Pioneer House Sound from the 70s

This was the period of the great distortion race, when everyone wanted to add another zero to their distortion figures using massive amounts of feedback. Measured great , sound? not so much. I would think that any of the Musical Fidelity integrated amps would have all of the virtues of the Pioneer sound and none of the drawbacks. I had several pieces of Pioneer in those days, 1280 receiver, 9500 amp and others.

You can't get there from here.

Of the '70s Pioneer receivers the SX-1010 was my favorite and matched with a pair of Pioneer's top of the line speakers like CS-99s the sound is quite remarkable.

I can't think of anything made today that would duplicate that sound.

Hey Rrog,

I have an old Pioneer SX-939 powering a pair of VMPS RM2 speakers right now and I find the sound unexpectedly good. The bass is tight and deep, dynamics are surprisingly potent and the sound is detailed and fast yet easy on the ears.

Truth be told, I tried using the Pioneer's preamp outputs feeding a more powerful well-respected modern power amp. I didn't like the result and went back to using the Pioneer in stock form. That's how good the internal amp is...

Apples/oranges.

May I ask what the special appeal of the "Pioneer sound" in the 70's is?

I sold Pioneer and other brands back then. The Pioneers were the Toyota's or Honda's of the time. Solid performers but nothing special Toyota's and Honda's have come a long way. So has audio.

How about Pioneer Elite for a modern equivalent maybe?

BTW I love my Pioneer Plasma TV!

i've also started dabbling in the late 70s pioneer stuff recently, and, to mapman's question, i confess that much of the appeal is aesthetic--the silver faced stuff looks cool and was built like a tank (esp. in contrast to the plastic-y gear that followed). compared to the sound of modern gear, the pioneer amps may lack refinement and ultimate clarity, but i think they still sound good--perhaps because they were designed before the digital area, they have a very natural "analog" sound and real energy, and they're a good match for heavy rock and hard bop. ergo, i agree with phasecorrect--if you like the 70s pioneer sound, i'd stick with the real thing, rather than a modern equivalent. i frequent see immaculate-looking units for not much $$$$.