"Warmth" Differences in SX-780, 880, 980, 1080?

[BlueLight758]

I found part of the answer to my question on different threads but not all, so wanted to post.

Seems many people perceive the 980 as brighter than the 780, but I don't hear much about the 880 or 1080. Based on your experiences, would you say the 880 and 1080 fall into the "980 camp"?

I know the x50 series seem to be better built than the x80 series, but I'm partial to the aesthetics of the x80s and interested in picking one up. I had a 780 way back in the day (college, grad school) but thinking about something a bit higher up the scale.

I've currently got a nice 1010, 6000, 727 and QX-4000 so I don't mind a bit of variety even if the x80 is brighter, but I was curious if there were differences across these units.

Thanks in advance and I hope everyone is having a good day!

 

[macyjrm]

I've had two 780's, one 980, and one 1280. There isn't any discernable difference to me in the way they are voiced. Of course the higher up the chain the better with low efficiency speakers.

 

[interalian]

Since fixing my 1080 I'm finding it to be warm but very detailed. I don't know whether changing all the transistors, caps and diodes on the power amp cards would have affected the sound away from any 'vintage-y' sound. No basis to compare with the other models listed though.