[claybum]

That's a beautiful 500c Groucho. Congrats!!! I would love to own one some day....perhaps pushing some Klipsch Cornwall. But I would need a bigger house for that dream to come true.

 

[BobG55]

  That's a beautiful 500c Groucho. Congrats!!! I would love to own one some day....perhaps pushing some Klipsch Cornwall. But I would need a bigger house for that dream to come true.

Hey thanks claybum.  I hope you do get one.  I was somewhat lucky : first & foremost as you pointed out it is indeed beautiful/in great shape & the seller was also Canadian = no Customs duty to pay (which would have been an extra $175 - $200) + I was able to talk the seller down to $75 less than he was asking.  I had to look up "Klipsch Cornwall" which I now know are speakers.  I can see the 500C pushing a pair of those.  As for you needing a bigger house in order to put in all this stuff : just build an addition, a "Man Cave" with all your toys in it; even if it turns out to be bigger than your house itself …. 

 

[PhoenixG]

  I had to look up "Klipsch Cornwall" which I now know are speakers.  I can see the 500C pushing a pair of those.  As for you needing a bigger house in order to put in all this stuff : just build an addition, a "Man Cave" with all your toys in it; even if it turns out to be bigger than your house itself …. 

Speakers the size of your average fireplace. And probably the best speakers I have ever listened to. You need a fairly large room to keep them in, but they aren't too fussy.

 

[LugBug1]

  LOL 

  Thanks LugBug1.  If you send me a picture of your wife we might bargain/barter. 

 

 

 

[buson160man]

  Hey there. That's definitely something that could work! No problem. But why?
If you're just needing inexpensive power, that's all well and good. If you're looking to be able to use a remote control on your newer preamp, I totally understand and think it's a great idea. Otherwise, you'd be losing many of the functions from your vintage amp apart from the power. You might find that you're adding steps without adding function/value.
 
Either way, if you do it,  make sure you test it with something robust that can handle power before you plug in your headphones. There will likely be a minor volume difference just because of the different controls on each preamp. Also, DON'T LOSE THOSE JUMPERS! They are a pain to replace and are the reason about 1/3rd of "broken" amps have the lights on but nobody home (no sound).
 
In that budget, you can get some really nice gear. I would advise you to find a brand you're cool with and try to get the best item you can from them. Pioneer might be out of reach as far as getting a great one, but don't discount a great realistic (STA-2100D or STA-2000D) or a great sony (STR-6060, STR-6065, STR-6055, STR-6200f).
I know I'm just a random guy on the internet, but maybe I can get everyone else to back me up on this method. The TOTL / almost TOTL units will sound better, be better made (really important), hold value better, and do more things. If you go for a less popular good brand, you can get closer to/all the way to TOTL within your budget.

 Inexpensive power ? These rare old vintage monsters are not cheap when you are buying one that has been recapped. Why ? Well at least with the concept it has an abundance of power compared to most any headphone amp. This baby just lopes when driving headphones The loudest position on the volume is at the 9 oclock position. That is the loudest I dare listen .The concept never gets hot just mildly warm when driving my headphones. Plus the sonics on offer are a bit better than you think . In fact for clarity the sound is actually pretty good it also has a sense of dimensionality as well. Of course the bass is also pretty good as well . I am going to upgrade the fuses in the concept with some isoclean fuses. I would have preferred hifi tuning supreme fuses but they do not make 7amp fuses . The concept 16.5 uses two 7 amp line fuses . I do know if there are other fuses inside the amp under the covers but the two on the back panel are accessible .
    Also you are obviously not familiar with the concept brand. It was a premium house brand marketed by Pacific Stereo chain about 35 years ago . The 16.5 was the top of the line offering. It produces 165 watts rms per channel with both channels driven.  It was also one of the only true dual mono power supply receivers produced. The pioneer models even there top of the line models were not truly dual mono designs.
   From what I have read the pioneers tended to sound a bit muddy in the bass. That is something the concept does not do .
There are blogs on the internet about the greatest receivers that mention the concept 16.5 as one of the best vintage receivers ever made .
     I will post some  reactions to the fuse upgrades when I explore that action.

 

[jgreen16]

Here is a link to an interesting thread on Concept equipment restoration that I came across a few weeks ago.
 
http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=7909

 

[jgreen16]

And a variety of resto threads on the same forum:
 
http://www.tapeheads.net/forumdisplay.php?f=143
 
http://www.tapeheads.net/forumdisplay.php?f=144

 

[BobG55]

 

  LOL 

  Thanks LugBug1.  If you send me a picture of your wife we might bargain/barter. 

 

 

LugBug1, now that I've had time to think about the whole thing I decided I couldn't do that to you, so no deal.  Good lu….. errrrr…. my condolence……. errrrr…….  all the best to you buddy. 

 

[BobG55]

 

  I had to look up "Klipsch Cornwall" which I now know are speakers.  I can see the 500C pushing a pair of those.  As for you needing a bigger house in order to put in all this stuff : just build an addition, a "Man Cave" with all your toys in it; even if it turns out to be bigger than your house itself …. 

Speakers the size of your average fireplace. And probably the best speakers I have ever listened to. You need a fairly large room to keep them in, but they aren't too fussy.

Oh, now I understand your original statement.  You'd probably have to move to an isolated area also ie. no neighbourhood when you blast those babies.

 

[Saoshyant]

Ok, so given I'm thinking of getting into vintage receivers and I'm quite sure I would not be the one to do repairs and such, can anyone give me an estimate how much things like recaps and such cost? I know this isn't going to be cheap, but I'm also utterly clueless, so before I pick anything up I'd just like an idea of what I might be getting myself into. I know prices will be different everywhere, but just a generalized estimate would be quite helpful to get. I'm assuming it'd cost a couple hundred to get a receiver back into good shape. Thanks in advance!

 

[SpeakerBox]

Ok, so given I'm thinking of getting into vintage receivers and I'm quite sure I would not be the one to do repairs and such, can anyone give me an estimate how much things like recaps and such cost? I know this isn't going to be cheap, but I'm also utterly clueless, so before I pick anything up I'd just like an idea of what I might be getting myself into. I know prices will be different everywhere, but just a generalized estimate would be quite helpful to get. I'm assuming it'd cost a couple hundred to get a receiver back into good shape. Thanks in advance!

 
Depending upon the complexity (size/power) of the unit I would say anywhere from $200 to $1000.

 

[Saoshyant]

I'm mainly looking at finding a sx650 for now.

 

[BobG55]

I'm mainly looking at finding a sx650 for now.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PIONEER-SX-650-35-WATTS-RECEIVER-TESTED-WORKING-/321443031289?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item4ad77f68f9

 

[Saoshyant]

I was looking at http://www.ebay.com/itm/301245846539?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AMEBIDX as well

 

[LugBug1]

I was looking at http://www.ebay.com/itm/301245846539?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AMEBIDX as well

That looks pretty good to me. A full restoration with quality parts and a pretty good price. Yup You have to think of what you could buy in equivalent these days..? Nothing will come close. 
 
(plus I've read that the older odd numbered Pioneers are supposedly better...