My whole amp mod and rebuild log Pioneer SA-7300 with 26 pics!

[rg12]

After a month and a half of work, im glad to say that im all done!

The amp: Pioneer SA-7300 Vintage Integrated Amplifier

I'll let the pics tell the story...


The front of the amp


This is what it used to look from the back


Back panel from an inside look


Here i started replacing the speaker out terminals and RCA connectors
to gold plated ones




It was a pretty tough job to fit them in


But it was worth it, the volume went up alot (i guess rust wasn't such a good conductor)




I decided to cancel all the tape record and the unused in and out
connections and leave only the speaker terminals and the RCA in
connections, so i decided to seal the area of the removed connections
and on the way i replaced the old power chord to an RF filtered IEC
inlet and cancel the voltage selector and fixing the amp on 220v.
The voltage selector had the power fuse inside so i installed a separate
fuse terminal for it on the back panel.


Making sure it fits




Painted in black




The result


Rewiring the new IEC inlet and the fuse terminal after cancelling the
voltage selector


Now for the real work, i decided to replace all the electrolytic caps to
new ones.
After a long time, i decided on 5 types/brands of caps to install
in certain places in the amp:
Nichicon KG - For the big filter caps, switched from 8.000uF to 10.000uF
Panasonic FC
Elna Cerafine
Elna Silmic II
Mundorf MKP - For the signal path and a few more areas in the amp
Before:


Planning...


After:
When i replaced the filter caps, the whole amp changed dramatically!
The bass was alot stronger and tighter, everything sounded alot
cleaner and i even got more power.
After recapping each area of the amp, i made a sound test to
hear the differences, that was a great experience.
Everything sounds much better in every way.




Some of the old caps, almost 40 were replaced


All done!

[TerryO]

That's a neat project and great pictures!
Job well done. How much do you estimate it ended up costing?

Best Regards,
TerryO

[rg12]

Thanks man, it was a bit over the price calculated due to expensive
shipping charges and reordering from two websites a few more caps.
So about $170-190.
But it was well worth it, a strong, like new (even better) a amp,
that sound and looks as neat.

[T in AZ]

Very Well done, I love those Pioneer Amps, Don't ever sell it!

[TerryO]

By the time those amps were made, they had a pretty good handle on SS circuitry. You've improved on that with better parts and new terminals. The amp should, and I'll bet it does, sound great.

Very nice.

Best Regards,
TerryO

[rg12]

Originally Posted by TerryO

By the time those amps were made, they had a pretty good handle on SS circuitry. You've improved on that with better parts and new terminals. The amp should, and I'll bet it does, sound great.

Very nice.

Best Regards,
TerryO

Yeah it does...rust wasn't a good conductor, gold is a bit better...

[stocktrader200]

I am surprised more people here don't refurbish / upgrade old stereos.
I added 3 class D channels to an SX-3700 receiver with awesome results.
recapped the power supply and signal caps as well.

nice work

[rg12]

Originally Posted by stocktrader200

I am surprised more people here don't refurbish / upgrade old stereos.
I added 3 class D channels to an SX-3700 receiver with awesome results.
recapped the power supply and signal caps as well.

nice work

Very nice, i would love to see pics.

There's nothing more pleasing then watching a detailed thread with pics.

I wish there were more of these upgrading threads...

[Shaun]

I like it!

Can't beat the look of those silver-face Pioneers!

[glen65]

Originally Posted by rg12

After a month and a half of work, im glad to say that im all done!

The amp: Pioneer SA-7300 Vintage Integrated Amplifier

I'll let the pics tell the story...

Very nice,
Where did you get the new speaker terminals from?