2. cables
  3. 153266-111696

My stereo receiver is a little too bright. Can a cable help me out?

I just had my vintage Pioneer SX-1050 refurbished.  I had a severe case of sticker shock when presented with the bill - oops!!  Which unfortunately pretty much forces me to use it. 

I will say It is sounding very powerful which is no big surprise because there is a lot of horsepower under the hood.  But the audio impression is that it’s also a little too bright.  The only way I know to tame brightness is with the right interconnects.  But I’m not experienced in that area.  Recommendations would be most welcome.


It’s probably important to know how I am using  the Pioneer SX-1050.  It is responsible for all audio in my TV system.  My choice of music is almost exclusively opera and classical.  

 I send the HDMI signal from my four sources ( TV-DVR, OPPO DVD, ROKU streamer and Pioneer Elite Laser Disc Player ) to my AVR, an ARCAM SR-250, and I send the respective analog audio signals to the Pioneer.  I am into opera and classical music and I didn’t think my ARCAM AVR sounded as good as I wanted it to, even though it’s ideally  suited to my needs, a two-channel product touted for its exceptional audio.  The audio is good but definitely not great.  Prior to deciding to refurbish it I had paired the Pioneer with a Musical Fidelity A3cr Preamp, using the Pioneer just as an amplifier, and I was getting very good audio that way.  But one of the goals of the refurbishment project was to feature the Pioneer and eliminate the musical influence of the Musical Fidelity preamp.   And now, after spending so much,  I wanted to hear how my now very expensive Pioneer sounded, so I pulled the Musical Fidelity Pre and attached my sources directly to the Pioneer.  Currently all the interconnects are Blue Jeans Cable.  Obviously I can’t spend huge amounts replacing cables for all four sources, so the DVD is priority.
echolane

Showing 4 responses by audiozenology

audiozenology
362 posts
 
Well it has happened. I have to completely agree with Millercarbon on this one, and jnorris, and jnovak, stereo5, etc.  It's a sunk cost. Sell it to someone who doesn't care about audio quality, get as much money as you can, then move on.


10lbs of awful and 50lbs of awful are still "awful". I am not sure why people are suddenly enamoured with 70's / early 80's era receivers. They were not that good then, and no matter how many parts you upgrade, you are not going to fix fundamental flaws. New cables would just be painting the proverbial pig, and throwing good money after bad.

Agree with jnovak, the MRX710 will sound better, heck the MRX300 probably will.

audiozenology
362 posts
 
Perhaps in a drag-race or simple oval, with drag-race being watts into 8 ohms, and simple oval, being THD on a sine wave, then I would agree with you. Put them on a road course (real music), and that "old" Camaro or Corvette is hopelessly outclassed no matter the engine upgrade or what tires you put on it. Only way it competes is with effectively a new chassis under the old body (and even then it needs aerodynamics upgrades), so really it is not an "old" Camaro or Corvette any more is it?
Like a old Camaro or corvette, etc... being refitted to take on a modern carbon fiber bodied racing F1 Ferrari, on the track.... and be dead even and..in some minds... even win. Imagine that.

The idea of the new circuit and so on being better, exists as companies have to sell you the new in order to be alive and exist, so expect them to convince you that all is new all the time --- when in fact it is not. Not at all.


While there is truth to this, these receivers are from a period where IM distortion was poorly understood, hence why later products like the NAD3020 or even the Sansui integrated mentioned above are better.

(link is for the image of a ’properly’ modded out NAD3120, which, when finalized [finally finished], might [and generally will] exceed the sonic qualities that most seek to experience from a modern $5k integrated.)

https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=45215&p=708943&hilit=nad+3120...


A single set out 3055/2955 output transistor places some inherent limitations w.r.t. what loading this will work best on. Those same parts are still available, likely better quality or at least more consistent due to modern process controls.

Those over-priced "audio" electrolytic power supply capacitors are certainly great marketing by the likes of Nichicon and others. Literally sell themselves, as some people are convinced they are "better", and it becomes a self sustaining market, no actual specifications needed, just some words on a marketing sheet. But better than what is the question?  Better than a 10,000 hour, 105C, modern capacitor with high ripple current and low ESR (and lower cost)? .... Weird that some of these high end audio capacitors have audio specs similar to a few generation back power supply caps (but with poorer rated life).
audiozenology
362 posts
 
I am not "average", I am Superhuman!! My words have far more value than anyone else's!


This post is a blatant attack on so many people on this forum if not most people.


It may come as a surprise that there are many of us that have been designing audio products, testing, listening, for decades. We just don't fool ourselves into thinking we are infallible hence we also use the best technology at our personal disposal to correlate repeatable measurements to listening experiences, and we ask others to listen and give us their feedback and again we try to correlate to more repeatable methods. We understand that everyone has personal preferences too. What some may call warm, others may call colored. But the most universally respected in this "hobby" don't claim "superiority". They are the most likely to admit their own limitations.

For the average person, those 100 I/O factors....are each nebulous unknowns. Things unseen and unknown. Sum total singular in and sum total singular out...is all that is ever witnessed.


audiozenology
362 posts
 
Must have long arms from patting yourself on the back so much.


Ever notice people with serious cred in this industry, the likes of Pass, Cardas, Toole, etc. never claim to have superior hearing/listening skills?
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