Pioneer sa9800 question

boston1450

Anyone own/owned one of these. Seem to have tons n tons of power. But just doesnt sound as good as i think it should. Do you need the EQ for these to get them to sound better.
In the same room i have a Yamaha cr2040 with 7's on it & its pure bliss.
The Pioneer didnt sound good with the HPM100's & i hooked them up to Monitor 11's last night & it just doesnt seem to have the sound i expected from a amp of this kind. Should i add a Eq ? Will i gain anything ? TIA

tonyb

If you have one on hand, whats it hurt to try. Personally I never cared for the vintage Pioneer receiver sound myself, but that's just me.

boston1450

^^^ yes. Tonight i will hook up the 11's to the Yamaha & listen to that & compare the 2 amp/rec & see what it sounds like BEFORE i buy a Eq. I know i can flip the Pioneer stuff & go a different direction & get better. Ive been eyeing the Silk Int so that may be a better option for the buck

cnh

Hmmmm!

That Pioneer is a Fluroscan series amp, I believe. It should have two power supplies and dedicated storage caps for each supply. It has very low distortion figures, and should sound clean but it might not be your cup of tea and may be temperamental with certain speakers.

I have an SX-3900 receiver that has a torroid and a couple decent sized caps. Probably shares a similar sound. I've only run it on large Advents which it powers fine. It sounds OK with the Advents and can push them. But it is NOT as warm as my SX-838. That might be what you're hearing. Although I would NOT call vintage Yamahas that "warm" either.

You should experiment with other speakers and see what the Pioneer likes. In the end, it just might not be your kind of sound. Tony is right. Not everyone likes those Pioneers, even the SX-1980 does not garner unanimous praise. IMO, the SX-1010 sounds much more musical than the Monster 1980.

cnh

pumpkinman

Because it's pure junk !!!!!

That being said I'll PM you my address and I'll get rid of it for you. Hell I'll even pay the shipping

I had a SA 7800 back in some where around 79 to 81.

I loved it. I still have an SX-3800

P-Man

boston1450

^^^ cnh it has a different sound than the other Pioneers ive had. I will try the 7's on the Pioneer (although the Yamaha doesnt get much better with the 7's) worth a try. Cnh did you get the manual i sent to you ?

pumpkinman

Go To hifiengine
Set up an account. They have what your looking for.

http://www.hifiengine.com/

tonyb

cnh wrote: »

Hmmmm!
IMO, the SX-1010 sounds much more musical than the Monster 1980.

cnh

I'll agree to that too. Vintage receivers are hit or miss, one model year they knock it out of the park, the next they turn to dust. I like vintage receivers on vintage speakers though. They don't seem to sound as well on modern speaks.

TNHNDYMAN

boston1450 wrote: »

^^^ yes. Tonight i will hook up the 11's to the Yamaha & listen to that & compare the 2 amp/rec & see what it sounds like BEFORE i buy a Eq. I know i can flip the Pioneer stuff & go a different direction & get better. Ive been eyeing the Silk Int so that may be a better option for the buck

IF you are looking for an eq, I think I might have a couple of them somewhere in the closet and I can box it up with the R 2 R tapes....lol.

tonyb

Cool man, but I speak in generals. There's always an exception to the rule when it comes to audio. Audio never stops amazing me, crap that should sound like crap can sound very good, while some stuff made with the highest quality components can sound like poo. If you've been around the block a time or two, you know what I'm talking about.

Always lusted over the Marantz 2216-2270 models, damn fine vintage pieces that can still hold their own. Also liked vintage Sansui, but man, prices are ridiculous these days.

mhardy6647

Well -- it's a good Pioneer, but it's a Pioneer*. It's gonna sound like a Pioneer. Not my faves; YMMV, but then again, maybe not.

That said -- unless it's been rehabilitated by an empathetic repair person or dedicated amateur, it's pretty unfair to judge its performance. Thirty-plus year old capacitors (particularly electrolytics, but perhaps some NPs, too) are tired and not at their best -- plus, modern capacitors actually tend to be better, for hifi applications, than what was being put in the massmarket brands in the 1970s/80s).

* EDIT In fairness, Pioneer has generally had its normal consumer-grade hifi and some high-end stuff, too. In the late 1970s, their good stuff was called "Series 20". Today, it's TAD.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=245544