New Arivals...

[kkowal]

I Just Inherited some Vintage audio (My Favorite Uncle Passed away :( )and have some questions. items are 2 polk audio sda srs 2s both are in mint cond and work very well. The other is a pioneer sx 1080 also in very good cond. is there any thing i should know about maintaining this equipment??

[F1nut]

Welcome to the forum.

**** can the Pioneer, get some real power. The SDA's will benefit from a tweeter upgrade available from Polk, part # RD0194-1.

Sorry about your uncle.

[nadams]

F1- I have to very much disagree with your opinions of the 1080. http://www.classicaudio.com/value/pio/SX1080.html

120 REAL Watts of output, a real workhorse, for sure. Back when Pioneer meant something...

[danger boy]

how deep do you want to get into this hobby for the best sound for those SDA SRS'2s?

the best thing you can do is to for best sound if you want to invest in proper stereo equipment for them is to get a pre amp and a power amp. that will yield the best sound for you.

If you're not looking to spend that much... then a decent high current receiver will be another option. a good receiver you're looking at around $800 and up. for a the amp/pre amp you're looking around $1500 and up.. this is new of course. less $$ if you buy used gear. You have several options for mixing and matching gear.

*oh yeah. that silver faced Pioneer could be worth something right now.. as lots of vintage Pioneer stereo equipment has a large following. so don't ditch it before you realize what you have. :p

[nadams]

I honestly don't think he needs to upgrade anything. I'm sure that vintage Pioneer receiver sounds absolutely awesome with those SRS's. It's got more than enough grunt to push them around.

[F1nut]

Noah, Pioneer never meant something.

[danger boy]

silver faced Pioneer gear :D

[capecodder]

Don't be so hasty with the Pioneer. It was built during the '70's golden era of stereo equip. Cost about $750 back then. It is a beast (in a good way) piece of equipment with 120 wts/chl. and very good stats. It may not be the "best" amp for your Polks but it sure is a very good receiver to hold on to if you have a need. Check out this web site for more info

http://www.silverpioneer.netfirms.com/

[capecodder]

Wow, in the 5 minutes it took me to make a post after F1's, it looks like a lot of others also came to the rescue of the Pioneer

[nadams]

Hell, even my SX-450 with 15wpc sounds good, until you top it out. I can't imagine what 120wpc in vintage pioneer would sound like, but I would imagine "good" would be accurate. danger boy- I love that pic! awesome!

[TroyD]

That pic? Hmmmm a lot of mediocre sound.

Will the Pioneer drive the SDA's? Sure.

For my tastes, a receiver is never the answer. SDA's deserve good separates. Others may not agree which is perfectly within thier province.

BDT

[nadams]

I will agree that separates would be better, as I'm on my own quest for separates. However, F1 was implying that the 1080 was worthless, which it certainly is NOT.

[kkowal]

I do not plan on seperating this equipment the pioneer has pre amp out any amp suggestions around 500 wpc..

[cfrizz]

Hi kkowal & welcome. If you like the equipment & the sound that it is producing then just dust it off every now & again & you will be fine. My condolences for your Uncle.

Fellas, he didn't say boo about upgrading, tweaking, ect ect. Is there anything else he needs to do to maintain the equipment that he has? That was the question.

[TroyD]

I will agree that separates would be better, as I'm on my own quest for separates. However, F1 was implying that the 1080 was worthless, which it certainly is NOT.

I'm not going to speak for Jesse but I would have said much the same thing. IMO, the Pioneer is not in the same league as the SRS's. So, yes, move it down the road and bag decent separates.

In terms of power, depends on your budget but more power doesn't always equate to better. I'd look for a nice used tube preamp and a decent power amp with a couple hundred wpc.

Now, if maintaining it is the question, as Cathy pointed out....dust it off. If you aren't getting any static out of it, no worries. I might invest in some Caig deoxit and contact cleaner and so forth...but, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

BDT

[Steamer]

I've got a Pioneer SX-980. Power wise it'll push just about anything. It's a real beast for power. Still compared to my seperates it certainly isn't in the same league. I sure wouldnt toss it though. I use mine with my computer. Real happy with it there.

[danger boy]

I wasn't saying he should power his SDA's with the Pioneer.. all i'm saying it use the Pionner somewhere else.. another vintage stereo rig perhaps. ;)

[ND13]

I do not plan on seperating this equipment the pioneer has pre amp out any amp suggestions around 500 wpc..

Good idea. Use the pre-out and get an amp with at least 200 high current watts per channel and you'll get the SRS 2s to sing. I know, I own them and just went from about 125 high current watts to 315 high current watts and it made a big difference in dynamics due to the added headroom from the Parasound.

I'm sure that several here will attest to Parasound amps and SDAs as a good combo. You can find a nice PSound amp on Audiogon.com in the $350-$600 range most of the time.

Sorry you had to acquire the SDAs that way. Keep your Uncle's gear in good shape and in the family.

Welcome to Club Polk :)

[steveinaz]

F1- I have to very much disagree with your opinions of the 1080. http://www.classicaudio.com/value/pio/SX1080.html

120 REAL Watts of output, a real workhorse, for sure. Back when Pioneer meant something...

Yep, I'll second that. The SX-1080 was a gem.

[F1nut]

The only gear Pioneer made that is worth a mention were the Series 20 amps and even those are easily surpassed.

"Pioneer introduced a line of true audiophile components in the late 1970s known as Series 20. These components used the latest engineering and displayed the finest quality parts Pioneer had ever manufactured."

The M-22 and M-25 amps,
http://www.silverpioneer.netfirms.com/m22_amplifier.htm

[danger boy]

Jesse,
i'm sure a lot of the Pioneer equipment isn't true audiophile components.. but you do have to admit that they must have done something right. they sure have a big following.

While not reference quality.. i love my analog TX-9500 II tuner. it's very sensitive and sounds quite good.

but to each his own.

[madmax]

Noah, Pioneer never meant something.

F1, You are absolutely wrong on this one. Wrong I tell ya! I'm not refering to the receiver or the rack o silver either.

Before that Pioneer made tube equipment. I once made a bid of $900 on a 50wpc EL-34 amplifier. Looked pretty cool!

madmax

[F1nut]

Chuck...... :p

[heiney9]

The only gear Pioneer made that is worth a mention were the Series 20 amps and even those are easily surpassed.

"Pioneer introduced a line of true audiophile components in the late 1970s known as Series 20. These components used the latest engineering and displayed the finest quality parts Pioneer had ever manufactured."

The M-22 and M-25 amps,
http://www.silverpioneer.netfirms.com/m22_amplifier.htm

Those series 20's look pretty bad ass. I like looking at those big caps and transformers. Saw one of these recently on E-bay. Pioneer has always been middle of the road to me. I was over at audio karma for awhile and I just have to laugh at how many people think Pioneer, Sansui and Marantz are the ****. I can't read anymore posts from audio karma....it just boggles the mind that these people really believe that those vintage pieces have no equal today. Sure the stuff was built like a tank and sounded good for the day....but that day passed along time ago. The Pioneer Sx-1080 is capable but nothing to write home about, very average and probably better than today's economy (read cheapo) receivers.

Hang on to it or go over to audio karma and sell it for a big profit because there are some guys over there that will give you top $$$ plus for the SX-1080. It certainly is a very desireable model....I have no clue why. I had the same year SX something way back as my first receiver and it crapped out eventually.

H9

[ND13]

Now don't be bad mouthing Marantz or putting them in the same class as Pioneer. Marantz kicks Pioneer's arse :D

[TroyD]

[QUOTE=danger boy].. but you do have to admit that they must have done something right. they sure have a big following.
QUOTE]

So does Bose...

BDT

[heiney9]

Now don't be bad mouthing Marantz or putting them in the same class as Pioneer. Marantz kicks Pioneer's arse :D

Certain models.....I'd agree. I'm basically commenting on what "others" views are over at AK. I'm also not meaning to cut anyones gear down. If he likes the SX-1080 then Kudo's for him. But some of those guys over at AK are just plain nuts in their Pioneer, Sansui, Marantz worship....scarey stuff :D :p

H9

[BrentMcGhee]

well this thread escelated rather quickly..........

Back to the main question, Hook em' up and enjoy, you wont be disapointed with those speakers... once you enjoy them for a while and you get addicted to this hobby (you will) then you can move on to all of the advise that was kinda thrown at you right away in this thread. But for now just relax and enjoy the music, once your in too deep it is extremely hard to be satisfied with whatever equipment you have.

[schwarcw]

Welcome to the Forum. Sorry about your uncle. Enjoy the SDA's. The Pioneer SX-1080 is not audiophile quality. But it is a decent amp that will power those SDA's until you can get something better.

[danger boy]

[QUOTE=TroyD]

.. but you do have to admit that they must have done something right. they sure have a big following.
QUOTE]

So does Bose...

BDT

yeah but Bose sounds terrible. I don't think you can say all Pioneer sounds bad. there is a difference. you can twist the facts any which way you want to crunch the numbers in your favor.
I'm not defending Pioneer.. they had their hey day in the 70's... like Marantz and Sansui did.. their time may have passed. I'm not sure.

Troy stating something like that does no good. IN here an many other audio forums you'll find people that like every flavor of gear out there under the sun. and if you ask each and every person. their **** is the best.

I happen to like vintage Pioneer gear. all of it? Nope of course not.. but the higher end stuff was good in it's day.. and by todays standards is outdated.. some of it still sounds good to me. Can you campare it to todays gear? Of course not... it's technology is way outdated... twenty or thirty years old. But you can't say a blanket statement that it all is bad.

I like some Marantz gear.. is all of it good, nope. Is all Marantz gear bad? yeah a lot of it is.. esp most of their stuff from the past 20 yrs. But at one time... Marantz was the gear to have if you were a true audiophile.