I TESTED 1-STAR VINTAGE STEREOS

today I'm testing out onear vintage receivers and since they didn't have star ratings back in the 1970s I'm going to challenge myself to give them all onear reviews now there are a few rules rule number one for today we're going to be doing all pioneer vintage receivers rule number two they have to be made during the stereo Wars era and rule number three they cannot be from the same series or year now these are all receivers I actually like quite a bit so I'm going to also give him a fivestar review let's start with the 1980 the 1978 Pioneer sx1 1980 was Pioneer's biggest receiver made during the stereo Wars era its massive size and power of 270 Watts blows all other Pioneer receivers away the Pioneer sx1 1980 is a statement vintage stereo receiver anyone that walks past it will stop and stare they don't call it the high-fi Holy Ground for nothing when you see this in person it's typically so much bigger than you would have imagined that you just lose your train of thought but size can also be a downside it's difficult to move around because of the sheer weight and size of this 80 lb monster receiver and it's not something someone can typically move on their own the Pioneer sx1 1980 is also a maintenance monster meaning it needs considerably more care and repairs over time than other Pioneer receivers the Pioneer sx1 1980 two head heavy can't move around on my own need to call friends to help move it which they don't like at this point I'm starting to lose those friends I won't be able to carry it to the repair place by myself one star can somebody help me move this thing anybody Mikey so big and beautiful looking and it sounds so good that when I show it to strangers they become my friends five Stars dude look at that that is so sick absolutely five stars the Pioneer sx250 was Pioneer's most powerful vintage receiver from 1976 at 160 Watts it was crafted extremely well and had a real wood case although it didn't cover the giant heat sinks it's beautiful looking but I do like the look of the 19788 series even more many people consider it the best sounding vintage Pioneer receiver of all time it has such a beautiful warm and powerful sound and goes great with Pioneer HPM 100 speakers but there's no way of measuring its power from the receiver when playing due to the lack of power meters on the front now this is a sought after vintage receiver and typically goes for around $55,000 when restored the Pioneer SX 1250 doesn't Sparkle like the 80 series also missing power meters I mean how loud am I even playing this thing I cranked it all the way up and blew all my speakers one star you hear that it's nice but it doesn't look to me as nice as the 80 series I can't believe this model sounds better than the one they released after it love the warm glow and powerful sound five stars and while it may not look as nice as the 80 series a lot of people kind of including myself really think it sounds better I know the Pioneer SX 3900 which was made in 1980 is when Pioneer started going digital and yes it's at the tail end of the stereo Wars It's a monster receiver at 120 WTS but there are plenty more receivers bigger but something about the looks alone not even mentioning the sound that is extremely good takes me on vacation whenever I look at this receiver it makes me feel like I'm out on the beach something about the digital blue Power meters which Pioneer called floros scan really hits me but in a good relaxing way where I just want to put my toes in the sand and crack open a pair this with some HPM speakers or better yet JBL primas and you got that West Coast sound that one can only dream of the pioner SX 3900 I thought it was a beach receiver but it doesn't hold up outside in the salty air tends to oxidize one star I'm sitting here moving all these receivers Mikey I thought you said we were filming this at the beach I said no such thing ah I I could be at the beach right now that'd be better love the ability to see the digital tuning display along with the watt meters makes me feel like I'm at the beach whenever I listen to it even without being there five stars oh I think the lights are all out I think I do need to go to the beach the Pioneer SX 5580 was the 1976 European version of the 120 watt Pioneer sx150 this receiver comes in a finish that you could not get in the US which was a black face plate with silver finishings it also came with a Blackwood cabinet instead of Walnut I love the black and silver finish and even more so as a Raiders fan plus the 5580 is fairly rare over time its value will hold up and grow due to this it's literally the Pioneer SX 1050 in a different box and the 1050 is one of the most popular receivers of all time another fun thing about the 5580 is there's always a story behind it from the original owner who would have had to get it overseas typically in an arm stereo store where they would have used it in their tent with their army buddies I've heard this story hundreds of times and it really takes people back and just knowing that there's absolutely a story like this behind a receiver means a lot to me the Pioneer SX 5580 it's the same receiver as the SX 1050 but double the price one star it may cost double but at least I can sell it for double it's so rare that I feel like I'm making a good investment and because it came from overseas each unit has a story behind it oh and it's Raiders colors five stars and I mean unlike the Raiders I feel like I'm winning with this the first time Pioneer put speaker Jacks in their receiver was the 1974 sx30 series prior to this like on the SX 828 for example pioner opted to use external speaker connectors which were a pain to use this receiver also marked the first time someone could hook up three pairs of speak ERS to a single receiver although you can only use two at a time the 1974 Pioneer SX 838 was a 50 wat receiver and came with a wood case but the real treat was the way the bluish green meters and tuning dial would glow at night it was a huge step up from pioner previous models even the 20 series from 1972 the Pioneer SX 838 I can't run three speakers at the same time without blowing my amp if there's three outputs why can't I use them all at once one star I just don't understand why I can't just hook all of them up at the same time I mean what's what's wrong with that what's the problem I want big sound why not so glad Pioneer opted not to continue the external speaker connectors love the glow of the tuning dial and the meters five stars see they just should have made them like that in the first place now everyone's going to have their own list of their five top receivers and five bottom receivers and that's why I wanted to give each one of these a one and a five star I would love to know in the comments what you guys think about my reasons for each and give your own ratings as well

Channel: Lenny Florentine

Views: 23,421

Keywords: i tried 1 star, vintage stereo receiver, vintage hifi, vintage stereo, stereo receiver, vintage audio, pioneer sx 1980, pioneer sx 1050, pioneer sx 1250, pioneer sx-5580, pioneer sx-3900, vintage pioneer receiver, hifi, Audiophile, vintage receiver, monster receiver, vintage pioneer, vintage audio equipment, vintage audio repair, pioneer receiver, vintage electronics, treasure hunting, pioneer sx 838, I tried one star

Id: PCG-JiJm7TE

Length: 7min 40sec (460 seconds)

Published: Sat May 18 2024