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Thread: Pioneer SA8500 II Sound Amp

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    Default Pioneer SA8500 II Sound Amp

    I have a Pioneer SA8500 II Sound Amplifier in storage and am contemplating selling it, however i have heard these units are fantastic sound quality amps and are highly sought after, yes these were made in from 1975 to 1979 and are vintage but are considered much better than audio amps you can buy new today ... is this true and if so why is this the case?

    The unit I have has hardly been used, and still works. I understand service manuals are available and are relatively easy to repair with typical Capacitors that might only need to be replaced/refreshed

    Any feedback will be most appreciated
    Last edited by checkitout; 27-12-17 at 09:44 PM.



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    I well remember the amplifier you are contemplating selling.

    If I had one, I would not consider disposing of it as it has phenomenal specifications in terms of frequency response, distortion and noise figures etc.

    Teamed with the appropriate speaker system it is capable of producing extremely pure and distortionless sound (depending on the source, of course).

    Yes, a service manual is freely available for download from the manualslib website.

    Servicing to component level is very straight forward (which is much more than can be said for modern (electronics) equipment.

    As with all audio equipment, listening environment and audio source are extremely important considerations in experiencing maximum quality.

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    Thanks Tristen - A little voice inside my head has been saying something like this to me

    BTW the thread title is wrong - Yamaha SA 8500 does not exist -it is a Pioneer SA 8500 - I am not sure how to edit the post and correct title now

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    Quote Originally Posted by checkitout View Post
    BTW the thread title is wrong - Yamaha SA 8500 does not exist -it is a Pioneer SA 8500 - I am not sure how to edit the post and correct title now
    Fixed

    You can use the report button to request fixes.... it's not just for reporting spam, etc.

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    +1 for what Tristen said.

    I still feel like kicking myself daily in the butt for selling my old Yamaha A-550.
    Best sounding amp I ever had.
    The Yamaha RX-V750 I have now doesn't even come close, but I have to have it because of the surround sound, AV, blah, blah.

    All this flat linear frequency response BS doesn't cut the mustard when there is not a single human on this planet who has flat linear ears when they want to listen at lower levels.
    Most vintage amps were designed to deal with this problem using a clever equalization system called Loudness and when done right you could listen properly at all sound pressure levels.
    For some illogical reason the 'purists' have omitted this wonderful feature on my later model amp, so the amp sounds like shyte until you turn it up to to almost max.

    My old Yamaha had a volume AND a loudness adjuster and the sound was always supreme at all levels.

    Your Pioneer has for bass and treble three different cut off zones as well as a loudness switch, this is very unique feature and should allow for good sound adjustment not only at different volume settings but may also deal better with difficult room acoustics. The standing waves for example in my living area are killing me.

    Your amp uses all discrete components, no ICs or these rubbishy STK/STA whatever moduls of today. Should things go awry, it is usually an easy fix.

    The problem with the smart phone sheeple these days is that they are conditioned by the industry to listen to crap telephone sound, which is cheap and easy to produce.
    And the earpieces that come with these things are deplorable and destroy your hearing.
    Then we have stores like JB-Hifi that has the acronym HiFi in it, an utter insult!
    That is why there is unfortunately no market for quality sound equipment these days and if you really want something good you need to invest many thousands.

    So there you are with your supreme Pioneer amp.

    ...but you DO NEED decent speakers for it, which you will not find at Hardly Normal or JB-CryFi.
    Building can actually be better than buying these days and forget the bouncy subwoofer crap.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 29-12-17 at 11:08 PM.
    Update: A deletion of features that work well and ain't broke but are deemed outdated in order to add things that are up to date and broken.
    Compatibility: A word soon to be deleted from our dictionaries as it is outdated.
    Humans: Entities that are not only outdated but broken... AI-self-learning-update-error...terminate...terminate...

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    Quote Originally Posted by nomeat View Post
    I still feel like kicking myself daily in the butt for selling my old Yamaha A-550.
    I still have a Yamaha A-720 teamed with Kef Concerto speakers.

    +1 for tristen's & nomeat's comments.

    Your Pioneer falls into the same 'Vintage' category.

    They just don't build 'em like that any more.

    If you do sell it, I really hope it goes to someone who will truly appreciate it for what it is... not treat it badly and hook crappy speakers up to it, just because it's 'old technology'.

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    These are a really nice amplifier, as others have already said, definitely a keeper. I'm a bit of a garage sale addict, and this is exactly the sort of thing I go looking for. If it's running OK, apart from maybe flushing out the pots with with some cleaner lubricant like "Servisol Electrical Clean and Lube" from Jaycar, and possibly replacing a few electrolytics if required, I wouldn't do much more to it, than give it a clean. When cleaning it, be very careful not to use anything with a high solvent content and only use a soft cloth on it. I use a mixture of about 20% Isopropyl Alcohol, 10% window cleaner spray, topped with water. Or another thing I've used with success is; "Mr Sheen Multi-Surface Polish". But be very careful to watch you don't remove/damage the facia panel stencilled labels. To make it easier, pull all the knobs off, and drop them in a dish of warm soapy water, to soak, while you clean the rest of the facia. Then give them a good rinse with clean water and dry them off.

    You can get an owners manual and service manual from here:

    You will have to register though, but it's pretty simple and a very handy site to be a member of.

    I've got an old Pioneer Tuner Amp here that I will eventually get around to restoring, about 10 years before yours though. An old SM-Q300 valve job. My shed amp is an old Marantz 1090, that I stream digital to, via a couple of old original Xboxs. It's not only the sound of the vintage gear, but they look awesome too.

    Don't forget to let us know how it goes eh?

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    Please do not shoot me ... I flipped on what to do with this again and decided to put it up in on ebay, it has gone crazy with competing bids coming in within 30 minutes of me posting it, incredible, this is like when I sold an old Datsun 240K that my late father had kept for years on his farm (another story) The link is below if anyone wants to see more or is interested in it.



    I figured I need to invest in some work and more cost for a good set of speakers as well, and not to just to give it a good service ...I just do not have the time to set up tune up/fix or enjoy it and it is a waste to leave a good unit like this lying around in my man shed garage etc - It needs to go to someone who will appreciate and use it more than me

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    Quote Originally Posted by checkitout View Post
    ...I figured I need to invest in some work and more cost for a good set of speakers as well, and not to just to give it a good service ...I just do not have the time to set up tune up/fix or enjoy it and it is a waste to leave a good unit like this lying around in my man shed garage etc - It needs to go to someone who will appreciate and use it more than me
    I'm not trying to criticise you, but it shouldn't take more than 15 to 30 minutes or so to perform any so-called 'service' which might be needed.

    Good speaker system, yes, but that shouldn'y cost an 'arm-and-a-leg' either with a little bit of prudent legwork.

    I wish that I was in your situation....

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    I agree with what Tristen says. Crazy to let go of such a classic amplifier. A quick spray of the pots, and a wipe over of the facia panel, and it would most likely be good to go.

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    Well somebody is going to enjoy it.
    Bids at $421 and still over 7 days to go.... and that for local pick up only!
    Update: A deletion of features that work well and ain't broke but are deemed outdated in order to add things that are up to date and broken.
    Compatibility: A word soon to be deleted from our dictionaries as it is outdated.
    Humans: Entities that are not only outdated but broken... AI-self-learning-update-error...terminate...terminate...

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    All, the unit has been sitting in my man shed and Garage for about 10 years, with another 5 or 10 before that with little use. Honestly I appreciate that this is a rare and special unit however I have hardly used it and I do not think that will change in the future. I am not a audio connoisseur and I know will not appreciate and use this. My place is small as well, it taking space and watching this go to waste with no use is not good IMO.

    Obviously there are people out there that will appreciate and use this unit, good luck to the person that gets it, I am sure it will be going to a good home.

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    A potential buyer asked if he could listen to the unit - after hooking it up and feeding in an audio source (Spotify) i have now decided to keep this for now, I will just have to find a better place and use for it, the sound coming from this unit blew me away !!!

    Apologies for flip flopping around this decision here however I must say Austech members here know their stuff ... thank you !

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