the 1990's that's when the plastic seem to take over.
I have no idea of the importance of this observation, but at 38:30 or just after, you had a loose component on what I think is the low level phono amp board. It looked like an axial electrolytic cap stood on its end. If the end of the board farthest from the camera is the top, it was near the top and on the right. I expect you fixed it just like you fixed the loose ganged volume pot off camera. BTW, was that loose bots and nuts or a loose set of solder joints?
Those tall silver caps are actually polystyrene capacitors. They are very high quality caps used in applications such as phono stages. They are somewhat large for their value and can be somewhat expensive, which is why you don't see them more often. As for the volume pot, it was just a loose mounting nut.
very useful, practical vid. lots of good tips, eg carbide drill bit brittleness, make-up sticks ) rather disappointing design, no consideration for servicing ease.- just assembly-line speed.puts me off Pioneer, but probably typical. I like Jap gear this vintage. care in buying essential, of course.hope u well. Allan
@@JeffCounsil-rp4qv LOL Doesn't really matter. If it wasn't for Spell Check I'd be the oldest kid ever still in the 3rd grade. Besides I love this channel too much. My oldest Son (12)wants to follow after me and go to school for electronics.
They are matched pair transistor and matched pair JFET modules. They are no longer in production and NOS ones are getting very expensive. In several other videos, I show how to make them from two discrete components and thermally connect them into a makeshift module. They work very well. Thanks for watching!
Question. Tony will you list the part number for the amp pots? I watched your other videos but I cannot figure out the part number to replace my sa9800 amp parts. Thanks
That is correct. They are backwards, with respect to the 2SA726. Just make sure the "flat" side of the KSA992 faces the OPPOSITE direction of the original 2SA726 when you insert it into the board. Thanks for the comment!
@@xraytonyb Thank you Tony, I just wanted to go safe with that point. Meanwhile I'm over a complete restoration of the SA 9800. This video is a fantastic source, thank you !
Tony I would have to say most of the surround systems if the system was as good as what you have restored would be something that would last 40 years. Its sad that most of the new system are just plain junk and not serviceable as the classic receiver amps you have restored.
Not at all. In fact the reverse is true because a longer length can introduce capacitance w/ resistance and act as an antenna of sorts picking up extraneous noise. The only "upgrade" would be to gold plate the jumpers.
@@alexreeve Yep, they talk themselves into hearing a "difference" to justify being "fooled" out of their money for bragging rights among the "elite". Sure, if you buy a unit and the jumpers are missing, by all means use short RCA jumpers. As short as you can get them. Or make U shaped jumpers with solid copper wire.
Yeah would love mine restored also. I was almost ready to put on eBay since mine is really nice and I see they're going for nearly 2000.00 bucks. Just too hard to let it go since I have the matching equipment for it. Just need this knowledgeable man to be the guy to do it. C-mon Tony let me know if you would do mine, thank you sir.
This is just a hobby, at this point in my life. I have a full time business in the medical imaging service/sales industry as well as a family that takes up most of my time. I am hoping as I near retirement, I can do this as a full time hobby. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for watching!
