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Pioneer SX-1250 Find - And A Quandry

Childof60

Childof60

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It is been a long time since I have found something truly interesting - that changed yesterday with this SX-1250. I bought it from the original owner with the original owners manual. Not a scratch, mark, or scuff anywhere on the heavy beast. It has never been opened up and works perfectly. I will need to remove a light film of nicotine from the controls and face plate (no big deal). I am reluctant to move further to remove the case to check inside as the cover screws have never been "cracked" since it left the factory. The quandary I face is should I go ahead and break it open for basic cleaning and how it could potentially impact the value of this receiver in perfect condition.

Great things like this monster receiver are rare to find these days - at least where I live. In this case it was well worth a 300 mile roundtrip road trip.
 

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pauldrewry said:
Aged capacitors can cause damage, unless you're reselling, you'll have to crack her open.
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Of course - I have done a recap project on a SX-1250 previously. The difference for this one is in perfect condition which was not the case with the other one I had.

I am still debating to keep or set it free...
 
Unless it has been in your possession from day one.
There is never a 100% chance on it ever being open up before.

To clean and remove the nicotine it will need to be opened and cleaned.
 
If the outside looks like that, I'd say the inside at least needs to be blown out. Also, to really clean that face plate, you'll need to take it off the unit.

Also, the best way to clean the face plate and knobs is a paste of baking soda and water. Just rub it on by hand or use a toothbrush. Rinse well afterwards and dry with a hair dryer.
 
Thx for the comments and suggestions. Looking at in the sunlight this morning I will have to open it to get all the nicotine out. Quandary eliminated. Nothing will stink up a garage faster than a nicotine encrusted vintage receiver. Incidentally all the switches and pots work perfectly. With the 45 plus years of exposure to smoking this is quite a surprise. I will clean them in any case for insurance. I have used the baking soda technique with great success previously on face plates. I tend now to use an ultra sonic cleaner on all the knobs. Usually works well with just a drop of dish soap and warm water.

At this point I think I will clean it up and enjoy it for the moment. I have many restoration projects to do before I can get to this receiver.
 
I had to buy some ridiculous speakers to get the deal done. The original owner said these were the only set he could crank up without the SX-1250 frying the speakers. I guess these are a variation of "white van" specials. IMG_0778.jpegIMG_0779.jpeg
 
Nice find, Tim! I'll drop by sometime after the smoke clears and between my knees and your back, we'll get her downstairs. As far as the white van speakers go, we can haul them down to the river and pump some banjo music out to the kayakers.
 
Great find! Mine is so encrusted with nicotine, it is currently encased within a tomb of plastic wrap after placing several air fresheners within it.
 
markshan said:
A variation indeed. They came from a Rent a Center rack system. If somebody made all the payments of those cat coffins they could have had a really nice system instead.
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Thx - that makes sense given the situation. They left the house and were donated to Habitat For Humanity yesterday.
 
Childof60 said:
It is been a long time since I have found something truly interesting - that changed yesterday with this SX-1250. I bought it from the original owner with the original owners manual. Not a scratch, mark, or scuff anywhere on the heavy beast. It has never been opened up and works perfectly. I will need to remove a light film of nicotine from the controls and face plate (no big deal). I am reluctant to move further to remove the case to check inside as the cover screws have never been "cracked" since it left the factory. The quandary I face is should I go ahead and break it open for basic cleaning and how it could potentially impact the value of this receiver in perfect condition.

Great things like this monster receiver are rare to find these days - at least where I live. In this case it was well worth a 300 mile roundtrip road trip.
Click to expand...

Taking it apart shouldn't affect the value at all as long as it's put back together properly. Nice snag, and also wise to eat the speakers to get it done. :thumbsup:
 
slowpat said:
In that original condition you don’t want to mar the screw heads by using the wrong screw drivers. Get a set of Vessel screw drivers…
Click to expand...


I second this. One of my best purchases I’ve made in the past 3 years, aside from my Hakko soldering gear, is a set of quality screwdrivers in Japanese Industry Standard pattern (Phillips)

They properly fit the screws found in those Japanese built receivers
 
You definitely will want to change all those caps out if you plan on keeping. Being 40 plus years old if original you are on borrowed time. Most capacitor manufactures of that era were good for around 15 to 20 years at best. Any more than that you will slowly lose performance and sound. In some cases bad caps can cause more damage in that boards can fry and it also causes problems for other parts like transistors. I bought an old Kenwood KR-8050 back at the beginning of the year and never opened up in it's lifetime. After just a short time of owning started having issues with a big mismatch between power output of the right channel from the left.

Had plans to take it too a local repair shop anyways for at least a recap and cleaning of the pots. 940.00 later it had all caps, majority of transistors replaced, rebuilt pre amp board for amplifier, voltage regulator, tone control pots replaced from a unit being parted out I was able to track down on eBay as well as all lights and indicators changed to LED. Also had a bad power flip switch that was replaced as well. It was a lot of money but, I know it will be reliable for at least a few decades. I know some will say I'm crazy but, I'm in the camp of vintage electronics were just built better though our technology has improved. Just the way it is. I'm not the only one who thinks this way just look at the market. No one is going crazy for the plastic trash of today.
 
Pop the top and clean the inside. If there is dust, lint, or hair it will stink of tobacco.
Unless you dislodge or break something it shouldn't affect value, and removing the stink might even raise the selling price.
I have read that you should not spray the tuning gang(s) with any liquids. Also it's not a bad idea to put tape around any pulleys or wheels the tuner string goes around or through.
Restringing some receivers can sometimes be a pain.
 
infinity85 said:
You definitely will want to change all those caps out if you plan on keeping. Being 40 plus years old if original you are on borrowed time. Most capacitor manufactures of that era were good for around 15 to 20 years at best. Any more than that you will slowly lose performance and sound. In some cases bad caps can cause more damage in that boards can fry and it also causes problems for other parts like transistors. I bought an old Kenwood KR-8050 back at the beginning of the year and never opened up in it's lifetime. After just a short time of owning started having issues with a big mismatch between power output of the right channel from the left.

Had plans to take it too a local repair shop anyways for at least a recap and cleaning of the pots. 940.00 later it had all caps, majority of transistors replaced, rebuilt pre amp board for amplifier, voltage regulator, tone control pots replaced from a unit being parted out I was able to track down on eBay as well as all lights and indicators changed to LED. Also had a bad power flip switch that was replaced as well. It was a lot of money but, I know it will be reliable for at least a few decades. I know some will say I'm crazy but, I'm in the camp of vintage electronics were just built better though our technology has improved. Just the way it is. I'm not the only one who thinks this way just look at the market. No one is going crazy for the plastic trash of today.
Click to expand...

I have the same view point. I will use something for a while as is, but if I then want to keep it, I will have it restored. Why? Because it is more likely to have fewer problems for as long as I have it. I get very frustrated when things don't work properly. The money is worth it in my perspective. For me, it isn't about the money. It is about the experience and the quality. All the gear I have had restored and ended up not keeping, I at least broke even on.
 
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