Stereo Reciever

[GettinDegreez]

Alright guys, got a question for ya. Being the broke college student I am, I can't afford to much right now, so I can't buy to much right now. I currently have a Pioneer SX-550 stereo reciever, hand-me down from my mom who got it in 76. Also have a turntable that went with it, just needs a new cartridge. It's a good reciever, plays loud, does what I need it to. I really only do stereo listening to CDs or music on my computer. I don't have room or the budget for a 7.1 system, and don't want to get a cheap one after all the wealth of knowledge I have learned here. My question is, I've been thinking about upgrading(?) to a Pioneer SX-1250, this reciever was the second best reciever ever made by Pioneer back in the day of the reciever wars. It's got really good specs, and I can get one in excellent shape for $300 bucks, do you think it's a worthy investment. I can't really think of a current stereo reciever, much less a surround reciever with those specs and power for that cheap. Think I should go for it?


http://www.silverpioneer.netfirms.com/SX-1250.htm

 

[tbewick]

How powerful is your Pioneer? I've read that 40-100 watts is usually sufficient.

I've got a Pioneer from that era - the SA-8100, made around 1974. I'm not sure it's worth upgrading your amplifier, because I've found that speaker upgrades tend to have a much greater impact on the sound quality of your system.

I don't know enough about amplifiers technically to know if they really do sound different from each other, but I haven't noticed much (if any) difference between my newer Denon/Marantz amplifiers and the old Pioneer, apart from their higher S/N ratios.

My latest upgrade was getting a subwoofer (the B&W ASW3000), and this has dramatically improved the sound quality of my system, especially with CD's.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Pioneer Elite Elite

Alright guys, got a question for ya. Being the broke college student I am, I can't afford to much right now, so I can't buy to much right now. I currently have a Pioneer SX-550 stereo reciever, hand-me down from my mom who got it in 76. Also have a turntable that went with it, just needs a new cartridge. It's a good reciever, plays loud, does what I need it to. I really only do stereo listening to CDs or music on my computer. I don't have room or the budget for a 7.1 system, and don't want to get a cheap one after all the wealth of knowledge I have learned here. My question is, I've been thinking about upgrading(?) to a Pioneer SX-1250, this reciever was the second best reciever ever made by Pioneer back in the day of the reciever wars. It's got really good specs, and I can get one in excellent shape for $300 bucks, do you think it's a worthy investment. I can't really think of a current stereo reciever, much less a surround reciever with those specs and power for that cheap. Think I should go for it?


http://www.silverpioneer.netfirms.com/SX-1250.htm

I have the SX-680. I've had it in the shop for a tuner band (was slipping), and a few years ago, lost an amp (probably crossed a speaker wire). It's the sweetest sounding piece I've ever had ('78 Pioneer 680 - given to me by an uncle-I'm not that old!, '85 JVC, '91 Optimus - don't laugh, was the wifes from college, '91 Yamaha, Sony STR-DE925, and now a Denon 3805). 35 watts back then was not what it is today. There's a depth you can only find in todays tube amps that those older 70's Pioneers enjoyed. If you are looking for top quality 2 channel sound in a receiver, I think you've found it. If you decide not to buy that unit, email me and I will - honestly. That's a bargain. 160 watts per channel, 65 lbs. and a $900 MSRP back in the day. Wow.
How about that SX-1980? 270 watts per channel, 78 lbs, and a MSRP of $1295! I've never run across that giant.
If Pioneer built a receiver with this level of power and build quality today, what do you think it would sell for? According to S. Morgan Friedman's Inflation Calculator, it would list for $3638.00!
Again, wow.

 

[Takeereasy]

That receiver is a tank! I bet it's a fantastic unit. No I don't think you should go for it unless you can listen to it and it make a marked improvement on your speakers somehow. 160w of real power seems to be overkill for what you have. You said that your current amp drives your speakers well enough. I agree with tbewick that you would be better off investing money in some new speakers. You may have to save up a while longer but upgrading your main speakers would be my suggestion.