Finally; got a competent tech !!!(Pioneer receiver)

To fix the 3 faulty switches on my SX-980. The guy had repaired something for me many years ago and came to mind so I phoned him. He claims it's usually just rust and he can take care of it and if they're shot he has a guy in LA who can bring brand new original spares for vintage stuff.

Had to carry the 40 pounds beast down the narrow staircase (I live in a first floor house) and all the way to the street and into the car. I'm totally out of shape and it was very taxing but thanx to some dude here who said he does some kind of muscle warm-up routine before doing the lifting I'm just sore, not totally shot. Then I drove 20 miles all across Buenos Aires. Took a whole hour to get there.

Guy said I should wait 10 days for the estimate and maybe 2-3 weeks for the repair since he has a shop full of vintage gear to refurbish (saw it).

My Technics SU-V5 will have to pull double duty (audio and dvd) so I'm glad I never sold it.

Wish me luck

 

Good luck!

 

Pioneer has their USA headquarters here in Los Angeles. Bought a demo Blu-ray / SACD that died during the warranty. Took it down to their plant (not consumer friendly) & had it fixed. The replacement parts cost more than I paid for the unit. Large plant, but they do not repair "vintage" gear. I mentioned my Pioneer laser disc and got a silent response. Did pick up some drive belts for the unit as I had the part number.
I feel your pain.

 

Thought so. But a used part will do just fine I guess; hope it doesn't need any. Fingers crossed.

 

That receiver is from the 70's, right?

Good luck!

Did you get it there in Argentina?

 

From a fellow SX owner, good luck. Let us know how it goes.

 

Thanx ! It's late 70s. Yes I did buy it from its first owner in Buenos Aires. Asking price for a unit in this condition locally is over U$ 1000. I paid 350 in '93.

Thanx man ! Will do. It's incredible I could sell it and geta Yammy RS-500 for the money I could get from it. Don't think I will though.

 

What were your problems?
Cold solder joints are a relatively common malady with that series
That, and as your guy has mentioned, oxidation (so damn many controls)
Beautiful receiver

 

Never sell, you will regret it. I bought my SX-850 in 1978 and have tried to replace it with many different amps. Always come back to the SX.....it just rocks. Looking to buy a spare now, it is that good.

That is a real beauty you have there

 

Both phono selectors and muting switch make a channel sound lower or disappear altogether. Jogging them a little make the problem disappear but eventually it comes back. First tech I meet that wants to deal with that. Hope it goes well.

 

Interesting, mine has been doing the same thing for about 4 years, and joggling or pushing the button a few time does the trick. I always figured it was just a contact issue that a proper cleaning could fix. Since working the button a few times cures the issue, I never pursued a 'professional' fix.

I will add, I did get a Lounge Audio MKIII phono pre-amp and have been loving it. My SX phono pre-amp works, but the change was for the better. If your AUX input is working, it is a viable solution for $300 US.

Keep us updated

Cheers

 

The Audio Specialist in Studio City can repair your vintage gear, the owner is named Howard.

 

I have the exact same problem on my SX-850 and also bought the Lounge. Much better sound, wish I'd bought an external phono stage sooner!

 

There's only one AUX input on my receiver, and I have the cd player hooked up to it. But I guess I could hook it to TAPE 2, since TAPE 1 is hooked to a chain of 3 signal processors (eq, dynamics expander, and a Behringer enhancer)

The muting switch doesn't cut the signal at its Odb position; it's the -20db that does. With 80wpch and highly sensitive speakers adjusting volume IS an issue. 3db on the pot equals quite some more db, often too many.

Plus jogging the phono selector a little was usually enough to play a whole lp. Now it cuts out sometimes up to once during an lp playback, and I cannot live with that. I loose half a song wrestling with the damned button, and more often than not I feel compelled to play it again Sam !

Thanx for the suggestions anyway folks !

 

Thanks! Nothing is wrong with my stuff, just thought I would pull their (Pioneer's) chain to see a response regarding older stuff. That SX is a wonder to look at. All stuff today is this generic black. No mass market "HiFi" gear with that styling today.

 

It sounds like oxidation on the switches is the problem. A shot of DeOxIt might be all that is needed.

 

Right; I've tried to access those from the inside myself and haven't been able to reach them. 2 techs who serviced the unit didn't want to mess with them either. This is not the USA. But if it's just rust......horray !!

 

There's also a guy in Anaheim that specializes in Pioneer restoration, I'll send you a link the next time I'm at my computer.

 

And they call themselves "technicians"?

In our countries, we ourselves have to become technicians to keep the hobby alive

 

They have the nerve to, that much is true.

 

Whoa ! The tech gave me an estimate for the cleaning of the 3 switches (which are not shot, just presumably dirty/rusty. He says that worst case scenario he should be able to replace them without resorting to importing original spares.

The price is U$ 115 !!. I agreed to it, but it's pretty steep for Argentina. Asking price for one of these receivers here is roughly U$ 1000 so little wonder there. Maybe I should sell it and get the Yamaha SR-700 I've been eyeballing ?(but not yet auditioned sadly)

 

Finally ! After 2 long weeks, 80 miles driven and a lot of backpain, my beloved receiver is back from the repair shop and in better shape than when I first bought it in '93. The 3 offending switches have been cleaned. The tech said he'd never seen a unit in better shape except maybe for the almost pristine SX-1280 he was working on. I can now use both phono selectors and the muting use without loosing one audio channel. He strongly recommended I don't sell it to buy a new Yamaha RS-700 (I could easily sell it for the money the new unit would cost)