Flounder
Active Member
Hi, All.
I've been living with and digging my Pioneer SX-626 that Lee restored for almost a year now, and thought I'd share the experience. (Apologies to Lee for a delayed review.) The 626 sounds really great. Really. I mean that. I continue to be surprised at the amount of warmth and detail that it delivers. I hear new things in recordings that I've listened to a million times. I run it through either a pair of re-capped and gooped KLH Model 6s and/or a pair of Genesis 1s that Lee also restored. Through the 6s, it is warm, lush, and relaxed without giving up any detail. I can listen to it all day (and often do b/c I work from my home office). All inputs sound amazing. I'm not much of a classical nut, but I find my self listening to WRIT, our local classical station, in the mornings just b/c it sounds so darn good! Even my CDP (Rotel RCD-855) sounds quite analog with the 626. The TT, however, is where it really shines. Vinyl sounds so good. It's been really fun playing vinyl again through both speakers. The 1s are a really great speaker. I'm not sure you'll find a tweeter in that class of speaker that delivers the way the Genesis 1s do. They don't have a huge bottom end, but the bass is there and quite punchy and articulate. They are really fun to listen to b/c the detail that the 626 delivers really rises to the surface - it seems like you're getting more information (I know that sounds stupid, but I dont know how else to describe it). Vocals, cymbals, piano and guitar riffs all rise to the surface. I like to consider the Genesis 1s as my "active" listening speakers. They really present the music in a way that makes each instrument very clear and present, but also keeps everything sitting in the mix in a balanced way. They are much more direct than the Model 6s - vocals being a little more up front. (I'm not trying to compare these two speakers b/c they really are two different animals.) When listening to rock on vinyl though, I usually combine the two speakers to create the most delicious sound experience - especially for psychedelic or jangly (think Beatles, REM, Bryds, etc) rock. I was spinning Dark Side the other day, and my teenage son was pretty impressed. I have to say, it sounded awesome
. On a more superficial level, I'll also add that it looks very cool too. I love the blue lights and the FM signal strength meter. It doesn't quite have the sex appeal of a Marantz, but it's cool in it's own right and sounds pretty darn good. I've been sitting on a 1060 that needs some love, but am in no rush to address b/c the 626 is really delivering. In short, well done, Lee! Brilliant. Thanks! I've really been enjoying the music with the 626..
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/in...er-restored-and-upgraded.706235/#post-9586289
I've been living with and digging my Pioneer SX-626 that Lee restored for almost a year now, and thought I'd share the experience. (Apologies to Lee for a delayed review.) The 626 sounds really great. Really. I mean that. I continue to be surprised at the amount of warmth and detail that it delivers. I hear new things in recordings that I've listened to a million times. I run it through either a pair of re-capped and gooped KLH Model 6s and/or a pair of Genesis 1s that Lee also restored. Through the 6s, it is warm, lush, and relaxed without giving up any detail. I can listen to it all day (and often do b/c I work from my home office). All inputs sound amazing. I'm not much of a classical nut, but I find my self listening to WRIT, our local classical station, in the mornings just b/c it sounds so darn good! Even my CDP (Rotel RCD-855) sounds quite analog with the 626. The TT, however, is where it really shines. Vinyl sounds so good. It's been really fun playing vinyl again through both speakers. The 1s are a really great speaker. I'm not sure you'll find a tweeter in that class of speaker that delivers the way the Genesis 1s do. They don't have a huge bottom end, but the bass is there and quite punchy and articulate. They are really fun to listen to b/c the detail that the 626 delivers really rises to the surface - it seems like you're getting more information (I know that sounds stupid, but I dont know how else to describe it). Vocals, cymbals, piano and guitar riffs all rise to the surface. I like to consider the Genesis 1s as my "active" listening speakers. They really present the music in a way that makes each instrument very clear and present, but also keeps everything sitting in the mix in a balanced way. They are much more direct than the Model 6s - vocals being a little more up front. (I'm not trying to compare these two speakers b/c they really are two different animals.) When listening to rock on vinyl though, I usually combine the two speakers to create the most delicious sound experience - especially for psychedelic or jangly (think Beatles, REM, Bryds, etc) rock. I was spinning Dark Side the other day, and my teenage son was pretty impressed. I have to say, it sounded awesome
. On a more superficial level, I'll also add that it looks very cool too. I love the blue lights and the FM signal strength meter. It doesn't quite have the sex appeal of a Marantz, but it's cool in it's own right and sounds pretty darn good. I've been sitting on a 1060 that needs some love, but am in no rush to address b/c the 626 is really delivering. In short, well done, Lee! Brilliant. Thanks! I've really been enjoying the music with the 626..http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/in...er-restored-and-upgraded.706235/#post-9586289
