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Should I stay or should I go now? (Pioneer vs Luxman)

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Excorpus

New Member
I have a Pioneer SX-880. It was bought a year ago for $125. It needed some repairs which cost about $225. There was no recapping of any sort, just a bad channel. I also have a Luxman R-115 a friend will sell me for $200 with remote. I have been using the Luxman for over a year (nice friend) and it is exceptionally good, but not much to look at. My speakers are AR-3As (thrift purchase - $50). The AR-3As sound pretty good with the Pioneer but they sound very good with the Luxman. Since I have about $375 in the Pioneer, do you feel it would be worth it to chase better sound by investing in a recapping or should I stick with a clear winner that lacks that vintage look we all love? About what would a recapping cost? How much improvement might I expect if it has never been recapped? I do have other speakers (Bose 901s - inherited from Dad, Ohms, and some smaller speakers), but the AR-3As are what I listen to most. I also might consider purchasing a vintage Luxman or something of comparable quality. If you have any ideas in that area, please let me know. Much obliged!
 
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I think you stick with the Luxman. I had an Lv-113 from that era and it sounded very good. I recapped a pioneer SA-800 a few years ago and honestly could not tell a difference in sound. Also if you plan on keeping the ARs and they sound better with the Luxman…. The silver faced stuff is beautiful but, IMHO a lot of the 80s and 90s stuff is better.
 
I have a hodgepodge of equipment currently in use. Some silver, some black and none vintage. I care far more about sound, than looks.

I seriously doubt that a recap of the Pioneer would bring it to the level/quality sound of the Luxman. And, as is, it's probably worth what you have in it (give or take). A recap would cost several hundred, and wouldn't increase the value by that much.

Even though I don't need any more equipment, were it me, I'd grab the Luxman.
 
If I stay, there will be trouble
If I go it will be double...


(couldn't resist ;-})> )

Seriously, I would go with the one that sounds best.
 
i just finished going thru a luxman r-351(same era a think) that i bought broken. gobs of cracked solder joints, many caps right around 20% out . several caps measured bad, one cap wouldn't measure. one main filter cap swelling.. the problem i noticed, large thru holes, minimal solder. i think they are hit and miss units. it sounds like you have the option to buy a solid one

my luxman now sounds great. it has a sound that i prefer over my sx1010. it sounds better than my buddy's sx780 that i put discretes in place of stks. the power ratings are also conservative.

even after finding all the issues with mine, i'd do it again.

go luxman.
 
I have an R-115 and a couple vintage Pioneer receivers (SX-1050 and SX-780). My R-115 is my favorite mid-powered receiver by a long shot. It's completely original and has been trouble-free the few years that I've owned it. The only trouble spots were a noisy volume control, balance, and the tone defeat button (I believe). Surprisingly, it's very easy to work on for those minor repairs.
If your Pioneer was a higher model, I might be tempted to keep it. For what you'll likely be able to sell the SX-880 for, you should be able to get your money out of it. I'd definitely go with the Luxman, especially since you've test driven it for a year+ and know it's good.
 
Be happy the Luxman has the remote. Use that to limit looking at the R-115 and enjoy.

You won't be able to make the pioneer sound as good as the Lux.

Pioneer should bring good coin and you can look for an earlier Luxman with better looks if you want to. But I'd for sure be listening to the better sounding unit.
 
Excorpus said:
I have a Pioneer SX-880. It was bought a year ago for $125. It needed some repairs which cost about $225. There was no recapping of any sort, just a bad channel. I also have a Luxman R-115 a friend will sell me for $200 with remote. I have been using the Luxman for over a year (nice friend) and it is exceptionally good, but not much to look at. My speakers are AR-3As (thrift purchase - $50). The AR-3As sound pretty good with the Pioneer but they sound very good with the Luxman. Since I have about $375 in the Pioneer, do you feel it would be worth it to chase better sound by investing in a recapping or should I stick with a clear winner that lacks that vintage look we all love? About what would a recapping cost? How much improvement might I expect if it has never been recapped? I do have other speakers (Bose 901s - inherited from Dad, Ohms, and some smaller speakers), but the AR-3As are what I listen to most. I also might consider purchasing a vintage Luxman or something of comparable quality. If you have any ideas in that area, please let me know. Much obliged!
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If you crave vintage sell the pioneer and look for a better sounding vintage unit say Sansui or marrantz or even a sta2080 Realistic the best sounding analog receiver they ever made ,it defiantly had better Sonics than the pioneer but still has the beautiful classic looks, for now keep the Luxman those are hard to beat ! I have a mint carver hr772 I thought would dethrone the sta2080 , the hr772 140 wpc 5 band tone controls remote black aluminum face with handles !

Turns out the sta2080 with 3 tone controls and 80wpc just sounds better at. Normal listening levels, That was in my opinion there best over all receiver ! There are vintage units that look good and sound ok and there are some that just sound amazing ! The pioneer was middle of the road and while a very sought after unit there are better vintage units out there !
 
I've always preferred Luxman to the common players in vintage audio. Sansui 2nd and NAD can be good too. Pioneer has it's devotees but the few I've had didn't impress me and passed along same with Yamaha. Just my preference. Go with what sounds good to you.
 
Thank you for your input! I was thinking along the same lines and was curious if anyone would take up the mantle for the Pioneer side. I have a buddy with a similar but different model, same output, same black dials. His does sound a bit better, but in the end I think I would be disappointed with a recap versus the esteemed Luxman. If anyone has any more input on which vintage receivers or integrated amps could rival the Luxman for sound quality and provide some of that cherished vintage look, I would appreciate your input. Thanks again to you all. Cheers!
 
FWIW I had a very well cared for SX-880 that I bought from the original owner. I just sold it for $600 and it sold within three weeks. To give you some idea what you might get in return should you invest more $$$ into it. My SX-880 sounded fabulous paired with my Wharfedale Denton 80th's.
 
As much as preferred Pioneer especially the Elite line over Yamaha , Marantz, Technics, Sony, Mitsubishi, and Denon etc. Luxman was either the equal of the rest or significantly better. In this case I'll say stay with the Luxman. You have a proven winner and the Pioneer isn't worth the investment. Sell if for a good price and buy your self a new DAC or some great LP's. If your Pioneer was an Accuphase or a Mcintosh then you could sell the Luxman. But its not.
 
Excorpus said:
..I also have a Luxman R-115 a friend will sell me for $200 with remote. I have been using the Luxman for over a year (nice friend) and it is exceptionally good, but not much to look at.

My speakers are AR-3As. The AR-3As .. sound very good with the Luxman. ...should I stick with a clear winner that lacks that vintage look we all love?
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Ask yourself are you more concerned about looks or sound quality?

You've mentioned that the Lux is the clear winner plus you have the remote (bonus) on top of that the Luxman has not 1 but 2 Pre-outs (Pio has none) which if you're not familiar allows you the option to use as a Pre-amp connected to seperate Power amp if you ever decided to go that route.

Screen Shot 2022-10-25 at 5.39.56 PM.png

I've used it as a Pre-amp connected to my Luxman M-2000 power amp in the past mostly cause I could but I use it mostly as stand alone.

Fwiw, I currently have a R-115, had 3 of them at one point 2 of them have been perma loaned so my opinion is obviously biased
 
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Big things to know. AR3a is a 4 ohm nominal load, drops as low as 2.7 ohms. And demands high current, and at that 2.7 ohm impedance. And needs to have 100-130 watts/channel doing that conservatively rated.
 
KentTeffeteller said:
Big things to know. AR3a is a 4 ohm nominal load, drops as low as 2.7 ohms. And demands high current, and at that 2.7 ohm impedance. And needs to have 100-130 watts/channel doing that conservatively rated.
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So then do you feel the R-115 is not up to the job? Is an R-117 more appropriate? Do you have other ideas? I appreciate your input.
 
Excorpus said:
So then do you feel the R-115 is not up to the job? Is an R-117 more appropriate? Do you have other ideas? I appreciate your input.
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Doesn't matter what others think about the power. What is important is that you have enough power to listen at levels you want to enjoy. As to the low impedance info, that is just an FYI so you can verify the capabilities of your receiver with that load.

With the pre outs you can use a very qualified power amp, one that has huge power and will drive low impedance loads without worry if you need to go there.
 
Excorpus said:
So then do you feel the R-115 is not up to the job? Is an R-117 more appropriate? Do you have other ideas? I appreciate your input.
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Can it drive a 2.7 ohm load? All day long, at any volume you desire, safely. Without running unacceptably hot, or shutting down. Big questions. You need headroom, and safety margin.
 
Excorpus said:
do you feel it would be worth it to chase better sound by investing in a recapping
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Recapping is unlikely to deliver better sound - specifically, not over what was originally achievable when the unit was new. That's not really the reason that caps are replaced.
 
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