lugbug1 said:

Defo try what Skylab said and give it a good clean. If its still cutting out it may be a dry solder joint, as this is fairly common with inputs where there had been pressure applied over the years. Easy fix for any handyman though   

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Yup. It's also possible that the headphone jack's contacts to the plug have lost their pressure over time and are not making good contact. You MIGHT be able to fix that with a flashlight and a very small screwdriver by gently prying the metal contacts in toward the hole. Depends on how the jack was constructed.

I just grabbed a pair of the Andrew Jones Pioneers at a local Best Buy. Now I'm off to grab materials to build a shelf above my desk to put them on. Going to be a fun day.

za warudo said:

I've been searching for vintage receivers on craigslist and found someone selling a "Fully Fuctioning" Realistic STA-90 for $75.  Also saw someone selling a Realistic STA-860 ("excellent condition, near mint")for the same price.  Is this a fair price?  Which one is better and will it drive my HE-400 well?

Furthermore there's a Yamaha CR-1000 in mint condition for $250.  It's a little too much but if it works well as a headphone amp I would consider it.

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If you're looking for a headphone out primarily, the Realistic will be great. I have a 1973 STA-64B in my office at work that is fed by my PC, into a FiiO E-10 DAC and usually listen with either Denon D600's or my D2000's. The sound is excellent, and the bass is epic, especially with the loudness switch thrown. Well worth the money. Offer him $60 cash and see if he bites.

oregonian said:

If you're looking for a headphone out primarily, the Realistic will be great. I have a 1973 STA-64B in my office at work that is fed by my PC, into a FiiO E-10 DAC and usually listen with either Denon D600's or my D2000's. The sound is excellent, and the bass is epic, especially with the loudness switch thrown. Well worth the money. Offer him $60 cash and see if he bites.

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Thanks!  From what I hear using receivers for headphone amplification is hit or miss.  I don't really know if the high output impedance of vintage receivers will affect the headphone performance, but it seems to work fine for some.  From searching around this site it seems planar magnetics aren't as affected by this issue.

In my journeys, I have found the Deoxit that comes in a nail-polish type bottle with the brush works awesome for headphone/RCA jacks.

za warudo said:

  Thanks!  From what I hear using receivers for headphone amplification is hit or miss.  I don't really know if the high output impedance of vintage receivers will affect the headphone performance, but it seems to work fine for some.  From searching around this site it seems planar magnetics aren't as affected by this issue.

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Any high output impedance affects that I've heard with dynamic hp's have always been positive ones. More impactful bass for e.g. I've been using some RS2's (32ohm) with my vintage amps (120ohm) today and they sound surprisingly good. Better than my low output hp amps. IME impedance matching is grossly over exaggerated. Power is more important. And you'll get more power from a vintage hp out than any SS hp amp. And this is ofcourse going to better for planars

Sorry that I keep posting pics days after day, but I have two more, then I'm done.

 

 
Built a shelf and got a pair of the Andrew Jones designed Pioneer SP-BS22-LR'S. The SX-750 is doing a hell of a job with these. They sound ridiculous for the size. They definitely do not sound small.

I have a fiend with a pair of those and he is crazy about them.  May have to try myself sometime.

za warudo said:

  Thanks!  From what I hear using receivers for headphone amplification is hit or miss.  I don't really know if the high output impedance of vintage receivers will affect the headphone performance, but it seems to work fine for some.  From searching around this site it seems planar magnetics aren't as affected by this issue.

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I've read about that impedance issue, but to be honest, I own 7 different vintage amps, and have cycled at least 15 headphones through them all at times (ranging from the cheap Panasonic RTF600 to a Sig DJ, TH600, TH900, D7000, etc) and have never had any noise floor issue or problems with how they sound.  I don't understand the science of this "issue" but I know for a fact for me it is NOT real. 

^^^^What he said^^^

Same with the HP outputs here. Tried over a dozen vintage amps and none had a problem with the HP out being bad.
 
The MDR-F1 out of a 70,s Sherwood S7110 is a champ in my eyes.

I have a new found respect for my little Pioneer. I never knew how much you could do with only about 50-60 watts per channel. I've had this SX-750 since about mid summer, but have never hooked speakers up to it until yesterday, it was just being used for headphones. This receiver paired to the little Pioneer BS22's is an outstanding sounding little system, especially outstanding since it only cost me $180 all together. $300 if you want to include the ODAC that feeds it. I have also never used a nearfield system before, so that is also a new thing for me as well. I always imagined the benefits of nearfield, but I've never experienced it until now and it is quite nice. I have yet to crank the volume knob past 9 o'clock as it just gets really loud really quickly. The ODAC is a 2 volt line out, so that probably explains that. I'd imagine the last 2/3 of the volume knob is pretty much useless. I could probably get it to about 10 o'clock on a quieter recorded album, but that's it. There is still plenty of fine tuning on the knob though so it's all good.
 
These little Pioneer BS22's are so ridiculous though. I really didn't expect anywhere near as much bass. I'm blaming that on the fact that I'm using them nearfield, and the fact that they are only about 4-5 inches away from the back wall. There is nothing I can do about them being so close to the wall, that is just how it is going to be. Of course the wall is adding some bass into the mix, but I like it, and it still sounds clean, not bloated. They were probably designed partly with this in mind. I'm actually quite pleased with the low end extension as well. With the help of the back wall they are doing great down to about 40hz. Imaging is really nice too. Strong focus in the middle, but with plenty of width. Height is good since they are mounted high and are now angled down about 6-7 degrees. Depth seems to stop right about where the wall behind the speakers.
 
Is there any acoustic paneling I can add to this back wall that will help with sound in any way? I could never dampen my HT setup, but I could easily add a panel or two to this back wall as long as it's removeable if I was to move out of this house.  

^^ Jason, glad that you're enjoying the Pioneer. They happen to be my fav of the vintage gear also. I think that by today's standards that 50 watts coming from your Pioneer would be much more. I've kinda been watching those speakers as well. I need some bookshelf speakers and they seem to be well liked across the board. If I see them on sale I may give them a shot. 

skylab said:

You can try taking a q-tip, wetting it with deoxit, and swabbing the headphone jack. It's possible that will be the cure.

When it's cutting out, if you wiggle the plug does it come back?

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The deoxit and q-tip seemed to take care of the scratchiness and cutting out.
 
The other part I had forgotten to mention in my first post regarding the HP jack was a rhythmic pulsing-type noise that is present when no music is being played. When music is playing it can't really be heard, unless there is a real quiet passage. When Aux or Phono is selected, and nothing is being played, it can be heard even with the volume turned all the way down. It does not increase when turning the volume up. The best way I can describe the noise is like a playing card in the spokes of a bicycle at fairly low speed, but more muted versus snappy, if that makes sense.
 
The noise can also be heard when listening to FM. Not really when music is playing, but during commercials and when the DJ is speaking.

Thanks for all the feedback!  How do most vintage amps compare in SQ against headphone amps under $200 (O2 for example) in driving headphones?  
 
A list of local available vintage receivers:
 
Realistic STA-90    $75
Realistic STA 860    $75
Pioneer SX-3700     $75
Kenwood KR-5150    $90
Allied/Pioneer 445    $90
Pioneer VSX 3300    $35
NAD 2140              $99
NAD 3220PE           $80
Yamaha CR1000     $250
 
and for the hell of it:
GAS Thaedra          $400