All these years looking and drooling for one. I just did a deal on a nice clean one. Here's the beast..
270 watts RMS per channel
79 lbs in weight.
What a monster.
270 watts RMS per channel
79 lbs in weight.
What a monster.
Pioneer SX 1980 Receiver.... it finally happened.
- Thread starter Coast Steve
- Start date
I bought mine 35 years ago. Guy sold it out of a public storage unit and advertised/promised that it was fully working (no electricity there to check it out). Of course it wouldn't come out of protection mode when I got home. Dang. And of course he no longer answers the phone. Anyhow, got it fixed but learned a huge lesson about bad people in the world. After scores of such encounters, each further solidifying and adding color to my already jaded outlook of life and of people in general, I'm now a different person. I paid $600 for that broken receiver 3 decades ago. But what you see in photos... it simply does not compare to the beauty with it in person, powered up. It's like jewelry. Simply beautiful and massive and the centerpiece of the room.
Wow what a corker!!!!!! Congratulations on finding and meeting your desire.
Fire it up and post some lit up shots perhaps?
Fire it up and post some lit up shots perhaps?
Congratulations! 270Watts/channel..... it will rock the house. It uses a large size toroidal transformer. The caps are HUGE. One of the most powerful receivers!
Watch your back! It weights a Tonne!
It is the Rolls Royce of all receivers!
~Royce
Watch your back! It weights a Tonne!
It is the Rolls Royce of all receivers!
~Royce
Ah, you just have to love a glittering, sophisticated piece of "Jewelry" like this, it is indeed a gem to behold. Having already acquired the comparatively lowly SX-300, SX-450 & SX-550 in the Pioneer range I'd love to own one of these. What is the model number of this beast (so I can check out the full spec on RadioMusem)?
SX-1980. Is or was Pioneers top of the line flagship receiver at the time. However, unless you see it in person, or side by side with the smaller units, you simply won’t get the size perspective. Also, the feel of the knobs & tuner mechanism is like quality you won’t believe. Forget the WPC rating though... although the rating is good, it’s no more powerful in a practical sense than the comparable totl offerings by marantz (2500/2600) and Sansui (G-22000/G33000) receivers at the time. In fact even the Sansui G-9000 (which in real life is smaller but equally beautiful in operation) and the Kenwood KR-9600 receivers, of the same vintage and “only†160wpc performs almost as powerful. Remember, it takes 4x’s the watts to double the perceived loudness. In other words, to double the perceived loudness of a 160w receiver, you’d need one capable of 640w.
This is some of the detail from RadioMuseum:
Power out 540 W (unknown quality)
Dimensions (WHD) 560 x 211 x 497 mm / 22 x 8.3 x 19.6 inch
Net weight (2.2 lb = 1 kg) 35.4 kg / 77 lb 15.6 oz (77.974 lb)
In my days of International Jet-Setting, one of my suitcases was smaller than this!
Power out 540 W (unknown quality)
Dimensions (WHD) 560 x 211 x 497 mm / 22 x 8.3 x 19.6 inch
Net weight (2.2 lb = 1 kg) 35.4 kg / 77 lb 15.6 oz (77.974 lb)
In my days of International Jet-Setting, one of my suitcases was smaller than this!
It’s true, it’s massive which you simply can’t tell by looking at a photo of it by itself. It’s almost like a double decker London bus compared to a regular bus, lol. As for power, it’s 270wpc x2 into 8 ohms at some ridiculously minuscule 0.025% THD. And we rate Boombox power at 10% THD, a hahahaha. Many techs after servicing these behemoths test output power before releasing to customers & have recorded well over 300+wpc.
My mind boggles at such power output, my imagination is stretching like never before on such a matter. It's like trying to grasp the concept of interstellar travel in Light Years or even the dimensions and properties of Black Holes! Amps like this are in there own league with power rated in Warp Ratings!Superduper said:
I've only just noticed where the Amp is, until such times as you build a bespoke reinforced table, will the Amp be staying on the floor?
MOM, here is a video (not mine) demonstrating the awesome tuner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6XEtdJ0X9g
Here is a screen capture of one from the net (not mine). The equalizer above it is pretty much standard audio equipment size which generally is approx 19" wide. When you get a piece of audio gear, this equalizer is about the size one normally imagines. Of course what you can't see is the depth, which is very very deep.
Here is a photo of the backlid off. That huge can in the middle is a massive toroidal transformer. If you want to know more about that type design and why they are better, google it. They are also far more expensive than normal transformers, and this one is unique to Pioneer as they almost surely custom spec'd it for this application, it's also why it's so heavy. The 4 cans you see orbiting the large transformer are the storage capacitors. Yup, huge beer can size muthas. The look is such that when these units are rebuilt, the most particular and discriminating technician will actually carefully remove and saw apart the capacitor to retain that shell so it can be "re-stuffed" and retain the original look. Although time consuming, it is made possible today because similar valued capacitors today (due to better and different manufacturing techniques) are usually a little smaller. It's also common to stuff capacitor arrays inside to arrive at the original capacitance value. The 2 boards on either side of the power supply are the power amplifiers and each has it's own beefy heatsink open to the outside without screen shrouding.
As for weight, today, it certainly is a behemoth. I can't lift it unless my wife helps me. Of course when I bought mine 35 years ago, it never occurred to me as being heavy, but then I was a lot stronger back then. It's not a boombox so you don't carry it around with you. It's a fixture. Think of your refrigerator... you don't think about how heavy that thing is right? No, you set it in place, once, then never worry about it again. It should be the centerpiece of your entertainment system. As for power, I truly cannot fathom operating that beast cranked to max, not even for 1 second. That's because at 1/4 volume, the house is already shaking. At 1/3 volume, serious concern begins to develop in your brain about whether or not your $3,000 pair of speakers are going survive much longer. When you feel this aweeeesome power, you wonder whether those claims of 1000 watts or 2500 watts type of audio are lying. Ok, you KNOW they are lying but you then wonder how they can look themselves in the face and advertise it with a straight face, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6XEtdJ0X9g
Here is a screen capture of one from the net (not mine). The equalizer above it is pretty much standard audio equipment size which generally is approx 19" wide. When you get a piece of audio gear, this equalizer is about the size one normally imagines. Of course what you can't see is the depth, which is very very deep.
Here is a photo of the backlid off. That huge can in the middle is a massive toroidal transformer. If you want to know more about that type design and why they are better, google it. They are also far more expensive than normal transformers, and this one is unique to Pioneer as they almost surely custom spec'd it for this application, it's also why it's so heavy. The 4 cans you see orbiting the large transformer are the storage capacitors. Yup, huge beer can size muthas. The look is such that when these units are rebuilt, the most particular and discriminating technician will actually carefully remove and saw apart the capacitor to retain that shell so it can be "re-stuffed" and retain the original look. Although time consuming, it is made possible today because similar valued capacitors today (due to better and different manufacturing techniques) are usually a little smaller. It's also common to stuff capacitor arrays inside to arrive at the original capacitance value. The 2 boards on either side of the power supply are the power amplifiers and each has it's own beefy heatsink open to the outside without screen shrouding.
As for weight, today, it certainly is a behemoth. I can't lift it unless my wife helps me. Of course when I bought mine 35 years ago, it never occurred to me as being heavy, but then I was a lot stronger back then. It's not a boombox so you don't carry it around with you. It's a fixture. Think of your refrigerator... you don't think about how heavy that thing is right? No, you set it in place, once, then never worry about it again. It should be the centerpiece of your entertainment system. As for power, I truly cannot fathom operating that beast cranked to max, not even for 1 second. That's because at 1/4 volume, the house is already shaking. At 1/3 volume, serious concern begins to develop in your brain about whether or not your $3,000 pair of speakers are going survive much longer. When you feel this aweeeesome power, you wonder whether those claims of 1000 watts or 2500 watts type of audio are lying. Ok, you KNOW they are lying but you then wonder how they can look themselves in the face and advertise it with a straight face, right?
Gawd I hope it last a long while, I couldn't imagine the recap job on this Pioneer legend! Nice grab.
I have done full recapping on my Marantz receivers. Sooner or later this needs to be done. It takes some time and is not that hard to do. I replaced the relays and upgraded to LEDs also.
The newer versions of those large caps with the same cap values are much smaller now. What I did was to cut the end nicely and open up the old large caps, saved the shell and slipped it nicely over the new ones. So the looks remains the same. So never throw away the big caps near the power supply.
The newer versions of those large caps with the same cap values are much smaller now. What I did was to cut the end nicely and open up the old large caps, saved the shell and slipped it nicely over the new ones. So the looks remains the same. So never throw away the big caps near the power supply.
The is only a few mm's different between the front face dimensions of this beast compared to the Sharp GF-A2!
I'm going to have it gone over and have the controls checked out in the new year. Just in case it's not running 100%
I can hear a crackling noise on a few of the buttons when you push them. Like Phono and tape buttons.
You can sure hear the power even at low volumes. It's got a deep full sound.
I can hear a crackling noise on a few of the buttons when you push them. Like Phono and tape buttons.
You can sure hear the power even at low volumes. It's got a deep full sound.
The 'deep full sound' is the throttle so mount a seat on the top, put the wheels back on and a mechanic will have this sorted in no time.
Man whatta beaut! Bucket list for sure. I have owned and sold a lot of receivers and have yet to even see one of these in person.
For now, I'm happy with my 1250.
For now, I'm happy with my 1250.
The 1250 is awesome as well for sure.
I gave up my 1080 (120 watts per channel) plus cash to get this.
I do still have a 980 though. Also a nice receiver.
But the 1250 is very nice and collectable.
I gave up my 1080 (120 watts per channel) plus cash to get this.
I do still have a 980 though. Also a nice receiver.
But the 1250 is very nice and collectable.