Pioneer SX-434 & PL-12D

[LetFunkFlow]

I scored these on eBay for just £53!

Pioneer SX-434
Pioneer PL-12D
Goodmans Havant SL Speakers (20w)

The old guy I purchased from also threw in an old tape recorder (Panasonic), and a new Shure M75ED Cart (unused since 1979)!

After a cleaning inside the SX-434 with contact cleaner the unit works flawlessly. Except for some blown bulbs.

I need to find replacement bulbs for the meter, stereo indicator, tuner dial pointer and one from the tuner backlight array. Does anyone know a place I can find these parts? I spotted a US seller on eBay for the fuse lamps, but I'm not sure about the Stereo and Dial Pointer.

Although I couldn't really notice a problem with the speed of the turntable, a strobe test proved that it's slightly out of time. So I'm ordering a new belt for it. Other than that the deck is in great shape.

The Shure M75ED Type 2 cart

Goodmans Havant SL Speakers. These look great and sound pretty good. Just lacking a bit of bass, but they're decent enough!

Probably the best deal I've scored from eBay!

I'll keep you all updated if I manage to find new bulbs for the SX-434, any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[hogdaddy]

I think you got a great buy there.
Contact AK member dgwojo for new bulbs.

 

[Blue Shadow]

Roll on over to the AKdatabase and grab the schematic for your unit and check it out for the info on the bulbs then find em local or mail order where you are or do the easy thing and contact dgwojo and get em shipped to you.

 

[LetFunkFlow]

Mission complete!

Thanks to your advice, I was able to purchase the replacement bulbs from dgwojo. I'm really grateful to him for providing such a helpful and quick dispatch of the parts!

This was the first time I had attempted to even solder properly, and I was a lot easier than I thought it would be. The Dial Pointer and Stereo indicator bulbs were sods to remove, but I wrestled them free eventually. I'm so pleased with how the receiver looks now, it's in near-perfect condition and sounds beautiful! It's on indefinite loan to my girlfriend's mother, who loves using it and the turntable to play her old records.

Here's a few pics of the finished project:

Larger pics here: http://imgur.com/a/SbEia

 

[visim91]

Congrats buddy; passing it on to your girlfriend's mother was a real smooth move!

 

[dgwojo]

Wow, it looks like new, Dave. :thmbsp:

 

[se7en8n9ne]

i believe the cartridge you're using is moving magnet type (correct me if i'm wrong). how does the receiver handle it does it sound good? i've been trying to figure out what to do for my pl-115d with Shure M97xE mm type cartridge. do i build a preamp, buy an amplifier if so which one? or an old receiver if so which one?

 

[larryderouin]

I've also got a SX-434 bought new. Right now i'm using a PLA-45D with either a Shure V15-III or a M97xE. I find the 97 is muted compared to the V15III. Maybe a few more hours on the 97.

Se7en8n9ne; What are you running for an amp/preamp/receiver??? If it doesn't currently have a phono input, you'll need a phono preamp. Otherwise plug the pl-115D directly into the phono inputs. The PL-115D is a good middle of the road table. The only thing I'm not happy with mine is the"wood" base. Cheap chipboard. Otherwise a good table.

 

[anytune]

The SX-434 may be low power, but not low quality. I have an SX-535 that has a great tuner and sounds terrific. Yours looks to be in excellent shape.

 

[4everanalog]

You've done a bang-up job there. Maybe you can impart some of your wisdom on me. I also have one of these great little units. One of my tuner scale backlights is out and I'll be damned if I can figure out how to get at it.
I have it stripped right down to the tuner scale itself (faceplate off etc). Is there a trick to removing the tuner scale? I can't for the life of me see what's holding it in place. There's one screw that goes through the dial pointer bracket and through the tuner scale (which I have removed). I pried gently but it doesn't seem like it's free. I don't want to damage the darn thing.
Any pointers?

Regards.

 

[larryderouin]

Get the Service Manual and look at the exploded diagram. IIRC there are 2-3 screws on the fascia surrounding the dial "glass"(it's plastic). Once you get that off the dial is slid out to the left (make sure the pointer is all the way to the right side!), and access to the bulbs is there.

Manual is available @ www.hifiengine.com . Registration is free, but mandatory.

Larry

 

[audiobiker]

i had one of these...then it died...now its for parts it worked well when it did work though :yes: and if i could find another one for a good price i would definitely buy it :yes: yours seems to be in perfect condition! a great score for sure :thmbsp:

 

[chicks]

Yep, that was a sweet little receiver, classic good looks. IIRC, I replaced the FM Stereo lamp with a LED/resistor. May have got it a bit too bright.

 

[4everanalog]

Thanks for the quick response.

Get the Service Manual and look at the exploded diagram. IIRC there are 2-3 screws on the fascia surrounding the dial "glass"(it's plastic). Once you get that off the dial is slid out to the left (make sure the pointer is all the way to the right side!), and access to the bulbs is there.

It's weird. I'm at the point where there are no screws or (visible) brackets of any kind holding the thing in. The only thing I can think of is maybe the tuning meter needs to be backed out as it pokes through the dial "glass" itself.

I bet that service manual is just what's needed - I'm obviously missing something here.

-Rob.

 

[4everanalog]

Yep, that was a sweet little receiver, classic good looks. IIRC, I replaced the FM Stereo lamp with a LED/resistor. May have got it a bit too bright.

That's OK - Just do LED's everywhere else :thmbsp: It'll even it all out. Incidentally - Any tips on how to get that pesky (for me at least) tuner scale out so I can get at those lamps?

It's amazing how even the bottom of the model line still oozes the quality of the big boys eh?

 

[chicks]

No, sorry, it's been a couple of years since I changed the lamps on this, and no longer own it. Don't remember it being much of a PITA, though. :scratch2: