[moodyrn]

Thanks for those impressions Phoenix. Very interesting. I too like both the sx1280 and especially the sx1250(also really liked the sx1010). I do hope to one day own a sx1980. But I will say the pioneer monsters did everything well. They have a sound signature warm enough to pair well with neutral to bright sounding cans, and just neutral enough to pair well with darker sounding cans. The same goes for speakers to. There's no secret why they are universally loved by so many people. Unlike marantz where some people swear by them(understandably so) and some don't care for them at all with the exception of the few neutral sounding marantz out there(2330B, 2385, 2500etc).
 
With that said, I've also had a love-not so love relationship with them because I've always found they each lacked a little refinement to others I've listened to, primarily all of the mcintosh gear I've had, and even some sansui's like the au9500 and g9000. One day, I might get another and just completely gut them all the way down to replacing all of the diodes with shottky's and all onsemi power resistors along with a full recapping.because I'm absolutely in love with the design and build quality of those. And based on that, I think they should be on par with mcintosh. But maybe there's some special magic going on with those and some of the sansui's. Like the some of the sansui's having what's said to be the best trannies ever made etc. But I'm still very fond of the pioneer line.
 
 
@Silent One
Congrats on getting your sansui back. Wotts you're really a stand up guy for doing that. I know it must have been hard lol.

 

[wotts]

 
 
@Silent One
Congrats on getting your sansui back. Wotts you're really a stand up guy for doing that. I know it must have been hard lol.

 
 
Thank you for the kind words! It works out for both of us I believe.
 
With all of the 1250 talk, I really want to get mine going. It seems to have a problem in one channel. I should see about talking to one of the cats who do re-cap/restoration. It really is in minty condition.

 

[Silent One]

@ moodyrn
 
Thanks. I'm intrigued by the DC Pure Power design from Input through Output.
 
 
@ wotts
 
Soon, I may have to confirm a rumor of a party at your house...calling you from the driveway. 

 

[Skylab]

Thank you for the kind words! It works out for both of us I believe.

With all of the 1250 talk, I really want to get mine going. It seems to have a problem in one channel. I should see about talking to one of the cats who do re-cap/restoration. It really is in minty condition.

I'm not sure what Mattsd's current wait list is like, but I don't think he is that far from you, Tim.

 

[wotts]

  @ moodyrn
 
Thanks. I'm intrigued by the DC Pure Power design from Input through Output.
 
 
@ wotts
 
Soon, I may have to confirm a rumor of a party at your house...calling you from the driveway. 

 
 
Standing invitation! It's not a castle, but there will be eats and bubbly.
 

I'm not sure what Mattsd's current wait list is like, but I don't think he is that far from you, Tim.

 
 
I'll check with him. I believe it is about two hours from my place. That will really save on shipping. I guess I could get the 1980 and 1250 done at the same time. It will get me listening to my Marantz.

 

[Skylab]

It saves not just the cost of shipping but more importantly the risk. That's very key with these big old receivers.

Matt did a fantastic job on my 1980...the thing sounds SOOOO much better than it did stock, and it's nice knowing it's now ultra-reliable for years to come.

 

[moodyrn]

Yeah, I'm now a big fan of getting this gear restored. Once I was of the camp of only replacing components that were bad. That changed with a completely restored 9090db I once had. That thing surpassed every totl piece I've owned up to that point....even gear that was much more highly regarded. The only two pieces of gear that were better stock were the g9000 and au9500. So since then all of my gear now has to be restored, and as a result, the 9090db is long gone(still a great receiver though). I will say, you haven't heard your gear until you get it restored imo.

 

[Oregonian]

It saves not just the cost of shipping but more importantly the risk. That's very key with these big old receivers.

Matt did a fantastic job on my 1980...the thing sounds SOOOO much better than it did stock, and it's nice knowing it's now ultra-reliable for years to come.

That is what I was afraid of with SilentOne shipping that amazing Sansui............................shipping a beast like that knowing what our FedEx/UPS guys do with packages had me cringing. 

 

[Silent One]

 
 
Standing invitation! It's not a castle, but there will be eats and bubbly.
 

 
 

It saves not just the cost of shipping but more importantly the risk. That's very key with these big old receivers.

Matt did a fantastic job on my 1980...the thing sounds SOOOO much better than it did stock, and it's nice knowing it's now ultra-reliable for years to come.

Does Matt do Sansui?
 

  Yeah, I'm now a big fan of getting this gear restored. Once I was of the camp of only replacing components that were bad. That changed with a completely restored 9090db I once had. That thing surpassed every totl piece I've owned up to that point....even gear that was much more highly regarded. The only two pieces of gear that were better stock were the g9000 and au9500. So since then all of my gear now has to be restored, and as a result, the 9090db is long gone(still a great receiver though). I will say, you haven't heard your gear until you get it restored imo.

Who would be the "Go to" for full resto with Sansui?
 
 

 
That is what I was afraid of with SilentOne shipping that amazing Sansui............................shipping a beast like that knowing what our FedEx/UPS guys do with packages had me cringing. 

Once our discussion turned to shipping I began to feel a bit out of sorts; full of anxiety. 

 

[moodyrn]

Given Matt's great work on the pioneers, I don'[t see no reason why he can't do an equally great job on your sansui. But the funny thing is, over at ak, you have a pioneer specialist, a kenwood speciallist, and a marantz specialist. I don't remember encounting a sansui specialist. But I'm sure either one of those would be great choices. The only problem is, all of the superstars over there are always overbooked. Terry Dewick(who's also the resident mcintosh specialist lol) does great work on pretty much anything. But he's in TN, so that might not be a viable option for you. 

 

[Skylab]

I will say, you haven't heard your gear until you get it restored imo.

Amen to that!!! The difference isn't subtle and it's all good.

That is what I was afraid of with SilentOne shipping that amazing Sansui............................shipping a beast like that knowing what our FedEx/UPS guys do with packages had me cringing. 

In my case I did have to do it, but I have an original SX-1980 box, and I put that inside another box surrounded by peanuts. The outer box was in bad shape each way, but the SX-1980 box and its precious cargo were both fine. But it's nerve-racking!

Does Matt do Sansui?

I'm not sure - one would have to ask him.

 

[Silent One]

  Given Matt's great work on the pioneers, I don'[t see no reason why he can't do an equally great job on your sansui. But the funny thing is, over at ak, you have a pioneer specialist, a kenwood speciallist, and a marantz specialist. I don't remember encounting a sansui specialist. But I'm sure either one of those would be great choices. The only problem is, all of the superstars over there are always overbooked. Terry Dewick(who's also the resident mcintosh specialist lol) does great work on pretty much anything. But he's in TN, so that might not be a viable option for you. 

Fellow vintage lover and member 'sluker' highly recommended a local cat around the L.A. area but he's overbooked. I'm guessing Matt and Terry might have better availability...I can always ask all three for current status. Price would be important, too. 
 
Over at AK, I noticed a few fellow members performed their own surgeries with the bigger Sansui's. I'm not 

 that adventurous with my vintage lovely. Perhaps, you could furnish me with contact info. If either Matt or Terry did a good job of packing, I'd take the shot!

 

[moodyrn]

Terry has a website he share's with Tom Manley here http://www.mcintoshaudio.com/ . You probably would have to get Matt's info from Skylab. As for packaging, I can't speak for either one. My only direct experience with Terry was a sx1280 I bought that he did for MattTCG. I think Matt drove both ways for delivery and pickup. As for prices I can say that Terry's at 50.00/hr really can't be beat considering how good his reputation is. That's as cheap as anyone I've heard of and cheaper than average. But I'm sure other's over at AK are pretty reasonable as well.

 

[Skylab]

http://mattsvintageaudiorepair.blogspot.com

The full and complete restore on my SX-1980 was about $750, but I had the big main filter caps replaced, and that's $240 just for those four caps.

 

[Silent One]

Thanks y'all...will investigate!