Pioneer sx-636

[Jake.]

Hello all,
my dad recently gave me the Pioneer sx-636 we had when I was a kid. It needs new lamps, which I am about to order. My question is, is there any other wear and tear items I should order at the same time? Thanks

Jake

 

[Jake.]

Ha,
I just did a little research and discovered the process of re-capping. Lamps first, then a bunch of reading and a refurbish.

 

[Grador]

Do you know if it's currently in working condition?
If you're not sure, there's some level of risk [to the receiver] in plugging it in and giving it a try. On the same token, having someone look at it beforehand will likely be expensive.

Re-capping will only be necessary if you feel there's something wrong.

 

[Jake.]

It's working, but the sound is a little on the "foggy" side. Turning up the treble and bass knobs clears it up quite well, but at the base settings there is something to be desired. Any re-capping that potentially takes place would have to wait until I learn a lot more about the process and whether or not I even need it. I ordered a new set of lamps and I'll take it from there. Slowly, because I have little experience with this sort of thing.

 

[Grador]

It's working, but the sound is a little on the "foggy" side. Turning up the treble and bass knobs clears it up quite well, but at the base settings there is something to be desired. Any re-capping that potentially takes place would have to wait until I learn a lot more about the process and whether or not I even need it. I ordered a new set of lamps and I'll take it from there. Slowly, because I have little experience with this sort of thing.

I'm not the best person to ask on this one, so don't put too much faith in this: I don't really think that sounds like a cap issue. Could be the potentiometers that control the tone.

 

[markw]

Agree that it doesn't sound like a cap issue.

I've always been of the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought and, aside from a very few major power supply caps that you might be able to simply change, I'd leave it alone. You might also want to check it's DC offset while you're in there.

But, if you insist on doing this. an acquaintence who does this for a living once said one should replace two, maybe three, caps at a time and then try the unit before going any further. Trying to figure out where one screwed up after replaciing 20 - 30 components can be a bee-otch. Also, he refuses to do recaps simply for the sake of recapping and subscribes to the same school to which I belong.

 

[Rickster71]

I suppose I should refrain from recommending spraying the Pots with tuner cleaner & Deoxit Home of DeoxIT® and HAND-E-GLOVE® - CAIG Laboratories, Inc.

 

[Alex2507]

I suppose I should refrain from recommending spraying the Pots with tuner cleaner & Deoxit Home of DeoxIT® and HAND-E-GLOVE® - CAIG Laboratories, Inc.

How aca-dare you?

I use this one.

 

[Pyrrho]

Agree that it doesn't sound like a cap issue.

I've always been of the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought and, aside from a very few major power supply caps that you might be able to simply change, I'd leave it alone. You might also want to check it's DC offset while you're in there.

But, if you insist on doing this. an acquaintence who does this for a living once said one should replace two, maybe three, caps at a time and then try the unit before going any further. Trying to figure out where one screwed up after replaciing 20 - 30 components can be a bee-otch. Also, he refuses to do recaps simply for the sake of recapping and subscribes to the same school to which I belong.

I tend to agree. If it works okay, it is probably not worth trying to "fix" it by replacing parts. If there is any noise when adjusting the controls, some DeoxIT sprayed into the controls is a good idea, but otherwise, I would probably just use it as is, as long as it seems to be functioning properly.

 

[Pyrrho]

It's working, but the sound is a little on the "foggy" side. Turning up the treble and bass knobs clears it up quite well, but at the base settings there is something to be desired. Any re-capping that potentially takes place would have to wait until I learn a lot more about the process and whether or not I even need it. I ordered a new set of lamps and I'll take it from there. Slowly, because I have little experience with this sort of thing.

I am not quite sure what you mean by "foggy" for the sound, but if adjusting the bass and treble controls makes things better, then the "fogginess" is probably due to the speakers rather than the receiver. Some speakers are deficient at both ends of the audible spectrum, and so they may sound better with bass and treble increased.

 

[Grador]

I am not quite sure what you mean by "foggy" for the sound, but if adjusting the bass and treble controls makes things better, then the "fogginess" is probably due to the speakers rather than the receiver. Some speakers are deficient at both ends of the audible spectrum, and so they may sound better with bass and treble increased.

It could be speakers, easiest test is to plug the speakers into a known working receiver to test.

 

[Jake.]

I tested the speakers on another receiver. They work fine. I don't have mastery of the lingo being new to this, but what I'm trying to describe is a general lack of clarity with the treble knob turned to half or below. As I turn the knob up, the sound "clears up" and actually sounds quite good.

I won't be jumping into any re-capping without finding out whether or not the receiver actually needs it. Having spent years messing with small engines and outboards I also subscribe to the "ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought. I'm a complete noob when it comes to audio equipment, and would do a lot of research on any potential fixes before attempting anything. Re-capping just seemed like a possibility, I posted the idea here hoping for feedback, which you all have graciously provided.