pioneer a-717 ”bpc”

yotems

Well-Known Member
it absolutely isnt. plastic involved, yes... but its so finely engineered that it makes sense. i briefly had a kenwood ka-7010 and it was rather obvious the similarities in the layout of the topology but also just as obvious was kenwoods “cheap as possible” design strategy. if the ka-7010 had pre out-main in jacks it wouldnt be a complete paperweight but it is. disgusting how flimsy that kenwood and im sure MANY other 80’s-90’s-00’s-modern equipment has been/can be. this a-717 has the fit and finish of the good heavy metal late 70’s equipment, as in its probably heavier duty than it needs to be! engineered to be great, no corners cut to sell a gimmick (ka-7010)

while i know pioneer has sold just as disgusting quality of gear as that ka-7010, i also know the ka-7010 is not kenwoods best work. this is by no means a thread meaning to exploit kenwood as less than pioneer (even though they are) but more so an exploitation of just what exactly constitutes as “bpc”. bpc in my opinion is not limited to the 80’s as bpc is still being sold today. theres also better gear than ever before being sold today just like this pioneer back in 1987, except now that market is ruled by the boutique

not everything from the 80’s and 90’s was bad as a matter of fact a lot of it was some of the best gear made to date performance wise and just as good of build quality despite streamlined plastic architecture

also, “made in japan” doesnt automatically mean its of superior quality. that ka-7010 was made in japan and it was one of the flimsiest/cheapest made piece of gear ive seen to date. i dont think ive even seen something that bad that was made in china... ive seen some quality stuff that was made in china, some extreme quality stuff actually...
 
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ka-7010 used aluminum “veneer” for its knobs and each one had come unglued from its plastic bushing short of the volume knob.

a-717 knobs? solid billet cnc aluminum with set screws. enough said

the volume knob is like a damn balance weight
 
I had one, very heavy, all steel and aluminum construction and dual cast power transformers, friend of mine liked it more than i did and i sold it to him, eats his Kenwood M2A basic power amplifier for power and sound
 
just got around to listening to it and its pretty damn impressive. detailed 3 dimensional soundstage with grin inducing acoustics.. rich, deep, and tight bass.. all around great amplifier considering just how much stuff out there doesnt sound this good. im just really fascinated with its build quality and how its an 80’s slimmed down design built with 70’s esque overengineered hardware
 
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