PinoyDVD: The Pinoy Digital Video & Devices Community
Home Theater => Audio => Amplifier => Topic started by: RMN on Dec 05, 2002 at 03:30 PM
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What do you guys think of Pioneer integrated amps? Are they any good?
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For 2-channel stereo, I prefer British Integrated Amps over Japanese brands.
There was however a particular Pioneed Integrated Amp that had good reviews from British Audio magazines such as What Hi-Fi. This was the Pioneer A400. If I'm not mistaken, this particular Pioneer was designed in UK, thus UK type of sound. It came out during the early 90s. I have not really listened to this particular model, but is worth checking out in the used market.
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For 2-channel stereo, I prefer British Integrated Amps over Japanese brands.
I'll generalize "British" to European. Italian Audio Analogue and Unico, French YBA/Audio Refinement, (Dutch nga ba?) Electrocompaniet, Swiss Nagra, are likely to beat the living daylight out of the best the Denons, Onkyos, Yamahas, and Pioneers of the world.
Though at least one terrific Japanese electronics maker come to mind as something I'd rather own than anything else: Kondo's stuff, previously the Japanese partner of Audio Note.
There was however a particular Pioneed Integrated Amp that had good reviews from British Audio magazines such as What Hi-Fi. This was the Pioneer A400. If I'm not mistaken, this particular Pioneer was designed in UK, thus UK type of sound. It came out during the early 90s. I have not really listened to this particular model, but is worth checking out in the used market.
I heard the A400x. Yes, it's much warmer and fuller than typicalPioneer stuff but it still falls short of the NAD/Rotel/Creek house sound.
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I own a pioneer integrated amp model A700R. I'm selling it because I want to upgrade into HT.
It's for grabs. Best offer. Seldom used and bought it last 1998 for 20,000.
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I think the great Pioneer stereo amp you're talking about is the A-300R not the A400. I saw the A400 during the last Citibank installment promotion at megamall. Thought it was the great amp too. Luckily I got over to Pac Internet on the same floor to look at audioreview.com before I decided to buy it.
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Hi RMN, you can help us help you more if you tell us first why you are asking about the Pioneer integrated amp (and which model ?). Are you in the market for an integrated amp? What is your budget (max.). What speakers (brand/model) will you use your amp to drive it with? Lastly, what type of songs do you play in your system?
Many of us here can give you good advice once we get your answer.
Cheers!
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I'm not really in the market for a Pioneer amp. I was just curious if it was any good since it seems to have been "overtaken" by other brands (sort of like Akai and Sansui, the once popular Japanese brands?) Thanks just the same.
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Yes you're right. Pioneer has been overtaken aeons ago by many integrated amps, notably British designs (subcontracted in an Asian manufacturing sites). Affordable brands like Rotel (like the 931Mk.2) or NAD have propelled their products into much higher levels that they have become utterly unreachable by the Pioneer lines (and the others you mentioned). Pioneer, Aiwa, Sansui, etc. were targetting the "masa" market, notably a portion of the OCW (like seaman). Majority of this market still think that Bose is Da King though.
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He! He! He! ;D
Ang sakit mo naman magsalita Audio_Tyro
;D ;D ;D
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He! He! He! ;D
Ang sakit mo naman magsalita Audio_Tyro
;D ;D ;D
Ay, sorry Pare. Hindi naman. Sobrang honest lang kasi no? hehehe. Ika nga, no holds barred. Di bale na, naka Dynaco tube amp ka naman eh, at turntable pa! so you're in a higher league, quite unreachable by me! ;)
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;D
Ikaw ang unreachable!
May Sub ka, REL pa! :)
Ako walang sub. :-[
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For 2-channel stereo, I prefer British Integrated Amps over Japanese brands.
There was however a particular Pioneed Integrated Amp that had good reviews from British Audio magazines such as What Hi-Fi. This was the Pioneer A400.
Pare, are you sure it's not the AX400 ? Rico of Upscale Audio Makati, says this was his favorite budget amp when I had a conversation with him many many years ago (I think 1994). He even used it to drive some Martin Logans electrostatic speakers.
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;D
Ikaw ang unreachable!
May Sub ka, REL pa! :)
Ako walang sub. :-[
Ha'la naman! Meron ka namang mga plaka ng gusto mong mga music, na pinapatugtug mo sa napakamahal mong Clearaudio turntable, with equally expensive Tone Arm and cartridge!!! Ako kahit magtumbling pa ako ng ilang beses, wala na sa plaka ang mga gusto kong mga tugtug kaya tiyaga na lang ako sa CD (forever!).
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I'm not really sure if its an AX400 or A400. Basta, it was the one with a "minimalistic" look. Non of those Japanese types wherein the faceplate is full of push buttons, knobs and other useless sound degrading stuff.
This particular Pioneer only had 2 large knobs; 1 for the volume and 1 for the selector. If I'm not mistaken, wala nga atang bass and treble controls. Typical British stuff.
Yup, Upscale did sell this particular Pioneer amp in the mid-90s.
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I'm not really sure if its an AX400 or A400. Basta, it was the one with a "minimalistic" look. Non of those Japanese types wherein the faceplate is full of push buttons, knobs and other useless sound degrading stuff.
This particular Pioneer only had 2 large knobs; 1 for the volume and 1 for the selector. If I'm not mistaken, wala nga atang bass and treble controls. Typical British stuff.
Yup, Upscale did sell this particular Pioneer amp in the mid-90s.
Yup AX400 na nga yon. Hindi na available itong model na to ngayon, but I've been told this was a good model. For now, marami na'ng better options available (Rotel, NAD, Arcam, etc).
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it's the pioneer a-400x guys; a solid-state amp recommended in lieu of tubes in it's time. but now rotels (esp. the ra-02) will trample on it.
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I'm selling a Pioneer A-405 integrated amp. if interested, please send PM.
the A-405 is an int-amp designed and made in Japan unlike the award winning A-400 which was designed in the UK and once held the coveted "amplifier of the year" award during the early 1990s.
the difference between the two is that the A-400 was a purist design amp while the A-405 had tone controls but can be bypassed by pressing the Direct Mode button.
:-*
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Does this integrated amp have pre-outs? Thanks.
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Does this integrated amp have pre-outs? Thanks.
that's my main complaint on this amp.... it doesn't have pre-outs.
:-*
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Ah ok, i'd feel the same.
It's really seems illogical for manufacturers to exclude this feature from their low power amps and put it in their more powerful mid and flagship units. As if the need to upgrade to more power is more compelling with flagship models than with entry level ones. By doing so, they've truly taken out any future upgrade path for consumers to have more power without disposing off their entry level units.
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hey bros, what do u actually mean when u say "OVERTAKEN by some other brands?"
If Pioneer amps manufactured during the 80s are good sounding, at hindi na ngayon, how did this happen in the first place? nagbawas ba sila ng piyesa para makatipid, and so pumangit at naging very bright ang tunog? ;D
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bro jerix,
i think when people say overtaken by other brands, mas na pushed marketing wise ung other brands dito, specially in this forum.. if you will check foreign sites, you will find that pioneer models fare very very well
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i think like other jap brands, pioneer continued exporting mass-produced products but kept the high-quality ones in the domestic market (in japan)... same with sansui who manufactures cheap low-quality products, but were once a respected high-end brand... i read that during the 80's the rapid appreciation of the yen vs the dollar made it extremely costly to rely on exports that's why we see only their worst and never see their best.
(http://www.niji.or.jp/home/k-nisi/a-09.jpg)
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The Pioneer A-405 integrated amp is not that bad at all. it sounds very much like the Rotel RA-02 that i thought was an upgrade. both are forward sounding... It was still an upgrade indeed coz i now have the luxury of a pair of pre-outs and a remote not found in the A-405.
might as well add that the A-405's power transistors are the more superior Japanese 2SA1302 and has a pair of a bigger and heftier bypass caps at the output stage compared to Rotel ra-02's Rubycon pair... (all the while i thought the rotels use Black Gates but I was wrong)
perhaps the rotels can only brag of with their custom-made torroidal trannys...
;D :P
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i think like other jap brands, pioneer continued exporting mass-produced products but kept the high-quality ones in the domestic market (in japan)... same with sansui who manufactures cheap low-quality products, but were once a respected high-end brand... i read that during the 80's the rapid appreciation of the yen vs the dollar made it extremely costly to rely on exports that's why we see only their worst and never saw their best.
typically japanese philosophy.... they retain the best for their own use and consumption and export the experimentally cheap and mass-produced products for the international market.
;D ;D
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typically japanese philosophy.... they retain the best for their own use and consumption and export the experimentally cheap and mass-produced products for the international market.
;D ;D
I'd second that. Just like the Yamaha flagships. Ang AX1, AZ1, are both made in Japan, but the rest, made in Malaysia. Wawa naman tayo. :(
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haha! mas maganda kung ganun ang bumili ng 2nd hand na unit na locally released lang sa japan. ;D
Bro Narayan, i think i have the same impression with you, sa ibang forum at audio review sites OK naman ang pioneer pero dito sa Pinoy, medyo inferior ang dating ng Pioneer. di kaya mag kakaiba ang quality ng nire-release nilang units for ASIA and the US or Europe? or medyo superior lang ang pandinig ng mga pinoy when it comes to sound quality-- ;D
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pioneer carries a product line that's higher than "Elite", it's called "Exclusive"... it's their cost-no-object product line.
while Elite may be the same level as the Integra line of Onkyo, Exclusive competes at the level of Accuphase and Esoteric (of Teac)... the prices are astronomical... aren't you glad they're not being sold here? hehehe
C7A stereo preamp - P595,000 (1.2 million yen)
(http://www.pioneer.co.jp/exclusive/images/C7a.gif)
M8 stereo power amp - P420,000 (850,000 yen)
(http://www.pioneer.co.jp/exclusive/images/M8.gif)
TAD M-1 speaker - P1,488,000 (3 million yen)
(http://www.pioneer.co.jp/catalog/ht/img/tad-m1.gif)
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Wow, nice gears. Are these marketed exclusively for the Japanese domestic market only? Not that I'd be interested if they were made available outside. For their prices, I think there are other brands with a more solid claim and familiar hold on the esoteric audiophile boutique market. Don't you think so? Or I just never heard of them?
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akyat cool!....sana merong maligaw sa pier nyan? ;D
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akyat cool!....sana merong maligaw sa pier nyan? ;D
I'd be among the first in tow if any of them sells for just 10T. ;D
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i think Pioneer Exclusive is a japan-only brand... its been around for a while since i see in yahoo auctions (jp) some old/used gear circa 70's and 80's selling for incredible prices similar to those posted above.
for instance this Exclusive M4 is on auction with starting bid at P82,000 (168,000 yen).
its surprising that somebody would expect people to bid at such prices, but even more shocking is that there are actually bids for such items, esp. in the Accuphase section.
(http://img103.ac.yahoo.co.jp/users/5/7/5/0/apkame2-imgbatch_1082435629/600x450-2004041500471.jpg)
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IMO ...I dont think its an "exclusive" issue...but a price issue....its not practical to release a super japanese amp in the US or Europe when there are other competing brands like Krell etc...
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Just wondering if anyone knows about this amp I just got. It's a Pioneer A201...what are the specs of this one? La din kasi kahit isang review sa internet. Thanks!
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dunno why my post didn't make it so am reposting from within.
need your opinions regarding pioneer int. amps...do they suck that bad? meron kasi ako pioneer a-201 w/ nad c542cdp and biwired diamond 9.1s and for me they sound pretty good. i tried auditioning the nad320bee w/ c542cdp and non-biwired monitor audio b2s and they sound too warm for me. parang mas balanced setup ko e or is that bec. i'm probably still a newbie? or does biwiring mask the so-called weakness of the pioneer amp? sa mga kilala kong mga audio experts di maganda impression nila sa pioneer int. amps. what do u guys think?
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I am using PIONEER products and m satisfied with it -- ;D judgment ultimately boils down to your overall satisfaction bro in terms of sound quality, features and price -- ;)
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a pioneer amp was used by hifi choice in its ma b2 review. i guess that says a lot.
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dunno why my post didn't make it so am reposting from within.
need your opinions regarding pioneer int. amps...do they suck that bad? meron kasi ako pioneer a-201 w/ nad c542cdp and biwired diamond 9.1s and for me they sound pretty good. i tried auditioning the nad320bee w/ c542cdp and non-biwired monitor audio b2s and they sound too warm for me. parang mas balanced setup ko e or is that bec. i'm probably still a newbie? or does biwiring mask the so-called weakness of the pioneer amp? sa mga kilala kong mga audio experts di maganda impression nila sa pioneer int. amps. what do u guys think?
If you listen to audio experts and seasoned audiophiles, no commercial brand of integrateds and recievers will ever be to their liking. Their contempt is not just limited to Pioneer, but to many others so called mid-fi brands, often Japanese. They have their reasons, often subjective. Most of the time, their wallets are just too bulging to bother with commerical brands. ;D
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Maybe it depends on what model but if you are happy with it then that will save you a lot. At the restaurant where the Grand eb was held, Pioneer integrated was being used with Bose speakers and the owner was telling me that he is not satisfied with the sound. Customers are complaining that the sound was too noisy even at moderate volume. You cant understand anything that is coming out from the speakers, only tssst and boom. I told Epoy of Architectural Audio about his problem and he recommended to try a different amp before changing the speakers. So he demoed HK int amps and instanly you could already hear the difference. The music became complete even their broadcast ads became clearer. Imagine if it was not a Bose. just my 1 cent advise
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thank u sirs for your valued opinions.
sir jerix glad to know i'm not alone...just a tad bright pero malinis naman para sakin...even when compared to a new hk230a/v receiver.
sir bumblebee yun pala gamit sa review? hmmm...ok a.
sir av_phile1 you're right, the expert i know said Japanese int. amps are generally poor sounding compared to their British counterparts. wish i got a bulging wallet so i can really hear what the hoopla is all about.
sir levi thanks for integrating my post hehe...yeah looks like i'm one of the lucky ones who don't have golden ears. :D what source was he using? i got my amp packaged with bose acoustimass(baka same owner haha) and when paired with my c542 ok naman tunog for me...surround sound pero imho malayo sa 9.1s for clarity and soundstage.(maybe due to design, biwiring or good interconnects?)
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Just wondering if anyone knows about this amp I just got. It's a Pioneer A201...what are the specs of this one? La din kasi kahit isang review sa internet. Thanks!
Hi Taggart,
I got a Pioneer 229D, I think an earlier model than an A201. I prefer my Pioneer over my Rotel RB03 due to a better midrange.
Do you have the ADAPT2 switch which is intended for the graphic equalizer, etc. Plug a Tono preamp in there , the improvement in sound is ten-fold.
I am sad that people who have not heard the equipment will give their opinion based on hearsay.
I have this Pioneer amp for more than 10 years now and I know what I am talking about. I am using this amp now and the Rotel is now in storage.
Louie
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Hi Taggart,
I got a Pioneer 229D, I think an earlier model than an A201. I prefer my Pioneer over my Rotel RB03 due to a better midrange.
Do you have the ADAPT2 switch which is intended for the graphic equalizer, etc. Plug a Tono preamp in there , the improvement in sound is ten-fold.
I am sad that people who have not heard the equipment will give their opinion based on hearsay.
I have this Pioneer amp for more than 10 years now and I know what I am talking about. I am using this amp now and the Rotel is now in storage.
Louie
sir louie...wow i never thought there would be another great pioneer amp besides the a400(according to review). to think that you'd prefer it to a rotel speaks a lot on the quality of that amp. i don't think my amp has that switch...sayang. still satisfied with my amp so long as di ko linakasan...over 10 o'clock and the amp starts sounding strained...good thing i got a small room. thanks for the feedback sir.
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for the price that I paid for my A404 integrated im quite satisfied with its performance and sound. the sound is not exceptional but it isnt mediocre either. not much in terms of power reserves so it should be mated to speakers that are fairly easy to drive. if you operate it within its limits it should perform well.
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for the price that I paid for my A404 integrated im quite satisfied with its performance and sound. the sound is not exceptional but it isnt mediocre either. not much in terms of power reserves so it should be mated to speakers that are fairly easy to drive. if you operate it within its limits it should perform well.
sir i think i saw that amp being sold at glorietta but that was last year. yun ba may mosfet? nice amp. yeah my diamond 9.1s aren't easy to drive(86db) pero at least kaya ng 35-40w pioneer amp ko at normal listening levels. i might upgrade to higher watts amp when i get tired of this setup pero for now ok pa hehe. i agree with the sound...it might not sound as dynamic as the other known brands pero it sounds pretty well-balanced to me.(walang agaw eksena)
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Well, i got pioneer a-777 integrated amplifier(100 RMS watts per channel). Bought it 1992 when i'm working in kingdom of saudi arabia. What can i say, until now its been working properly. It has a great sound... true rated 100 watts RMS...
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nice amp sir. 100w/ch rms is a lot of power. :o maybe the new(2000 and up?) pioneer amps don't sound as good as the old ones? btw found out that my amp sounds really great with big sony 3-way speakers(1990s). also tried some d-i-y cleaning and resoldering which made it louder and cleaner sounding. :) before cleaning it, balance was a little off and you can hear some distortion at high frequencies. not anymore. :D
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I was looking for something and while I'm sorting out my stuff I stumbled on this Pioneer power amp. Bought it in 1993 I think.
(http://www.filehigh.com/serve/13381/211065.jpg)
After being in storage since 1998 I decided to open it up and was prepared to find things others may find disturbing...
(http://www.filehigh.com/serve/13381/211066.jpg)
(http://www.filehigh.com/serve/13381/211067.jpg)
And so I decided to bring out the usual tools and cleaning chemicals we all love to use, looks like my air compressor and vacuum cleaner is going to have a hard day today...
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After spending hours blowing air and liquid into the amp it seems the procedure is doing great. I can finally read the part values, those are really thick layers of dust that was in there.
Finally...
(http://www.filehigh.com/serve/13381/211068.jpg)
(http://www.filehigh.com/serve/13381/211069.jpg)
disassembled the Toshiba output devices and applied a thin coat of Arctic Silver used in pc processors...
(http://www.filehigh.com/serve/13381/211070.jpg)
The elements did take its toll on the front panel, labels are already incomplete, probably due to the weather and years in storage.
(http://www.filehigh.com/serve/13381/211071.jpg)
And after disassembling the controls for cleaning I have finally finished cleaning and cheking her up.
(http://www.filehigh.com/serve/13381/211072.jpg)
After checking and reforming the caps, cleaing the controls (good thing it has digital controls for switching sources), and retesting the bias and psu she is working again.
Alas, I now have an amp I can use for speaker break-in purpose, testing preamp, and everyday background music. ;D ;D ;D
Cheers
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I have a PIONEER A-777 integrated amplifier (130 watts RMS per Channel @ 8 ohms). was bought December 1992 in Riyadh KSA. It was Made in Japan. Until now its is working, sounds perfectly, i dont have any problem with this. It was paired with BOSE 601 Series III Floorstanding Speaker.
I think the more important thing is, before purchasing any thing like an amplifier ,you have to listen to it. Whatever brands it is..... as long as it sounds good to you..
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Been listening to the A-403 since yesterday and it's been doing well as is. It's a good thing I found it for I have been thinking of building another ss amp which I'll use for burning-in a future speaker plan. It's now paired to a Wharf 9.1 doing it's workout.
Of all the Pioneer gears I bought, only this A-403 amp, a GR-777 EQ, and SE-M250 headphones survived the years of use/storage cycle. The tape decks, AM/FM tuner, cd jukebox, and a PD-204 cdp have been recycled back to Mother Earth.
Cheers
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hehehe galing talaga ni master jojo....
We previously had a Pioneer Amp in the late 70's (usong uso non ang components eh)...I already forgotten the model pero simple lang sya, me dalawang knob na malaki (one for volume and the other for selecting tape/phono/tuner/aux) at power button tapos me led lights lang for identifying whether its on or off.....tapos ang kapal at ang bigat nya.....
it sounded really good for me during the early 80's and at that time it is paired with a Pioneer turntable (this I like), a single tape deck (di pa masyadong uso non ang double tape deck) a Pioneer dual 7band graphic equalizer for left and right channel, a Pioneer AM/FM tuner and a HUMONGOUS 5-way almost cabinet size Pioneer speakers that rocks our house.....pati kapitbahay namin eh nakikipakinig na lang sa amin....hehehehe
I miss those gears......every component died by themselves due to wear and tear or by course of nature disturbance..... the Integ. Amp accompany us until 92 or 93 at that time with only a sony cdp as its mate......
Thats one piece of Amp that I wont forget....very powerful for me and everybody who hears it swears that it is a good sounding Amp....and at that time I dont know what is a good and a bad sounding Amp...until in the late 90's when the bug hits me again and I want to have another audio gears again...my first course of action is to find a Pioneer Amp again trying to re-kindled my affair with the ol' Pioneer gears....but I was dissapointed...I've auditioned Pioneer Amps here and there new and old and I cannot get the sound that I've been once familiar with.... I've stumbled to one Amp that sounds very good but it was an Elite model and at that time I need to rob a bank to buy this kind of Amp. And at that time there are so many new things that catch my attentions....AVR's which is quite complicated for me at first....What the hell are they thinking, making the simple audio setup so complicated, why so many DSP's, why cant it be a bass and treble only?? :D
After auditioning some Pioneers, Sansui's (which faded in the scene completely) and Marantz, only the Marantz hold its foothold on the old known brand...and I moved on.....opening myself on a vast and complicated A/V world....hehehehe ;D ;D
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my Pioneer A-405 looks exactly like your A-403 ???
Been listening to the A-403 since yesterday and it's been doing well as is. It's a good thing I found it for I have been thinking of building another ss amp which I'll use for burning-in a future speaker plan. It's now paired to a Wharf 9.1 doing it's workout.
Of all the Pioneer gears I bought, only this A-403 amp, a GR-777 EQ, and SE-M250 headphones survived the years of use/storage cycle. The tape decks, AM/FM tuner, cd jukebox, and a PD-204 cdp have been recycled back to Mother Earth.
Cheers
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jojo,
good job! the last pioneer integrated amp i owned was an SA-8800 which i lost when robbers broke into my shop and carted away two of my Leach Super Amps, a sansui cassette deck, an AKAI open reel deck. that was in 1992..... :'( :'( :'(
pioneers are sturdy amps, more durable than sansui imho.....
@all,
in case you're wondering what the 560watts printed at the back means, it is the combination of loads that the power cord of the amp can support. as you know there are power outlets at the back which you can plug in your other appliances...so to be safe try not to exceed that figure, or else replace the dinky power cord of the amp to higher gauged wire...
that figure btw has nothing to do with the power output capability of such amps....
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master 2ny, san na yung pics ng GC at creator nyan? ;D
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master 2ny, san na yung pics ng GC at creator nyan? ;D
oy, OT na tayo...baka nag-iisip pa ng sasabihin, i will ask for his permission though and i will start it for him...
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hehehe galing talaga ni master jojo....
We previously had a Pioneer Amp in the late 70's (usong uso non ang components eh)...I already forgotten the model pero simple lang sya, me dalawang knob na malaki (one for volume and the other for selecting tape/phono/tuner/aux) at power button tapos me led lights lang for identifying whether its on or off.....tapos ang kapal at ang bigat nya.....
it sounded really good for me during the early 80's and at that time it is paired with a Pioneer turntable (this I like), a single tape deck (di pa masyadong uso non ang double tape deck) a Pioneer dual 7band graphic equalizer for left and right channel, a Pioneer AM/FM tuner and a HUMONGOUS 5-way almost cabinet size Pioneer speakers that rocks our house.....pati kapitbahay namin eh nakikipakinig na lang sa amin....hehehehe
I miss those gears......every component died by themselves due to wear and tear or by course of nature disturbance..... the Integ. Amp accompany us until 92 or 93 at that time with only a sony cdp as its mate......
Thats one piece of Amp that I wont forget....very powerful for me and everybody who hears it swears that it is a good sounding Amp....and at that time I dont know what is a good and a bad sounding Amp...until in the late 90's when the bug hits me again and I want to have another audio gears again...my first course of action is to find a Pioneer Amp again trying to re-kindled my affair with the ol' Pioneer gears....but I was dissapointed...I've auditioned Pioneer Amps here and there new and old and I cannot get the sound that I've been once familiar with.... I've stumbled to one Amp that sounds very good but it was an Elite model and at that time I need to rob a bank to buy this kind of Amp. And at that time there are so many new things that catch my attentions....AVR's which is quite complicated for me at first....What the hell are they thinking, making the simple audio setup so complicated, why so many DSP's, why cant it be a bass and treble only?? :D
After auditioning some Pioneers, Sansui's (which faded in the scene completely) and Marantz, only the Marantz hold its foothold on the old known brand...and I moved on.....opening myself on a vast and complicated A/V world....hehehehe ;D ;D
Those were really the days when you must have the highest wattage amps and the bigger the cone size of your speakers, the better! ;D ;D ;D
Nevertheless, we should consider ourselves fortunate to have been a part of such a history. 8)
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my Pioneer A-405 looks exactly like your A-403 ???
I was under the impression that they use the same boards for the A-403 and A-405 but with different transistors and tranny specs since the A-405 is a much higher wattage version. 8)
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jojo,
good job! the last pioneer integrated amp i owned was an SA-8800 which i lost when robbers broke into my shop and carted away two of my Leach Super Amps, a sansui cassette deck, an AKAI open reel deck. that was in 1992..... :'( :'( :'(
pioneers are sturdy amps, more durable than sansui imho.....
Thanks! It was fun really, I never expected it to run anymore anyway so I guess I now have a reserve amp for all season. ;D
Aray ko! 2 Leach SA and a Pioneer? Sana lang they sold it for use, sayang naman if they just sold it sa junk shop for the copper. Darn. >:(
I also had an AKAI open reel, but Memorex na lang and Ampex yun nabibili na tapes so my father junked it when I was into turntables.
8)
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jojo,
a year later, that amp was posted for sale in a then free "buy and sell magazine", even had a phone conversation with the seller who was at the time in mandaluyong. the guy i talked to was extolling the amps as coming from the states... and described the amp to me in detail so that unmistakeably they were my amps!
so what i did was to organize some policemen to go with me to raid the place, pero mukhang nakahalata and wala na kaming inabutan, but there were other amps there when we came to the place! ang balita ko, ginagamit sa combo/banda yung mga amps ko na ninakaw nila!!! :'( :'( :'(
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Sayang yun Pioneer hindi na din na-recover. :(
At least you can always build a Leach amp anytime. :)
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jojo,
good job! the last pioneer integrated amp i owned was an SA-8800
....
Interestingly, I got a Pioneer SA-8800 sold as is for 1k 2 yrs ago. busted and replaced na yung mga transistor atthe time of my purchase. But this one has no LED display (I wonder yung pix sa internet is different). Maganda pala yung may wood casing siya. Mine has none na, so bare metal - but the front plate is true 5mm aluminum. This is the one I converted into a gainclone amp (with regulated LM338 power supply). I retain the pre-amp (tested in running condition together with a phono input) and mated to the LM3886 amp.
Its loook + the LM3886 + my own DIY effort makes it difficult for me to part away from this gear. All its knobs and switch holder are solid heavy aluminum. Its still alive and kicking and handling abusive use from me ;D ;D.
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Hi Jojod,
this is getting weird ???, the A-403 and the A-405 uses the same output transistors. Would you mind taking the part number of your transformers and the brand/value of the capacitors, will post mine tomorrow
might as well add that the A-405's power transistors are the more superior Japanese 2SA1302 and has a pair of a bigger and heftier bypass caps at the output stage compared to Rotel ra-02's Rubycon pair... (all the while i thought the rotels use Black Gates but I was wrong)
perhaps the rotels can only brag of with their custom-made torroidal trannys...
;D :P
I was under the impression that they use the same boards for the A-403 and A-405 but with different transistors and tranny specs since the A-405 is a much higher wattage version. 8)
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Hi Jojod,
this is getting weird ???, the A-403 and the A-405 uses the same output transistors. Would you mind taking the part number of your transformers and the brand/value of the capacitors, will post mine tomorrow
Sure, I will take some shots of the trany and psu caps. :)
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no need to take shots, the part number of the tranny and brand values of the capacitor will be fine - thanks...
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my trannies says
Bando ATS1529
Capacitors are "Nichicon" with a value of 10000
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qguy my man, here it is.
(http://www.filehigh.com/serve/13381/237375.jpg)
(http://www.filehigh.com/serve/13381/237376.jpg)
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my trannies says
Bando ATS1529
Capacitors are "Nichicon" with a value of 10000
looks like we share the same tranny and filter caps.
maybe you should post pics so I can upgrade my 403 into a 405? ;D ;D ;D
PS: Isn't the brand Bando a fan belt brand for automotive purposes? Hhmmm... I wonder if it's the same company. ;D
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hmmm...is it possible that they just changed the biased of the amp, to improve quality and increased power handling ?.. then sell it for more..hahaha
My amp gets hot even when theres no signal..actuall signal or no signal halos pareho ang temp niya..
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hmmm...is it possible that they just changed the biased of the amp, to improve quality and increased power handling ?.. then sell it for more..hahaha
My amp gets hot even when theres no signal..actuall signal or no signal halos pareho ang temp niya..
;D ;D ;D
maybe it's forced more into classA than the 403.
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mukang wala masyado gumagamit dito ng pioneers but i'm currently looking at pioneer integrated amps for audio setup and planning to pair them with wharfedale 9.3. the two models i'm eyeing are the pioneer a209 and the elite model a a-6. any advice on my planned setup?
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^in the 90's when i operated an electronics repair shop, whe had more Sansui's coming in for repairs than Pioneer amp.......to me that says a lot, and when we do get one for repair, the Pioneers were always easy to repair....
looks like the A-6 is the more audiophile of the two.....but either one will make a good match for you speakers....
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^thanks sir tony. medyo ipon pa ng onti at may kamahalan din yung a-6 compared to the a209 which is under 8k. funny thing is parang mas pinupush pa nung salesman yung a209 over the higher models dahil bang for the buck na raw. pinatest niya sakin yung a209 paired with very small klipsch reference bs and nagulat ako sa power and detail na naproduce nung combination. gusto ko lang maging mas mapili sa audio setup para iwas sa early upgrade syndrome ;D
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^i would agree with the salesman, if that is brand new......
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A technician friend of mine just just sold me a Pioneer A400x(not surplus) recentlly, pa benta lang daw from nung friend nya who works in Japan. Very british sound indeed. Almost the same sound with my Nad 320bee. :)
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i still have my silver faced pioneers (vintage ones, as they call it)
1.SA-7800II (w/ VU meters) -powering my HT fronts in ST mode
2.SA-7800 (also with VU meters)- powering my 'artificial' surrounds at the back, in ST mode also.
3.SA-8800II - matched with Victor SX-3, 5II in A+ B ST mode.Also, using the lineouts to avail of phono stage and connected to SET amp
4.SA-8800- back up/tambay
5.UK-3II ('similar' to A400, just volume and selector knob, no B/T controls)-black faced panel, powering up my recently acquired toy, SX-100 single driver speaker sys.
Also have some silver faced tuners.
as you can see,di ko masyado type pioneers (esp. the silver faced ones). konti lan ;D.
soundwise, just match them and fine tune to your taste.
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^mukha ngan hindi.... ;D ;D ;D
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sabi nung salesperson sa 5th avenue wag raw ako bibili ng pioneer integrated amps. siempre nga naman love your own. hehehe ;D
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I think Pio integ amps are very good amps, I was lucky to get my hands on a A307r and based on my experience with it, It can still out performed my Denon 1910 (in music of course) using the same source and speakers. Considering the age of the two gears.... although one might argue that its not really an apple to apple comparison....
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I'd second that. Just like the Yamaha flagships. Ang AX1, AZ1, are both made in Japan, but the rest, made in Malaysia. Wawa naman tayo. :(
Always, even with the cars they did.
The infamous Nissan Skyline GTR and the Honda CTR were once JDM exclusives.
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IME, compared to Sansui's, these Pioneer amps are easier to repair.... ;D