Pioneer SX-850 - Vintage Receiver

This lovely Pioneer has been sitting on a shelf for over two years, covered, of course, with only the finest Peruvian Llama fleece and kept temperature controlled and humidity free. You'd have to see my storage unit to fully appreciate the sarcasm here. At any rate, I had stowed it away because it had some sort of problem, but, after playing continually for two days straight, I haven't been able to duplicate any of its ailments. Quite honestly, I don't remember what the problem(s) were, so perhaps I'm speaking prematurely.... 

Maybe it was ME who had the problem two years ago and I should have been the one relegated to a garage shelf. It's too late to debate that now... carrying on...

At a modest 65 watts per channel, this 1976 beauty outputs clean, natural sound. All dial and indicator lights are working, which is a rarity for gear this old. The cabinet is in exceptional condition. I'll try a turntable and the tuner later this week, as time permits. Keep an eye open for an update. 

Here's what ClassicReceivers.com has to say about this model:  https://classicreceivers.com/pioneer-sx-850

For those interested, my Facebook HiFiCollector group is topping off at over 5K members now and I encourage people to post photos of their gear there, so... what are you waiting for? :)  www.facebook.com/hificollector

Pioneer SA-9100

This is my Christmas present to myself. A friend called me two days ago and said he had an "old Pioneer amplifier" that he wanted to unload. As soon as I saw the picture he texted me, I realized I had to make the 25 mile drive to pick it up - quick!

He inherited this from the original owner who bought it new in 1973. The heritage is exactly what one looks for when purchasing 40-year-old gear - one owner and well-appreciated. This shows virtually no signs of wear. The case and front panel are pristine. Took the knobs and switches off and electrostatically cleaned them using Simple Green as the solution. Wiped the cabinet down with furniture polish. Sprayed Caig tuner cleaner on all pots, switches and worked them well to help ensure static-free use.

I'm sure the electrolytic caps are dried up, but these old Japanese units hold up really well. It still sounds nice. This could be a candidate for full reconditioning. Stay tuned.

Specifications
Power output: 60 watts per channel into 8 ohms (stereo) Frequency response: 10Hz to 70kHz Total harmonic distortion: 0.1% Damping factor: 70 Input sensitivity: 2mV (mic), 2.5mV (MM), 150mV (line) Signal to noise ratio: 70dB (mic), 80dB (MM), 90dB (line) Output: 150mV (line), 30mV (DIN), 2V (Pre out) Speaker load impedance: 4 to 16 ohms Semiconductors: 63 x transistors, 30 x diodes Dimensions: 430mm (17") x 138mm (5.5") x 341mm (!3.5"). Weight: 13.6kg (30 lbs). Year: 1974. The above was copied from HiFi Engine.

Turntables - Pioneer PL-570

I received this turntable as part of a gear trade with no high expectations and was pleasantly surprised to find it worked quite well. One of the common failures of this vintage of automatic turntables is that they tend to no longer be . . .well, automatic. Parts wear out after 30 years? Who woulda thunk it?!?

This particular model still churns out all functions smoothly and without much complaint. The dustcover is even in decent shape, which is a flippin' miracle for any turntable over 11 minutes old.

The Shure cartridge deserves a kind retirement, and this will happen soon enough. At the moment though, I've got Beethoven's Sixth Symphony spinning and the hounds are about to take chase!

Have any experiences with the Pioneer PL-570 or any photos you'd like to share? Please send them on in.

What's it worth?
Good: $150
Fair: $100
As in photo: $90

Speakers - Pioneer CS-901

I've read in audio forums where people have referred to the CS-901 as ". . .the worst of the Kabuki era," and then there's this one from Audio Karma in which the author of the post referred to these as "[The CS-901] wasn't engineered - it was spec'd out by the marketing department. It's just a mindless copy of every speaker cliche they could think of."

I'll agree that the plastic horn in the center of the 15" woofer looks ridiculous, and that these were probably designed with a steep emphasis on form over function. I listened to this pair though, and they sounded . . .well, weak. The bass wasn't nearly deep enough for that size of a woofer, and so I pushed on the cone to find it was very slow to respond. I watched as the rubber surround material wrinkled during this exercise and realized these speakers have seen better days. One would have to spend the money to re-edge the woofers if they wanted these to sound anything like they did back in the mid-70s.

I'm sure these looked very impressive in a store window though - with or without the wood lattice grills, the Pioneer speakers in this series were certainly eye-catching if nothing else.

Have any stories or photos of your Pioneer CS-901 speakers? Please leave a comment or send me an email.

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Speakers - Pioneer CS-801

I had a chance to listen to this pair of Pioneer CS-801 speakers, although I’m still a bit baffled as to their origin. A quick Web search brought up a wide range of possible production dates – from the late 1960’s to the early 1980’s, but no solid pedigree info or reviews. I welcome any information you may have on this model.

This particular pair had seen better days, but the drivers were in decent shape, and the multiple drink can rings on the top could be sanded/buffed out with considerable elbow grease. In addition to the drink rings, there were several burn marks on the tops.

Overall fine. Like most Pioneer speakers I’ve listened to, I wasn’t bowled over by their bass response, but they were mellow enough and smooth through the mids and highs.

Have any stories or photos about your Pioneer CS-801 speakers? Please leave a comment or email me.

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Receiver - Pioneer SX-939

I didn’t purchase this Pioneer SX-939 because the guy at the pawn shop had been told by his “source” that it was worth over $500. Even producing a print out from the Orion Blue Book couldn’t convince him to accept my offer of a very reasonable $160. So, I snapped this photo and walked out. I think the owner wanted it for himself, but if someone with enough cash walked through the door. . .well, everyone has their price.

I have never been a huge fan of the looks of the darker-faced pioneer gear from the early 1970s, and I think I know why. They say you covet what you know, familiar things. Wait, Hannibal Lecter said that. . .well, this wouldn’t be the first quote on this site form a psychopath. I didn’t start coveting hi-fi gear until I was about 12 years old. That would put the year at 1977 - past the dark-faced gear – into the brighter-faced, clear glass and stainless look. Those early days of cutting ads out of catalogs and audio magazines and taping them to my bedroom wall laid the foundation for my affinity toward the mid-to-late-70s gear I have today.

What? You had posters of Corvette’s and Charlie’s Angels on your wall as a teenager? What kind of a freak??? . . . Ahem, yes – those might be considered more “normal” things to lust after as an adolescent. Well, it took 20 years before I could afford the gear I always wanted, and another ten before collecting became an obsession, errr – hobby. So – now I collect the gear I once couldn’t afford, and instead of a wall filled with advertisements I have racks filled with actual gear. And oh yes, just for a dash of retroactive karmic adjustment, I also have a poster of Kate Jackson in a bikini on my garage wall.

Have any stories or photos about your Pioneer SX-939? Please leave a comment or send me an email.

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Tuner - Pioneer TX-9500

I used this Pioneer TX-9500 in combination with my Pioneer SA-8500 integrated amplifier for over a year before replacing them with Sansui separates. I'll be honest with you, I've never been able to tell the difference between the sounds of tuners. Sure, some are more sensitive than others - able to bring in channels better, and less prone to drifting, but as far as sound goes - it's all a wash. I've never done a side-by-side tuner comparison either, but that could prove interesting. . .or exceedingly tedious, I'll keep you posted.

All this being said, the Pioneer TX-9500 sounded as good as I expected it to, and was a super clean unit. It came in its original box and only had one scratch along the top. Speaking of which, it always baffles me when a piece of gear comes in its original packaging and is immaculate, save for one significant blemish, dent, or scratch. As if the original owner brought the gear home from the store and waited until he was good and loaded before opening it. Then, in a moment of splendiferous intoxication, he trips over the driftwood coffee table and the tuner is suddenly airborne. He does a shoulder roll off the shag and looks up just in time to see the tuner strike the brass, claw foot base of the aquarium stand. He freezes, catches his breath and tries to clear his mind while coming to grips with the searing pain in his shin and the site of his new Pioneer laying upside-down across the room. He crawls toward it, slowly turns it over and is amazed to discover there's only a chip missing from the top left corner. He glances back at the packaging and forms a plan.

Of course he never gets around to taking it back to the Federated Group to exchange it. It is, after all, the summer of 1976 and between two dozen bicentennial parties and his new gig as DJ at the Manhattan Beach roller disco, there simply aren't enough hours in a day take care of such matters. So, the tuner sits, boxed in his closet for seven years until he gets married and moves all of cherished memories of bachelorhood into a public storage unit in El Segundo.

. . .Or something like that.

Have any photos or stories about your Pioneer TX-9500? Please leave a comment or send me an email.

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Integrated Amplifier - Pioneer SA-8500

In the realm of vintage Hi-Fi, few pieces of gear are as immediately recognizable as silver-faced Pioneer components. The heyday of these was 1975 to 1980 and there are plenty of Web sites dedicated to them. John Week’s site is packed with great information on these units, as is the Silver Pioneer site HERE.

For the SA-8500, terrific industrial design met great electrical engineering to produce a robust, 60 watt-per-channel integrated amplifier that still sounds great after 33 years. This particular model had a few minor scratches and a little static on the function selector, but sounded terrific, and looked great with the TX-9500 tuner (look for it in tomorrow's post). Love the confident snap of those hefty toggle switches!

I had this sitting on my workbench for about a month, hooked up to my pair of test speakers – Bose 201’s. Why use Bose speakers for testing? Ever fry a pair of speakers by plugging them into an amplifier with a DC offset of 75 volts? Exactly. See, I don’t like Bose, so frying these would just rid the world of one more pair of them. Of course then I’d have to find another pair of junky speakers. . .easy enough – Bose are all over Craig’s List! Anyway, while this amplifier was on my workbench, my cat discovered it and seemed to always know that when the music stopped, it would soon be cool enough to curl up on top of it. It became his "spot" for about a month. Then one day, in typical cat fashion, he abandoned it – never went near it again. I think I’ll bring the Bose down and introduce them as scratching posts.

Point worth noting, cat hair CAN make its way into vent holes, sticking to transformers and goopy circuit boards, and it takes a LOT of compressed air to clean it off.

Have any photos or stories about your Pioneer SA-8500? Please leave a comment or email me, and I’ll share them with the HiFiCollector.com community.

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Speakers - Pioneer CS99A

As long as I'm ranting about stuffing loudspeaker cabinets with multiple drivers and complicated crossovers, I thought I'd include one of the most collectible, yet mediocre-sounding speakers I've come across - the 3-way, 6-driver Pioneer CS99A. These are magnificent-looking speakers with emerald cloth folded beneath intricate lattice grills, laminated walnut cabinets, and the drivers - paper and wool fiber - inviting, warm, cozy. I've read that these have a 5-way crossover and I've also read that they have a 3-way crossover - any info to clear this up would be helpful. - Update - Anonymous commented and confirmed a 5-way crossover. Thanks!

How did they sound? Not so great. They were fine, and perhaps I could have given them a more objective review had I not been lured in by their looks and the sheer number and size of the drivers. I had a similar experience talking to a girl at a bar many years ago, but that's another story for another day. Maybe it's just me, but I can't seem to get a satisfying amount of bass from Pioneer speakers. Prove me wrong - please - send me in your picks for Pioneer speakers that provided the same THUMP as JBL. I'd like to be proven wrong on this one.

If you have any photos or stories about your Pioneer CS99A speakers, please leave a comment or email me.

Want to hook up your iPod to your vintage stereo? Visit my Audio Accessory Store for some great values!

Power Amplifier - Pioneer M-25

Yessir, the HiFiCollector.com community has started sending in photos, and this one comes from a collector just down the coast here in Orange County, CA. This fine beast is a Pioneer M-25 power amplifier. Rare, powerful, and beautiful. Since I didn't get any info on this, just a photos (not that there's anything wrong with that), I'm deferring to the experts on the InterWeb to fill in the details. You can read some great info on the Pioneer M-25 amp HERE and HERE.

If you have any photos or stories about your Pioneer M-25 or 20 series power amplifier, please leave a comment or send me an email.

Want to hook up your iPod to your vintage stereo? Visit my Audio Accessory Store for some great values!

Integrated Amplifier - Pioneer SA-9500

Top photo: I like the way the Pioneer SA-9500 looks with my Harmon Kardon Citation 14 tuner. It's not too often that different manufacturers use the same color and texture of metals. These two match quite well.

I don't usually "borrow" text directly, but I like this description of the Pioneer SA-9500, so I snipped the following from the Randall Reed Studios page - A great resource for info on and purchasing vintage audio. "The SA 9500 was designed for heavy duty use with emphasis on ease of connections for other equipment and speakers. Conservatively rated at 80 watts RMS per channel into 8 ohms (100 wpc 4 ohms) with no more than 0.1% THD. It has no problem driving any kind of speakers at very loud volumes. These are tanks. Nice clean design and typical over-built Japanese craftsmanship! Made around 1975 - should still be running in 2035."

This particular unit in the photos wasn't working when I purchased it from a thrift store. I took it to my favorite stereo repair shop, who promptly replaced a portion of of the pre-amp. I wish I could get more diagnostic information from them as I'm I love geeking out on the details of what went wrong with these units, but there's a bit of a language barrier.

How does it sound? I brought it home and plugged it all in and it took about five minutes for it to warm up and function properly. Don't think solid state units need to warm up? I've had several units that acted like this. Most of them had probably been left in storage for years and just needed some life breathed back into them. A few flips of those great Pioneer toggles and clicks of those heavy, solid knobs, and it was back and running fine. It sounded as good as any of my Pioneer receivers. Typical Pioneer punch with defined mids and highs. Very smooth, nice.

If you have any photos or stories about your Pioneer SA-9500, please leave a comment or email me.

Want to hook up your iPod to your vintage stereo? Visit my Audio Accessory Store for some great values!

Tuners - Pioneer TX-9800

One of the best tuners ever made, the Pioneer TX-9800 is another 5-ganger with a unique auto-tuning feature that allowed it to fine-tune itself after you let go of the knob. The blue meters were a precursor to the Fluroscan to come.

How did it sound? Very nice. Similar to the Sansui 9900. Wish I could do a side-by-side for a more formal evaluation, but if your question is: "Does tuner quality matter?" my answer is yes - it CAN make a difference.

If you have any info, photos, video links, or stories about the Pioneer TX-9800, please leave a comment or email me.

Want to hook up your iPod to your vintage stereo? Visit my Audio Accessory Store for some great values!

Monster Receivers - Pioneer SX-1250

Although not the biggest receiver Pioneer ever made, it was the biggest for its day, and in 1976 it represented the flagship for the line. Rated conservatively at 160 watts per channel at 8 ohms, it's big even by today's standards. But, as you know, sound quality and power don't always go hand in hand. Some people don't like the Pioneer "sound" as much as others. Personally, I've always like it, and it ranks right below classic Marantz for my tastes. The sound is typical pioneer - warm, neutral, clean. This one is still part of my collection and it's definitely a "keeper." Have any more info, photos, video links, or stories about your Pioneer SX-1250? Please leave a comment or email me, and I'll add them to this post.

Monster Receivers - Pioneer SX-1050

Falling into place right below the SX-1250, the SX-1050 was nearly as impressive in terms of size, weight, and power. It capably output 120 watts per channel - more than enough to blow the doors off a modest-sized apartment, and had the same button, meter layout as the SX-1250. This one, like its bigger brother, is a "keeper." Have any photos, stories, video links related to your Pioneer SX-1050? Please leave a comment or email me, and I'll add them to this post.