[SpeakerBox]

Very nice @PhoenixG !

 

[SpeakerBox]

Not exactly real vintage - but is a Nelson Pass design from 10 or so years ago. Just got the DIY F6 up and running! Bias set to 500mv per spec.

Almost finished:

 

[ScareDe2]

The Sony STR 1011 that I have acquired serviced from ebay for less than $200 is sounding resolving, smooth and drives effortlessly my sennheiser HD250 linear 1. I do a side comparison with my Schiit Lyr 2 with Lisst tubes and the Sony receiver sounds better. But to be fair, adjusted to inflation the unit costs over $1k. It was build at a time when the japaneses were leading the market during the golden age of audio. It's quality inside. So if you find these vintage units in good working order, I can't but only recommend you grab one.

And with 285 W of power you can bet it will drive a pair of speakers. The Yamaha's horizontal NS10 have great synergy with this receiver.

https://www.americanradiohistory.co...ive-HiFI-Stereo/90s/Stereo-Directory-1994.pdf

 

[Silent One]

Jus hangin’ out with The Big ‘G’ & HE-6. How y’all been?

 

[SpeakerBox]

Very nice gear @Silent One ! Good to hear from you again. My big Pioneer is up in the rotation today driving my KEF Q10s. Never stop loving this gear!

 

[Silent One]

Very nice gear @Silent One ! Good to hear from you again. My big Pioneer is up in the rotation today driving my KEF Q10s. Never stop loving this gear!

Good to see you thriving. And you’ve got gear to love!

 

[FusionManic]

I like the older receivers. I have a Pioneer SX-750 and just got a Kenwood 5400. Pioneers are very clean sounding. The Kenwood is darker and some say not unlike an old Marantz

.

Quite a coincidence, I happen to have a Pioneer SX-650 and a Kenwood KR-6600, both restored. I agree 100% that 50 series Pioneers sound clean and clear, some would even go as far as calling it a "West Coast" sound. I wouldn't describe the Kenwoods as "dark" however, but warm instead. They are smooth sounding yet detailed, and they got swing to spare although this varies across models. I chose the KR-6600 because its output impedance suited my headphones, and I acquired the Pioneer SX-650 because it is a heck of a handsome looking mid-range "silverface" and a good example of refined industrial design of the mid-to-late 70's.

Despite the mean-looking heat-dissipating "louvers" on its sides (they are fake, it's just decorative) the Kenwood looks plain... until you turn it on and its window lights up. Dimmed-blue dial (very similar to Marantz blue, not bright blue like the older Pioneers), the bright red light at the tip of the tuning needle that makes it look like an inverted torch of sorts, combine that with the amber VU-meters and you get a display unlike any other I've seen. And to top it off it uses common, easy-to-find bulbs. It is rated at 56wpc but I suspect it puts out more than that considering its rather bulky size and hefty weight. And its sound when connected to large speakers, you can sense ample power reserve.

I never heard a modern receiver I liked but never really did a side by side comparison with the older 70's models. Old receivers are great. The one's that get top dollar, outside of the Marantz's are the one's with lots of watts. 30-50 watts by 1970's standards is quite loud. That's what makes the lesser-powered older receivers such a great buy.

Until the 80's the FTC mandated that power rating was continuous output from 20Hz to 20KHz, now they only ask peak power output at 1KHz. That's a meaningless figure that allows ridiculous claims of huge power from receivers weighting about 10 lbs or even less, yet push 100wpc. I take that with a truckload of salt, if the old regulations still applied that amp may have been rated 8wpc.

 

[SpeakerBox]

Quite a coincidence, I happen to have a Pioneer SX-650 and a Kenwood KR-6600, both restored. I agree 100% that 50 series Pioneers sound clean and clear, some would even go as far as calling it a "West Coast" sound.

That sound is what attracted me to the 1250. Very clean.

 

[FusionManic]

That sound is what attracted me to the 1250. Very clean.

Indeed it is, with the iconic 1250 you get clean and LOUD without a hint of a clip. One of the best designed receiver of the 70's inside out, imho

 

[kid vic]

So I just picked up a gorgeous HH Scott 299D (pics to follow) and I was loving it with my LCD3 all night long. Earlier today I saw a post elsewhere stating that running vintage tube amps without a load is generally a bad idea; last night I was running it with the speaker selector switched to "off" and a headphone plugged in at all times, but I still have to wonder whether or not I need some sort of a load attached to the speaker taps?
I assume from all of the people who used to use Leben integrateds as headphone amps that this shouldn't be a problem but I figured I'd double check.

Also, I will be trying to run my Lounge Audio Copla step-up transformer into both my Scott 299D and my Kenwood KA-9100 via an RCA splitter (maybe the Schiit SYS); anyone think this is a bad idea? If so, why? I emailed Lounge Audio and they said that it may require me cranking the volume but should otherwise work.

 

[UntilThen]

So I just picked up a gorgeous HH Scott 299D (pics to follow) and I was loving it with my LCD3 all night long.

LCD-3f with a vintage amp is delicious. Some spare gear while working from home. Burson Conductor V2+ as DAC into Sony STR-7035.

 

[kid vic]

LCD-3f with a vintage amp is delicious. Some spare gear while working from home. Burson Conductor V2+ as DAC into Sony STR-7035.

Yeah, it has already been incredible with my vintage kenwood.

 

[kid vic]

So, I've been thinking of tube rolling the Scott but I don't know where to start. It uses these tubes:


(4) 12AX7
(2) 6U8 or 7199 (Split-load phase inverter)
(4) 7591
(1) 5AR4

I won't be rolling the 7591's as those are near impossible to find and I probably won't be rolling the 5A34 right away; basically this leaves the 12AX7's and the 6U8's for rolling.
Which group should I start with? Also, the 12AX7's are divided into two groups (labeled V102, V2, V101, V1, in that order), any idea what they each are for?

 

[SpeakerBox]

I use Electro Harmonix in my Fisher 400 for 7591 output tubes. Sounds quite good but the pins are larger than the old standby versions - so they tend to expand the sockets so that you can't go back. I do like the sound though. 12AX7 are the Sovtek 12AX7LPS. Sound excellent also.

 

[Greendriver]

I have a choice of Pioneer SX838 or Marantz 1070 for headphone listening. Anyone have any experience of these?