My stereo receiver is a little too bright. Can a cable help me out?


I just had my vintage Pioneer SX-1050 refurbished.  I had a severe case of sticker shock when presented with the bill - oops!!  Which unfortunately pretty much forces me to use it. 

I will say It is sounding very powerful which is no big surprise because there is a lot of horsepower under the hood.  But the audio impression is that it’s also a little too bright.  The only way I know to tame brightness is with the right interconnects.  But I’m not experienced in that area.  Recommendations would be most welcome.


It’s probably important to know how I am using  the Pioneer SX-1050.  It is responsible for all audio in my TV system.  My choice of music is almost exclusively opera and classical.  

 I send the HDMI signal from my four sources ( TV-DVR, OPPO DVD, ROKU streamer and Pioneer Elite Laser Disc Player ) to my AVR, an ARCAM SR-250, and I send the respective analog audio signals to the Pioneer.  I am into opera and classical music and I didn’t think my ARCAM AVR sounded as good as I wanted it to, even though it’s ideally  suited to my needs, a two-channel product touted for its exceptional audio.  The audio is good but definitely not great.  Prior to deciding to refurbish it I had paired the Pioneer with a Musical Fidelity A3cr Preamp, using the Pioneer just as an amplifier, and I was getting very good audio that way.  But one of the goals of the refurbishment project was to feature the Pioneer and eliminate the musical influence of the Musical Fidelity preamp.   And now, after spending so much,  I wanted to hear how my now very expensive Pioneer sounded, so I pulled the Musical Fidelity Pre and attached my sources directly to the Pioneer.  Currently all the interconnects are Blue Jeans Cable.  Obviously I can’t spend huge amounts replacing cables for all four sources, so the DVD is priority.
128x128echolane
My experience with having older amps refurbished, reconditioned is that new electrolytic capacitors are installed in all stages. The designer originally used different types of caps to help voice the amp. So it won't sound the same as vintage, OTOH, there are new components in your amp which bring it up to date and will outperform modern receivers and AVRs.

I agree to let it break in for 100 to 200 hours. I also agree with others who said to use the tone controls. Your Pioneer has a good range of EQ to experiment with.

I like teoaudio's comments, if properly restored you'll have a well built component that competes with today's gear. And will last for 20 more years.

Because they replaced items in the 'refurbishment,' keep it running for 200-300 hours.

This may help.
Use the treble control, don't be suckered into hundreds of dollars of cables for a Pioneer receiver.  And frankly, the 300 hours of burn in time is just silly.
I would use the controls yhats what they are there for  . You arent going to miss anything . Cables will make zero difference. Change your speakers if you have to. 
Millercarbon is spot on. I know because I owned 2 SX1280 receivers back in the day. My first upgrade was to purchase an Onyko preamp in maybe 1982. I used the amp in the Pioneer with the new preamp. I was
astonished at the difference. The preamp section in your unit can't be better than the 1280. I see these old receivers selling for top dollar on eBay. Bite the bullet and sell it. Consider buying a receiver like the Anthem MRX710. It's several generations old now so the price slips a bit with each new release. Sonically, it will blow you away! It's built like a tank and could anchor your main system. Good luck! Joe