Used Pioneer

Nozomu Matsumoto founded Pioneer in Tokyo in 1938 as a speaker and radio repair business, and by the 1970s it was one of the biggest names in Japanese hi-fi. Our catalog covers two of its receiver generations. The SX-x50 series of 1976–1978, which ran from the SX-450 to the SX-1250, is represented here by the 35 W SX-650. The SX-x80 series replaced it in 1978. It is lighter, uses black meter faces, and quotes much lower distortion figures. Our catalog includes the SX-780 (45 W), SX-880 (60 W), SX-980 (80 W) and SX-1280 (185 W). Above them was the 270 W SX-1980. There are two integrated amplifiers from different eras: the mid-70s SA-9500, rated at 80 W, and the 1979 SA-7800, whose blue fluorescent meters gave the SA-x800 range its “Blue Line” name. The PL-518 is a DC-servo direct-drive turntable with auto-return from the same period as the x80 receivers. Pioneer units are generally serviceable. The usual jobs are replacing incandescent dial lamps, cleaning switches and pots, checking the protection relay and setting bias. Smaller x80 receivers such as the SX-780 use hybrid power-amp modules.

8 models in the catalog.