[SX3900]

The SX-3900 is driving a pair of some good old fashion Radio Shack Mach Ones those are with the 15" woofers and a pair of Pioneer Aria 70 with 12" woofers. Both are from the '79 era.. The SX-3800 is drive four Advent very very rare New Vision 250 bookshelf speakers plus a rare Polk LF-14 big cabinet subwoofer going from the pre-amp to sub & sub to amp connections to take advantage of the subwoofer built-in hi-pass and low pass filters.  Like many of the head-fiers. I have many stereo systems located throughout the house.

 

[blur510]

Hello, I am hoping someone can help me,  I have a Pioneer SX 1010 and I wondering if I can use it as a preamp. (I read somewhere that it can be used as a preamp) If I can can someone tell me how to use it as a pre amp.  Thanks

 

[Hutnicks]

  Hello, I am hoping someone can help me,  I have a Pioneer SX 1010 and I wondering if I can use it as a preamp. (I read somewhere that it can be used as a preamp) If I can can someone tell me how to use it as a pre amp.  Thanks

If memory serves. Over on the left side rear under the antenna bar there are 4 RCA jacks. Two metal pins oriented horizontally bridge the RCA Jacks in an upper and lower pair. Removing those metal U pins separates the receiver into amp and pre amp. It should be marked. Pull out the pins (store them in a safe place) and you can connect the preamp section via RCA cable to an  amp.

 

[blur510]

thanks that is what I was thinking. but wasn't sure since I have never had a need to remove it and use it as a preamp.  I had the receiver restored about 2 years ago and it works great. Although from time to time i hear weird noises coming out of my speakers (when playing music) sometimes the bass would be too loud, sometimes the bass would be absent (same song) sometimes i hear the speaker break up a little I am not sure if I want to get it fixed or just get a new amp. Since the problem is hard to recreate it's hard for me to show the repair people at the stereo repair place.   I just purchased a pair of B&W 805d3 and I am a little worried about my receiver.

 

[Hutnicks]

  thanks that is what I was thinking. but wasn't sure since I have never had a need to remove it and use it as a preamp.  I had the receiver restored about 2 years ago and it works great. Although from time to time i hear weird noises coming out of my speakers (when playing music) sometimes the bass would be too loud, sometimes the bass would be absent (same song) sometimes i hear the speaker break up a little I am not sure if I want to get it fixed or just get a new amp. Since the problem is hard to recreate it's hard for me to show the repair people at the stereo repair place.   I just purchased a pair of B&W 805d3 and I am a little worried about my receiver.

If you search around a little you might find a factory manual on line somewhere. Back in the era some of them had some pretty useful troubleshooting guides.. A repair would probably be in order, or at least an estimate. Be a shame to damage the d3's with power flux or something.

 

[AppleheadMay]

  thanks that is what I was thinking. but wasn't sure since I have never had a need to remove it and use it as a preamp.  I had the receiver restored about 2 years ago and it works great. Although from time to time i hear weird noises coming out of my speakers (when playing music) sometimes the bass would be too loud, sometimes the bass would be absent (same song) sometimes i hear the speaker break up a little I am not sure if I want to get it fixed or just get a new amp. Since the problem is hard to recreate it's hard for me to show the repair people at the stereo repair place.   I just purchased a pair of B&W 805d3 and I am a little worried about my receiver.

 

 
If you search around a little you might find a factory manual on line somewhere. Back in the era some of them had some pretty useful troubleshooting guides.. A repair would probably be in order, or at least an estimate. Be a shame to damage the d3's with power flux or something.

 
 
Here are the manuals. You will need to make an account to download them but it's free.
 
http://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/pioneer/sx-1010.shtml

 

[buson160man]

  Hello, I am hoping someone can help me,  I have a Pioneer SX 1010 and I wondering if I can use it as a preamp. (I read somewhere that it can be used as a preamp) If I can can someone tell me how to use it as a pre amp.  Thanks

   Another thing about that metal jumper is that the signal form the preamp to the amp is going through that metal jumper which is definitely not the best conductor and signal carrier . I have replaced the jumper on mine with a proper interconnect and the receiver sounds way better . It is a very easy tweak and very rewarding once you hear the improvement which is very obvious . Another tweak is to replace the stock fuses with premium audiophile fuses ( hifi-tuning , furutech , isoclean , etcetera ) which gives you a much cleaner and more solid and resolved sound .

 

[frahengeo]

  thanks that is what I was thinking. but wasn't sure since I have never had a need to remove it and use it as a preamp.  I had the receiver restored about 2 years ago and it works great. Although from time to time i hear weird noises coming out of my speakers (when playing music) sometimes the bass would be too loud, sometimes the bass would be absent (same song) sometimes i hear the speaker break up a little I am not sure if I want to get it fixed or just get a new amp. Since the problem is hard to recreate it's hard for me to show the repair people at the stereo repair place.   I just purchased a pair of B&W 805d3 and I am a little worried about my receiver.

There is a good chance that all you need to do is clean the contacts on the switches, and pots.  If you are unsure of what to do, there is lots of information regarding this on Audiokarma.  Very easy to do.

 

[blur510]

 
If you search around a little you might find a factory manual on line somewhere. Back in the era some of them had some pretty useful troubleshooting guides.. A repair would probably be in order, or at least an estimate. Be a shame to damage the d3's with power flux or something.

Thanks AppleheadMay just posted a link that I will be downloading.  My d3's are coming soon, it had to be special ordered, and I am getting the rest of my equipment ready for its arrival.
 

   
 
 
Here are the manuals. You will need to make an account to download them but it's free.
 
http://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/pioneer/sx-1010.shtml

Thank you so much for the link I will get the manual ASAP.
 

     Another thing about that metal jumper is that the signal form the preamp to the amp is going through that metal jumper which is definitely not the best conductor and signal carrier . I have replaced the jumper on mine with a proper interconnect and the receiver sounds way better . It is a very easy tweak and very rewarding once you hear the improvement which is very obvious . Another tweak is to replace the stock fuses with premium audiophile fuses ( hifi-tuning , furutech , isoclean , etcetera ) which gives you a much cleaner and more solid and resolved sound .

Interconnect? as in use higher quality RCA cable and bridge them together with it? I will look into the fuses too. I will be downloading the manual and I will see which fuses to buy. Thanks
 

 
There is a good chance that all you need to do is clean the contacts on the switches, and pots.  If you are unsure of what to do, there is lots of information regarding this on Audiokarma.  Very easy to do.

Cool thanks I have read that Deoxit is usually all that is needed to clean the switches, but my confidence in myself doing a good job is not that great.  But I will give it a go. Thanks

 

[Oregonian]

     Another thing about that metal jumper is that the signal form the preamp to the amp is going through that metal jumper which is definitely not the best conductor and signal carrier . I have replaced the jumper on mine with a proper interconnect and the receiver sounds way better . It is a very easy tweak and very rewarding once you hear the improvement which is very obvious . Another tweak is to replace the stock fuses with premium audiophile fuses ( hifi-tuning , furutech , isoclean , etcetera ) which gives you a much cleaner and more solid and resolved sound .

Question - what kind of "proper interconnect" are you using?  I read elsewhere you can avoid using the jumpers by using an audio RCA cable instead of the jumpers but when I tried it on my SA-8800 the sound was very faint.  When I put the jumpers back in place the sound was back to normal. 
 
That comment about fuses is very interesting as well!  I may have to try that - who would have thought fuses would improve sound? 

 

[Oregonian]

Here's the link to the Audiokarma DeOxit guide -
 
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/the-idiots-guide-to-using-deoxit-revisited.207005/

 

[AppleheadMay]

Sansui 9090 is in da house! It's a beauty!
 
Looks very clean, switches and knobs are all very smooth, meters and lightshow working.
Cabinet as fine as it can be considering this amp is 38 years old.
If the inside is as clean as the connectors on the back it must be a marvel. Those things shine like a mirror!
Sounds pretty good so far with FM radio and a wire antenna, no scratchy sound on volume and tone controls.
Only tested with a pair of phones so far, speakers is for tomorrow.
 
Seems like I bought it from a decent dealer. Will still go to the vintage audio restore shop in Holland though to see if anything else needs to be done. 
 
Very happy with my purchase but that doesn't mean I won't be trying out an SX-1280 or SX-1980.
The same shop should have a 1280 in the coming months and there is a chance on a 1980 as well. Wonder what the pirce will be though.
 
Don't think I will be trying a Marantz 2385 though with the info I have now. Anyone in favor of the Marantz monster amps?
 
Will receive my Infinity's Tuesday evening, a friend of mine is going to pick them up. Should be a killer combo!
Never thought these things could sound so good, should have kept all the old stuff I got from my father when I was a kid.

 

[SirMarc]

Sansui 9090 is in da house! It's a beauty!

Looks very clean, switches and knobs are all very smooth, meters and lightshow working.
Cabinet as fine as it can be considering this amp is 38 years old.
If the inside is as clean as the connectors on the back it must be a marvel. Those things shine like a mirror!
Sounds pretty good so far with FM radio and a wire antenna, no scratchy sound on volume and tone controls.
Only tested with a pair of phones so far, speakers is for tomorrow.

Seems like I bought it from a decent dealer. Will still go to the vintage audio restore shop in Holland though to see if anything else needs to be done. 

Very happy with my purchase but that doesn't mean I won't be trying out an SX-1280 or SX-1980.
The same shop should have a 1280 in the coming months and there is a chance on a 1980 as well. Wonder what the pirce will be though.

Don't think I will be trying a Marantz 2385 though with the info I have now. Anyone in favor of the Marantz monster amps?

Will receive my Infinity's Tuesday evening, a friend of mine is going to pick them up. Should be a killer combo!
Never thought these things could sound so good, should have kept all the old stuff I got from my father when I was a kid.

Nice man! Hook up a good dac or Turntable up to it and let me know what you think with a good pair of cans. I'm jealous, mine is still out for service. With my Thorens turntable and hd650's it sounds ridiculously good...

 

[roadcykler]

 
Question - what kind of "proper interconnect" are you using?  I read elsewhere you can avoid using the jumpers by using an audio RCA cable instead of the jumpers but when I tried it on my SA-8800 the sound was very faint.  When I put the jumpers back in place the sound was back to normal. 
 
That comment about fuses is very interesting as well!  I may have to try that - who would have thought fuses would improve sound? 

 
The people marketing them? Don't waste a ridiculous amount of money for a fuse that's not going to help because there's no way a fuse is going to make a measurable difference in the sound. What you perceive, is another story. 

 

[PhoenixG]

   
The people marketing them? Don't waste a ridiculous amount of money for a fuse that's not going to help because there's no way a fuse is going to make a measurable difference in the sound. What you perceive, is another story. 

Preach.
Unless the fuse is in the output, it's not going to change anything that a good cleaning wouldn't.
If the RCA interconects made it sound faint, there's a chance it was causing a small short in the signal path, so it's good you switched back.