It was your videos and Andrews that tipped me to getting an sx780 when i started looking for a vintage pioneer. Now paired with a pair of klipsch chorus i speakers and 15" klipsch sub...i couldn't be happier and brings me back to my childhood listening to my dad's old stereo. Thanks Lenny, Andrew and team!
I have a Marantz 2325 that's been in storage for 25 years. I recently took it out and connected it up to my Polk tower speakers and honestly forgot the beautiful sound that this receiver delivers.
Lenny, you're a young man with an old soul. I bought my first stereo in 1975 and I remember all of these great units. I would have loved to go receiver shopping with you in 1978 when our ship was in Japan and nearly every one of these was at the Navy Exchange. Congratulations Spencer on your marriage. I've been married 46 years, and I haven't given up yet. LOL BTW I knew The Pioneer would pick up stations. I bought my first new car when I was stationed in San Diego, a 1979 Corolla and it came without a stereo. I mounted an under dash Pioneer AM FM Cassette player and I picked up stations from LA with no antenna. I never installed one.
If you're serious about collecting or restoring stuff you never pay that kind of price... you might fall into the category once or twice in your life because you know that's the receiver your dad had when you were a kid and it's spotless but else it works very differently. Otherwise you'd surely collect far fewer items than you could or you'd run out of business.
Thanks for the video love the older units. I have a Kenwood KR-7600 bought used in early 80's still use it in our bonus room as our entertainment sound center.
"That was 5 watts. And this has 270." What does that tell you? You do not need 270 watts to listen to music, even at a very loud volume. Of course it depends on your speakers, but most people would be fine with a receiver with way less than 100 watts.
so true 50 to 70 watts its more then enough for most listeners at home , I can tell because I own a pioneer 100watt rms integrated amp and a crown professional xls2502 rated at 450 watts rms ; the pioneer I listen to half the volume most of the time the crown maybe 30% and both are loud at those levels my house ceiling sounds like it's going to collapse
I have an sx 880 i like, but still want to go sx 950 or larger. Depends on the speakers I end up with. thanks for keeping hifi alive. I also like the technics stuff, but hear they require more maint. (i grew up with an sa-505 and nice floor cabs in the 80's and 90's).
RCA Speaker Connectors were not used with low level audio inter connect cables. They used 14 through 20 gauge by 2 conductor speaker wire that was soldered onto male RCA terminations. It was a cheap & easy solution for the minimal audio enthusiasts ability to hook up a speaker set. As quickly as possible without wiring them incorrectly.
The SX980 80wpc was one of the best of this series, it could be had for $500 and had some seriously heavy duty modern custom output transistors that sounded superb and easily exceeded their published specifications by about ten percent on average - I know I had mine tested by a friend who was an electronics technician.- even he was amazed at how stable it was under load on his Oscilloscope.
@@longboardluv2 I know, right? Then you got Lenny admitting to chuckling behind the customer's back, "Woohoo, can't believe how much I sold that thing for." And don't get me started on the way they ramble on over options or specs they clearly no little about. I don't know how these guys do it. Must be a lot of fools with too much money on the east coast.
@@austinpowers6260 -- It is not inflation that is mostly causing the price on vintage stereos to increase. People have learned that stereo receivers of the 1970s are generally of a better quality, and they are in higher demand now.
Those prices seem a little ridiculous you can buy brand new mac gear for less. Not saying Lenny is ripping people off the market for vintage everything is kind of nuts.
I adore the sheer honesty of these old Realistic receivers. Sadly...I connected my 1979-vintage Minimus 7s to...a flashy SX-580 back in 1979. Over the years, I've wished I'd had the humility to just add the Realistic STA-7 (or similar) to the speakers and "solved" my stereo choice way back then. Today? I STILL have and use my Minimus 7s (with an old Adcom system), but the flashy SX-580 is long gone. I want to buy a low-power Realistic receiver to finally UNITE what should've been united 47 years ago. Someday... Mahalo for another trip down my own memory lane! Aloha!
For me this "80" series era of Pioneer became and has remained my favorite receivers for looks, build quality, power output and I just love the face the front is a thick aluminum extrusion with a real glass dial front, these are still to me the best looking vintage receivers but thats JMO
I have 3 Marantz's -- a 2230, 2235 and a 2270 -- plus a Kenwood KA-9100 that's not working but in the shop and might get fixed, and a cheap Realistic to boot. The 2230 is for my wife's office. She likes to listen with headphones. The 2235 drives a couple of Original Large Advents (walnut case with beveled edge) in the master bedroom. The 2270 drives a stack of Original Large Advents in our family room (walnut cases sitting on top of utility case versions). I love the OLAs driven by the Marantz's. Warm, vibrant but never fatiguing sound. I'd go with AR3a's if they weren't a pain to maintain. But I like my speakers soft (the modern ones tend to be way too responsive) and neutral, with a warmth coming through the amp and preamp. The Advents just need the surrounds changed every 15 or so years and are otherwise indestructible. When stacked, they sound like to me a bit like electrostatics except without the fragility and limited life span. The only problem with my vintage gear is it's spoiled me for anything else. I paid $4,000 to outfit my car with good stereo equipment but I never listen to it. The sound is too modern and accurate for my taste. I go into the rare hi-fi store where one can still sample stuff and I'm not impressed by gear costing tens of thousands. The amp and preamp need not be Marantz. Sansui and Pioneer both sound great. A lot of others too. If my Kenwood can be fixed, it will sound great. Even much cheaper stuff sounds great. The Realistic is muddy but still warm and beautiful. Of course I'm describing my tastes and preferences. YMMV of course.
Something that caught my attention was being able to use these as an external amp. For the life of me, I can’t figure out if I can use my old Onkyo TX-NR1000 as a external amp.
Honestly i kinda understand why you did get so much hate for that famous modification video. HDMI, WIFI and all that modern stuff doesn't belong into a 50 years old vintage gear. And if people share their opinion on forums won't necesarily makes them "keyboard warriors"... But it's just my opinion. And an SX-780 for 1500? Man, that's wild...
Lived in the Columbia Gorge outside of Hood River, OR. Strange but true, I had a Yamaha Tuner/Preamp/amp setup along with an M&K sub. FM was always on the iffy side due to our location in a valley but still at about 2000 ft on my tuner but the M&K (powered) sub would pick up and play FM when it was off....and sometimes would pick up Oregon State Police transmissions....
Still pinching myself with the purchase of two HITACHI SR-903's, one for US$155 (MINT) and the other for $140 (EXC+). Big power at 75W per Channel into 8 Ohms; with GLASS G peak power of 160W to prevent transient clipping. I upgraded them to LED's as well. Love the look...ALU face...ALU knobs...ALU levers...SIGNAL and TUNING meters. Robust components, these babies exude quality. I vinyl wrapped them to protect their excellent & original veneer, with a glossy burled walnut. I did manage to snag an SR-804 (Class G amp), which is not quite as powerful but came with the addition of a VU meter for each channel. Revised and with upgraded LED lamps, that one was a steal at US$80. All sound wonderful and have more than enough power for my needs.
2 TT on the Marantz 2270 is to allow playing mono LPs with a mono cartridge and playing Stereo LP with Stereo cartridge and not have to swap cartridges and have to go through adjustments
First off, Good to see Spencer back in the video. Second, I love my vintage Marantz receiver. It looks really good in the wood cabinet, but not fond of the extra weight and size it adds to the receiver. It makes the connections a little more hard to connect plus limits the placement on tighter racks, Third, I am not sure I would spend $15,000 on a vintage receiver with all the current pieces available like Accuphase, Luxman and McIntosh in that price range. Fourth, Great Video as always! I don't miss any of them!!!!!
I have Sony TA700es amp - brought it for £300 of eBay about 8 years ago...I needed a service , that cost me £1,200 ...Yes, could have brought a new one for that ( but would not have 3 tape inputs and monitoring - I have a Aiwa XKS 7000 and a Studer B67 ( also just serviced total cost £ 3,500 ) when I asked why the Sony amp was so expensive - he told me that as Sony used the best parts , he did the same - which is probably why is sounds awesome...Vintage all the way !!!
What you didn’t address is the sonic difference between brands! Sansui is much brighter sound. Only brand brighter is Yamaha. Marantz is not as bright…. And Pioneer to my eyes…. Much less bright with a solid mid and bass sound. Pioneer has the better sonics to me. Lastly , McIntosh has an even more solid, less tinny sonic expression. The Mac 4100 receiver which sells around 1500-2,000 is a great sounding unit, with 5 knob eq, variable loudness, and consistently puts out 105 wpc ,clipping at 110 wpc. It’s a great bargain. Lastly the sx1980 wasn’t the greatest sounding of Pioneer receivers. The 1250 Sounded better and it’s born out on scope traces. Plus the 80 series had hot spots where boards burned at aluminum heat sinks. It may be most powerful and heaviest .
The Holy Grail of receivers is the monster Technics SA-1000 at 330 watts per channel, worlds most powerful receiver. More powerful than the Pioneer SX-1980 at 270 watts per channel. I was lucky to find a Technics SA-1000 in a thrift store in Tampa Florida for only $75 back in the 90s. I kept it about a year until it went out on me and sold it as is for $50.
Kinda irrelevant to this but most of my audio equipment is Pioneer. Not "vintage" but OLD. I bought my original system 35+ years ago. Only thing left of that is the tower speakers with 12" woofers. Added another set of tower speakers sometime later with 15" woofers. Then I replaced the head unit with a more modern one with HDMI inputs and shit. Realized that wiring the TV to a receiver was more of a pain in the ass than it was worth because of the numerous button clicks it takes to make the system actually work and now I just use the digital audio input from my TV to the receiver. I had to replace the cones on the 12" woofers several years ago because they split from the housing. That was a MAJOR pain in the ass BUT they still sound and work fine.
It doesn't matter to me if the stereo knobs are plastic or metal. What counts is the feel. My finger tips react favorably to reeded plastic knobs than to smooth bland metal knobs. Knobs that are metal and reeded is a bigger plus.
There is a lot of nastalogia and coolness factor built into the prices. I have a 2270 that I find very cool to look at despite the long FM Scale I never use. Decent investments at this point. Then again, everything has gone up.
I have a restored Pioneer SX- 780 / knobs arent plastic - my unit had all knobs polished, warm LEDs installed, many replaced caps, even the STK power supplies were replaced, and a new cabinet hand sanded and polished. Why are you selling for $1500.00 when I got mine for $400.00? Theres even a brand new one from Japan - completely new in original box on eBay for $2000.00.
My parents had a Technics receiver (25 watts per channel), dad said he always wanted a Marantz. I went on ebay a week ago looking for a stereo receiver for myself and almost pulled the trigger on a Marantz until I looked at a modern day Pioneer. It had HDMI ports, bluetooth, about the same power lever, I purchased the Pioneer instead, I don't listen to FM, or AM radio, the commercials and moronic dis jockeys ruined radio, I pay for Sirius XM, I have a turn table and a pair of Bose 201 series IV speakers. It was the lack of HTMI ports and no bluetooth that drove me away from those vintage receivers.
My very first receiver was a 20 watt Sherwood...think it was the 7110 model..something like that. Man, that thing kicked some serious asss! Could never turn it past 4....that bluish backlighting...ah!
By 1978 I had owned the Sansui, Marantz 2265 and a Final Pioneer SX1280 with a Great set of JBL L100s , which is What I Own Now From JUST AUDIO! Spencer or Tom Had that thing on a Pallet wrapped Awesome!! Next will be a A12 or a 280 From you guys big price increase for the 4000 will be my End Game!!
let me known that the highest priced paid for a Pioneer SX-1280 is 5k THIS IS EVER!! I have an eBay store and have history going 3 years back. So 15k is 3 times more than any other sold on that platform. Not to say that maybe one has sold for 15k but these prices are extremely inflated.
I am a big fan of Vintage products, whether it's electronics, cars, motorcycles, or clothes, but the price of a 1970s receiver like Pioneer 1980 model 15000 dollars is really ridiculous. One of my interests in Vintage products is that you can compete with a new and up-to-date product at a very reasonable price... but recently the 70s receivers have become unnecessarily expensive while the 2000s or late 90s receivers are very cheap, There are those that you can hear a very good sound from, and it is not necessary to pay 150 dollars for a very basic receiver from the 70s, while you can buy a Denon Surround receiver from the 2000s with excellent sound for 50 dollars. At least in Europe, I don't know how it is in US.
I think the back of the Realistic is Masonite, not particle board. The Main In/Out on the Marantz is for adding signal processors like EQs, not for using as a pre-amp. I have a Luxman 100x2 receiver I'd bet would make mincemeat out of those.
yes i bought one in 2003 for 100€ and as working perfect and no missing lights on the display of the tuner on the receiver , i had a older one but without power meters
At this point in time I wouldn't buy anything like that for the performance or the power. As for the looks in this showdown SANSUI for me really is the top, I can't imagine how much of a display piece can that be in a dimly lit room.
I remember the old days when Radio Shack offered those bundle deals. Of course, none of us big shot kids would stoop to Radio Shack gear. We had to pretend to be able to afford Marantz and HK.
I had a 50 Watt Realistic at one Time, for the Moneyit was Awesome, but you Forgot the 72 Lloyd's 4 Channel Reciever Turntable and 4 Crap Speakers, but my Steely Dan Can't buy a thrill 4 channel album was perfect for that set up, spent 200 bucks for the Whole Deal from Pacific Stereo!!!
Hi my name is craig I’ve been collecting and repairing vintage audio equipment for a good 40 years I just came across a pair of speakers I know nothing about wondered if u could help are they good and maybe specs on them they are Atlantis orical three speakers can u help please
I can see the big high end, rare receivers going for big money (not that I would pay) but an entry-level receiver is easy enough to find for $50 or whatever. There is just so much good stuff from the 80s-90s with lots of power for cheap, people just want to spend money on aluminum faceplates.
Hello, I am bringing a Technics by Panasonic Sa-=500 back to life. On the back their is a place for two 5.0a fuses. Can I use a 5.0a-250v, 1.25mm fuse?
I just sat through almost 25 minutes of "knobs and switches" waiting for either of you to mention something about a Yamaha CR 2020/2040/3020, but nothing? Either of these receivers have better tonal control, more sensitive FM Tuner Sections (for those who still occasionally listen), more options for your MC/MM cartridges and variants of them, lots of power, and I can go on. There's also the Realistic STA-2300, and even a QUADRAFLEX REFERENCE 650 Fet R that's pretty rare, but puts out amazing sound with surprising control. Everyone chases the Pioneer, and Marantz with a sprinkling of others. Lastly for the prices you're charging, I'd rather grab some vintage Macintosh from a couple of vendors I know and be happier, but really 35-75wpc driving speakers with good sensitivity is probably all you need anyway unless you're on acreage.....
It would be interesting to see how the old school Pioneer SX 1980 compares to a modern-day McIntosh MAC 7200 with DAC2 upgrade. That is the only thing I can think of that is currently produced that comes close to being just as high end. Sadly, most things of today are not built to the same caliber of the Pioneer, or the Sansui, even the Yamaha R-N2000A IMHO would be more of a great bang for the buck offering versus an all-out assault on what the company is capable of. These things are what I like to call lost tech, the parts, building materials, and manufacturing processes I am sure most companies would consider way too expensive to implement today.
Thanks for another awesome video. I’m that JVC guy that keeps aggravating you guys, just kidding. I did just purchase my first ever receiver. I have tons of JVC / Victor integrated, power, and preamps. Even also some Laboratory Spec. Anyway, the receiver is a Pioneer sx 1080 and now I want the sx 1280, but the 1980 is way out of my league. My question is how do you clean and get that luster on the metal face of the sx 1980 you exhibited?
I can’t tell the secrets 😂 thanks for watching and glad you are enjoying. We don’t use the new deoxit faceplate cleaner, but I’d recommend that cause their products are great
Am I going bonkers or was somebody taking flash photos during the recording of the video? It got pretty distracting during what to many of us is a religious experience - the kind where you concentrate for record periods of time without 'waking up' so to speak.
Hey guys, I would love to hear your thoughts on Hitachi receivers, specially the HTA 4 since I have one and I want to know if I made a good investment. Thanks
@@karaDee2363 the most expensive Pioneer SX 780 to sell on eBay in the last 3 years is 1,600 but there was only one. However there are dozens of them have sold for $800 or 900
@@karaDee2363 well yeah it kinda is cause the 780 is the most common pioneer ever made and just ten years ago you could find them for around $100 on average
I think with Pioneer SX-1980 you can use A B and C together, it just has to have the speakers in 4 ohm. The Pioneer has 4 22,000 mf Capacitors. Like some these days the system is 270 Watts in 6 channels. It was said for a brief moment the SX-1980 could bump to 460 Watts Per Channel, and I believe it can. I own one. I had this in 1981 and was bought in DC at a place called German HiFi Audio. I paid at that time around 780 dollars for it. I paid cash. But I need it repaired as the power board is out and I need some work to rebuild it. Do you repair there? The outside looks mint for how old it is. I ran 2 pairs of Bose 901s Series IVs.
It's like hearing that my Keds were actually well made. Who knew I didn't the Pro Keds afterall. (Damn kids calling me poor) The kid in the 6 family apartment building had The Realistic good stuff??
Not real crazy about the speaker and input plugs sections. Who in the world would put these on the sides of a receiver? Just killed the looks of such a nice receiver. Just my .02
I would love to see a video showing the 10 WORST quality stereo component manufacturers from the 1970s. There was a lot of mediocre and subpar garbage being pushed by the stereo retailers back then. I bought a component system in 1978-1979 and I researched a lot before purchasing. But many people did not do their homework and bought crap stereo stuff.
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It was your videos and Andrews that tipped me to getting an sx780 when i started looking for a vintage pioneer. Now paired with a pair of klipsch chorus i speakers and 15" klipsch sub...i couldn't be happier and brings me back to my childhood listening to my dad's old stereo.
Thanks Lenny, Andrew and team!
Listing an SX-1980 for $15k USD doesn't make the SX-1980 worth $15k.
Sure it does! 😉
This
The US made up their own prices. 10x cheaper in Asian countries without ebay.
Tell that to every 60's Mustang owners.😊
Try to find an SA-1000
I have a Marantz 2325 that's been in storage for 25 years. I recently took it out and connected it up to my Polk tower speakers and honestly forgot the beautiful sound that this receiver delivers.
Generally, Realistic receivers pull in FM stations very well by just employing the power cord as the antenna.
Good point!
I agree my STA-79 is a beast at receiving stations in doors, no external 📶.
Lenny, you're a young man with an old soul. I bought my first stereo in 1975 and I remember all of these great units. I would have loved to go receiver shopping with you in 1978 when our ship was in Japan and nearly every one of these was at the Navy Exchange. Congratulations Spencer on your marriage. I've been married 46 years, and I haven't given up yet. LOL BTW I knew The Pioneer would pick up stations. I bought my first new car when I was stationed in San Diego, a 1979 Corolla and it came without a stereo. I mounted an under dash Pioneer AM FM Cassette player and I picked up stations from LA with no antenna. I never installed one.
I have a vintage Technics SA-600 system which sounds great. If you spend 15k on a 1980 you have more money than common sense.
If you're serious about collecting or restoring stuff you never pay that kind of price... you might fall into the category once or twice in your life because you know that's the receiver your dad had when you were a kid and it's spotless but else it works very differently. Otherwise you'd surely collect far fewer items than you could or you'd run out of business.
The more knobs, buttons, switches and meters the better. I hate gizmos that need an app on your smartphone to control them.
This !!!
Thanks for the video love the older units. I have a Kenwood KR-7600 bought used in early 80's still use it in our bonus room as our entertainment sound center.
"That was 5 watts. And this has 270."
What does that tell you? You do not need 270 watts to listen to music, even at a very loud volume. Of course it depends on your speakers, but most people would be fine with a receiver with way less than 100 watts.
so true 50 to 70 watts its more then enough for most listeners at home , I can tell because I own a pioneer 100watt rms integrated amp and a crown professional xls2502 rated at 450 watts rms ; the pioneer I listen to half the volume most of the time the crown maybe 30% and both are loud at those levels my house ceiling sounds like it's going to collapse
I have an sx 880 i like, but still want to go sx 950 or larger. Depends on the speakers I end up with. thanks for keeping hifi alive. I also like the technics stuff, but hear they require more maint. (i grew up with an sa-505 and nice floor cabs in the 80's and 90's).
I love my SX880
RCA Speaker Connectors were not used with low level audio inter connect cables.
They used 14 through 20 gauge by 2 conductor speaker wire that was soldered onto male RCA terminations.
It was a cheap & easy solution for the minimal audio enthusiasts ability to hook up a speaker set. As quickly as possible without wiring them incorrectly.
The SX980 80wpc was one of the best of this series, it could be had for $500 and had some seriously heavy duty modern custom output transistors that sounded superb and easily exceeded their published specifications by about ten percent on average - I know I had mine tested by a friend who was an electronics technician.- even he was amazed at how stable it was under load on his Oscilloscope.
The 1980 is quite something. A real EPIC piece of Hi Fi. Wonderful.
Wow those prices!!! and 2270 is 70 wpc not 35... if I sold my gear for that I could retire! lol
It's called, The Marantz Tax. lol.
These prices are inflated
@@longboardluv2 I know, right? Then you got Lenny admitting to chuckling behind the customer's back, "Woohoo, can't believe how much I sold that thing for." And don't get me started on the way they ramble on over options or specs they clearly no little about. I don't know how these guys do it. Must be a lot of fools with too much money on the east coast.
I think Lenny was referring to how cheap he sold these for a few years ago. Now inflation is out of control.
@@austinpowers6260 -- It is not inflation that is mostly causing the price on vintage stereos to increase. People have learned that stereo receivers of the 1970s are generally of a better quality, and they are in higher demand now.
Those prices seem a little ridiculous you can buy brand new mac gear for less. Not saying Lenny is ripping people off the market for vintage everything is kind of nuts.
I'll say it . Dawdang Gold diggers!
I adore the sheer honesty of these old Realistic receivers. Sadly...I connected my 1979-vintage Minimus 7s to...a flashy SX-580 back in 1979. Over the years, I've wished I'd had the humility to just add the Realistic STA-7 (or similar) to the speakers and "solved" my stereo choice way back then.
Today? I STILL have and use my Minimus 7s (with an old Adcom system), but the flashy SX-580 is long gone. I want to buy a low-power Realistic receiver to finally UNITE what should've been united 47 years ago.
Someday...
Mahalo for another trip down my own memory lane! Aloha!
For me this "80" series era of Pioneer became and has remained my favorite receivers for looks, build quality, power output and I just love the face the front is a thick aluminum extrusion with a real glass dial front, these are still to me the best looking vintage receivers but thats JMO
I have 3 Marantz's -- a 2230, 2235 and a 2270 -- plus a Kenwood KA-9100 that's not working but in the shop and might get fixed, and a cheap Realistic to boot. The 2230 is for my wife's office. She likes to listen with headphones. The 2235 drives a couple of Original Large Advents (walnut case with beveled edge) in the master bedroom. The 2270 drives a stack of Original Large Advents in our family room (walnut cases sitting on top of utility case versions). I love the OLAs driven by the Marantz's. Warm, vibrant but never fatiguing sound. I'd go with AR3a's if they weren't a pain to maintain. But I like my speakers soft (the modern ones tend to be way too responsive) and neutral, with a warmth coming through the amp and preamp. The Advents just need the surrounds changed every 15 or so years and are otherwise indestructible. When stacked, they sound like to me a bit like electrostatics except without the fragility and limited life span.
The only problem with my vintage gear is it's spoiled me for anything else. I paid $4,000 to outfit my car with good stereo equipment but I never listen to it. The sound is too modern and accurate for my taste. I go into the rare hi-fi store where one can still sample stuff and I'm not impressed by gear costing tens of thousands.
The amp and preamp need not be Marantz. Sansui and Pioneer both sound great. A lot of others too. If my Kenwood can be fixed, it will sound great. Even much cheaper stuff sounds great. The Realistic is muddy but still warm and beautiful. Of course I'm describing my tastes and preferences. YMMV of course.
Sorry but pricing (or market value) for 780, 2270, all above those for that matter, is so out of reasonable that it's disheartening.
A sx-780 for 1500 usd? What a joke.
I remember the 780's had a "transistor pack" or something that was known to go out early under extended heavy load
This is the type of entertaining and informative programming that makes your store and your channel cool! Thank you!
Okay, had to go out to my shop and blast my Pioneer 780 for a few hours!
Something that caught my attention was being able to use these as an external amp. For the life of me, I can’t figure out if I can use my old Onkyo TX-NR1000 as a external amp.
Honestly i kinda understand why you did get so much hate for that famous modification video. HDMI, WIFI and all that modern stuff doesn't belong into a 50 years old vintage gear. And if people share their opinion on forums won't necesarily makes them "keyboard warriors"... But it's just my opinion. And an SX-780 for 1500? Man, that's wild...
Marantz 2270 is 70 watts per channel not 35. Slow your roll a bit.
Preamp in and out could also be used to put a signal processor (like equalizer) into the system without using your tape monitor.
You could also connect a preamp pr amplifier.
Man, these vintage receivers are just eye candy to look at. 😍
Lived in the Columbia Gorge outside of Hood River, OR. Strange but true, I had a Yamaha Tuner/Preamp/amp setup along with an M&K sub. FM was always on the iffy side due to our location in a valley but still at about 2000 ft on my tuner but the M&K (powered) sub would pick up and play FM when it was off....and sometimes would pick up Oregon State Police transmissions....
Still pinching myself with the purchase of two HITACHI SR-903's, one for US$155 (MINT) and the other for $140 (EXC+). Big power at 75W per Channel into 8 Ohms; with GLASS G peak power of 160W to prevent transient clipping. I upgraded them to LED's as well. Love the look...ALU face...ALU knobs...ALU levers...SIGNAL and TUNING meters. Robust components, these babies exude quality.
I vinyl wrapped them to protect their excellent & original veneer, with a glossy burled walnut.
I did manage to snag an SR-804 (Class G amp), which is not quite as powerful but came with the addition of a VU meter for each channel. Revised and with upgraded LED lamps, that one was a steal at US$80.
All sound wonderful and have more than enough power for my needs.
2 TT on the Marantz 2270 is to allow playing mono LPs with a mono cartridge and playing Stereo LP with Stereo cartridge and not have to swap cartridges and have to go through adjustments
a ceramic cartridge is not (necessarily) for 78rpm records, I have a grado ceramic cart that has an elliptical stylus.
First off, Good to see Spencer back in the video. Second, I love my vintage Marantz receiver. It looks really good in the wood cabinet, but not fond of the extra weight and size it adds to the receiver. It makes the connections a little more hard to connect plus limits the placement on tighter racks, Third, I am not sure I would spend $15,000 on a vintage receiver with all the current pieces available like Accuphase, Luxman and McIntosh in that price range. Fourth, Great Video as always! I don't miss any of them!!!!!
I have Sony TA700es amp - brought it for £300 of eBay about 8 years ago...I needed a service , that cost me £1,200 ...Yes, could have brought a new one for that ( but would not have 3 tape inputs and monitoring - I have a Aiwa XKS 7000 and a Studer B67 ( also just serviced total cost £ 3,500 ) when I asked why the Sony amp was so expensive - he told me that as Sony used the best parts , he did the same - which is probably why is sounds awesome...Vintage all the way !!!
Was this a fair test? I bet the 1980 was given a lot of love and an FM alignment and the poor little STA-14 was suffering from the 70's!
Where are the Luxman's? R-1070 is also a very nice receiver from the beginning of the DC-circuit era. And the year older, but beefier, R-1120.
What you didn’t address is the sonic difference between brands! Sansui is much brighter sound. Only brand brighter is Yamaha. Marantz is not as bright…. And Pioneer to my eyes…. Much less bright with a solid mid and bass sound. Pioneer has the better sonics to me. Lastly , McIntosh has an even more solid, less tinny sonic expression. The Mac 4100 receiver which sells around 1500-2,000 is a great sounding unit, with 5 knob eq, variable loudness, and consistently puts out 105 wpc ,clipping at 110 wpc. It’s a great bargain.
Lastly the sx1980 wasn’t the greatest sounding of Pioneer receivers. The 1250 Sounded better and it’s born out on scope traces. Plus the 80 series had hot spots where boards burned at aluminum heat sinks. It may be most powerful and heaviest .
My brother had a marantz like the one here.. beautiful sound, and effortless tuner.
The Holy Grail of receivers is the monster Technics SA-1000 at 330 watts per channel, worlds most powerful receiver. More powerful than the Pioneer SX-1980 at 270 watts per channel. I was lucky to find a Technics SA-1000 in a thrift store in Tampa Florida for only $75 back in the 90s. I kept it about a year until it went out on me and sold it as is for $50.
I always love it when you bring out the big guns ..
I have the Pioneer SX 780 and have no complaints❤
Kinda irrelevant to this but most of my audio equipment is Pioneer. Not "vintage" but OLD. I bought my original system 35+ years ago. Only thing left of that is the tower speakers with 12" woofers. Added another set of tower speakers sometime later with 15" woofers. Then I replaced the head unit with a more modern one with HDMI inputs and shit. Realized that wiring the TV to a receiver was more of a pain in the ass than it was worth because of the numerous button clicks it takes to make the system actually work and now I just use the digital audio input from my TV to the receiver. I had to replace the cones on the 12" woofers several years ago because they split from the housing. That was a MAJOR pain in the ass BUT they still sound and work fine.
Brought back some memories with that STA-14. $1500 for a SX 780....................
Radio Shack a Division of Tandy Corporation...
What brand of stereo system did the baker shop have?
A Pioneer, a pie in here! 🎉
It doesn't matter to me if the stereo knobs are plastic or metal. What counts is the feel. My finger tips react favorably to reeded plastic knobs than to smooth bland metal knobs. Knobs that are metal and reeded is a bigger plus.
There is a lot of nastalogia and coolness factor built into the prices. I have a 2270 that I find very cool to look at despite the long FM Scale I never use. Decent investments at this point. Then again, everything has gone up.
$1500 for a 780? lol.. Someone hasen't loooked craigslist or ebay in a long time. Paid $250 for mine 5 years ago.
How much are they going for now?
You should do a video of those receivers and show what the DB difference is at top volumes.
I have a restored Pioneer SX- 780 / knobs arent plastic - my unit had all knobs polished, warm LEDs installed, many replaced caps, even the STK power supplies were replaced, and a new cabinet hand sanded and polished.
Why are you selling for $1500.00 when I got mine for $400.00?
Theres even a brand new one from Japan - completely new in original box on eBay for $2000.00.
My parents had a Technics receiver (25 watts per channel), dad said he always wanted a Marantz. I went on ebay a week ago looking for a stereo receiver for myself and almost pulled the trigger on a Marantz until I looked at a modern day Pioneer. It had HDMI ports, bluetooth, about the same power lever, I purchased the Pioneer instead, I don't listen to FM, or AM radio, the commercials and moronic dis jockeys ruined radio, I pay for Sirius XM, I have a turn table and a pair of Bose 201 series IV speakers. It was the lack of HTMI ports and no bluetooth that drove me away from those vintage receivers.
My very first receiver was a 20 watt Sherwood...think it was the 7110 model..something like that. Man, that thing kicked some serious asss! Could never turn it past 4....that bluish backlighting...ah!
And that 20 watts is also you need with high sensitivity speakers.
By 1978 I had owned the Sansui, Marantz 2265 and a Final Pioneer SX1280 with a Great set of JBL L100s , which is What I Own Now From JUST AUDIO!
Spencer or Tom Had that thing on a Pallet wrapped Awesome!!
Next will be a A12 or a 280 From you guys big price increase for the 4000 will be my End Game!!
let me known that the highest priced paid for a Pioneer SX-1280 is 5k THIS IS EVER!! I have an eBay store and have history going 3 years back. So 15k is 3 times more than any other sold on that platform. Not to say that maybe one has sold for 15k but these prices are extremely inflated.
2 phono inputs is nice when you have 2 tonearms on your turntable and you like to compare sound of a cartridge versus another one.
I am a big fan of Vintage products, whether it's electronics, cars, motorcycles, or clothes, but the price of a 1970s receiver like Pioneer 1980 model 15000 dollars is really ridiculous. One of my interests in Vintage products is that you can compete with a new and up-to-date product at a very reasonable price... but recently the 70s receivers have become unnecessarily expensive while the 2000s or late 90s receivers are very cheap, There are those that you can hear a very good sound from, and it is not necessary to pay 150 dollars for a very basic receiver from the 70s, while you can buy a Denon Surround receiver from the 2000s with excellent sound for 50 dollars. At least in Europe, I don't know how it is in US.
I think the back of the Realistic is Masonite, not particle board.
The Main In/Out on the Marantz is for adding signal processors like EQs, not for using as a pre-amp.
I have a Luxman 100x2 receiver I'd bet would make mincemeat out of those.
$1500 for an SX-780 is criminal.
Agree. I bought my SX-780 last year for 175 USD.
yes i bought one in 2003 for 100€ and as working perfect and no missing lights on the display of the tuner on the receiver , i had a older one but without power meters
RadioShack or Tandy in the UK... Hi-Fi shop? 😂 😂
At this point in time I wouldn't buy anything like that for the performance or the power. As for the looks in this showdown SANSUI for me really is the top, I can't imagine how much of a display piece can that be in a dimly lit room.
The gold digging scabs none audiophiles are trying to hi-jack the stock on these vintage memories of ours.
Also you guys should do a video on Denon hifi they made some nice stuff in the early 70s
I remember the old days when Radio Shack offered those bundle deals. Of course, none of us big shot kids would stoop to Radio Shack gear. We had to pretend to be able to afford Marantz and HK.
I had a 50 Watt Realistic at one Time, for the Moneyit was Awesome, but you Forgot the 72 Lloyd's 4 Channel Reciever Turntable and 4 Crap Speakers, but my Steely Dan Can't buy a thrill 4 channel album was perfect for that set up, spent 200 bucks for the Whole Deal from Pacific Stereo!!!
Who pays those prices for used stuff?
He has had that 1980 forever so the answer is no one.
$1500 for a sx 780 i don't know about that seems a little overpriced to me
THIS IS MY NEW COMFORT VIDEO - I'M GONNA WATCH IT EACH TIME I'M ABOUT TO EAT SOMETHING.
Awesome! Thank you, my favorite type of content. Hope many of the videos provide this!
Hi my name is craig I’ve been collecting and repairing vintage audio equipment for a good 40 years I just came across a pair of speakers I know nothing about wondered if u could help are they good and maybe specs on them they are Atlantis orical three speakers can u help please
if my dad's gear had this stopper (@14:00), we wouldn't loose our first gen Spendors 😭
I can see the big high end, rare receivers going for big money (not that I would pay) but an entry-level receiver is easy enough to find for $50 or whatever. There is just so much good stuff from the 80s-90s with lots of power for cheap, people just want to spend money on aluminum faceplates.
Yeah those faceplates will get ya
For tbe money at Radio Shack their house brand Realistic was a nice HIFI alternative!
Hello, I am bringing a Technics by Panasonic Sa-=500 back to life. On the back their is a place for two 5.0a fuses. Can I use a 5.0a-250v, 1.25mm fuse?
I just sat through almost 25 minutes of "knobs and switches" waiting for either of you to mention something about a Yamaha CR 2020/2040/3020, but nothing? Either of these receivers have better tonal control, more sensitive FM Tuner Sections (for those who still occasionally listen), more options for your MC/MM cartridges and variants of them, lots of power, and I can go on. There's also the Realistic STA-2300, and even a QUADRAFLEX REFERENCE 650 Fet R that's pretty rare, but puts out amazing sound with surprising control. Everyone chases the Pioneer, and Marantz with a sprinkling of others. Lastly for the prices you're charging, I'd rather grab some vintage Macintosh from a couple of vendors I know and be happier, but really 35-75wpc driving speakers with good sensitivity is probably all you need anyway unless you're on acreage.....
It would be interesting to see how the old school Pioneer SX 1980 compares to a modern-day McIntosh MAC 7200 with DAC2 upgrade. That is the only thing I can think of that is currently produced that comes close to being just as high end. Sadly, most things of today are not built to the same caliber of the Pioneer, or the Sansui, even the Yamaha R-N2000A IMHO would be more of a great bang for the buck offering versus an all-out assault on what the company is capable of. These things are what I like to call lost tech, the parts, building materials, and manufacturing processes I am sure most companies would consider way too expensive to implement today.
I love the RN2000A
The Pharmacy doesn’t sell your medication anymore..??🙄😄☝️
Is a fully recapped pioneer sx980 expensive for 1500??
Thanks for another awesome video. I’m that JVC guy that keeps aggravating you guys, just kidding. I did just purchase my first ever receiver. I have tons of JVC / Victor integrated, power, and preamps. Even also some Laboratory Spec. Anyway, the receiver is a Pioneer sx 1080 and now I want the sx 1280, but the 1980 is way out of my league. My question is how do you clean and get that luster on the metal face of the sx 1980 you exhibited?
I can’t tell the secrets 😂 thanks for watching and glad you are enjoying. We don’t use the new deoxit faceplate cleaner, but I’d recommend that cause their products are great
I have a pioneer SX 70 how much would you charge me to modify it that you did with yours mine I got for 300 bucks
I had that exact Pioneer receiver growing up in the late 70's...cost me $350.00
Am I going bonkers or was somebody taking flash photos during the recording of the video? It got pretty distracting during what to many of us is a religious experience - the kind where you concentrate for record periods of time without 'waking up' so to speak.
I have a very nice Pioneer SX-780 that keeps blowing a fuse. Someday I’ll figure it out.
My Marantz 1060 30WRMS also had a main in/preout
How does the 1980 match with hpm 100s? That reciever would destroy em. Wouldn't it?
Hey guys, I would love to hear your thoughts on Hitachi receivers, specially the HTA 4 since I have one and I want to know if I made a good investment. Thanks
You mention your store, but I don’t see a brick and mortar address. Thanks
$1500 Pioneer SX-780.....😂😂😂
Love the gear and the videos but your prices are way over priced, $1500 for a 780, that's ridiculous
This
@@karaDee2363 the most expensive Pioneer SX 780 to sell on eBay in the last 3 years is 1,600 but there was only one. However there are dozens of them have sold for $800 or 900
@@karaDee2363 well yeah it kinda is cause the 780 is the most common pioneer ever made and just ten years ago you could find them for around $100 on average
Definitely a bit on the high side.
What binding posts did u guys use on that Sansui?
how could you not understand `2 turn tables!!!??? awesome
rs
Throw me some scenarios that I can give people examples of using 2 for next time.
All the pioneers have aluminum knobs with plastic inserts
I think with Pioneer SX-1980 you can use A B and C together, it just has to have the speakers in 4 ohm. The Pioneer has 4 22,000 mf Capacitors. Like some these days the system is 270 Watts in 6 channels. It was said for a brief moment the SX-1980 could bump to 460 Watts Per Channel, and I believe it can. I own one. I had this in 1981 and was bought in DC at a place called German HiFi Audio. I paid at that time around 780 dollars for it. I paid cash. But I need it repaired as the power board is out and I need some work to rebuild it. Do you repair there? The outside looks mint for how old it is. I ran 2 pairs of Bose 901s Series IVs.
Nope
It's like hearing that my Keds were actually well made. Who knew I didn't the Pro Keds afterall. (Damn kids calling me poor) The kid in the 6 family apartment building had The Realistic good stuff??
i prefer a $150(dolla) sa-700 from technics, in mint condition, what used to be it´s price till autum 2017
Yeah then that price skyrocketed, that’s a nice one
@@LennyFlorentine yes , that´s when older components begun to be sold a lot and the ones still available the price sky-rocketed
13:29
Don't lift it or hold it by the black part of the grill in the back, they break easily.
No way a receiver that is 50 years old worth $15,000 unless a dumb person wants to pay for that. Even if it was recapped and fully refurbished.
Panasonic SE 2680? Any thoughts?
Back in the day the Pioneer SX1980 cost $1,500.00 brand new
Not real crazy about the speaker and input plugs sections. Who in the world would put these on the sides of a receiver? Just killed the looks of such a nice receiver. Just my .02
3800 US $ for a 2270? I'm speechless.
Cool, except there is no such thing as a vintage $15000 reciever 😂😂😂
I would love to see a video showing the 10 WORST quality stereo component manufacturers from the 1970s. There was a lot of mediocre and subpar garbage being pushed by the stereo retailers back then. I bought a component system in 1978-1979 and I researched a lot before purchasing. But many people did not do their homework and bought crap stereo stuff.
Nice idea Tom!!
Love the vintage amp's.