[Frank I]

That Pioneer is a beast. tomorrow I am peeking at the 5590. I want to stop buying this stuff. My family thinks I cracked up. LOL But its fun Imaginne using 160W to drive a 93DB single driver I must be cooked. but the He6 are coming with me

 

[RexAeterna]

i see he uses a gibson sg. good guitar. i just love the heavy body of gibsons with some nice warm symour ducans installed. also big fan of ibanez's. i had one one with pair of dimarzio evolutions. man did it sing on my friend's huge marshall stack system.i love the blues,jazz and soft rock. i mostly listen to that stuff on the my tuners or run it off my stored hard drives. good stuff just to sit back and listen to. you introduce your son to some of the good stuff from some of the older albums?
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Here is what I said about the 'best' portable amplifier for the 13's:

"Am I the only sadist on here that listens to the Pico Slim at full bore,straight out of the pipe?
With this amp,nothing happens until after the 9 o'clock turn,faint sound at 10,late night listening at 2 or 3 and then the full monty on a track I know and love."

I was hella frustrated due to the lack of gain on portable gear.

Your vintage pieces must be fully serviced and tuned.
If you plan on storing some gear,you have to bring it out of the closet every 3 months,power it up and cycle all the switches to keep it running clean.

If a signal is running through any of my pieces I just hear music through the headphone out,no crackle or hiss.
I have spent many evenings on the Marantz headphone out.

On the Sansui,I can get to half with the 13's but you know the level should not be sustained for long by the human ear.
Different story with the JBL 112 speakers.
They were made to take power for long periods of time and are a match made in heaven with the AU 20000 for the blues and rock I crave.
In the small listening room as the dial is turned up,the amplifier just jams right through any musical passage you play and friends faces look agape as the music is pressed right through their body.
I could take this amplifier to a desert island and be content.
Some of it is nostalgia,as I'd saved up all my cash as a teenager and bought brand new '76 Sansui AU 5500/TU 5500,Sansui 3-Way Speakers and a JVC direct drive turntable with a Sonus Blue Label cartridge.

Gave it all to my son,this is what I have created:


P.S. chances for a contusion playing proper rugby anywhere is 100%,that much I remember...

 

 

[moodyrn]

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Thanks. She's a beauty, alright. Sounding great driving LCD-2's. Will be a while before I can try it with speakers...I'm not sure it's going to fit in my rack...it's almost 9" high, 20" deep, and 22" wide. The depth and width I was prepared for. But I sorta forgot about the height. And I am a pretty fit guy, but hoisting this 80 pound monster around is no easy trick...

I can only imagine how big that beast is. My sx1010 is the original monster receiver. It's 20.5" wide, 16.5" deep, and almost 7" high. It's a nearly 50lb beast but that doesn't come close to that 80lb marvel of yours.


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skylab if u do get a chance & provided u have a normal receiver on hand, do post a 1980 vs side by side or a plain missionary pic as i dont think too many folks have an idea how much of a beast the 1980 is. its huge both in terms of output & physical presence!

I wish I could, but I don't own any "modern" receivers. I have always been a separates guy...my modern stereo is separate preamp/power amp, etc. But you're right, it is hard to imagine how massive this beast is unless you see it live. It is larger than even the very biggest surround-sound receiver I have ever seen. And for sure way heavier. The build quality on this and the SX-1250 is nothing short of astonishing.

Well I have onkyo's current flagship receiver. It's 17 1/4" wide, 16.5" deep and 7 1/4 high and weighs 55lbs. Overall it's a little smaller and a little heavier than my sx1010. But here's the thing. It's a 9 channel receiver rated at 145wpc. My sx1010 is two channels and rated at only a little more than 100wpc. The 1980 is bigger, much more heavier, and nearly three times more powerful. They just don't make them like that anymore.
 

 

[Skylab]

That Pioneer is a beast. tomorrow I am peeking at the 5590. I want to stop buying this stuff. My family thinks I cracked up. LOL But its fun Imaginne using 160W to drive a 93DB single driver I must be cooked. but the He6 are coming with me

Yeah it's crazy. Using the 1980 to drive headphones is a little like using a Ferarri to only drive up and down the block. But you know what? I'm still loving it.

There is no doubt, as has been said, that it is not just the stellar performance, which is there for sure, but also for me the nostalgia from the perspective of the fact that when I was a young teen I absolutely listed after these. And so it is a huge kick to actually own and use one now. And add to that how flipping fantastic it sounds, many years later.

The reason I bought this particular SX1980 though is that it had already been completely serviced: recapped, bias adjusted, tuner aligned, and generally cleaned and lubed. I dont have the time, sadly, to do much of that work myself. I would like to...maybe someday.

 

[Frank I]

The funny thing I am still amazed at how fgood this SX650 sounds. its so detailed and musical. Its great with both headphones and it all i really need. I never thought this would sound as good as it does. But I will get to listen to the 5590 160W tomorrow and see what condition it is in.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

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That Pioneer is a beast. tomorrow I am peeking at the 5590. I want to stop buying this stuff. My family thinks I cracked up. LOL But its fun Imaginne using 160W to drive a 93DB single driver I must be cooked. but the He6 are coming with me

Yeah it's crazy. Using the 1980 to drive headphones is a little like using a Ferarri to only drive up and down the block. But you know what? I'm still loving it.

There is no doubt, as has been said, that it is not just the stellar performance, which is there for sure, but also for me the nostalgia from the perspective of the fact that when I was a young teen I absolutely listed after these. And so it is a huge kick to actually own and use one now. And add to that how flipping fantastic it sounds, many years later.

The reason I bought this particular SX1980 though is that it had already been completely serviced: recapped, bias adjusted, tuner aligned, and generally cleaned and lubed. I dont have the time, sadly, to do much of that work myself. I would like to...maybe someday.

I'm still waiting for you to get tired of the 2275, but the 1250 is pretty attractive now.  You can't possibly keep them all...  

 
Actually, I really should stop spending money on audio one of these days...

 

[Frank I]

Larry your getting the itch too. LOL It really is crazy. I am only using 2 of the three receivers now and my Sansui G4500 needs more love. I am enjoying the Puioneer Silverface receivers they are musical but I want to see if that 5590 is in good condition as it can be had reasonable.

 

[Frank I]

Well I looked at the 5590 today. It was magnificent looking but there was a static issue in the left channel so I passed. It reminded me of the issue with my SX980 so I did not want to have it repaired so i passed on it.

 

[RexAeterna]

how much did they want for it?
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Well I looked at the 5590 today. It was magnificent looking but there was a static issue in the left channel so I passed. It reminded me of the issue with my SX980 so I did not want to have it repaired so i passed on it.

 

 

[RexAeterna]

none of the parts are original? kinda too bad cause you probably not know how the pioneer sounded before and after recap. if you like the sound then that's all that matters. i never had any of my amps recapped. still all original from the factory and in cared for condition. no sign of dried up caps,leakage or any disfiguration. my 5000x though is in need of bias adjustment but i can't do anything till i pick up some fuses for my multi-meter today 
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Quote:

That Pioneer is a beast. tomorrow I am peeking at the 5590. I want to stop buying this stuff. My family thinks I cracked up. LOL But its fun Imaginne using 160W to drive a 93DB single driver I must be cooked. but the He6 are coming with me

Yeah it's crazy. Using the 1980 to drive headphones is a little like using a Ferarri to only drive up and down the block. But you know what? I'm still loving it.

There is no doubt, as has been said, that it is not just the stellar performance, which is there for sure, but also for me the nostalgia from the perspective of the fact that when I was a young teen I absolutely listed after these. And so it is a huge kick to actually own and use one now. And add to that how flipping fantastic it sounds, many years later.

The reason I bought this particular SX1980 though is that it had already been completely serviced: recapped, bias adjusted, tuner aligned, and generally cleaned and lubed. I dont have the time, sadly, to do much of that work myself. I would like to...maybe someday.

 

 

[Frank I]

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how much did they want for it?


 

500.00
 

 

[Frank I]

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none of the parts are original? kinda too bad cause you probably not know how the pioneer sounded before and after recap. if you like the sound then that's all that matters. i never had any of my amps recapped. still all original from the factory and in cared for condition. no sign of dried up caps,leakage or any disfiguration. my 5000x though is in need of bias adjustment but i can't do anything till i pick up some fuses for my multi-meter today 


 

The problem is not the replacement capping its the caps he used. he probably put crap in there so he need to get it right. if he would use audiophile caps no issue would be there. He will get it right or I will force him to buy it. Sometime they cut corners because they not dealing with people who know sound. He know now what I want and he should fix it.
 

 

[RexAeterna]

really i was expecting in the 1000's. in a couple months if they don't sell it  i might check it out maybe...but i'm not positive if i would consider it. i never been to the store there. is all there gear in the hundreds? i see their store listed all over craigslist but it seems cheapest gear they carry are speakers and are in 250 range. i only know about barracks trading post and goodwill stores i usually visit to see if i can get anything for a fair price.
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500.00
 

 

 

[RexAeterna]

yea i know what your saying. i was just saying it cause it could of been a fun experience. i never heard the term ''audiophile caps'' before. i just know about the materials used in each cap and how the material can impact the sonic qualities especially power filter caps. i had tons of people trying to recap gear without knowing what to look for and had no satifying results and end up putting the old caps back in.
 
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The problem is not the replacement capping its the caps he used. he probably put crap in there so he need to get it right. if he would use audiophile caps no issue would be there. He will get it right or I will force him to buy it. Sometime they cut corners because they not dealing with people who know sound. He know now what I want and he should fix it.
 

 

 

[Skylab]

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none of the parts are original? kinda too bad cause you probably not know how the pioneer sounded before and after recap. if you like the sound then that's all that matters. i never had any of my amps recapped. still all original from the factory and in cared for condition. no sign of dried up caps,leakage or any disfiguration. my 5000x though is in need of bias adjustment but i can't do anything till i pick up some fuses for my multi-meter today 


 

The general consensus on AudioKarma seems to be that outside of the main filter/reservoir caps (assuming those are OK), recaps are mandatory on older gear - out of spec caps will color the sound as much or more than new replacements would change it from what it was.  What is considered generally sacrosanct are the output devices.  If you change those, why bother buying the vintage piece other than the looks.  That makes sense to me, so that is the path I have followed.  Old caps can also pose somewhat of a hazard, too, so best to recap as needed.  And of course re-aligning the tuner is not replacing any vintage parts...