Apparently they were rare in the States, but available in other markets. According to this, it is the same as the silver SX-1050 of the same era.
I have recently noticed a Denon SACD player, which comes in black but a silver model is also available on Amazon US for more $$. I have not bothered to research the reasons ...
It is a SX-1050 from 1976 that came home with somebody from the service. Here is the history of the Black Face 1970's Pioneers. The Pioneer Black Face receivers… We have admired and coveted them. And, many of us have wondered about them. How did they come to be? Why does it seem there are no sales catalogs or brochures that depict them? Were they only available in Europe? Why are the model numbers different in format? Long on questions, but short on answers. And, I have previously taken a position that these are not "Euro Versions", asking the question "What are they Euro versions of?" While it appears that they were only available in Europe and to the US Military, all we really know is that they are black face versions of their silver face counterparts. With all of the brochures and price lists I have collected, these receivers are almost non-existent. Why are there no catalogs that show these handsome receivers? All of these receivers have some connection to Europe, and particularly West Germany (as it was then). And, the importer/distributor for West Germany was "C. Melchers & Company", located in Bremen. A brief history of Melchers: Melchers was a traditional trading company, established in 1806. They were an importer and distributor of Pioneer components from 1962 to 1978. In 1978, Pioneer-Melchers GmbH was founded as a joint venture between Melchers and Pioneer. In the late 1980s, Pioneer bought out all shares of the partnership from Melchers. From that time, the company was named Pioneer Deutschland GmbH and is owned by Pioneer. Melchers still exists, but was no longer involved as a Pioneer importer and distributor. This explains why my calls and email to Melchers produced no real results, and why I was told that no one from back in the mid-1970s who was associated with Pioneer distribution was still with Melchers. Why is Melchers an important piece of this puzzle? My initial theory was that all of these receivers had a common point of origin, which was Melchers. I had noticed that Melchers seemed the most aggressive in marketing. They printed several brochures on their own, and multiple price lists, as well as another item which I am saving for a future article. The following components all have something in common: Intr Disc Model Origin 1972 1972 CS-E200S CS-E200 1972 1972 CS-E300S CS-E300 1975 1975 SX-434SW 1975 1975 SX-535SW 1975 1975 SX-636SW 1975 1975 SX-737SW 1975 1975 SX-838SW 1975 1975 SX-939SW 1975 1975 SX-5530 SX-535 1975 1975 SX-7730 SX-737 1975 1975 SX-9930 SX-939 1976 1976 SX-5560 SX-750 1976 1976 SX-5570 SX-950 1976 1976 SX-5580 SX-1050 1976 1976 SX-5590 SX-1250 What is common is that these models ALL show up in only one place: Melchers price lists. Well, not entirely true. The SX-5530/7730/9930 each share one additional commonality: an advertisement for the US Military. There was the odd product sheet on some of these components, but no sales catalog that I have found thus far. There may be other literature out there. One thing for certain: any sales literature on these receivers is scarce. You will notice, in the table of models above, that the suffix "S" or "SW" appears on some models. The color "black", in German, is "Schwarzes". Many Pioneer components contain a letter or letters in the model code to designate a color, or type of wood, or covering. The "S" and "SW" for these models appear only in Melchers’ price lists. For the SX-434/535/636/737/838/939, these were normally available with the walnut cases. However, through Melchers, these units were also available in black cases (SW). Also notice, in the table above, that the black face receivers appear to have had a single year of production, as opposed to several years for their silver-face counterparts. This information developed from those who have supplied serial numbers. My theory extended to the point that I thought Melchers may have arranged with Pioneer to produce a limited "custom" run of the black face receivers. Just a theory… With all of the purchases made at base and post exchanges in West Germany, it is very likely that some of these receivers made it to the local market and civilians. They are rare, so we can assume not many were made. So, were the black face receivers made by Pioneer specifically for Europe and the US Military, seemingly without catalogs and brochures to promote them? Or, were they made by Pioneer as a "special production run" for Melchers? I always like to have data to reinforce any claim or theory. Over the past several years, I have been fortunate to develop contacts with Pioneer in Japan. Finding executives who were intimately involved during the 1970s was key to finding an answer to these receivers (and other Pioneer-specific questions I had). So, what is the real answer behind these receivers, and Melchers? From my contacts at Pioneer, these black face components were made exclusively for the US Military exchanges in West Germany, in a style (and price) that would differentiate them from their silver face counterparts. And, with West Germany being the largest US Military market, Melchers was appointed as the Pioneer agent for the US Military Post Exchange market, since they were already the Pioneer importer/distributor in West Germany. My sources inform me that it is also possible that US Pioneer may have been a provider/distributor to Hawaii/Pacific and Norfolk base exchanges via Dallas. And, as I previously stated, some may have made it into the local channels (by less than official means). So, there is the best information we have thus far. The black face models were made exclusively for the US Military in West Germany, and distributed via Melchers to post exchanges [in Europe].
I have no history on the unit. But the black face was what intrigued me since I wasn't even aware Pioneer made this model. Kind of bought it blindly, it was not a steal, but within my price range. At 51 pounds and the size of this unit, shipping home form Europe must have cost a small fortune back in the day. I'd like to find some JBL L100's to really make it sing.
Which really lends credence to the PX/Base Exchange theory. I'm nearly certain that, at least through the Cold War, military personnel were either given financial or logistical assistance in relocating.
I see the black face Pioneer receivers once in a while. I like them a lot and knew them to be European versions of models sold in the US. I bet that 1050 sounds great. I have a 1010 and love it. It pushes my ADS 880/2 speakers nicely and with power to spare. I believe the 1010 is in the 50lb range too.
I'm actually still using the Pioneer QX-747 with a Pioneer Turntable model PL-540 and a Pickering UV-2400Q CD-4 cartridge that I've had for more than 45 years. It's rated at 10-60,000 hertz, and still sounds almost as good as 1974! I posted about this setup several years ago. If any of you would like to get "Retro" taking yourself back into the seventies with Quadraphonic, but doing it with more modern equipment, look at my previous earlier today(05-01-19).
My dad had an Optonica when I was a kid. Not sure if it was up to the hi end standards, but it was pretty cool.
I’m waiting on an Onkyo TX-2500 MKII I scored off EBay for $199 including shipping. It’s been serviced and seller offers guarantee. Also picked up some Dynaco A25’s in town in good condition for $265 which seems to be about the average. I’ll get a TT eventually for the system. Isn’t the phono stage on the Onkyo pretty good?
Sony STR 7800. My brother in law had one back in 1980 and I loved that thing. Went over there all the time to record from his mint rock vinyl collection to cassette every chance I had because the whole system he had was killer! That receiver has a particularly awesome phono stage. The Dolby FM was superb as well and with 125 watts it had power to burn. Solid , deep 3D bass and crisp mids and extended highs were hallmarks of that great piece.
I've always wanted a Marantz 2230 but didn't want to lay out $500-600 or more for a refurbed one. Just last week I was given one (in original wood case) in conjunction with a related speaker buy. The owner knew it needed work and wasn't sure it would even power up.It does need cleaned/lubed/inspected/tested and all faceplate lights are out. Sounded good and phono and radio were working before handing it off to my tech. Fingers crossed it'll be able to be repaired/refurbed and not just a parts unit. The fact that I found it by accident at an unadvertised garage sale while being lost looking for a different sale makes the story and coincidence that much sweeter.
I have currently: KLH Model 52/a Kenwood KR 3600 JVC R-X40 I want: A Harman Kardon 730 and a Fischer full tube of some sort. I've had: A couple of Pioneers from the early 70s. Don't remember the models, but one of them caught on fire. I then got my Kenwood about a week later.
