Nice! I own a 1987 Pioneer A-90D (Japanese import). The only thing to fail were a few analogue relays. Had those replaced and it's still good as new for 35 years old!
I am 67 years old and I bought my Pioneer SX-1250 ,PL 530, RT-1020H and my CT-750 cassette player. Pair of JBL L200 added a crossover and installed the tweeter in the cabinet when I was 19 years old because I got tired of it sitting on top of the speaker cabinet. I still have them today and I only recently had the SX-1250 rebuilt. It cost me 1000 dollars but what is a great memory worth. Now I listen to it everyday and loving it. Not bad working that many years without stopping. Its still the most beautiful system ever to me. I know other brands are nice but your first love is always the one you gravitate to. Now I would like to have matching numbers in a system but weren't available at the time. Like PL-1250 turntable the CT-1250 cassette player but the RT-909 reel to reel well its so so I think I would keep mine. So that's my system.
Nice story. The same with me. I'm 66 and bought my sony ta 4650 + ta 4950 tuner in 1976 . I whas 18...or 19 ! I still have it in the sleep room. I keep it till i die ,haha !!! Have a nice day buddy !!! greatings from the Netherlands ...😊
@@DMUSA536 WOW I too was that age thought I turned 20 in Basic Training in 1977! My first Receiver I bought was Kenwood Super 11 and wasn't impressed. I sold it and got a Pioneer SX-9 and never looked back! I wanted a Pioneer 1280 Specs for Nerds Tuning range: FM, MW Power output: 125 watts per channel into 8Ω (stereo) Way underrated! Frequency response: 5Hz to 100kHz Total harmonic distortion: 0.005% Damping factor: 50 Input sensitivity: 0.25mV (MC), 2.5mV (MM), 150mV (line) Signal to noise ratio: 67dB (MC), 80dB (MM) Output: 150mV (line), 1V (Pre out) Dimensions: 420 x 151 x 448mm Weight: 15.1kg 15Hz filter and one switch for MM/MC for the Phono in. Accessories: FM T-type antenna Kicked the crap out of the 1050 my Roommate had on my speakers. Connected to is a Kenwood Video Processor Akai 636D R2R Pioneer CTF-1050 Cassette Phase Linear Series II Range Expander Noise Reduction Pioneer 24 Band (12 Per Ch) EQ (almost never used LOL!) Pioneer PL400 with OEM MC Cartridge Pioneer CS-922a Speakers (sound better than the HPM-100s BTW) I only hated that I passed up a Pioneer 909 Reel 2 Reel Pioneer 303 Reverb AMP Pioneer Timmer The two things I wanted and never got was that SX-1280 and HPM 150/1500!
I love Pioneer, I have 4. 780,780,980,1080. Please compare 50 series to 80 series, which is better and why. I love the channel. I have Marantz 2226b and Sansui 9090, Luxman…. And a ton more. Tubes baby tubes. Reel to reel… you get the picture. I use my 1080 5-6 hours a day every day. With my Bozak 302a(a little bit of the 50’s speakers mixed in) normally ELAC uni-fi UB 5
I have a SX1050 that was passed down to me by my dad. Now that he’s gone, this is one of my most prized possessions! We used to spend hours upon hours listening to this unit. I also have his speakers as well a set of Koss CM-1030’s
NICE!! I'm sorry for your loss but what a great way to carry a part of him along and enjoy that piece as much as he likely did. I'm going to share my story....hang onto that beast!
That’s awesome I remember when I was a kid playing with the tuner.. spinning it constantly lol .. I have the sx1250 passed down from my dad as well.. sadly he has passed away too .. and it has a lot of sentimental value. it’s does work but could use new glass and the top /wood could be refinished.. did your need any work? And if so was it something u would repair yourself thx
Keep that Mike!! I just lost my father. My fondest memory is when I was about 8 years old. He sat me down in front of the credenza where his stereo was kept. It was a pioneer sx. I forget the model. That day he gave me my introduction to his vinyl collection of rock and blues. We sat for hours and listened. It was the first time I heard Led Zeppelin, Johnny Winter, Deep Purple, Peter Frampton and the list went on. Now that my father is gone I have this strong desire to obtain one of these and revisit that day and so many memories. I am set to obtain that same vinyl collection that he still had as soon as I can get down to florida. Anyhow your post hit me hard and although we don’t know one another, we share a bond in this stereo and how our fathers were connected. God bless brother.
I may be stressing something you already realize but WTH. Do not ever sell trade or refuse to carry that wonder ever. The memories you are already valuing will become more and more valuable over time. The bonds I carry with my father were baseball and shooting pool. I’m 67 years old and still love the game of baseball and shoot pool twice a week in a league. The memories still wash over me and I know that will be the case for you as well. Sounds like you had a good father and he a good son. Take Care.
I have an SX - 737, it's an old heirloom that I cut my teeth on vintage restorations on. It still sounds great today, and I love the blue backlit dial scale and meters!
I had an SX-636 in college - set me back a lot of money back in that time... loved it all through college then sold it when I graduated so I could buy clothes for my first real job! Paired it up with the Pioneer HPM40 speakers - nice rig for the money.
I love my SX-737. I know there are bigger badder, much more expensive receivers, but I prefer the flouroscan blue lights. Wouldn’t go with LEDs. Just not the same warm glow. Reminds me of when I was in the 70’s, early 80’s listening to my dad’s Pioneer system. Laying on the floor in the living room, with the headphones on playing his records. Great memories.
I have a SX-780...bought it new. I preferred it over the 750 which was still available. The 780 face layout was nicer with the Left & Right Power display, sound was the same. When I was researching (which meant actually going into a store) I was comparing Yamaha Natural Sound, Technics, and Marantz. Went with Pioneer...I thought the whole Pioneer line at the time was fuller and best sound for the buck.
I have a SX-780 as well. Bought one a few months ago and love it. Too bad for me I didn’t buy one new when you did and got to enjoy it for the length of time you did. Oh well….
Anything 727-750 or over, yes, they were excellent receivers, ONE of the best, but soundwise, you know Sansui’s, Marantz and many others were just as good. Personally I like The Kyrocera’s! WAY underrated.
I feel like Pioneer is the most natural of the big 3. But I love the warm sound of a Marantz, to me its sonic perfection. Sansui and Pioneer models do very little to color the sound IMO, but with a good source and good speakers, it is not an issue at all. I wouldnt even really call Marantz coloring, but it definitely has a unique feel to it. I have one of each.
Pioneer made in china and Malaysia these days with plastic facias. It’s because of inflation. A new $400 receiver in 1974 is not the same as a new $400 receiver in 2022.
@@asplmn just making a comparison because people seem to think vintage equipment is the best when really comes down to inflation. If you spent $600 in 1974 on a stereo amplifier you need to spend 4 times (check that, 5 times) that amount today to get the same quality. Inflation my friend. And I don’t think manufacturers who produce consumer electronics in mass quantity like pioneer and others do today want to market a $3000 receiver. It just won’t happen so they cost cut on the cheaper stuff.
@@jogmas12 my current set of vintage Pioneer separates cost $7000 back in the mid 70's (~$30k today). I grabbed them for $3500. Sound better than anything else I've heard, of course I went through and cleaned them out and recapped them. For me, it's more about having a high quality piece that I feel joy in operating and owning rather than a black, plastic box. :)
I have had a 780,750,and a 636. The 750 sounded best to me but that lower powered sx-636 had a good sound too. I now use vintage Marantz but I still love Pioneer. Vintage gear is my favorite. This was a great video. You keep videos like these coming to us. Just Audio is just great
I had the 636 myself and loved it. Just stopped using it a few years ago. Picked it up in 1987 in a second hand store for $15. The clips for the speakers always annoyed me.
Loved this! Could you do the same thing to Sansui models? How things evolved? I would be happy for a late 1970s to early 1980s breakdown from Sansui 9090 to Sansui G33000. Fingers crossed.....
Absolutely! I'd expect to see the G Series / 9090 series soon if this video is well received. I would not expect us to have the 33000. But we do have pretty much everything up to the 9000 right now
@@LennyFlorentine Hi I love your reviews. I have a ton of stuff as you may read Are you the guy selling the stereo lapel pins that I see on eBay? I bought the 780 pin and it’s wonderful I’m looking for more pens
@@Silverface1987 Thank you for your suggestion! I will give it a try. But I like to tell you that although I am familiar with Ennio Morricone's music, I don't know about the artist Yo Yo Ma. Sorry.
Nice to see a new generation showing so much love and appreciation for this great, classic, well made gear that was popular during what is known as 'THE GOLDEN AGE OF HI-FI'.
I love these Pioneer receivers, and I used to admire all of them in my local Hi-Fi store, which was one of my favorite hangouts to listen to all the latest stuff. Back in 1975 when I was shopping for a HiFi receiver, I had a budget of about $200, which was a lot for a 15 year old earning money doing babysitting. Most of the Pioneers at that time we're over my budget, so I ended up buying a nice Kenwood demonstration model that I could afford. I think all the Pioneers you showed here came out shortly after I already bought my receiver, which I had kept and used for about 30 years. Now I listen to a Pioneer SX 780 that I picked up last year, but I still drool over the larger models LOL
I can relate. I bought a Realistic Sta-82 with my paper route money and it worked just fine until the day I tossed it in a move 10 years ago. Still regret that. But now I've gotten some old Pioneer and Mcintosh gear I could only dream of when I was a kid.
The 50s are gorgeous! Some of the best looking receivers, but I favor the more modest looking SX 838 and above for their warmer sound. I also have the SX 3900 which sounds much like the 1050/80. A nice piece as well.
I bought a new Pioneer SX-450 receiver in late 1976. Even at 15 watts per channel it was plenty loud. It performed flawlessly until I purchased a new Yamaha receiver to replace it in 1984. The SX-450 was still perfectly fine and in like new condition. I sold the SX-450. I wish that I still had it. The SX-450 was my first hi-fi receiver. It was a thing of beauty. A real masterpiece. I also had a Pioneer turntable to go with my receiver and a set of Pioneer Aria 50 speakers. I was big on Pioneer back in the day. a lot of other people were too. A shame how Pioneer vanished from the world of hi-fidelity,
I still have my sx1010 i got from a thrift store in wa state in 1998 for $15 i recently did full rebuild/recap led display bulbs etc. Looks great and sounds great again.
I like me some Pioneer gear! When our family would go to the department stores in the 1970's, my brother and I would just about run to the electronics area and check out the latest stereos on sale, spinning the controls and flipping the switches. (Fond memories)
Great video! I purchased the SX1050 receiver along with a pair of HPM 100's in 1977 at the PX while in the army. I still have them and they still get played an awful lot. The 1050 has never given me any trouble whatsoever. I paid $520 for the receiver and $500 for the pair of Pioneer HPM 100 speakers. If you want to hear it outside while doing yard work, no problem. You can turn it way up and it's as clear as can be.
Great video. I was glued to it. I love the SX-50 series. I have an SX-750, and just love it. It's powerful, looks beautiful and impressive, has great sound and is built so well. Back when stereos were important and meant to be seen like furniture, and not blend into the background. I think just about everyone who has come into my music room has gravitated to my Pioneer silver faced components. No one has ever done that with my black home entertainment surround receiver. Unless a higher model from the series falls in my lap at a price I can't ignore, I plan on using my SX-750 until I'm dead and gone!
I've seen others post exactly what I'm about to. First, I dig the video. Thank you for making it. Not long after my dad returned from Vietnam, he bought a Pioneer system straight off the catalogue page: an SX-1010 receiver, the PL-A450 auto turntable, and two CS-99A speakers. Agent Orange caught up with him and eventually took his life in 2006. Long story, short, my sister took the system but did not take care of it. At least she didn't pawn it. She's died sick years later and the stereo sits in my house, covered, doing naught but holding the floorboards down. It might be a lost cause by now but I still hold onto hope that someday, some part if it might be restored.
Pioneer beauty at it's finest. Still have my near perfect SX780 that I bought in high school and use daily. Thank you guys for a great video and all that you do to keep these vintage receivers alive.
I received a great reminder today of something we have all known for years but this reminder was needed. I was considering an AVR from Yamaha an A6 that produced 165 wpc to use in a 2 channel set-up. It seemed reasonable to me until I actually touched its volume and selector knobs. OMG I would gladly pay for a complete refurb on anything vintage before payingfor this POS. This unit cannot be considered quality by any stretch. I guess surround sound has a low bar for excellence cause I’m pretty sure Yamaha has a good reputation in this area. WTH ?
Lenny, In my experience, Pioneer was very successful for 2 reasons 1 quality gear and 2 EVERY price point from SX- 450 @ 15 watts to the SX-1980 @ 270 watts RMS per channel. I owed one of the smaller receivers SX-440. Great audio gear. Lenny what your schedule at the store? I have another test record for you. .
I went to pick up a yamaha avr for my brother from craigslist when i got to the guys house he sold it to me for 80.00. Then he said i have another receiver if you want for 50.00. He goes into this closet and pulls out a Pioneer SX-1980. My mouth dropped to the floor. I ask him so you said 50.00 and he said yup. I couldnt beleive it. He also sold me a pair of bose 901 for 100.00. On his kitchen table i could see crack pipe etc. True story. I had it all capped etc from my uncle al.
Good timing on this video. About a month ago I was in my landlords garage looking for some tile sealer. While looking around I hit my shin on a sharp corner, WTF its bleeding and hurts like hell. I looked under the sheet and standing on its side is a mint SX 1250. Called my landlord to ask about the 1250 and she said it was her husbands who passed away soon after purchasing it. She said I can have it if i would like, ah yes I would like. Before getting off the phone she said there might be some speakers in the very big and full garage. HOT DAM, after an hour I found in the original boxes a set of Polk RTA 12b speakers. It took 3 days to find the tweeters, they were still bolted together in the factory wrap with all paperwork. I have the best landlord ever and my neighbors don't like me as much as they did before I set the SX and 12b's up.
I still have a 780 (I sent it out to my parents place for my dad to use but he's pretty much listening to Spotify on an IPad with headphones now because his hearing is shot. The Pioneer could definitely use a tuneup (new caps, bigger heatsinks on the voltage regulators like alot of guys do these days etc...) but it's still hanging in there. I may just take it back for myself lol
Whenever we have different couple friends over, more often than not the wife makes fun of the 3 sets of sb-2766 peakers and gigantic 120w stereo we have in the dining room. "Why do you need so many speakers?"....well, what's your favorite song? The one that makes you wanna dance? After playing their favorite via their phone, it's usually "where did you get this?"...and they never ask again. When you can run six floor speakers with 12 inch woofers at the same time, it doesn't have to be loud to be full.
Great video on this great, industry leading receiver line. I think this also is the best looking series from anyone, anywhere, at any time. Love to see you do a similar review of their vintage speaker line prior to the HPM series, which you have well done already I’m referring to the gorgeous CS series, with the lattice grills. Particularly interested in the Pre and Post FB speakers. For example CS-63DX, CS-99 and 88, then CS-99A, CS-A770 and A700.. A turntable review would also be terrific!
I have my original Pioneer SX-939. Still works great. Love the '70 and '80 Pioneer. Beautiful. Great video. I'm enjoying my Integra DRX-2.4 I bought from you guys!
SX-850 is the sweet spot in the series. I have speakers "A" (JBL L110's) in the listening room and speakers "B" (JBL L88 Novas) in the basement work are directly under the upstairs listening area in my old 1895 house. It's more than enough to drive both sets of speakers @ 4 ohms at moderate sound levels. I had my receiver recertification done @ Sounds Classic in Rockford, Illinois.
I was given an SX-1280 that only worked on the B speakers. I ran it until it stopped altogether. I had it professionally cleaned and rebuilt where needed ($700.00 approx). It now rocks like it did in 1978! I got very lucky!
Pre-Out, Power-In ... isn't necessarily for a bigger amplifier, it just adds flexibility that any receiver or integrated should have. It's an insert point for anything... EQ, signal shaping, etc, or add an additional LF section or for subwoofers. Every receiver or integrated amp should have this access.
Pioneer silver face components were the ultimate ! The SX-1250 is the best. The SX-1980 is "overkill" unless you need to fill a stadium sized room with sound.
I had been wondering, is that really what it was good for? Nobody needs that much power in their living room, and anyone who has any sort of professional use case in a stadium or whatever would probably not use a consumer product, right? I just don't understand who this was designed for. The home listener with a mansion, throwing parties on professional speakers for a crowd of hundreds at the weekend?
@@cowboyhank456 I think it was designed for mr. Jones, you know, it's that guy who has lots of money and wants to show off and impress his friends. Because we know there's no practical need for that much power for a home stereo, since you wouldn't even be able to turn it up halfway before going deaf LOL
In '77, l think it was, my father heard l wanted to buy a stereo with my hard earned money. He only asked me one time how much l was planning on spending and if l was sure about it. Of course l was. I bought a Pioneer SX-880 and some headphones, as l couldn't quite get the speakers yet. Later l added HPM-100'S and a PL514 TT. This was my set-up for about 4 years. I packed away the 880 and bought a Vector Research VR7000. FFW to 1992, l stopped at a garage sale and on the table was a worn SX-650. After checking the working order of it, the $25 was easily retrieved from my back pocket. This and some Goodwill HPM700'S was my garage set-up for 30 years. That 650 would still rip and was well used. In 2021 we downsized to a tiny house. I had to sell most of my stuff. Both Pioneers and the TT went to the same guy. He was happier than l was about it, and was blown away at the condition of the 880. A Sansui G2000 and a Concept 2.0 were sold as well. I kept another, much newer Pioneer and the Vector Research. Of all that l have owned, the Pioneers are my favorites.
I bought a 1250 brand new when I was 18 years old, and finally sold it a couple of years ago. I now have a full McIntosh system. The best thing about the Pioneer was the tuner, but today, I never listen to FM at home, so I prefer the Big Mac. The silver Pioneer is a good looking receiver, but the big blue meters look even better. I still wish I would have kept the 1250 though.
You should do one on the Yamaha XX20 series receivers. I feel that they are under-appreciated, but superior, in styling, features, as well as sound quality to Pioneer, Sansui, or even Marantz.
I have the SX 650 I had the SA 6800 I bought new with PL 200 , Akia GXC 706D paired with Sound Dynamics 12s that's when there were real HIFI stores dedicated to audio with a sound room to listen before you buy I later upgraded the speakers to Audiosphere Research 18L , then in 1982ish I sold everything for $ 1500.oo and bought a 1970 Cuda for $ 1200.oo but it doesn't end there , but I ramble .
I have an SX 550 which looks and sounds great. Even if rated at "only" 20 WPC is very loud at just 4 or 5. I see that most of them were outsourced to Korea, probably for cost reasons, some however and mine included, were made in Japan, are you aware of any difference in quality and/or sound?
I bought a stereo system when I was stationed in Japan in the early 70s. I had the Pioneer SA 9100 Amp with the TX 9100 Tuner and a PL55 turntable, a Teac cassette deck, a Sony TC 580 reel to reel with 2 Sansui SP 3200 speakers. I also had an Akai reel to reel that used the ten inch reels. It was a great sounding rig. Unfortunately after I got home I got married and two years later divorced. That divorce cost me everything I owned. I had to sell my stereo for $200 for enough money to get out of town. I sold it to my buddy George and I hope he had as much pleasure from it as I did. I'm old now and the ten thousand vinyl albums I once owned have dwindled as I sold them off for living money. But I have very fond memories of that stereo system. I have another stereo now but it's cheap junk compared to what I once had. We all have 20/20 hindsight and I sure wish I had been able to keep what I once had.
Love all that vintage sound. Pioneer must have put out a load of models in the 70's. I have a model SX-727 that I inherited from my Dad that he bought in 1971 for $368.00 + $270.00 for 2 Fisher XP65S speakers. I've got the receipt from Prairie Electronics LTD. Dad went all in on this baby. Even after 50 years it still sounds great. Thanks Dad.
I have an all-Pioneer, all-70s silver faced system which includes an SX-1250 (restored), SG-9500 EQ, RT-1020L, RT-707, CT-F1250 (restored), PL-50A, PL-71, PL-707 (restored), and HPM-100 speakers. It still sounds quite impressive.
Love (love!) listening to this video!! I have two SX-1050s and an SX-950. Crazy, yes. I bought my first SX1050 new in 1977, though I thought I remember paying around $700 for it. I used it for many years, but something went wrong and I made the mistake of turning it over to my do-it-yourselfer boyfriend, who has a Masters degree in electrical engineering. He couldn’t resist tinkering and went beyond fixing it and when he returned it to me, it didn’t sound right, (at all!) so I bought another off eBay for $500. Luckily, it was as unblemished as mine and performed flawlessly. Then I decided to upgrade to a tube integrated amplifier and the Pioneer spent a lot of years in my closet. About five years ago, hating the sound of my pricey home theater receiver, the Arcam SR-250, I retrieved it from the closet where it wound up putting the Arcam AVR to shame. Then I made a really bad mistake and had it refurbished, hoping it’d last another 40+ years. Fairly soon after something went wrong! And the place I’d had it refurbished had closed its business. I took it to my long time audio repair fellow, who hated to work on the more difficult 1050s, and begged him to work on it. Instead, he encouraged me to replace it with an SX-950, which he promised he could make sing. So I bought a 950 off eBay, sadly at a considerably higher price than the earlier SX-1050! He said he would test all important parts to see if they were in spec and only replace those that were not. He also would resolder where needed. He claimed that the newer parts, particularly the modern capacitors, didn’t sound nearly as good as the ones Pioneer used in the original and encouraged me not to insist on recapping. Meanwhile, I discovered what was wrong with the 1050 was only a loose speaker connection! Which, btw, is almost the only thing I can criticize about the SX-1050, those crummy speaker wire connectors. There was actually nothing wrong with it. However, at least my audio guy was right. The 950 sounds better than the 1050, the refurbished 1050 causes a little ear fatigue compared to the sweeter sounding 950. Alas, I’m getting to an age where I’m considering downsizing and I’m going to have to let two of them go. That is going to be incredibly painful.
Pioneer is one vintage brand i do not own. I have sansui, marantz, kenwood and sony. If prices ever come down, i will search for Yamaha, pioneer, and technics. Cheers
Hey guys, I have a 1250 and my wife says my HPM-900s are too big for the living room, so I’m stuck (great speakers to be “stuck” with) with some Elac bookshelf speakers on stands, but the bass is lacking. So I just grabbed an older SVS PB-2000 (not pro) and am trying to figure out the best way to connect it, since it doesn’t have high-level/speaker inputs… anyone running the same or similar equipment wanna share how they run them together?
You could run it out of the tape monitor. You would have to control volume and pass through via the controls on the back of the sub. The receiver will only be able to send signal and not change volume.
I currently have an SX-780 that I purchased in 1979 that still works perfectly. I have that paired with a CT-F650 cassette deck and a pair of DSS-7 speakers that all are in perfect working condition and sound fantastic!
Great vid! I love when you do these focused videos comparing a range or talking a history of product range. Made me laugh when I saw you spinning that tuner knob on the SX-1250. I had a SX-550 growing up which I used up until the mid 90's, and I'd always enjoy the tactile feeling of the buttons/switches, and the smoothness of the knobs, and with that tuner knob, I'd quite often do exactly what you are doing in the video, spinning it from one end of the FM range to the other.... Today my most used vintage amp is an SA-9100 which I have a PL-570 turntable connected to. Both top of the range for Pioneer in their day, but I still have very fond memories of the SX-550.
I was born in 58...so I was a young adult right during the golden age of hifi...the sx series was the most popular during those days. I was a spec 1 fan and owner during those times. Sure do miss those days, and thst gear! Thanks for doing some vintage stuff. May not measure as well as some modern gear, but I'm still a big fan of the sound! ( presently. I'm using vintage SAE gear, so I'm still a fan of the sound!)
I own an SX-737 alongside a Sansui AU-555A from the same era. Lovely gear, and I don't think I will ever have any desire for modern audio equipment. However, I have read plenty of accounts from people who I assume are much more knowledgeable than me, that Pioneer had made a number of cost-cutting measures when designing the X50 series. I'm not the one to judge the sound quality differences because I don't have the experience, but there are apparently a number of things which were demonstrably worse in these receivers than the ones that came before. Does this make them sound any less? I don't know.
I always thought it was the sx80 series that started to comprise in quality. For sure the sx00 of 1980 was compromised. But my sx750 gives up nothing to my sx939 as far as build quality goes. Electronically though might be another story
@@LennyFlorentine when it comes to quality, need to take a look at the vintage Pioneer separates. SPEC and Elite series. And, if you want some of the best gear ever produced, take a look at the Pioneer Exclusive series (Japan only).
@@asplmn pioneer Elite serię, separates like c90/m90, were highly praised back in 80s in japan. Pioneer Elite c90a/m90a got Best product distinctions along with for instance Accuphase m100, tube AMP luxman mq 360. Elite to this Day is great series
I never heard the sx 50 series. I own a SX-880 which is killer! I also completely restored a sx-680 and I must say it sounds even better? I did replace the amp with discrete components. So clean and a lot of power. Maybe one day I’ll get my hands on a 50 series?
To me still Pioneer is the king of audio. I used receiver xmn 100 xmq300 mono(if i remember the model correctly) way back in 1963. Later tried the other brands ie. Leak, Akai and Denon but still I remember how much I enjoyed the reproduction of clarity music. Now I am using Akai - complete system amp,tuner, cassette deck & turn table which I bought way back in 1981 for my son's 1st. B'day. Definatly I will go in for a Pioneer system once again one of these days. Thanks for your interesting presentation.Nihal-Sri Lanka
Pioneer really are pioneers in stereo systems . They developed the mega bass sound system . I wish they still made boom boxes because they were the best .
I have the SX-780 , a Technics SA-600 and a Yamaha CR-820. My favorite is the Technics, really warm (I know particle board on the bottom) but the Pioneer is classy, punchy and very well built.
This comparison feels very incomplete with the absence of the SX-x3x series. The series that started the 100w reciever wars with the SX-1010. Both beautiful and warm and not to be forgotten.
Great presentation and I love the enthusiasm for Pioneer! I had a business card for my Transistor and Tube Radio Repair which I started in 5th grade in NNJ. In HS summers I worked at Alltronics Service Labs for a wonderful Greek fellow, and we were in 1/4 of the Lafayette Radio Electronics store, in 1972, We did Factory Authorized Service on many Lafayette stereos, bad Fairchild epoxy top FM IF IC's which we signal traced with a hat pin and the bench Flourescent light noise - my Boss Fedon's favorite trick. We also fixed MANY blown driver/outputs and those beautiful Sansui 5000-X's, which burned out the wonderful wood grille Sansui speakers, for many returning Servicemen from the fae east... Anyway, soon Pioneer appeared in the store, and Fedon strongly admired the quality and design. Still working at the most FUN bench tech job ever, I bought my PIONEER SX-1010, for only $470 Employee Cost, after saving up all summer and paired it with Dynaco A-25's in my Dorm room. Fantastic 110W/CH, AND a phenomenal FM tuner 1.7uV sensitivity with TWO RF stages, 3SK45's driving a 3SK39 Mixer. I had an FM Yagi antenna 30ft over our Sparta NJ home, and could hear 2-3 stations on EVERY FM channel, from Delaware to Connecticut, perfectly calibrated odd freq between the tick marks, the FM center tune would be vertical when you turned it on. Other than the TX-9100, which pro RU-vid Engineer XrayTonyB also loves with the matching amp, few other FM tuners have 5-7 Gangs, and the FOUR top grade frequency dot/color matched 10.7MHz Murata Ceramic Filters and 1dB Capture Ratio which my FM antenna and Rotor made apparent. I recapped and realigned my 1010 recently, the tuning meter long ago drifted to the right, from the Quadrature Detector coil/capacitor circuit. Also the silver plated pushbuttons got noisy and intermittent, and as XRAY has explained, many of the small signal transistors Pioneer and others used, got black pitting and corrosion on the leads, sometimes up into the plastic case and made them NOISY. After college and a first job at TI, I got an EE job at Harris Broadcast thru my best friend from the Bradley U Amateur Radio Club, another great hobby! Mentioning this because the Club built digital Alarm clocks, which powered my SX-1010, and woke me up in Quincy IL from KSHE-95 in St. Louis, good quieting signal from over 100 miles away! I still have the original Pioneer Service manual, and an ad from the Power Wars, when the SX-1010 was the most POWERFUL Receiver in the mid 70's, with + and - 54 Volt power rails, 2 x 18000uF filter caps, and those wonderful sounding Class A driver pushing 2 pairs of 2SA747 PNP and 2SC1117 NPN Power Transistors on two large heatsinks! Another technology advance was Pioneer's split power rail design, from the very low noise, accurate RIAA EQ'd Phono preamp, thru the Tone and Main preamps for low DC offset while switching. I even restored and upgraded a Pioneer KP-500 SuperTuner I had since new, mainly killing noise with larger caps, and 3 terminal IC regulators where Pioneer had dropping resistors. I added the rare Pioneer FM Noise Blanker into the FM IF, and modified switches for Stereo/Mono and AUX IN, driving Radio Shack Minimus 7's as my PC audio at work! Keep up the True Spirit of PIONEER! Thanks, Hilary W4HDL
Awesome video! New to this channel and HiFi gear. Next time I am in your area, I will definitely come check out the store. I currently have a Pioneer SX-525, which is older than the 50 series. I would love to see a video of the overall history/progression of Pioneer receivers, in order to understand the storyline between older models like mine, thru the 50 and 80 series, and beyond. Thanks for the great content!
I recommend taking an interest in the B 2102 MOS VINTAGE model. Once upon a time I accidentally bought this model and it is still my best amplifier. even Pioneer 1250/1280 or Marantz 2500 or G 9000 performed poorly in comparison
My wife is a Nurse and bought me $7,000 Kef R11 speakers ...and she said pick any reciever you want ,,,guess what i picked ...PIONEER Sx 1050 !!!!!....and it sounds AMAZING !!!!!
We had a 1250 growing up. I have no idea what ever happened to it (as well as the rest of the hifi) but I WISH I still had it. (pretty sure my mom sold it/gave it away when she sold the house and down-sized about 15 years ago) =(
Personally I prefer the 80 series. The sound warmer to me. I own some 50 Series and 80 series. I love them all. I think the bill quality of the 50 Series is better, but when it comes to my listening preference Bernard goes to the 80s series
I had an SX-1280, perhaps the best receiver I’ve ever owned. Only issue was the variable controls would get dirty. I moved up to individual components in the mid 80’s, spent way too much money on that stuff. Down to a Marantz receiver and Sony CD player (CDP-C601ES). I still have hundreds of albums I’ll have to part with someday soon, no space for turntable. I retired 10 years ago but just can’t seem to stop listening to good old music, I now have about 400 CDs. I still have an SX-3400 on an “old stereo” display shelf next to a Sony TC-458 (bi-directional 7.5 inch reel to reel). Love your videos, always wanted the SX-1980, but that 1280 was damn good.
Well I have a sad update, My Volume pot went out and there is no where to get one for the sx1250, I now see the problem with vintage stereo's any little part that goes out can't be replaced so in most cases it a ticking time bomb. I am an end user so I can't fix the problem and the people that can won't help hoping you will get rid of it and they would be the likely one's to get it cheap because they can fix it. What a RIP. All the Pioneer video's on RU-vid and not one who works on them will aid you in getting yours back up and running. I talked to a guy that builds volume pot because he says it to hard to find them so he builds them totally himself. I asked him if I send mine to him would he rebuild it. Answer was Sorry Can't Help you. Now if you can build them yourself and he has ads for the Pioneer 750, 1050 and other stereo brand names why would he say sorry can't help? He has pages of volume pot but not mine. If mine is so popular why not make them as well? Anyone want to help?
There's a HUGE difference between the sx-550 and the sx-650, the quality of construction is very different. The 650 have a separated power supply board, and a proper amplifier board. It also use the same stereo demodulator than many more expensive receiver and tuners. If you want to buy one of these 2, the 650 is the one you should get.
Good Evening, I have a Pioneer SX-40 that my father gave me for graduation in 1969. Several years ago I took it in for repair. Two months went by and I found that he had moved. When I finally tracked him down, amongst all of the tVs, steros, etc., he could only find the amplifier ... the metal cover was missing. I was pissed, but what could I do. What metal covers in the Pioneer SX series would fit on my SX-40? I am hoping to locate a parts amp. Thank you
