PIoneer SX-1250 Restoration

[@tvtech2582]

I was at a local pub 10 years ago and a patron told me he had a Pioneer receiver that he no longer used. The next time he came in he had a Pioneer SX-1250 in perfect condition. He said he would sell it to me for $100.00. I said I would pay $50.00 if I beat him at a game of pinball, I won the game. I still use this receiver today.

[@Dixler683]

TV Tech, thanks for sharing a story about how you ripped off a naive man. A man with character would have told the guy its worth a “little” more and and offered 200 hundred bucks at least. Now let me share a story with you. In 2008 I was installing a roof attic fan for a customer. He had a Pioneer SX 1250 and offered it to me for free. I told him it was a highly desirably unit and to save it for the future ….he would appreciate it down the road. He was “younger” and grew up in the age of cassettes. I do not regret it, I have many receivers and a clear conscience.

[@MrSFSTUDIOS]

Wow! The holy grail of vintage Pioneers! Must be LOUD!

[@robertmatheson9542]

Robert Matheson I used to own a Pioneer 1250 and the matching cassette tape deck and turn table in 1977 and sold it in 1990 due to a channel failure. I cried when I sold it when I became frustrated when a local repair shop couldn't get it repaired correctly and was spending too much money at the time. I always wish I could have it back working but it was too late. I didn't want to buy a used unit today as I was afraid that a used unit would give me a bunch more head aches. I didn't know that a full restoration could be done like you have shown me in your video. Your video has me feeling excited that I can again have my wonderful stereo system. I am going to buy a used one from eBay and have it rebuilt by someone what ever the cost and again put a smile back on my face. Pioneer need to again make them again, there is a market for them.

[@jimgiordano8218]

I had the pleasure of baby sitting this receiver for 3 years for a friend who was in the Navy. What a power house, he also bought the matching speakers. I did not want to give it back to him when his tour was over. This was a great video, I am going to do a recap on my Harmon/Kardon AVR 25II, right channel has low output as does rear and center channels. This is another beast receiver and worth restoring. I am an old point to point builder from the 60's and 70's and am getting back into electronics. Thanks for all the in depth description of the caps, some of them are new to me, like the poly's and film. I just found your videos today and will watch more of them.

[@danielmeneses4106]

Masters like him inspired me to do a full restoration on mine. First restoration, I got lucky becuase all went well. Take your time, watch polarities and if possible use a quality desoldering station. A Atlas DCA 55 for checking Transistors is a great tool.

[@2wrdr]

back in the day I was an electronic technician. I learned a little trick when soldering on pc boards and that was to use print kote solvent after you were done. The reason was my job out of tech school was working on motorola pagers and 2-way radios. Pages had very tight pin and foil layouts. The flux left behind after soldering could potential mask a solder bridge or dot. The PKS made any issue plainly visible and you knew what you had. Also a bit of a pride thing to see your work so clean and perfect. I miss those days of component level repair. Now I program so my work is all virtual.

[@Mr512austintexas]

I was lucky enough to find one of these monsters a few years ago (before prices went through the roof) and it is my pride and joy. It took couple of trips to the local vintage electronics repair shop before it was fully functional, but this thing is beyond great. I can't imagine ever wanting to sell it.

[@dsonyay]

I love watching these videos.. I'm not an electronics guys at all.. but I love 2 channel audio. Very very interesting how this stuff is all made

[@MicheIIePucca]

I loved your style as you went through this receiver and explained everything through the components. Having gone through technical school I think you'd make a great teacher and I find you very mesmerizing. I would have loved to see the assembly line that these receivers were built, how long it would have taken, and the final testing before they were boxed and shipped. People of your "level of skill" are rare and valuable to those who need these masterpieces refurbished. Thank you!

[@sirjammer]

I stumbled upon your channel last fall(2017) when the electronics bug hit me again after a 13 year absence(I had the classic car restoration bug). Of all the electronics/repair/restore channels on youtube you are in the top two. Thank you for renewing my interest in a much cheaper hobby. last Christmas(2017) my kids bought me a Pioneer SX-1980...only slightly broken- blown fuse. In their mind(my kids), the SX-1980 is supposed to replace - three Pioneer SX-1050's, 4-channel reel-to-reel, couple turntables and a few speakers...all had to be sold to make room(and money) for our rapidly expanding family....next up -- a Marantz 2230 that is just a mess, close to 20vdc at the speaker terminals---someone needs to make a restoration video on this old girl.

[@turnersparadise8368]

I have a 4270. Blueglow Electronics channel has pointed me in the right direction with Marantz stuff, in case you didn't know about that channel.

[@kev-the-windsurfer.]

You need to completely rebuild the regulated supply board in the SX1980, the 80V, 30V pass transistors all need to be relocated onto the main heatskink, I have done this, and basically it takes a lot of the heat away from that board. There is another mod for the +/-80V current sources, factory uses this underwhelming circuit to achieve it, and there is a nice circuit you can build up on perf board and mount onto the existing board. Don't run the 1980 on an unrestored regulated supply board!!

[@sirjammer]

I checked out his channel, thank you for your help!

[@sirjammer]

Definitely need to look into that, thank you!

[@er1073]

I wish I still had my SX-950 the wife wanted to downsize which is a good idea I don't like hoarding but dang I had my Pioneer gear since 76. I weighed my SX-950 once if I remember correctly it weighed in at about 45 pounds. I really appreciated the quality of craftsmanship in my Pioneer gear.

[@mac11380]

Should have got a new wife.

[@hubbsllc]

@@mac11380 As someone else who posted an SX-1980 restoration video said, sure, you could sell it, but then all you have is money. It's not like you could put it toward a modern replacement as some sort of upgrade.

[@V109FM]

Thank you for posting these videos, I am learning so much and I really appreciate your knowledge.

[@paulhause9040]

I’m proud to own an SX-1250 myself. Yes, it’s a hernia buster! Mine’s in fair shape except for some scratchiness in the switches and pots. I found that I liked the TO-3 transistors’ sound better than flat STK packs (although I wouldn’t turn down an SX-1980).

[@2ChannelAudio]

Beautiful receiver and good sounding one too

[@AndrewLittleboy1]

Absolutely love your videos! Andy UK.

[@studydude]

Definitive video on SX-1250, Just found your channel from a tech that said he learns from you. My idea to throw out there on that cut wire that was soldered back in, they did have these all hand assembled, mostly by women, back in the 70s on an assembly line, I think every receiver comes a little different, and sometimes what you think of as work done to the receiver, could very well came from factory.

[@j.t.cooper2963]

My brother bought one of these in a pawn shop for $400 back in 1981. We had some killer parties with it on a pair of Technics SB-7000A speakers back in the early to late 80's.

[@rebeccarainharrod]

Wow. I just looked up the "Toe Jam" song here on KZbin, and I have to say I think it sounds better coming through your microphone after being played through that receiver and your setup than it does coming straight through my speakers from the internet!

[@johnsampson1096]

Love that Toe Jam Tune, it's catchy! Nice restoration, Tony..............

[@ThejasonJaw5442]

Awesome work you do

[@vaughanstiven511]

You would be hard pressed to find someone that could do a better full restoration than that absolutley first class work

[@wongsakornsomsorm7315]

watching from Thailand ,love the way you did and I have the same one .after fixed up the sound was fabulas

[@michaelaue7411]

I'd love to see how you pack and shop a receiver that weights so much.

[@peterdali7305]

Great stuff Tony. Helped me immensely with my SX-1250. During my restore/recap, I did the front panel LED conversion also. Question is how did you get your front panel so bright? Is there a difference in the construction or layout in model years? My LEDs work and are very bright but the dial is much dimmer then the unit in this video. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks for everything Tony.

[@scratchback2001]

What a beautiful tuner amp! If they made Digital Surround amps like this, I'd buy it!

[@MrPageplayer]

Tony, I've watched a ton of your videos and bought a couple receivers cheap to see if I can learn this stuff. I also happened to pick up a Owon oscilloscope and parts to make a dummy load. Could you make a detailed but short video on how to connect them for testing? Seems simple enough but I don't want to blow up anything.

[@bucster123]

excellent video! was there a difference in idle current after you where all done?

[@michaelaue7411]

I have all the monster receivers from the Sansui G22000 the Technics SA1000 a Marantz 2600 a Kenwood KR 96000 Rotel 1603 and my Pioneer 1050, 1250, 1280, three 1980s just have so much over the rest.

[@JelckedeBoer]

Hi Tony, thanks for this nice video. Would like to see how you package these big amps for shipping.

[@g.fortin3228]

GREAT vid! But.. At the end... what is that streamer you are using called ?? I'd like to look into one. anyone know ??

[@jcmcclain57]

@xraytonyb, very nice job, video, and knowledge base share. Thank you!

[@thomaspiltz2596]

Thanks for your instructional videos, I follow you devotedly. Perhaps you can advice me how to upgrade or substitute the softstart of my SX1250. The resistor is burnt and I’m having trouble finding a replacement. Thanks

[@xraytonyb]

Check my first video series on the SX-1050 restore. I think replaced the soft start in that one. I think the video is a bit choppy (didn't process correctly when I uploaded it) but you can see what I did. It's one of the older ones.

[@tonybalm1513]

I find your videos highly entertaining and very educational. I bet the capacitor manufactures love you. My late Father had more than 60 years experience in the electronics trade his career started in the army in the 1950's. He never had the sort of fancy test equipment you have just the basics Avo 8, single beam 5mhz scope, Simple home made signal generator. He still managed to design & build things and had the pleasure I say loosely of repairing things like this back in the day when they were new. He had to rely on his ears more than fancy test equipment.I wonder if you would still be able to do the job with only the basic test gear?

[@itsGnTO]

I appreciate the work and passion. I own a Pioneer sx1250 the front aluminum panel is perfect but the black lettering has faded. How can someone restore the letters....thanks much appreciated

[@billvanrassel6441]

I think that the DC offset combined with crossover eŕror maybe actually masking distortions when operating at low signal levels as in your measurement. It's kind of a class A amp in that case. Anyway, I do very much enjoy your video.

[@kylesmithiii6150]

Amazing work!!!

[@MickeyMishra]

it almost seems like things are just happier back in 2018

[@mannye]

Fantastic video! I know it's a touchy subject, but is it possible to get a range of what a job like this can cost?

[@mrGoesto11]

Nicely done, I notice that you used alot of Wima cap replacements. When do you typically use Wima's & how can a novice know when to use them to replace electrolytics?

[@octavev7076]

I was lucky enough to buy me 1978 brand new, by that time I was in the army station in Germany, with Bose 901 V with the equalizer, a Technik turntable a dream at that Era. 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😂😂😂

[@tee-jaythestereo-bargainph2120]

Yeah 1980 was a beast ! So is the Sansui G33000 that was the King ! And Techniques had a 330watt reciever

[@easydoes-k9f]

Do you have any ideas how to replace the small bulbs in the Pioneer SX 1010, specifically the FM selector lamp?

[@leonardosemienchuk7437]

excelent sound!! amazing!

[@johnwrench4speed]

Interesting video. I have had my SX-1250 since purchasing new in 1976. At the time, the list price on this receiver was $900.00, but discounts were available. These were sold at a retailer called "Best Products" (no connection w/BestBuy), at a sizable discount. However, I purchased mine from Pacific Stereo and they price matched. Never have had mine serviced, though there are some minor issues (bulbs out, etc.). Seeing all the work you have done on this example scares me about how much service/repair would cost. Thanks.

[@volume1able]

Watching from Thailand I have the same model9 bought from friend in friendly price love the sound o

[@FOXBODYCENTRAL]

Hello, thank you for the great video…. I ordered a cap kit from eBay…… Deff missing things your replacing… the .22 caps specifically, i have ordered some that say bipolar? Will this be a issue?

[@tesla1961]

yes

[@teashea1]

terrific video - very informative

[@claycoates5056]

i had one and i never had any problems i was not that unpressed by its performance thank you

[@dougg1075]

Clay Coates your speakers must have sucked because I have a lot of high end stuff and my 1250 is right up there with them.

[@paddle_shift]

What are your thoughts on "updating" or "upgrading" the speaker inputs on the back? These great units had kind of cheap plastic inputs that zip wire speaker cables were used at that time.

[@MrSFSTUDIOS]

There is a company who will do that. They can even add a bluetooth unit inside on one of the aux channels.

[@paddle_shift]

@@MrSFSTUDIOS Do you know who the company is? Thanks!

[@MrSFSTUDIOS]

@@paddle_shift JUST AUDIO REPAIR CENTER

[@larryshaver3568]

Did early solid state equipment have thermistors? I think they would have been a good idea. Transistors can be delicate

[@MollydogRadar]

I have a Pioneer sx1250 that is in need of repair. Do you still do this? I have owned this receiver for about 20 years.

[@ScottAcy]

Me too. I guess he doesn't respond to questions in the comment section... :-(

[@pioneermax1906]

Tony do you like the sound of the pioneer sx 1010 vs sx1250 just curious thanks

[@DrummingMan1]

I want one! Fully restored would be nice but a working unit in need of service will do! Just don’t know where I can find one! Great job great video cheers… Keith

[@RoadToTheCup]

Go to pawn shops and or Flea markets, you'll probably find one there.

[@Mr512austintexas]

Any of those mid-70's Pioneers are worth looking for! I used to find them on Craigslist, and you hear stories about garage sale finds that would make you cry. I got an SX750 that was great. Another good brand from that era is Sansui, and I think the prices on the Sansui receivers are lower than brands like Pioneer or Marantz. I don't like the Sansui speakers from that era (I'm really sold on Advents) but the receivers really work ... I have a Sansui 3000A, and it is a killer. I love the way it sounds.

[@jusb1066]

so old caps giving a high esr at higher frequencies is possibly why some old amps sound muddled and lack good HF or distorted? or in effect , can cause anything for bad sound?

[@joesmo6962]

Sounded Great. how many man hours on the 1250?

[@sammaze2103]

How can I get in touch with you for a repair on a Pioneer Intergrated Amp! Thanks. Sam

[@DeadKoby]

I have one of these.... It's fantastic.

[@craigjewett9985]

On the AWH-048A Power Amp board, can you provide suitable transistor substitute part numbers for Q7 (2SC1904A), Q8 (2SA899A), Q9 (2SD610) and Q10 ((2SB630-R) ? Thanks in advance.

[@richardadelberg8961]

I just finished adjusting stab board and am boards per service manual. 0 at speaker terminal but heat sinks run hot. 105f both sides. Do u run less then 65 on stab board, or less then 100 mv on amp boards? Seems much warmer then my other two which run at 77f and 85f

[@samuelnorton7012]

Offset keeps fluctuating on one of my channels 1 volt. Still comes out of protection. Is it the offset trimpot?

[@Rendraco79]

Excellent.

[@2ChannelAudio]

Nice 👏🏼👏🏼👍🏼

[@charlesquagliana1473]

Do you still have the packing list for all those components?

[@brianhenry2134]

HI Tony what is the device your using to play the music at the end for testing the receiver. Thanks.

[@jimr3179]

DV20A Digital audio decoder

[@ronshaw80]

I find that all electrolytics can dry out regardless of quality. If I take the trouble to crack the unit open and work on it, I am going to replace them all. Its too cheap not to.

[@littletraveller5428]

I think the 1280 is perfect with the watts meter

[@richardadelberg8961]

What do u do when power switch is failing.. after cleaning it... what can I do as they are hard to find?

[@tonygriffiths2485]

Enjoyable video thanks :)

[@bobgauthier1569]

My full restoration worked great with my sx1250

[@bobgauthier1569]

Next up will be my 2325.

[@stickylish]

bob who restored your sx1250 for you ? need mine serviced . have not played it in 25 yrs or so

[@EdWilsonPhoto]

Can't find a local Tech who can fix my vintage stuff...tragic. Phoenix AZ

[@MollydogRadar]

My 1250 is original accept for the soft start relay I replaced and the hiss at full volume is very hard to hear. Guess I have a good one.

[@thomaslenagh5906]

Hey Tony...I own a Pioneer SX-1250 Stereo Receiver/Amplifier. The unit needs repair and restoration…badly. Are you still in business and will you repair & restore my SX-1250?

[@danlivni2097]

Thomas, what state are you located in? This guy is well known for fixing the Pioneer receivers and all those classic large receivers from the 70s like Sansui, Yamaha, Sony, Etc. He's in Texas.

[@digitalman269]

Why doesn’t xraytony ever respond?

[@dougg1075]

So watts went down from 180 to 165?

[@danielmeneses4106]

SX 1250 rated at 160 wpc....but the units are actually 180 wpc on average into 8 ohms

[@solomoncohen1861]

Hello I have about 10 monsters receiver from 1970 to 1980 they need to be restored I already emailed you one time I would like to know if you still doing this and where you located please let me know

[@stickylish]

i have one i bought in high school. has not been played in about 30 yrs. can you service it for me ??

[@jaybaker8028]

Somebody else asked but it was unanswered. What is the audio input you are using at the end of the video? Anyone?

[@benshow3000]

I had one of those sold it to a friend for $150 18 years ago

[@Wizardofgosz]

Why do you not replace those little distortion inducing tantalum caps and replace with WIMA?

[@coppertuber]

Really! I would never recommend this guy to service anything! Not only because he left the tantalums in, but because of other things he said and saw him do!!

[@poduck2]

@@coppertuber Not all tantalums are a problem, and in most cases can be left alone. They don't have a shelf life like aluminum electrolytics do.

[@coppertuber]

@@poduck2 Tantalums are notorious for shorting. I know because I have been doing this for over 50 years now. I replace them with film caps. Anything 5uf or below gets replaced with film caps.

[@poduck2]

​@@coppertuber That is only true when the design runs too close to the rated capacity of the cap, where spikes can bring the voltage up over the rated capacity. In gear that is 40 years old, if it hasn't gone over the capacity of the cap yet, it likely never will, and if it does, that is because of something else wrong. There are designs where certain tantalum capacitors were known to have regular failures, but that is a design fault causing a capacitor fault, not a capacitor fault. These problems are generally well known, and people will suggest that you replace certain tantalum capacitors due to the known design flaw. There are good reasons to replace aluminum electrolytic capacitors just because they are old, due to their shelf life alone causing failure. Tantalum capacitors do not suffer from age related degradation, and you can replace them if you want, but if the old cap was going to go bad, the new one will too, unless you replace it with a more robust cap.

[@coppertuber]

@@poduck2 Exactly and I replace those tantalums with film caps that have at least twice or more voltage rating than the original tantalums. Sorry I didn't explain my first reply better.

[@johnsweda2999]

Hi, in the film capacitors which is better to use a thin film or thick film in the audio circuit? What should you look out for for best audio quality film capacitors. What about having a front end valve buffer stage? A amp like that probably could do with a valve buffer stage as an upgrade. Are the output transistors MOSFET and if not wouldn't this be better as an upgrade? Nice job.

[@fernarias]

These are good(price is good too) www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/440/e_WIMA_MKS_2-1139871.pdf Too bad Panasonic stopped making theirs. Problem with film is that the case gets very large at higher capacitance. Use them to replace .1uF to 1uF electrolytic.

[@yveslang2101]

Do you take order ?

[@kev-the-windsurfer.]

Nice video Tony, I have done a full restoration on a SX1980, its a mammoth job!! The regulated supply board is always a point of interest.....If you want to see the crossover distortion on an amplifier of this type design, you have to go back up the circuit before the drivers with the scope, otherwise the negative feedback cancels the crossover distortion by the time it reaches the output transistors. Maybe you can do that on the next video.

[@Michael-jc1mf]

Yes, the PS on a 1980 is a problem. Some board can't even be saved. There is a guy on ebay that sells a solution - www.ebay.com/itm/Pioneer-SX-1980-Power-Supply-Replacement-KIT-for-AWR-154-PCB-with-all-new-parts-/302586758612?hash=item46739385d4%3Ag%3AxVEAAOSw0A9aSuo1&nma=true&si=HCs844txhwNRLkTGnpuD2652N9w%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

[@kev-the-windsurfer.]

Yes, I have seen those, I was going to buy one for the 1980 I restored but the owner didn't want to spend that much money, so I rebuilt the existing one, and it turned out to be not bad....wasn't as scorched as some I have seen....That wasn't one of Pioneers finest hours that AWR-154 design.

[@williamstrickland579]

Do you restore Sansui receivers? I have a 9090db

[@dougg1075]

Do you do this for others?

[@dsonyay]

I'm curious as to what was the cost you billed the owner.

[@elmerbrane7880]

I just saw your restoration of your Pioneer SA 9800. I would like to send you my SA 9800 to do for me I just need an address and a price. You do very through work. You impressed me!

[@clevelandfox1081]

Would you be intrested to look at my onkyo integra M504RS?

[@TY-ob7fz]

Hi Tony. Did it have a fly back diode ? Thanks Tony.

[@jimdailey1018]

I owned one of these. It's really heavy.

[@RobertKohut]

Nice!! Thanks!

[@markvincor5]

What kind of money are we talking about for a restoration of a unit in fair condition?

[@Slartibartfas042]

20:27 Debugging an old and possibly faulty piece of hardware is always good thing, isn't it? ;)

[@tesla1961]

very nice.

[@llthpofh]

hmm i have a sansui AU-517 i may want you to re cap later this year

[@fernarias]

I'd watch that video. I did my 717 and I'd like to see what tony would do different.

[@dannyilaya8432]

Xraytonyb , where are you based ?

[@1959Berre]

Talking about a dim bulb. It is getting ever so more difficult to get hold of incandescent lamps of 100W or more. The times they are a changing.

[@xraytonyb]

For some reason, those LED bulbs just don't work as well ;)

[@MrPageplayer]

No doubt! Went to Walmart thinking I would pick a couple up and they didn't have any

[@tonymontana897]

The greenies are responsible for that my friend. I have stocked up on incandescent globes over my N.O.S items. There are still plenty around if you dig a little but not so cheap as they were once.

[@tonymontana897]

I think all the Audio repair/hobbyists have taken them all !! lol !

[@matthewbrown5677]

film caps ....better for audio boards ..is this ok

[@ElectoneGuy]

Bright orange caps = low leakage = Nichicon KL

[@mikara9]

what kind of player is that?

[@jimr3179]

DV20A Digital audio decoder

[@felixlaboy1453]

Great video can I send me my 1250 to go over it.

[@curtismuma1931]

Please do a pionner sx1280 Thank you!