Actually, I've just gotten a MINT old Receiver!

The Pioneer SX1500-T



The "T" is for Transistor, and this was the top-of--the-line Pioneer Receiver from the first of the all transistorized receivers they made. This was also the start of the "Pioneer Silver" receivers that culminated in the legendary SX-1980 some 12 years later.

Here's some specs;

Music Power (peak) 4 Ohms @170W/ 8 Ohms @ 140W
RMS Rated Power 4 Ohms @ 60W/ 8 Ohms @ 55W
Freq Response +/- 1dB, from 20Hz to 70kHz (over-all)
Harmonic Distortion < .5% @ 1kHz @ RMS output
Power Bandwidth 15Hz-70kHz (AUX)
Hum & Noise (@ RMS output) Tape Head: better than 75dB/ MAG: better than 80dB/ AUX: better than 90dB

The amp circuitry is single ended push-pull with direct couple. A first for a receiver of the time, and almost immediately discontinued as a DC circuit can be dangerous to itself and speakers when hooked up improperly. However they do sound a lot better than amps with coupling caps, so the SX-1500T is more desirable than the next variant the SX-1500TD.

Right now I'm not even listening to the amp section, but have the unit setup as a Tuner and running the Tape Record out (which bypasses all tone controls) to my integrated tube amp. Driving my maggies, which can be unforgiving with harshly recorded music, it has proven to be so far nothing but sweet and detailed. I've got the local Classic Rock station on and it's really put me into retro-nirvana heaven in a big way!

It's 1969 all over again and the Beatles are playing on the FM!!