[scottiebabie]

lookie wot the cat brought in lastnite....
 

 
just spent the last coupla hrs cleaning & dexoit'in all controls & switches as its was scratchy as a dog on lice (LOL). innards was dusty but is in mucho better condition that what i had originally thought..
 

 
trafo & ps looks fairly beefy & i was lucky of the controls are visible with easy access...
 

 
this amp has 2 funky tone controls with dual cutoffs for bass & treble..
 

 
& a very cool Reverse Stereo to Normal Stereo to Mono to Mono L & Mono R
 

 
finally in a pose off with the Technics SA-400 receiver ontop
 

 
 
wont listen to it yet as experience tells me its going to very high harsh in upper freq till the contact cleaner is all dried. then im a gonna have a Pioneer vs Sansui vs Technics vs Marantz faceoff! hehe

 

[Skylab]

Very nice! Looks like a sweet piece. Do tell us how it sounds once you fire it up.

 

[scottiebabie]

LOL not so sure 'bout the nice part - looks pretty ugly in an retro industrial way similar to my 'Sui but the black facia white lettering of the 'Sui blows this Pioneer away atleast in the looks dept. in other ways these 2 are very similarly spec'd 'cept the 'Sui is just another level in build quality. big dual trafos, dual psu. heatsinks, etc..all the way to the output reminds me of Krells & Levinsons. not sure if it means anything but the 'Sui's also heavier by a substantial margin.
 
did a quickie on the SA-7500 & its sounding very very clean cept for the upper harshness usual in freshly cleaned units. though nice, im still thinking the Pioneer has a steep hill to climb to dethrone the AU-517 as my "headamp" of choice. maybe i'll get a nice set of vintage speakers for this Pioneer to drive 

 

[RexAeterna]

that must be it cause i been doing a lot of reading and lot people seem to mention once they changed some caps in their amp or receiver the sound is not the same. also i'm not sure but i heard the ''warmth'' sound comes from a type of harmonic distortion taking place. i have heard warm sound solid states myself. believe or not my old Craig receiver i was given sounds much warmer then my sansui 5000x and supposedly sansui x000 was made to sound tube like. to my ears sounds about as close to neutral to my sansui au-d7 amp but with little bit more of a slightly warm low-end with much more power in the same frequency as well but it is not sloppy or ''loose'' in any way.

that's of course with my speakers. my headphones each sounds about the same to be percise. just each uses different dropping resistor value giving me more headroom for volume. that's about it. 
Quote:

That's very true about all tubes not sounding warm. I have owned some very neutral sounding tube amps. In my experiences, the warmness associated with some(but not all) tube amps isn't from the tubes, but the capacitors used. I've owned solid state amps that were more warm sounding than some of the tube amps I've owned.

 

[RexAeterna]

very smexy unit you got their. good find.
Quote:

lookie wot the cat brought in lastnite....
 

just spent the last coupla hrs cleaning & dexoit'in all controls & switches as its was scratchy as a dog on lice (LOL). innards was dusty but is in mucho better condition that what i had originally thought..
 
trafo & ps looks fairly beefy & i was lucky of the controls are visible with easy access...
 
this amp has 2 funky tone controls with dual cutoffs for bass & treble..
 

& a very cool Reverse Stereo to Normal Stereo to Mono to Mono L & Mono R
 

 
finally in a pose off with the Technics SA-400 receiver ontop
 
 
wont listen to it yet as experience tells me its going to very high harsh in upper freq till the contact cleaner is all dried. then im a gonna have a Pioneer vs Sansui vs Technics vs Marantz faceoff! hehe

 

[scottiebabie]

picked up a tiny ass bulb for the burnt power light & after mucking round for a 1/2hr or so, i got liftoff! look mom, i can now tell that the pioneer's on. LOL. had to use a higher volt rated bulb as the EE doesnt have the exact spec'd item so its pretty dim but still visible though. bonus is the darn thing should last forever now & its only a $1. nice
 
got a chance to hookup the "snake" pigtail adapter to the screwy (pun intended) screw-in binding posts, instead of the usual spring-loaded common with vintage amps. listening to the pioneer rite now via the HE5-LE direct of speaker taps, i must say im impressed. its sounding very very good. i'd venture to say its in the vicinity as my reference 'Sui AU-517 with only a few caveats. mids on the pioneer seems a smidgen more forward & highs are slighty tizzier ( or is more extended - not sure). otherwise both amps are much similar than dissimilar.
 
so far, i prefer matching the 517 with the HE5-LEs only cos the hifimans arent exactly dark & i dont need the extra energy up top even if its only slightly. im sure the pioneer will go better with the HD650 thats arriving shortly.
 
i can see why these pioneers are so desired. they are very good indeed & are in the same level as the better 'Sui's. afterall the 'Sui AU-517/717 duo are said by some at Audiokarma to be amongst the best vintage integrateds ever built. the pioneer offers a very slight variation in sound siggy as all & to my ears & with the HE5-LEs offa direct speaker taps, they arent inferior to the 'Suis. & i rate the 'Sui x17 better than the rest of the bunch that i own or owned (just sold the Marantz SR6000 lastnite as the offers too good to refuse).
 
so guys, keep ya eyes & ears peeled & purked for these Pioneer SA-x500/x800/x900 series, they are very good indeed & usually fly under the radar of their other brethens. a great deals to be had - goodstuff!

 

[mralexosborn]

I finally got some records to try out my Akai AP-D2. I am thoroughly impressed. The sound does have lots of pops and clicks BUT the rest of the sound sounds on par if not better than my uDac, IMO. 
The uDac sounds very dry in comparison. The cart is old. Pickering NP/AC. It was all the rage in the 60's I believe. I fear that all my time will go into my TT now once I get some records and a new cart. Maybe it is the amp that sounds so great? 
 
In the long run is it better to get a better cartridge or a better TT? Also when I am ready to upgrade, what vintage TT can I get for around $200?

 

[Skylab]

A new cartridge is really critical.  You could easily be damaging the records playing them with a worn needle.  If you got something like the Shure M97XE, that's a good enough cartridge to be used on a $200 vintage TT later.  Do that first, before getting a new TT.
 
Or if you are uncomfortable doing the cartridge setup, here is a nice vintage TT/Cartridge combo:
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-P-750-Direct-Drive-Auto-Turntable-Ortofon-Cart-/140516385014
 
I actually can vouch for this seller, as I just bought an Optonica ST-7305 integrated amp from him which is VERY sweet!  Here is a little teaser on that:
 

 
This amp is a heavy beast, and the headphone out drove the HE-6 to deafening levels without breaking a sweat!  Just got it in yesterday so have only begun to mess around with it.  Love the LED power meters, though

 

[mralexosborn]

Is the M97xe $20 better than the $38 AT95e? Also I was trying to setup the counterweight on my TT. The guides I read said it should be floating level with the record. When I do this I get lots of fuzziness in the sounds. If I set the counterweight (thus lowering the needle side of the arm) it sounds better, much better. Is this a sign that the stylus is worn? Is it worth betting a used cartridge? http://cgi.ebay.com/SHURE-M97xE-Audiophile-Hi-Fi-Phono-Cartridge-Metal-Box-/120687368625?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c198719b1#ht_1793wt_1139

 

[JadeEast]

I think you may need to re-read a bit more about cartridge set up or find another guide.
Balancing the tone arm is the first step, the second is adding the appropriate downward force for the cartridge suspension.
 

 

[scottiebabie]

isnt optonica made by panasonic? looks very german ergo correct functional stylish - love those teardrop control knobs.  IIRC i think braun also had an amp (made by the japs too) thats low profile in that similar vein too. u gotta let us know how it compares with the 2275 u just brought home. infact Rob, it would be great if u could do a more detailed comparo of the headouts of your present vintage amps & the 'dedicated' headamps in your possession or u've heard.
 
i had someone drop by after spending sometime at a specialized headphone store called The Headphone Bar listening to Icon HDP. i 'intro'd' him to my buddie Mr.Technics & he was floored by how much the vintage Technics SA-400 headout is cleaner, clearer, extended & overall better than the $500 HDP. he's planning on getting a HD6x0 soon & he wants my Technics as 'headamp' LOL! 

 

[Skylab]

As I understand it, Optonica was a high end moniker for Sharp. This amp is certainly VERY high end in terms of build quality. It's really very impressive.

I definitely plan to put down some thoughts on the relative quality difference between vintage amps and receivers versus modern dedicated headphone amps. I listened to the Marantz and this Optonica for extended periods today, and I continued to be very impressed with both.

The really sick thing about the Optonica - I paid $100. Given the way it's built, and how it sounds, and that it includes a very nice phono stage too, it's an absolutely obscene bargain. You can't buy most LOD cables for $100! And here is a speaker amp, headphone amp, phono amp....

I have been hip to vintage tube gear and vintage vinyl for quite a while, but had never considered vintage solid state gear until recently, and I have to say, with a little research and a little luck, it may be one of the last really great bargain areas of hi-fi and head-fi...

 

[scottiebabie]

Quote:

The really sick thing about the Optonica - I paid $100. Given the way it's built, and how it sounds, and that it includes a very nice phono stage too, it's an absolutely obscene bargain. You can't buy most LOD cables for $100! And here is a speaker amp, headphone amp, phono amp....

I have been hip to vintage tube gear and vintage vinyl for quite a while, but had never considered vintage solid state gear until recently, and I have to say, with a little research and a little luck, it may be one of the last really great bargain areas of hi-fi and head-fi...

i know but......shhhhhhhhshhhhh! dont want the 'word' to spread too quickly as us vintage gearheads still wanna our fill of the cheap goodstuff! its insane how much one can get for less than the price of a boutique ipod LOD! & dont forget too, these things will drive speakers too............loud! & the tuner on yr Marantz's not exactly chopped liver either! LOL

 

[Skylab]

No joke, I spent some time tonight listening to FM with the lights out, just staring at the lights on the Marantz...felt like I was 13 again...LOL...

The Tuner on the Marantz is outstanding.

 

[mralexosborn]

My 2220B's tuner also sounds fantastic but gets very few stations. 
 
Is it possible for the tracking force "dial" to be broken on my TT? I set it to be balanced and turning the "dial" doesn't change anything. Also it is impossible to turn the counterweight without turning the tracking force "dial". Argh.