Bought a totally orphaned SX650 with a really sadly repaired bonnet, and melted candle wax in between the amp board and Darlington pack board which was 1/4” - 1/2” thick on the bottom board.
Best $25 bucks ever spent.
I completely tore this unit down to the chassis and boards but tried to pull off as few wire wraps as possible. Tried the wash and scrub method with the transformer out of it. Threw it in my oven for and hour or so after to dry it.
Struggled to recap and load up fresh transistors and such because of the board arrangements. Swore I’d NEVER get another one. But, then, the sound… why is it so nice? If only it was decent but not so sweet I could forget about it. Just put it on FB Marketplace and move on.
But, this is such a beautiful sounding stereo. I have several others from several brands. 20 watts to 125. Am I crazy here? I see other posts about the 650, but I’m really impressed.
Running recapped/upgraded PSB 800i, and they do not lie. You feed them right and they reward you. They will also let you know when something is subpar.
After cleaning and restoring, the internals turned out looking brand new and I built a new bonnet out of white oak. Finished it in ‘charcoal’ from Rubio-Monocoat’. This will now be part of a wedding gift along with some PSB Image speakers for our son and new daughter-in-law. See pictures. Our son likes the green lights, and so it is.
This 650 is my first X50 restoration and now I’m looking for a SX750. Can I expect the same or better imaging and sound stage? Tell me a story….
Best $25 bucks ever spent.
I completely tore this unit down to the chassis and boards but tried to pull off as few wire wraps as possible. Tried the wash and scrub method with the transformer out of it. Threw it in my oven for and hour or so after to dry it.
Struggled to recap and load up fresh transistors and such because of the board arrangements. Swore I’d NEVER get another one. But, then, the sound… why is it so nice? If only it was decent but not so sweet I could forget about it. Just put it on FB Marketplace and move on.
But, this is such a beautiful sounding stereo. I have several others from several brands. 20 watts to 125. Am I crazy here? I see other posts about the 650, but I’m really impressed.
Running recapped/upgraded PSB 800i, and they do not lie. You feed them right and they reward you. They will also let you know when something is subpar.
After cleaning and restoring, the internals turned out looking brand new and I built a new bonnet out of white oak. Finished it in ‘charcoal’ from Rubio-Monocoat’. This will now be part of a wedding gift along with some PSB Image speakers for our son and new daughter-in-law. See pictures. Our son likes the green lights, and so it is.
This 650 is my first X50 restoration and now I’m looking for a SX750. Can I expect the same or better imaging and sound stage? Tell me a story….
