Ease my mind SX-980, vs SX-1080/ SX-1280

I also have a pair of E-312 Cerwin Vegas, LS12 and LS10s too. (I have run them on the 1080 but not the new 980). We will see.

What do you recommend for speakers? I think I am getting to the point where I need to find people that have gear and want to get together for stereo listening parties.

I don't mind buying and selling gear but shipping speakers I think may be problematic.
 
Listening parties, great idea if you find people in your area.

I remember CV speakers as being an efficient speaker, so you should have plenty of power with the 980 unless you're looking for ear-bleeding SPLs.

When I was a kid, we used to go down to the stereo shop and listen to many combinations of equipment and music, easy to decide what you wanted to buy. Also, almost everyone had a system of their own, and/or their parents had a nice system that we could crank when they were away, ... college years and later stereo systems were still a must-have for any guy in my circles, we didn't need listening parties.

Today high-end stereo and vintage stereo ownership is an anomaly, most of my friends have whole-house systems and the like, ... no listening parties for me.

Hopefully you're in an area with more stereo-heads, and can put this together.
 
Since I last posted in this thread I bought a SX-1250 for what ended up less than I sold my SX-980 for a couple months prior.

The 980 was just too bright for me.
 
It is cool that these units produce so many different kinds of sounds that anyone can find the combo that works best for them.

I would love to have a 1980, 1280 and 1250 all together. I would never keep any, like I said before they are just worth too much money for me to keep for myself. I don't really want to collect gear, I want to try and keep the stuff I like and move the rest to someone else that can use it.
 
Hi Everyone,

Brand new to this forum and I just wanted to thank you all for sharing your wealth of experience and knowledge. I've been reading many of the posts as I had to make a decision between purchasing a Mint Pioneer SX-1080 or a Mint Pioneer SX-1250. I REALLY like those black meters; very sexy against the chrome and gold coloring. Plus, less expensive. Well, today I purchased the SX-1250. I knew it was large but this thing is a beast! And you guys said the SX-1980 was huge, this thing is HUGE! After getting it into my apartment I'm beginning to think I should have grabbed the SX-1080. A little background - the SX-1080 was mint minus the "FM" light didn't work. Other than that it was gorgeous! The SX-1250 is all original and I am now the third owner. Everything works but there is some dust in the FM "Filter" buttons and if you look really close there's a small smudge/scratch in the wood top cover. There is also a little discoloration in the top cover left corner where it meets the chrome faceplate. After a little wood oil you cannot see either of those marks unless you look really, really close. Even though it was expensive I choose the 1250 based on everything I read about parts and ease of fixing with common parts. This is replacing my beloved Yahama R-9 receiver, which after 22 years of faithful service stopped working (please see attached photos). I am using it to drive a set of original Polk Audio SDA-2's. Given its size I don't know if it will fit in my current rack; will hook it up this weekend and let you know. But again, thank you all for sharing your expertise as I really appreciate it. Given the SX-1250's cost please tell me I didn't make a mistake. (LOL)
 

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PS:

FTR - as much as I think I'm going to love my SX-1250, you have to admit that THIS is a beautiful beast!

Pioneer SX-1980 on YouTude.
 
PPS:

Given the posts here and in other forums about the SX-1080 needing more bass, I have to admit that this performance was very impressive! I have an all-digital version of this piece by Telarc with canons but I've never played it loudly through my system as I thought the canons would damage my speakers.

Pioneer SX-1080 playing 1812 overture
 
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I acknowledge that the output device issue can cause some folks to prefer the xx50 series, but not in terms of performance. I've owned a number of xx50 series receivers and my take on them (compared to the xx80 series) is the lower models (550-850) are ALL at least the equal (and the farther down you go in that product line the more they pull away from the x80's) but above the 850/880, it becomes a draw and then the 1250/1280 is so close it's a simply a matter of personal preference once you take into account the phono sections, tuner sensitivity. The amp's don't sound appreciably different to me, except the top end is a bit more extended on the 1280. The Bass isn't significantly better on one more than the other beyond sample to sample variation. And then, of course, there's the 1980, which speaks for itself. But having good ole fashioned TO's that aren't hard to find is a real upside. No doubt about it. I've got enough of those outputs to do one 1980, but I don't drive them that hard anymore. Anything over about 10wpc is about as much 1980 as I really need with a double stacked set of 100's. Everybody gets to choose a favorite. It makes a case for having all those models in their receiver line in the first place. That went away and at the time I didn't think I'd ever care, but I'm a little nostalgic about it now...YMMV...
 
PPS:

Given the posts here and in other forums about the SX-1080 needing more bass, I have to admit that this performance was very impressive! I have an all-digital version of this piece by Telarc with canons but I've never played it loudly through my system as I thought the canons would damage my speakers.

Pioneer SX-1080 playing 1812 overture
The Toroidal Power supply in the 1080 (as opposed to the 980) would, in most folks opinion, beg to differ in terms of providing inadequate Bass. There's all the Bass you could want on the ones I've been blessed to hear/use. Particularly with the speakers with which they were paired. I shouldn't recount this story, but it came back to me from an (unbeknownst to me until he told the story) a mutual acquaintance (a Trumpet student of mine) of my ex-wife whom I'd (if I'd known, I'd have never made the recommendation) been asked for a recommendation without knowing the speakers with which the receiver was going to be used. It turned out that they bought (from yet another "friend" I put the Trumpet student in touch with) a 980 and tried to run something like a set of Martin Logans with it. It blew a Diode on the Power Supply board and I bought it from the Trumpet student (after they unloaded it) for about $30.00, not knowing if it could be revived. (It's the 980 I brought back from the dead recently.) I like M-L's but that receiver was never meant to drive anything that current hungry. They came long after the 980's day. The SX's have great voltage output, but their current/low impedance capabilities aren't what you should use to drive a set of medium-large M-L's. A couple of maroons, apparently. They must attract one another out in the wild. If she liked Pioneer SX's, she made the wrong choice in more ways than one... : - )
 
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I acknowledge that the output device issue can cause some folks to prefer the xx50 series, but not in terms of performance. I've owned a number of xx50 series receivers and my take on them (compared to the xx80 series) is the lower models (550-850) are ALL at least the equal (and the farther down you go in that product line the more they pull away from the x80's) but above the 850/880, it becomes a draw and then the 1250/1280 is so close it's a simply a matter of personal preference once you take into account the phono sections, tuner sensitivity. The amp's don't sound appreciably different to me, except the top end is a bit more extended on the 1280. The Bass isn't significantly better on one more than the other beyond sample to sample variation. And then, of course, there's the 1980, which speaks for itself. But having good ole fashioned TO's that aren't hard to find is a real upside. No doubt about it. I've got enough of those outputs to do one 1980, but I don't drive them that hard anymore. Anything over about 10wpc is about as much 1980 as I really need with a double stacked set of 100's. Everybody gets to choose a favorite. It makes a case for having all those models in their receiver line in the first place. That went away and at the time I didn't think I'd ever care, but I'm a little nostalgic about it now...YMMV...

Thanks for sharing!
 
Well, my SX-1250 is connected and it's sooooooooo good to hear my Polk Audio SDA 2's again. I have to rebuild my stereo rack to accommodate this receiver but it will work. I have a couple of pieces that are in need of repair so this will be a fun project over the course of the next few months. It's been years since my system has been working and I had forgotten just how much I missed it. Will keep you posted on the "rebuild" project. Love these vintage receivers.
 

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Congrats it looks beautiful..

It sure does. Really good examples of these are getting harder to come by. I still have mine that I purchased new. It is still going strong. I have moved on to other equipment for my main 2 channel system, but I will never part with my SX-980. This model hits a sweet spot for power/features and performance in the series and sounds fantastic. The meters make for a nice visual effect. The FM tuner is fantastic. Congrats on your acquisition.
 
Thank you, I'm a blessed man. Glad to hear that your SX-980 is still working and that you won't part with it. :)
 
Hi Everyone,

Was reading in a couple of forums and many of the post claim that my Polk Audio SDA 2's will damage the amp of my newly acquired SX-1250. The SDAs are 4 ohm speakers and use a cable that connects one of the drivers from one speaker to the driver of the other speaker and sends the left signal to the right and the right to the left. Many in those forums recommended using the speakers without that cable, adjusting the DC offset and bias in my receiver, or using my receiver as a preamp and using a different amp to drive the Polk SDA 2s. Is there any truth to this? Is changing the DC offset all that is needed? Can damage happen only at very high listening levels? Help! Any advise/experience you can share is greatly appreciated.
 
Hi Everyone,

Thank you again for your help! I have another question for the collective wisdom of the group - how do you connect your different sources to your Pioneer Receivers? Can you use the Tape Monitors as a line in(please see attached photo)?
 

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Hi Everyone,

The 2nd part of this question is this - I have a DBX 200 route box and I thought I could use the tape monitors as an additional "line in" for sources. But, this weekend I couldn't get it to work. All I could do was place my ADC Eq in line (which I don't need this box to do). Is there any way I can use these jacks as "line in" for sources for my SX-1250 (please see attached photos)?
 

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Once you connect the DBX200 line in/out to the receiver tape monitor as shown on the DBX graphic, you can the use the Processor In jacks to provide three additional line inputs for other sources.
 
I have a 1080 @ 120 wpc but I never get it past 3 o'clock on the volume because it could blow your head clean off. I get more mileage out of my 680 @ 30 wpc at noon on the volume dial and it's plenty. If I was still collecting Pioneer I'd go for the 50 series over the 80 because of a general consensus of a better build although I am a sucker for those black dials. Also when you can get a 980 for half the cost of a 1280 why pay double but not get twice the receiver? The law of diminishing returns seems to come into play with anything bigger than the 980. You won't get twice the frequency response or quality from a 1280 but you will get over twice the wpc (185) so more volume and be able to hook up 3 pairs of speakers. Personally I can't see the extra 105 wpc + more volume and the third pair worth another $500. As you mentioned the 980 @ 80 wpc is already ringing your bell. A 980 at 10 - 12 o'clock on the volume dial is a face melter already. You could spend that coin on other good stuff.
Do mean you never get the dial on the volume past number three ( 3 ) the three o'clock position would be ( 8 ) out of 10 . .. on my Technics SA series...

I cannot turn the dial past ( 3.5 ) or about 10:30 .. but usually like it at about ( 3 ) or the
10:00 position .. both my Technics sa600 and sa-800 are above Peak levels of power on the power meters at ( 3.5 ) 10:30 position...
So you have me thinking that you meant 3 on the dial out of 10. ..???
I can't imagine needing to go to half volume even at straight up noon or ( 5 ) on the dial I think it would blow any of the speaker's I own to smithereens
 
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I have a 1080 @ 120 wpc but I never get it past 3 o'clock on the volume because it could blow your head clean off. I get more mileage out of my 680 @ 30 wpc at noon on the volume dial and it's plenty. If I was still collecting Pioneer I'd go for the 50 series over the 80 because of a general consensus of a better build although I am a sucker for those black dials. Also when you can get a 980 for half the cost of a 1280 why pay double but not get twice the receiver? The law of diminishing returns seems to come into play with anything bigger than the 980. You won't get twice the frequency response or quality from a 1280 but you will get over twice the wpc (185) so more volume and be able to hook up 3 pairs of speakers. Personally I can't see the extra 105 wpc + more volume and the third pair worth another $500. As you mentioned the 980 @ 80 wpc is already ringing your bell. A 980 at 10 - 12 o'clock on the volume dial is a face melter already. You could spend that coin on other good stuff.

Here's my sa 800 on number 3 on the dial 10:00 o'clock
IMG_20180621_102839712.jpg as you can see already hitting Peak power levels....

The next picture below is ( 3.5 ) or 10:30 on the volume dial.. .
IMG_20180621_103156417.jpg
IMG_20180806_083242683.jpg
 
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