[Argybargy]

  That is truly awesome!

Thanks!  Now I have a hankering to try out a 1980, BUT I have a new rule, no vintage iron that I can't actually carry

 

[shadow419]

After getting my SX-434 sounding like it should, I want even more power. Even though the 434 has a slightly warm sound, I'm ready to explore the bigger offerings in vintage receivers

 

[Arsis]

Is anyone using speaker outputs (with attenuation of course) for headphones? I have a pair of vintage distribution boxes from a recording studio (similar to Furman HR-2) for using something like a 50 watt amp to run several sets of cans. Anybody doing anything like this? If so whats your setup?

 

[PhoenixG]

  Thanks!  Now I have a hankering to try out a 1980, BUT I have a new rule, no vintage iron that I can't actually carry

Hey, if you're serious, send me a PM. I'd let you do mine and pay a fair price.

 

[Silent One]

Is anyone using speaker outputs (with attenuation of course) for headphones? I have a pair of vintage distribution boxes from a recording studio (similar to Furman HR-2) for using something like a 50 watt amp to run several sets of cans. Anybody doing anything like this? If so whats your setup?

 
Currently running my HiFiMAN HE-6 naked with the speaker taps on Sansui G-22000, no attenuation, save the volume control. But I am careful... 
 
HE-6 > 4-pin xlr adapter > bare Silver soldered tips > speaker taps

 

[MattTCG]

@Argybargy 
 
That 1250 looks wonderful!! It was me that carried on and on about the he-4 and the vintage Pioneers. I'm happy that you were able to hear them together and appreciate the pairing. You haven't heard the he-4 till you've plugged it into a Pioneer IMO. It's crazy good stuff. 

 

[Argybargy]

@Argybargy
 

That 1250 looks wonderful!! It was me that carried on and on about the he-4 and the vintage Pioneers. I'm happy that you were able to hear them together and appreciate the pairing. You haven't heard the he-4 till you've plugged it into a Pioneer IMO. It's crazy good stuff. 

Thanks, it was a fun project and the first Pioneer I've worked on.
I'm listening to the combo right now and the muddines, congestion and harsh treble that I heard out of a 50wpc receiver are totally gone, replaced by a big soundstage and a big grin on my face.

 

[Argybargy]

Hey, if you're serious, send me a PM. I'd let you do mine and pay a fair price.

Sorry I meant actually owning and restoring my very own 1980. Took some muscle to hoist, twist, slide the 1250, I think I'd need to hit the gym for six months before even tackling a 1980

 

[MattTCG]

^^ I had to do a full month of weight training to work up to wearing the lcd2. 

 

[PhoenixG]

Sorry I meant actually owning and restoring my very own 1980. Took some muscle to hoist, twist, slide the 1250, I think I'd need to hit the gym for six months before even tackling a 1980

Worth a shot haha!

 

[Argybargy]

Worth a shot haha!

Just practice on 2-3 thriftstore finds first before tackling a nice receiver. It's not that difficult and the folks at AK are very knowledgeable and helpful.

 

[Trav]

Trav - You're probably right about the bass difference and power difference between the Sony and the Sansui. The Sansui is rated 63 W RMS while the Sony only has 50. The sony also will usually run about $100+/-20 to the sansui's range of $80-250. I found the bass from the 6065 to be very controlled through my McIntosh speakers, and really fantastic to listen to. I also like how it is overbuilt to the point where I could not make it clip. Everyone has their own ear, of course, but for me the 6065 is still my best value receiver out there. I maaaaay have it's big brother the 6120 in the mail soon, so we'll see if stepping up to $150 on a sony will cause me to weep at the sound quality. Looking at other reviews out there that do compare them, I'm thinking I will have a new "best-value" king and maybe even a new "best under $1K king."
Of course, they'll also get compared to the new 9000DB and the SX-1980 just to keep everyone modest. I'll keep everyone posted and I am VERY excited to make an audio day out of it.

OMG you found a 6120! Please let me know your thoughts. I should premise my findings with the 6065. I was basing my findings with speakers, not hp. When I'm home now I'm almost exclusively using speakers. MattTCG hooked me up with a surreal collection of high res audio that when possible I just sit back revel in the sound. The 6065 is here to stay, serving duty in the LR with the HPM 100's.

 

[PhoenixG]

OK, when you say that you're using the hpm-100's, I understand your comments completely on the bass. I had a pair of those, but they didn't make the cut largely because of how sloppy/warm the bass was compared to other speakers I have. Don't get me wrong, they are still pleasant to listen to and smooth at high volumes, but nonetheless very colored in tone. Regarding the str-6120, I hope to have a deal closed on it by the end of the week. I've located it and agreed on a price, but shipping is the elephant in the room. Fingers crossed, eh?

 

[Trav]

OK, when you say that you're using the hpm-100's, I understand your comments completely on the bass. I had a pair of those, but they didn't make the cut largely because of how sloppy/warm the bass was compared to other speakers I have. Don't get me wrong, they are still pleasant to listen to and smooth at high volumes, but nonetheless very colored in tone. Regarding the str-6120, I hope to have a deal closed on it by the end of the week. I've located it and agreed on a price, but shipping is the elephant in the room. Fingers crossed, eh?

I wish you Godspeed. I paired the 6065 with my Dynaco A25 and my NHT Superzero for my comparison in my bedroom system. I paired it with the HPM after and found it a synergistic match.

 

[moodyrn]

WOW! Looks amazing post clean up ! Did you have to remove any of the parts/panels to clean those wires, etc?

Thanks. I didn't remove anything, just a lot of foam paint brushes lol.


Wow go away for a few days and Santa decides to come early for a slew of people lol.

Christmas seems to be the entire month of December for me so far. I have had a number of dream pieces come up locally recently. I found (but didn't get) a SX-1010 and a set of JBL l100's, I also found (and got!) another pair of McIntosh XR-16 speakers. I have a pair already and absolutely love them. Then I stumbled upon this guy, also locally! Welcome to the family!


I was allowed to bring both of them home thanks to the lovely Mrs. She doesn't know I have one more receiver in the mail haha. It definitely needs a deoxit treatment, as the preamp controls are a bit static-y. After I get the G-9000DB cleaned up, I'll do a direct side by side A-B comparison to the 1980 on the two pairs of McIntosh XR-16 speakers to see which one gets to stay in the living room. Here's some more photos of the haul, with the 1980 sulking in the background again. I don't know what it's worried about. 

Welcome to the "big G club" looks great!!

Pioneer SX-1250 Re-Cap and Restoration

So now I know what all the fuss is about with these beastly Pioneers

I bought this 1250 as an As-Is/Non-Working unit.  It was in very good cosmetic condition, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered.  There was a water stain on the wood case and also a residue on the bottom plate.  It looks like someone spilled a cup of hot chocolate or orange juice right into one of the amp boards.
Surprisingly  all of the fuses were intact, so I turned it on with a dim bulb tester and when there was no short indicated, fired it up.  The lamps lit up, the relay clicked and I had music, but in one channel


I used MarktheFixer's BOM from August 2013 with a couple adjustments per Echowar's recommendation.  About 213 components were replaced and the work took about 40 hours.
Two boards were problematic.  About a third of the solder foils on the relay board partially disintegrated upon de-soldering.  I had to improvise by exposing copper traces or extending leads to nearby solder pads.  70% of the solder joints in the stabilizer board were bad (not surprising considering how hot the right side gets).  All of the solder joints were either replaced or re-flowed.  This took some time since I examined each joint at least 5 times at different angles with a 4x loupe.
The other boards were easy to work with and as everyone notices, the build quality is absolutely top notch.

Not included in the 40 hours of work time was 5 hours spent troubleshooting a ground-related hum.  I looked for shorts in ground wires, soldered sketchy looking wire-wrapped pins, and sanded oxidation from ground-chassis connections.  Nothing worked... until I changed the source.  Bingo!  It was the DAC.

The work is not finished however, there is a mild hiss in the pre-amp.  When the tone defeat switch is engaged the background is dead quiet.  I suspect there are a few bad resistors.  I measured some and quite a few were out of spec, but it's hard to know for sure unless the resistor is removed from the circuit.  So, I will replace all of the carbon film resistors in the two main pre-amp boards with 1% metal films and also upgrade the film caps.  The BOM was also short 2 transistors and 1 electrolytic which will have to be replaced.  A heatsink will also be added to the regulators on the stabilizer board, an Echowars recommendation.

I bought the unit for $250 + $95 shipping and parts were $270, so my cost so far is $615.

So how does it sound?
Well, I had my HE-4 listed for sale, but after I took a short listen, I ended the listing.  I think it was Matt who said in a previous post that the HE-4 only came alive after it was hooked up to some massive raw power.  I'd agree completely.  It sounds so much better than out of the Marantz 2270 (HPO).
Slightly warm, detailed, big soundstage and seemingly unlimited power on tap

So far the only negative is that my back hurt for 2 days after carrying it from my office to the living room

Great work! That's stunning!


Congrats Trav on the Sony, but we've already talked.