Noted above. Build quality that you can see, feel, and hear.

You have to get off your fat ass to adjust the volume and other controls. Eat your lazy heart out.

Raw power. Very very quiet FM section that snaps in the most remote stations and keeps them forever. Heavy enough to make you get in shape, or else. Classic looks that you'll love if you have a nice place to display it. You'll love the quartz-lock tuning system, which lets you tune in 'til two red lights come on, then fixes the station with a QLT 'green' light. Unless you are a seriously deviant personality, you will never be able to abuse the amp section into dysfunction comparable to your own dysfunction. It is such a pleasure to listen to an integrated tuner/amp that is so QUIET and so capable of pumping out mass POWER; you can blast a room with acres of deep sound at 10 watts, and know that the amp can easily handle the transients at 300 watts with room to spare...this is overhead and power-in-reserve that separates the truly high-end equipment from the stuff that strains to travel at that pace.

Looks like a real reciever, no black plastic. Very high quality, all konbs and controllers are totally quiet. Sounds very good.

Dont drive it to hard.

I bought this piece becuase its the coolest reciever ever built. Since the first time i saw one on the net, i wanted to have one. I connected it to my 12" subs in my theatresystem and after 3 weeks it broke down. After getting it fixed i will use it for the front speakers instead. Tuner is good but very sensitive to tune in. Ive tested it on a couple of fullrangespeakers before the subs and it sounds very good.

Similar Products Used:

SX-1250, SX-850, SA-9900, LAB 1600. Infinty, JBL, Dynaudio.

Very powerful. Very refined. I've read that it won't run less than 1 ohm loads, but I'm betting that it'll run the daylights out of anything down to a 2. The power supply will be fine if your not obsessed with finding the breaking point with everything you own. Trust me, everything has one. Standard bearing FM reception. Excellent S/N performance even by "Today's" standards. They don't auction for $1500 bucks for no reason. The "Tonal" characteristics are my idea of near top notch "solid state" sound. Your results (as always, with all gear) might be somewhat "load" (speaker) dependent.

I carried it upstairs and huffed and puffed like crazy. It puts the H in HEAVY!!! Tuner sections can become touchy with age,but can be corrected (or at least improved) with a little patience, ingenuity, and a pretty good ear. (an oscilloscope helps too.) If you're not familiar with them, PAY to have it done, it's worth it. No Remote, but suffer the inconvenience for your ears sake, it's worth it! Original owner's manuals are hard to find.

This unit is possibly the best piece of mass market audio gear ever built. My cousin and I used to dream about this stuff when we were kids, and after having collected about a half dozen of them, to sort of celebrate one of the great passions of our youth, he gave me one. (I've been buying this stuff and restoring them for about 12 years and he's just getting into the hobby -restoration, that is- and is now doing it on a HUGE scale, I wish him the best of luck, he's a EE so I expect that he'll do great!) They are clean, classy, powerful and tonally miles ahead of most stuff being built these days short of the $3000.00 mark. (The only possible exceptions would be the uppermost last generation stuff from Carver, Adcom, Sunfire, etc. and that's not really a fair comparison as they were built as an affordable alternative to the $X0000.00 digit stuff). The SX-s's are so pretty they hurt your eyes to look at them. Then you turn them on, and you close your eyes and the "leap of faith" to being in the presence of an "absolute" sound (if there is actually such a thing)becomes VERY SHORT. Boo on Black PVC Blobules of crap. Down with "patented" sludge-guide speaker technology" by the "Doze" corp! Home audio has been de-evolving now for over two decades. No wonder most people don't "listen" to music anymore. Fight the Future. Listen to the difference. Scarf up a SX-9-,10-,12- or 19- "80" series receiver wherever they can be found! (There are still bunches of 'em out there wailin' away!) Viva la Revolution!

Similar Products Used:

Sunfire,Mac,Adcom,Belles,AR,Carver,etc.

Powerful, crisp, clear

heavy

Have owned this receiver for 12 years. Bought it due to a divorce add. I have just began using this powerhouse on my third pair of speakers, Infinity intermezzo. Suggestions were made by seller of speakers to get a new receiver because the new ones today are much cleaner and have a much better sound. I don't buy it and don't fall for their sales stories. I will probably replace this receiver someday but many many years from now. I don't see how the sound could be any better than what this is doing and has done for myself. I love it

Similar Products Used:

None

Lots of power. I use it now for a power amp.

Verrry Heeeavy! I mean Heavy. It is built like a tank. But I guess that is good.

I purschased it new in 1980. I have used it for 22 years and it still sounds great. Only had one problem with the power supply. That was 15 years ago no problems since.

Similar Products Used:

None

When the limit of 20db is reached you feel your stomach vibrating

heavy to move around

Allthough it is very old, I believe that the 1980-sx is the best receiver that I have ever had. I have had it for 13 years now and it finally broke down.... I''m sorry to say that it will cost me 400$ to get it fixed in Denmark...Can anyone help me with diagrams so that I can get it fixed a little cheaper maybe?. Ill look forward to hear from You. ewc@os.dk

Similar Products Used:

Harman kardon, Luxman, JVC, Technics

The power to run huge speakers at 279 rms.

None so far.

A true Gem. This receiver was Pioneer''s flagship for fame. To this day if I were to rate it....WOW what a good piece of original equipment. I have owned this since 1980 and have about two years of wear on it. It still fires up and gives pure 1970''s sound. I have never had anything opened or looked at. At night with the receiver on I don''t need anymore light because it lights up the whole room!

Similar Products Used:

sx-450, hpm-100, sx-1080

ahh!
too many to count. tight bass and good highs. After all All these years she still continues to be a hard core rocker! I have had this since BonJovi was a baby! hehe
ROCK is the Pioneer SX1980's forte'

noone!

After 21 years she still give great vibes. I am an old rock and roller and hell, its like the old Black Oak Arkansas days! BTW Ozzie sounds just as good off the witches album as the No More Tears album! hehehe
This is my diamond!

Similar Products Used:

Phase Linear, Sansui, Kenwood, other Pioneer products

Not near the receiver a 1250 is.....finicky, power supply blows up regularly.....underbuilt for output power....

Looks like a "FRANKENSTEIN" receiver, meters out of proportion.....not sleek like 1250, 1280. Heavy and overrated.

Overrated, over-priced, and underbuilt, blows up like a fourth of July cannon. Unique...yes, Reliable...NO!! Sid by side, the 1250 is just as good, and with way better FM, If Pioneer would have put some nuts in the power supply board, these would have been reliable units, however, a 1250 will run for days at full power, do that to a 1980, be ready to call 911 for the ensuing fire you will have, sorry to bash this receiver, I know lots of people love them, but they can't produce at their level of rating over time....

Similar Products Used:

SX-1250, SX-1280

power, clarity, looks cool

old and heavy?

I this used for about 6 months and I messed up by crossing the speaker wires as I was playing an pulling the cabinet out from wall to re-arrange some power wires in the back of my cabinet...well I blew the power supply but is is being fixed by a reputable shop for around $200.

Traded a guy a vintage Dual turntable and an andy warhol album worth about 400 bucks for this monster but it was worth it no doubt!

Really, this is very clean and powerful, I tested it out with my wattage power meter from radio shack and it is legitamte to well over 200 watts per chn and cleaner than sx-1250... and more powerful as well.. too bad it is 25 years old! It still kicks ass though!

I have run DQ-10's and Magnapan SMGs sounds great buy one...if you can find one!

Similar Products Used:

sx-1250