SX-828 vs SX-750

dudefromla

Active Member
So tonight I AB'd my Pioneer SX-828 and my Pioneer SX-750.
I used headphones and FM but I have to say the 828 blew away the 750 in all respects. FM signal, tone just everything
To the best of my knowledge neither has been gone through except for some de-oxing I did when I got them, the 828 has been sitting idle for almost a year and it fired right up and as I say blew away the 750 which I have been using off and on since I got it.
From owning an 828 previously I knew it had a great FM section but I have to admit I was blown away by this little gem.
Thoughts?
 
The 828 was top of the line for that series, 424, 525, 626, 727, 828

while the 750 is lower middle part of it's series. 450, 550, 650, 750, 850, 950, 1050, 1250
 
828 is a fantastic receiver. The only minor downfalls are close spacing of the rca jacks and those stupid proprietary speaker plugs. Great sound all around.
 
Pioneer pretty much fixed all the bugs from the 828 in the 838 and added a few bells and whistles too. But the 838 dropped to 2nd from top or 1st off the top depending on whether you count the 1010 as part of the x3x series. I tend not to due to it's model #. It was PIONEERS absolute top model for 1974 to 1976. The 939 was the top of the x3x series with the 838 getting 2nd billing. As Pioneer progressed you had more and more models in each of the succeding series. And it didn't take a lot of wattage to go from a sx-450 to a sx750 and then to the 1250.
 
It's hard to compare the 2 in general unless both been put back into proper shape.
I bet you could be happy with either.

I do have a 636 and a 950, which is not a direct comparison, but I can talk about both.

It's not as 'warm' as the 636 with all of its 40+ yr-old parts still in place, but it's plenty fat enough on the low frequencies.
I expect to 828 to be closer to the x3x series in sound.
But I cannot say I know what a x3x-series SHOULD should like because mine is untouched.

My 950, prior to refurbishing was more than a bit thin-sounding.
After a complete refurbishing (caps and transistors), it is a BEAST.
Plenty of low end punch on that receiver.
Total transformation.
Your 750 may behave similarly.

But Hey! If you like the 828 as is, then go with it!

I am listening right now to an untouched Sherwood S7100-A (14W/ch) and it is a thing of beauty as is.
I don't worry much about TOTL vs. BOTL.

Good is good all day long.
 
Your SX-828 is very similar in circuit design to my QX-9900. Nice sounding receivers, even after 40+ years = pretty amazing they hold up as long as they do.
SX-838 is much more similar to the SX-x50 series in design.
All have bootstrapped power amps however.
I wonder if the sx-828 has the same issue I saw with the qx-9900, where the plastic screws to mount the PS pass bjt to the heatsink have disintegrated?

Enjoy
 
Back
Top Bottom