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Opinions Sought

mhconley

mhconley

The Dude Abides
I am putting together a stereo system to play my LP collection through a Thoren's TD 320 MkII turntable I have owned since the mid-to-early 1980's.

The only thing I have settled upon are speakers - vintage 15" 3-way floor-standing Cerwin Vega's.

I need to decide upon electronics and am leaning a couple of different directions.

Direction #1
Pioneer receiver (SX-1080 or SX-1280)

Direction #2
Pioneer separates (SPEC-1 and SPEC-2 or SPEC-4)

Direction #3
Pioneer Elite Separates (C-71 and M-72)

Comments or opinions...

Martin
 
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Alright, as much of a vintage silver/fluroscan guy I am...


...I gotta vote for Elite separates. But of a different flavor - C91 and M91! :D
 
PioneerGuy85 said:
Alright, as much of a vintage silver/fluroscan guy I am...


...I gotta vote for Elite separates. But of a different flavor - C91 and M91! :D
Click to expand...

What he said, the M90 also works and sounds awesome, pick nr2 would
ofcoarse be killer also. :smoke:
 
mhconley said:
I am putting together a stereo system to play my LP collection through a Thoren's TD 320 MkII turntable I have owned since the mid-to-early 1980's.

The only thing I have settled upon are speakers - vintage 15" 3-way floor-standing Cerwin Vega's.

I need to decide upon electronics and am leaning a couple of different directions.

Direction #1
Pioneer receiver (SX-1080 or SX-1280)

Direction #2
Pioneer separates (SPEC-1 and SPEC-2 or SPEC-4)

Direction #3
Pioneer Elite Separates (C-71 and M-72)

Comments or opinions...

Martin
Click to expand...


Hi Martin

Just like AK member "PioneerGuy85" I am a massive silver era fan but, it depends on how you look at things and for what reasons. If you want build quality then you cant really go wrong with any of them (I dont know if parts for receivers are scarce or not) but, you obviously like the vinyl signal source so I would go for the one that facilitates/got the best spec for the vinyl source. I`m not so familiar with Elite range but I know they`re good; check which one has got facilities for the different cartridges, (MM and MC) I know my SA9800 caters for them both. The old saying for me always rings true "GIGO" - Garbage In = Garbage Out. If you feed an amplifier a crap signal, it will amplify it and give your speakers amplified crap for you to hear. If you feed it quality, you will hear amplified quality. A lot depends on the signal source - The Thorens deck is a quality deck - I have a TD-166 MKII in my other set-up and I wouldn`t part with it. :yes: If I had to stick my neck out - I`d agree with "PioneerGuy85" and go for the Elite. Still wouldn`t sell my SA9800 for an Elite though!! :thmbsp: :D
 
Martin,
I've ran my Thorens through an SX950 and through my current C90/M90, both have given me hours of pleasure and realiabilty.
My C90/M90 combo is great. I run an MC cartridge but it has various settings built in.I intend to have the amps recapped when funds allow, I love them so much.

I don't know the CV speakers but there is enough power in the C90/M90 to drive any speakers to high volume.

I expect you will enjoy any of the combos you have suggested.

Good listening.
Hutch
 
It depends on taste and money you like to spend.
I would vote for the Spec's, if you like the black design also the Elite series is a good choice like the others say (I don`t have them, so no personal expierience).
If you like receivers the SX1250 or 1280 would be a good choice and cheaper then the SPEC's.
 
Great responses - thanks everyone.

I love the look and feel of the old silver era Pioneer receivers (My first system was powered by an SX-780.), but I really don't care about AM/FM.

The SPEC series look really intriguing and they are on eBay quite regularly. Never seen or heard them in person, though.

I love Pioneer Elite equipment; I use it in my home theater. (I really like the looks of their older wood sided stuff.) The C-91/M-91 combo sounds like a great setup if I could find it reasonably priced...

Still looking...

Martin
 
mhconley,
I actually own, or have owned, everything mentioned in this thread, and would "hands down" take the SPEC system.

Reasons: Build quality, versatility, and ease of being rebuilt with better electronic parts.

I own several SPEC systems and for my personal tastes, they are numero uno for my speakers.



Retro
 
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