Pioneer House Sound from the 70s

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 $$$$.

Definitely pick up an original in good condition. There are shops on the web that refurbish these vintage units and sell them for reasonable cost.

BTW, I agree, I still love the aesthetics of many of the better receivers of that time. They don't make them like that anymore.

Stanwal: 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 second Stan's comments. Personally, I would avoid most solid state equipment from the 1970's (and 1960's), especially the brands that were made in Japan.

If you really want to come close to duplicating that sound, and if you can't find an original in excellent condition, I would look at inexpensive mass market brands, and focus on models that have extremely low THD (total harmonic distortion) specifications.

Regards,
-- Al