Pioneer SA 9500 and Spec 4 amp

[mcfl]

Hello team,
I have a question, I purchased a Pioneer SA 9500 and will like to connect it to a Pioneer Spec 4 that I just purchased. I know that the Spec 4 was designed to be connected to Spec 1 pre-amp os my question is

Will the Spec 4 work well with my SA 9500?

and if that is the case how would you connect both together?

Thanks a lot

 

[EchoWars]

They'll work fine together. On the 9500, flip the 'Normal/Separate' switch to 'Separate', and run some IC cables from the 9500's 'Pre-Out' jacks to the Spec 4 input, and you're good to go.

 

[mcfl]

Thanks a lot, I have another question. After doing that and connecting the SA 9500 to the Spec 4, can I still use the speaker terminals from the SA 9500?
I currently have a set of bookshelf speakers and a separate powered subwoofer that I use connected to the SA 9500

Thanks

 

[omri617]

Interesting question ..
Used to hook my sa8500ii to my Spec 4 . worked fine.
About the thing u asked before , maybe you could try and let us know ?

 

[OverLoad]

Thanks a lot, I have another question. After doing that and connecting the SA 9500 to the Spec 4, can I still use the speaker terminals from the SA 9500?
I currently have a set of bookshelf speakers and a separate powered subwoofer that I use connected to the SA 9500

Thanks

No, not when you switch to the separated position as Glenn advised. You turn the integrated amp into just a pre-amp or a power amp in separated mode. In order to use both as you wish, keep the switch in the normal position and simply hook the pre-outs of the 9500 to the inputs of the Spec 4.

 

[markthefixer]

Interesting little fact here, the pre-out is a 2 volt signal, while the SA-9500's amp-in has a 1 volt sensitivity. The normal / separated switch in normal connects a 2:1 voltage divider output of the preamp to the amp, while the pre-out jack always has the full output, and is always live.

LUCKILY, the Spec-4 has volume controls built in. AND a ONE VOLT sensitivity

I mention this not to confuse, but rather educate, IF and when volume differences are noticed.

 

[mcfl]

Thanks a lot for the great information. It looks like to get better sound I should use the SA9500 as a pre-amp and the Spec 4 as the amp.
I have another question, since the Spec 4 only has one set of speaker terminals, is there a way to connect my powered sub woofer. I am using Klipsch Reference bookshelf speakers that really do not deliver much bass.
Thanks again for the great information

 

[OverLoad]

If the subwoofer has low level RCA inputs then you can split the pre-outs with Y-adapters and feed both the sub and Spec 4 inputs. If there is only high level speaker terminals then you would have to find a way to fit the sub and speaker wires to the Spec 4 terminals. If you had the Spec 1 pre, that would give you A & B terminals with switching capability. There are also separate speaker selectors you can use. You don't really require impedance matching in this instance so something relatively simple could be DIY'd as well.

 

[mcfl]

Thank you

 

[mcfl]

I looked in the back of the sub and it does have RCA input. I will try that and see how it works

Thanks a lot for all of the help

 

[mcfl]

Well, I connected the Spec 4 and my SA9500 with SA 9500 setup as separate. To connect the powered sub I used a piggy back audio cable and was able to feed the sub and Spec 4 nicely.
The sound is fantastic, I can hear so much detail that my Ipod sounds like a cd player.
Now my question, can you get a lot noticeable sound quality with Spec 4 /Spec 1 Vs Spec 4 /SA 9500?

 

[markthefixer]

Trick question, and it depends upon your ears.

Compare the switch settings and knobs on the 9500 versus the spec-1.

Unrestored versus restored anything is possible.