Let me introduce myself

cuda440

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Newbie Cuda440 here.

Ever since the day I walked into a stereo store in San Jose, California and faced an enormous Pioneer rack, dominated by an RT-909, playing "Old Judge Jones" by Les Dudek, I've been a fan (though my first "real" stereo was a diminutive Sansui 331, all I could afford in high school). The rack was beautiful with all those blue meters dancing and it sounded fantastic.

Fast forward (pun intended) 40 plus years and I find myself in need of a cassette deck last fall. What a better time to scratch my decades old Pioneer itch and go with a vintage deck? And so I scored a CT-1250 on ebay, currently my only piece of vintage Pioneer gear.

I'll post another thread later requesting recommendations from the forum on where to go from here with outfitting a system, as well as one about the 1250 (minimally refurbished, works great).

For now I just wanted to say hi.

Hi.

Cuda440
 
Thanks for sharing. Good luck on your audio journey. It's great to dive back in isn't it?
Welcome to AK.
 
Thanks. I feel welcome already.

Right now I'd say I only have my toe in the water, but it sure feels nice. My goal is to build a system around the 1250, staying with Pioneer components that were available when it was made (December 1980, according to the handy serial date code sticky). For an integrated amp, it looks like I'm going to be hunting for an SA-7800/8800/9800. I'll be wading through AK to see what folks are saying about those, next would be a tuner.

Two friends have promised me their turntables of this approximate vintage, but I'm not sure of the models or condition. The price is right however (free).

Speakers! Can't hear much without them. No idea about those right now. Back in high school my friend had a pair of CS-R700s and they were fantastic, so of course I have a soft spot for those. Hard to come by these days it seems.

To round out the collection I may even include a receiver. I believe the SX-3600 thru 3900 would be period correct.

Time to put on the bathing cap.
 
Welcome to the PIONEER Forum....

Just make sure you try the shallow end 1st, as diving in the deep end could have you fighting for your sanity getting all the 1980 units working. Go back one series (to the 1977-79 setups) and you'll get units that are easier to work on due to the amplifier type/topology and will be backwards compatible with the CT-1250. The 1980 year units came out with what's called NSA or Non-Switching Amplifier which are a whole nother ball game and more complex than switching amplifiers. But that's one person's opinion, so take it with a grain of salt.

Larry
 
This is just the kind of helpful advice I was looking for. Thanks!

Perhaps I'll save the X800 series for a later phase of collecting, if I have any money (and sanity) left.

Mike.
 
For speakers look for a pair of Pioneer HPM-100. They have 12" woofers and sound great. Nice deep bass from a full range speaker.
 
Welcome to the fold.

I bought a 1250 in 1980. I loved that monster. Connected to my SX-1010, it was almost impossible to tell the difference between a record and the copy I made on tape. I would not mind having either one, or both, again. The only issue I had was mine tended to not like FeCr tapes recorded on other brand decks. It wasn't that big a thing for me because only a few people I knew used them and I used either chrome or metal for my own recording.
 
How right you are on the dominos. Another one just fell. I added an SA-9500ii to the collection. Plenty dusty inside but otherwise looks untouched.
 
Newbie Cuda440 here.

Ever since the day I walked into a stereo store in San Jose, California and faced an enormous Pioneer rack, dominated by an RT-909, playing "Old Judge Jones" by Les Dudek, I've been a fan (though my first "real" stereo was a diminutive Sansui 331, all I could afford in high school). The rack was beautiful with all those blue meters dancing and it sounded fantastic.

Fast forward (pun intended) 40 plus years and I find myself in need of a cassette deck last fall. What a better time to scratch my decades old Pioneer itch and go with a vintage deck? And so I scored a CT-1250 on ebay, currently my only piece of vintage Pioneer gear.

I'll post another thread later requesting recommendations from the forum on where to go from here with outfitting a system, as well as one about the 1250 (minimally refurbished, works great).

For now I just wanted to say hi.

Hi.

Cuda440

Yes Welcome to the site. you still in San Jose?
 
Welcome to the PIONEER Forum....

Just make sure you try the shallow end 1st, as diving in the deep end could have you fighting for your sanity getting all the 1980 units working. Go back one series (to the 1977-79 setups) and you'll get units that are easier to work on due to the amplifier type/topology and will be backwards compatible with the CT-1250. The 1980 year units came out with what's called NSA or Non-Switching Amplifier which are a whole nother ball game and more complex than switching amplifiers. But that's one person's opinion, so take it with a grain of salt.

Larry
i find my sa-8800 pretty friendly inside . and of course on the outside too . just have to be aware of the instructions in the service manual .they missed out "do not touch trimmers before replacing them" . or just check final setting first ...
 
I just can't seem to stop. The other day I added a TX-9500ii to the collection. I have the amp, the tuner, and the deck, so now I need to decide on which way to go on speakers to replace my very old Infinity's which after years of abuse, only have their original midranges.

I can't decide between the Pioneer CS-R700 (sentimental favorite, but hard to find), Pioneer HPM-100 (something of the gold standard), or the JBL L100.

Advice? I only have room for one pair.
 
Personally I loved the L100s in the day, until the L166s came out and revealed the highs that were stuck inside the box of the L100s.

For period speakers with excellent musical sound and dead-flat I found a pair of 4312As which have Ti tweeters in place of the original L100 series' pulp cone tweeters, but still in a walnut-veneered box and a white JBL Aquaplas 12" woofer. They made tens of thousands of these for studios and homes, so they are around and not yet ridiculously expensive. This is what I run on my SX-1250, good flat sound and if you really want to play them LOUD (-10db on the 1250 will do it) so that Bad Motor Scooter can hurt your ears, they do not start to break-up until they are well beyond the threshold of pain. JBLs with Pioneer are kind of like Cragar SSs or Keystone Classics on a 'Cuda, ... they belong together.

Funny thing is: I always explain my SX-1250 to people as being like a Hemi 'Cuda, I think you get the parallel.

One caveat: Pretty much all speakers of this era were not able to produce extended low bass. If you want to do so with classic speakers you can add a nice subwoofer, I've paired a JBL LSR6312SP (260w discreet internal amp, 12" aquaplas woofer) with mine, using the internal crossover you put the sub between your preamp-out and amp-in and it will high-pass your main amp at 80hz, the subwoofer will take care of the music below 80hz when it is turned on, when off (or set to bypass) it will automatically full-frequency pass to your main amp. There are other options but I though I'd mention this because it works so well with my 1250/4312A setup. You will need to buy RCA-XLR cables (and/or RCA-TRS cables) for this sub as it is pro-gear.
 
Yes, those JBL "Studio Monitors" line are another great choice and was actually my first thought after the CS-R700s, but so many folks like the HPM-100 (and the L100s) that I set them aside. I just looked at ebay (again) and saw that yes indeed, those 4312s are as pretty as I recall and maybe a bit more affordable/available, so back on the list they go.

Maybe you can further advise on various permutations of this Studio Monitor line? It seems there are quite a number of versions with model numbers that differ only by a digit or so, but otherwise appear similar. I do want to stay with a circa 1978-1980 setup.

Thanks to all who have welcomed me with thoughtful replies to my introductory post. You find the nicest people here.
 
You can go to the Lansing Heritage site to look up some of the different monitors of the era, but IIRC the L100 started out as the 4310, not sure that the L166 had a studio equivalent but probably does (has an aluminum-coated dome tweeter), 4311 not sure, and 4312 still doesn't have the titanium tweeter. The 4312A has the 035Ti tweeter and is my favorite "vintage" (ambiguous term, some call stuff from the '90s vintage) monitor although it was built late '80s through early '90s. To truly stay '78-'80 you are probably looking for the 4310. However, newer speakers are going to make a big difference (IMO) in imaging when you get away from cone tweeters, and the 4312A is still a nice period-looking walnut-veneered sharp-corner speaker with white woofer, ... there is also the studio-gray version.

There is a 4312 MkII which has a similar cabinet and same woofer/mid but the slightly improved (and the official 035Ti replacement) 052Ti, a 4312B MkII which has the A035Tia (035Ti with copper-clad aluminum coil) for slightly extended highs (as if 22khz wasn't high enough). Each iteration has a slight redesign to the crossover as you'd expect with different driver characteristics.

Then you can jump to the 4412 which is based on the same design, but updated drivers (and I'm not sure if it still has the white aquaplas woofer, kind of a classic look to me). I believe that many people feel that the 4412 is the best of this series.

To move into a slightly newer speaker you get the L120t which although a good sounding speaker, it doesn't have (IMO) the classic look of the earlier speakers, but you get the 035Ti tweeter and great sound for a lot less money. Not as much of a following for these.

The current iteration is the LSR6332 (mates to the LSR subwoofer I mentioned above), which is studio gray with no grille available, but follows the basic 3-way w/ 12" woofer monitor formula.

The only down-side to the monitor versions is that you don't get the option of the orange waffle-iron foam grille that is so iconic on the L100, or the molded egg-crate grille (that I so loved) that adorned the L-166, ... you get a black cloth (or sometimes blue cloth) grille. Kind of like the stock steel disk wheels on the 'Cuda I guess, no beauty rings or center caps for racing versions!

I'm not an expert on the JBL monitors, but I'm related to one, ... and he directed me straight to the 4312A, which really sounds good on my 1250. The 6312 was my own decision, gives me the Jekyll and Hyde ability of extended bass at the push of a button (remember the "his/hers shifters"?).

One monitor that has a big fan-base, is a '70s speaker, and has good highs is the Yamaha NS-1000M or slightly newer (rarer, and less expensive) NS-500M. I personally don't like the 1000, much prefer the sound of the 500 (the 1000 sounds harsh to me, matter of taste).

Post your location and you might be able to find someone local who will let you listen to their system, but be cautioned that the receiver/speaker pairing is truly a synergy, what sounds good on a Marantz 2500 might or might not sound good on your 1250. My Marantz 2325 sounded absolutely lifeless on my 4312As, ... but the 1250 really gave them back their edge.

<edit> Also look into hifiengine for specs and manuals for much audio equipment including speakers. You'll need a (free) sign-in for downloads.
 
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