[SpeakerBox]

Finished up the re-cap/re-solder of the stabilizer board from my SX-1250 last night.  Was a little nervous at power up, as I replaced 16 caps and re-soldered the whole board (the solder joints tend to crack from heating and cooling on this board thus necessitating a full re-solder).  It is considered to be the Achilles Heel of the Pioneer SX-1250.  I held my breath, fired it up, and it played beautifully.  I am glad it is done!  Next on the agenda are the two output amplifier boards.  

 

[LugBug1]

  Finished up the re-cap/re-solder of the stabilizer board from my SX-1250 last night.  Was a little nervous at power up, as I replaced 16 caps and re-soldered the whole board (the solder joints tend to crack from heating and cooling on this board thus necessitating a full re-solder).  It is considered to be the Achilles Heel of the Pioneer SX-1250.  I held my breath, fired it up, and it played beautifully.  I am glad it is done!  Next on the agenda are the two output amplifier boards.  

Nice job - I wish I had the confidence to do that. 

 

[SpeakerBox]

  Nice job - I wish I had the confidence to do that. 

 
If you would have seen my face just before power up - you would not have described me as confident.

 

[analogsurviver]

   
If you would have seen my face just before power up - you would not have described me as confident.

Before power up moments after a (major) repair or modification are anything but enjoyable. It is a mix of the most ambivalent feelings - combining in a tight knot, culminating when you hit the power switch.
 
The most illustrative case I remember: in the late70s/early 80s, a friend then fellow student decided to build a then SOTA light show. Total cost of materials roughly 1000 German Marks ( about $ 500 ) - a humongous sum for a student back then, particularly in what used to be Yugoslavia. He was making his own PCBs, etc, etc - he was real careful regarding polarity of the parts, double/triple checking each and every capacitor or semiconductor for proper orientation - ad nuseaum. Then, when he had to attach the power suply, he got unexplicably hasty...
 
You've guessed it - most of that money went up in smoke. He grew paler than the stone, we dared to utter absolutely nothing.
 
Only his sister stoically commented: "  .... yet another victory of black magic over electronics...."  - 

 

[analogsurviver]

I got something too. Not as high end as most of you have but I am very happy. Brought from Serbia across two countries. There is lack of vintage here and what is is expensive. He just told me he also has a SA900 listed and soon a CR820.

This one is a 9.5 out of 10 condition with two very small marks on the wood. It doesn't say where its been made but all the knobs work. Dude had every possible switches in the opposite position to what I have it set now, everything is now practically on off (except for power which was initially set to "on" when I got it lol).

It has two headphone outs which will be great for comparisons, there is no hiss with HE-4 and hiss with HD800, I am guessing because of sensitivity. I get hiss with HE-4 if I turn volume to unlistenable levels. I didn't expect much but the sound is simply put great. Full, warmish sound, the opposite of dry, neutral and very technically advanced Auditor. Lights work, everything works! Primary use will be the orthos, I think at that time Yamaha had already made some nice orthos so the headphone outs should be very decent, thats what I was thinking when I was considering the amp and they are more than decent. Anyway here are two shots, the second one is with the CD-S1000 just to show how nicely they fit together.

Lepo je srečati Kranjskega Janeza, ki so mu všeč resiverji 

.
 
( translation to the more usual language on head-fi:  " It is nice to meet ( Fritz = German, Tommy = British; > Kranjski Janez = Slovenian, etc ) who likes receivers " )

 

[LugBug1]

@.Sup  Pretty much every 70's amp I've tried with the HD800 displayed some hiss. Some more than others but never a completely black background. Thats one of the reasons why I favour NAD amps with the Senn's as they are totally silent. 
 
It's a shame because I think the HD800 sound amazing out of 70's vintage especially the smooth tube-like Sansui flavour. I must stress this never totally spoilt my enjoyment using the Senn's, as only music that has silent gaps like classical for e.g is where I ended up focusing on it to the point of being distracted.
 
But I'd still use a 70's vintage over any dedicated amp that I can afford. It's the body, dynamics and sweet treble that wins for me
 
(Nice Yamaha by the way!) 

 

[.Sup]

Lepo je srečati Kranjskega Janeza, ki so mu všeč resiverji :atsmile: .

( translation to the more usual language on head-fi:  " It is nice to meet ( Fritz = German, Tommy = British; > Kranjski Janez = Slovenian, etc ) who likes receivers " )

@.Sup  Pretty much every 70's amp I've tried with the HD800 displayed some hiss. Some more than others but never a completely black background. Thats one of the reasons why I favour NAD amps with the Senn's as they are totally silent. 

It's a shame because I think the HD800 sound amazing out of 70's vintage especially the smooth tube-like Sansui flavour. I must stress this never totally spoilt my enjoyment using the Senn's, as only music that has silent gaps like classical for e.g is where I ended up focusing on it to the point of being distracted.

But I'd still use a 70's vintage over any dedicated amp that I can afford. It's the body, dynamics and sweet treble that wins for me

(Nice Yamaha by the way!) 

Bugz I have been eyeing this for a while: http://www.ebay.com/itm/191107027229?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
The condition seems really great but the price with sipping not so much. Still helluva cheaper than a dedicated if its that good.
The hiss with my Yammy is pretty bad with HD800 but primary intention was always the orthos. I can drive both HE-500 and HE-4 at the same time at volume knob at 8 o'clock without there being any drop in power.
And thanks for the compliment!

 

[SpeakerBox]

  Before power up moments after a (major) repair or modification are anything but enjoyable. It is a mix of the most ambivalent feelings - combining in a tight knot, culminating when you hit the power switch.
 

 
Yes, that about sums up how I felt (oh ya also had the impending doom feeling too).  After I realized everything was OK, I was quite happy from that point on 

 

[LugBug1]

Bugz I have been eyeing this for a while: http://www.ebay.com/itm/191107027229?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
The condition seems really great but the price with sipping not so much. Still helluva cheaper than a dedicated if its that good.
The hiss with my Yammy is pretty bad with HD800 but primary intention was always the orthos. I can drive both HE-500 and HE-4 at the same time at volume knob at 8 o'clock without there being any drop in power.
And thanks for the compliment!

That NAD will be great, but the price is a little high. I would look to pay £70-80 for good condition. £100-120 for a timewarper. But compared to a dedicated hp amp its still very cheap. I'm not the only one to think that NAD's make great headphone amps... So if thats the best NAD you can find then I'd say go for it.
 
Keep your eye out for a 3020 (e or i) or 7130 - 3130 as well. The very early classic 3020 will always need some work done as they are from 1979. But thats next on my list.  

 

[Argybargy]

@.Sup  Pretty much every 70's amp I've tried with the HD800 displayed some hiss. Some more than others but never a completely black background. Thats one of the reasons why I favour NAD amps with the Senn's as they are totally silent. 

It's a shame because I think the HD800 sound amazing out of 70's vintage especially the smooth tube-like Sansui flavour. I must stress this never totally spoilt my enjoyment using the Senn's, as only music that has silent gaps like classical for e.g is where I ended up focusing on it to the point of being distracted.

But I'd still use a 70's vintage over any dedicated amp that I can afford. It's the body, dynamics and sweet treble that wins for me

(Nice Yamaha by the way!) 

Interesting LugBug. What do you think is different about the NADs that makes them quiet with sensitive phones?

 

[Magick Man]

Interesting LugBug. What do you think is different about the NADs that makes them quiet with sensitive phones?

They have such a pitch black, black background due to extremely low THD numbers and high damping factor, even compared to today's high-end dedicated HP amps*. The 3225PE, I have one, is even good with IEMs, a true rarity in vintage IAs and receivers. It's my go-to amp at work now, and I even prefer it over a Schiit Mjolnir, if that says anything. :eek: Incredible for something I paid <$100 for (that price included a partial recap). It doesn't drive my HE-6s especially well out of its HP-out, but straight from the speaker taps they work great. My silver 3020a is even better, with more dynamic range and lower transients, yielding faster output response. It's amazing for critical listening and goes toe-to-toe with my Antelope Zodiac Gold's amp, and even exceeds it slightly overall. Zodiac Gold > 3020a > LCD-X is about as close to sonic bliss as you can get in Head-Fi, short of dropping 15Gs on a premier stat rig, IMO.




(*Always leave NADs on "Low Level" when using headphones, always. There's too much noise, otherwise.)

 

[Argybargy]

Interesting. Thanks for the explanation Magickman.. I'll have to try one out one of these days.

 

[LugBug1]

Yup what Magick Man said

 

[ssrock64]

I've seen some NAD gear for sale in the past, but I can never get any idea of which ones are the good ones. They all look so nondescript.

 

[gikigill]

Dammit, now I have to get a couple of NAD vintage amps. Missed out on a Model 60.