Vintage amp pioneer SA-506 detailed sound review

[@eabr2881]

A fairly accurate review of this little amplifier's sound. I picked up one of these on a rubble pile and restored it. It sold on eBay for £299, so show how these are appreciating. The Pioneers are voiced very similarly, sort of grundgy and 2D in presentation, but power aplenty. Lots available of these, but obviously, it's best not to judge the sound of these if they are still in the original state. Age of components can affect its sound drastically.

[@roguesquatch1]

I picked up a pair of KEF K-160s a few months ago and was blown away. They are the only KEFs I have experienced so far but I am definitely looking for more. I use JBL L-110s as my main and didn't havr the room to keep but I would not be disappointed if I was stuck with instead. They are very nice!

[@rardvanderhoeven699]

Enjoyed your review! I do have the SA706 myself. Can relate to how you describe the sound. Would love to see you having more subscribers.

[@chandlermohamed2392]

dont know if anyone cares but if you guys are bored like me atm then you can watch pretty much all the new series on instaflixxer. Have been streaming with my brother for the last few months xD

[@aviiker1351]

@Chandler Mohamed yea, I've been watching on InstaFlixxer for since december myself :D

[@aussierob7177]

One of the best vintage Amplifiers i have ever heard is the Pioneer SM 83 stereo tube integrated amplifier..

[@Zockopa]

The bigger amps of this series - which was the entry to middle class family at the time - sound better than this one. The best beeing SA-706. However,they all need to be renovated to show their true colours. Otherwise even different pieces of the same model can sound very different thanks to individual aging.

[@robertking1032]

Then you advising to tune up the components with something better or replace them with genuine one?

[@giuseppemaggio5894]

I have a Pioneer SA708 and it sounds surprisingly good. It's kinda more oriented on treble than bass though

[@robertjones8856]

Such a great channel and likeable chap. Iv learned a ton from him, and enjoyed it along the way. Thankyou so much. (Rob).

[@gregoryirwin263]

I found one of these walking home from school in about 1993 I've used it ever since it's a reliable amp nothing special but your right it does have a sound

[@steverogers6340]

I've got a vintage Sony TA-F5A so I found that an interesting review, I bought mine purely on looks and budget, I wanted analogue VU meters to go in my "office" as a second system. My main is a modern Marantz PM6005. I think the Sony is quite lean and not particularly warm compared to the Marantz. With the Sony the bass lines can get lost in the sound if the music gets busy whereas the modern Marantz the bass never gets lost, always very easy to follow. But for a 40 year old amp the Sony is a cracking unit, I don't think I could get a new modern amp for what I paid (sub £150) that could match it on sound AND looks.

[@markwarne893]

Hi, Thanks for the info in regads to Speaker choice from an earlie post. I now have the Kef Concertos being picked up this Friday. :-) Thanks again for your help. It would be good if you have a short video in regard to Speaker cables that are worth looking at.

[@stereoreviewx]

play them and then take a crosshead screwdriver to the bass and midrange drivers and tighten them up . they are notoriously loose over time .v bad the tweeter will be wood screws so dont overtighten .

[@pekkatervala8476]

That's cool, I have still Pioneer SA-508 2x25W, year 1979/80. These days it's serving as phone preamp for Denon AVR, but it was my main stereo amp till 2020. I've never missed more headroom with average sensitivity (88 dB/1W/1m) floor standing speakers.

[@zagyu]

want to ask sir....what speaker is good for this amp... is new passive speaker / bookshelf speaker good? i also have the same amp and want to combine it with good speakers

[@pekkatervala8476]

@@zagyu I've been happy with all pairs I've used. Klipsch would be loud, if that's to your taste. SA-508 drives my big average sensitivity speakers beautifully, meters show hardly ever more than 2-3W/ch. It also accepts 4 ohm speakers. I'd go for new bookshelf speakers, I've used it with passive 6'5" Spirit (by Soundcraft) Absolute Audio nearfield monitors, which have more depth than very similar looking old B&W 110i speakers. Spirit has a solid bass response, -3 dB @ 45 Hz. Check new Triangle, Qacoustics, Monitor Audio, Elac, Kef, B&W... So many good bookshelf speakers available these days that don't cost an arm and a leg. A heavy pair of speaker stands would be ideal.

[@ramblinginmeath4950]

I am a Sugden A21 user -- but I am keen to build up a vintage hi-fi kit .. I have been into HiFi since the 1970s actually -- I was looking at a Sansui AU-4400 and also this Pioneer SA-506 - I think the AU-4400 has the edge over the Pioneer -- but I have not been able to compare either -- speakers next on list ...

[@lewisgaskin7751]

Thanks for the video! I am looking to purchase my first vintage amp and am looking at the Pioneer SA 506 in New Zealand ($600). I’m also looking at a AKAI AM2350 ($440) would love to hear which you would pick? Cheers!

[@boris2342]

A great way to test the quality of Analog tuners is to set the dial to 88.0 and give the tuning knob a Mighty twist - good tuners will slide all the way to 108.9 Great tuners will bounce the needle back - The Audio Know it All...

[@peterderidder9922]

And what about the SA-710 bleu line series, I have found 3 of them and made a kind of chain every time from tape out to tape in, so the signal goos further but it end on 2. Normaly I can go up to 6 or seven amps conected with eachotter. With the SA-710 I can get only 2 give the signal . BTW like youre comments, thans to share youre knowledge with us!!!!!!

[@albertitoJr93]

Great channel! Pioneer SA 606 vs Technics SU 7700 vs Marantz 2238b. You, which prefer?

[@marco76330]

Is the sound on those speakers due to the the high damping factor of that amp?

[@gordthor5351]

Harmon Kardon was one of the first "Pioneers" to make the move from mono to stereo.

[@stereoreviewx]

Pun excused 😀

[@michaelhayes6118]

I also have one of these amps and I think it is a thing of beauty. I dig the minimalistic face plate and orange on black VU meters. I wish I could love this amp, but alas, the sound is as you have described. In fact, I find the mid range a bit raspy too. Totally unrefined. Too much of one thing and too little of another. The sound is completely forgettable. Still, it stays in my collection just for the looks :)

[@stereoreviewx]

Yes it’s interesting Michael how revered pioneer seem to be I think it’s mostly the looks of their receivers Thanks for the feedback cheers K

[@nudawas]

The only Pioneer i own is A 400 . Sound is good especially in mids . Bass is big but well controlled. It's not an hi end but I really like it . Still I think my Kwnwood KA 4002 sounds better .

[@THENEWPROJECT1973]

I’ve just picked one of these pioneer SA-506 amps up that has been serviced and was wondering which speakers would be well suited to it, has I’m building up a vintage system for my small spare room, running a Duel 505 serviced turntable also, but not to sure which speaker would sound ok in a fairly small area indecently I’m fairly new to this

[@angelawilliamson5236]

Mine has just come back from being serviced. Looking for speakers for a, medium/large room. Any suggestions?

[@eduarte2151]

Love your channel and all The talk about The vintage sound. I have a question: I have an old pioneer sa-506 I inherited from my grandpa and I am currently playing it through two sony ss ceh10 speakers. Not a thought out choice, to be honest. I just had Them somewhere. I just want to know how bad a combination it is, and to what extent am I failing to get the proper vintage sound the amp should deliver. Are those kef speakers the only right choice?

[@stereoreviewx]

Oh well I’m not familiar with the Sony speakers the pioneer is pretty much the vintage sound And there are lots of vintage because you can try Generally speaking the Japanese Sony pioneer Sansui even didn’t make good speakers

[@afistfulofpimples1745]

I noticed you don't mention about the sweetness of the sound, as in slew rate, decay etc which determines the overall enjoyability of the toe tapping nature of music. Also, it is no real use in talking about a typical sound of a brand overall, because there can be hidden gem models within a brand, particularly some of the lower wattage units, that are extremely sweet and musical regardless of detail retrieval. So what I was hoping is a run down of a difference of sound between a particular model in amongst a model series that may stand out, if you know what I mean.

[@stereoreviewx]

generally i agree with you mysansui 331 sounds a bit better than the 661 similar sound though

[@DiegoSevillaRuiz]

I coincidentally also have a 506 and I find exactly what you say about it. It has a nice sound, detail, and somehow enhanced bass, *but* as you say, bass is lazy, in the sense that the punch gets like hanging afterwards instead of finishing... It may have to do with damping factor, although I don't know, and I've found it does not apply very much to different amplifiers I've heard. For example, bass is tighter in Marantz amps (I have the 1040M), but I don't recall they have a higher damping factor than this Pioneer. I find the SX similarly sounding. I like it, definitely, but as you say, it may go, because I really like more the Marantz and Sansui sound. Also Akai.

[@garysmith1532]

I think the best looking system is the Technics 'Black' from the mid to late eighties, what's you view on these

[@alexflorea2431]

I'm interested in that answer too. And I'm interested on knowing Kelvin's answer on their sound - especially the PXS CAP series

[@dikludas]

Sir, is pioneer SA 705 mark 2 good .

[@MatijaTurk4]

I love mine Pioneer SA-7500

[@robertking1032]

Basically SA-506, SA-606 and SA-706 are the same family amp with same sound structure but just with different watts output, right?

[@stereoreviewx]

Well I don’t know in detail but yes I would guess you’re right they would sound similar

[@robertking1032]

@@stereoreviewx ok, because I have SA-606 but some one claim 706 is better, maybe because more power run better speakers..

[@markthomas1225]

I had an SA-706. It was truly awful. I couldn’t understand how it was possible to make an amplifier that measured okay but sounded this bad.

[@cycl0nnus]

u should play the amps so we can hear them

[@stereoreviewx]

I might try that but I have to really mike it well or there’s no point

[@astolatpere11]

@@stereoreviewx I respect the way you compare equipment by listening and relating your impressions on real everyday music. Listening through YTs setup is useless, and who needs the copyright grief.

[@SR.SMIHTH]

What do you think of a jvc AX-1?

[@stereoreviewx]

I’ll be frank with you the first time I bought for serious money as a teenager the JAS 11 disappointed me so much I’ve kind of had it in for JVC ever since if you’re interested the amp I had at the time was the Sansui au 101 Which was just superior you hit a sore point there🤨

[@flrvyzor]

Thank you !!

[@gordthor5351]

"Port allow you to get more (muddy) bass".

[@knutarneaakra6013]

Vu meters sign of the 1970s.