Pioneer SA-810 tube amp.

Archibaldy · 4th May 2011, 08:02 AM

G'day fellow tube fans,

Does anybody have any experience with Pioneer SA-810 tube amps ?
Has anyone rebuilt or recapped one ?
Any photo's ?
How about a parts list.
I have a schematic but it ain't too informative.

Thanks & cheers,
Andrew.

gingertube · 5th May 2011, 03:54 AM

Andrew,
I've done a restoration on one. As well as the elctrolytic caps in the power supply these things often suffer failures due to the coupling caps between the phase splitter and output tube grids going leaky. If these caps have "Suzuki Oil" on their labels then be VERY suspect of them. These were used widely in Japanese Amps of that vintage and nearly always cause problems. I usually just rip them all out (the ones labelled Suzuki Oil) and replace them with modern polypropylene caps of the same value.
I have a Hi Rez scan of the original Pioneer circuit diagram which I can send to you if its likely to be of use. PM me if you need it. Much too large to post here. Also specify if it is the SA810 or SA-810S. I have Schematics for both.
Cheers,
Ian

Archibaldy · 5th May 2011, 09:14 AM

G'day Ian,

There are no PIO caps in amp. I intend to put some in though.Maybe Sprague,West Caps,Chicago or some Russian military ones etc...
I'm going to replace all the electro's - I can't find anyone selling the large can power supply caps though.(Only small ones which don't look very impressive).

Do you know if there is much of a difference between using PIO caps and Orange Drops.

I have uploaded some pics of my amp I took with my phone in "file attachments" so you can see the caps (and the rest). Hope they work.

The amp is actually pretty gutsy and gets loud on 3 but there is a little distortion and as far as I'm concerned it needs a good "tune-up".(Cap overhaul)

Thanks for replying to my thread Ian, I like to arm myself with ideas and experience that other people had.

Regards & cheers,

Andrew.

Soonerorlater · 5th May 2011, 09:26 AM

Quote:

If these caps have "Suzuki Oil" on their labels then be VERY suspect of them

Got hold of a Pioneer ER-420 receiver and found nasty intermittent transient spike type bursts were making their way to one speaker. Swapping valves from the good channel didn't help. Found these Suzuki caps were being used for coupling. As advised from another thread, I replaced these with pp caps ( on both channels ) and the problem was cured enough to evaluate the sound quality of the amp. The amp section isn't going to be restored any further as there are too many other dubious looking caps, particularly some waxy brown ones which may be paper in oil. Instead it's going to be converted to being an incarnation of Sy's red light district. It was going to be a fixed bias baby huey but it doesn't have ul taps.

Anyway I digress - good luck with the rebuild

Brgds Bill

Archibaldy · 5th May 2011, 09:47 AM

He he he he he ! That made me laugh.

Ok Bill, a lovely anecdote !!!

Ah ~ what is Sy's red light district ?

Thanks for the info.

Cheers,
Andrew.

Archibaldy · 5th May 2011, 10:32 AM

Here are the pics of my Pioneer SA-810.

Soonerorlater · 11:26 AM

Quote:

Ah ~ what is Sy's red light district ?

Here is a link to his thread

The Red Light District - another PP EL84 amp

Also before you ask.....

EL84 Amp - Baby Huey

Archibaldy · 26th April 2012, 08:52 AM

This amp has been relatively finished. I have replaced nearly every cap - electro's incl' and almost every resistor for good measure (NOS carbon comp).
All the signal caps (all of them waxy brown types) have been replaced with the Rusky Millitary K40Y-9 and K42Y-2 caps.
The volume pot was off on it's own mission,

now replaced but it has a loudness tap at a different part of track than the original

. Does the job as the amp is now very usable.
It sounds so good it is a bit spooky !

Check out the mortar shell PIO's in front of the output trannies (K40Y-9),
there was no room for them underneath and had to do a little modding to fit them on top. Looks pretty darn "killer". Glad I did this

.
Sorry I've taken so long to reply to this. (My Sansui 1000A is kicking some serious butt now too).
Cheers

Archibaldy · 26th April 2012, 09:31 AM

Sorry, I am unable to post any pics. The options have changed (not giving me the option). Bastard !

Archibaldy · 27th April 2012, 09:29 AM

/

4th May 2011, 08:02 AM	#1
Archibaldy The Crimson Dynamo diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Victoria - Australia	Pioneer SA-810 tube amp. G'day fellow tube fans, Does anybody have any experience with Pioneer SA-810 tube amps ? Has anyone rebuilt or recapped one ? Any photo's ? How about a parts list. I have a schematic but it ain't too informative. Thanks & cheers, Andrew.

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5th May 2011, 03:54 AM	#2
gingertube diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Adelaide South Oz	Andrew, I've done a restoration on one. As well as the elctrolytic caps in the power supply these things often suffer failures due to the coupling caps between the phase splitter and output tube grids going leaky. If these caps have "Suzuki Oil" on their labels then be VERY suspect of them. These were used widely in Japanese Amps of that vintage and nearly always cause problems. I usually just rip them all out (the ones labelled Suzuki Oil) and replace them with modern polypropylene caps of the same value. I have a Hi Rez scan of the original Pioneer circuit diagram which I can send to you if its likely to be of use. PM me if you need it. Much too large to post here. Also specify if it is the SA810 or SA-810S. I have Schematics for both. Cheers, Ian

5th May 2011, 09:14 AM	#3
Archibaldy The Crimson Dynamo diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Victoria - Australia	G'day Ian, There are no PIO caps in amp. I intend to put some in though.Maybe Sprague,West Caps,Chicago or some Russian military ones etc... I'm going to replace all the electro's - I can't find anyone selling the large can power supply caps though.(Only small ones which don't look very impressive). Do you know if there is much of a difference between using PIO caps and Orange Drops. I have uploaded some pics of my amp I took with my phone in "file attachments" so you can see the caps (and the rest). Hope they work. The amp is actually pretty gutsy and gets loud on 3 but there is a little distortion and as far as I'm concerned it needs a good "tune-up".(Cap overhaul) Thanks for replying to my thread Ian, I like to arm myself with ideas and experience that other people had. Regards & cheers, Andrew.

5th May 2011, 09:47 AM	#5
Archibaldy The Crimson Dynamo diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Victoria - Australia	He he he he he ! That made me laugh. Ok Bill, a lovely anecdote !!! Ah ~ what is Sy's red light district ? Thanks for the info. Cheers, Andrew.

26th April 2012, 08:52 AM	#8
Archibaldy The Crimson Dynamo diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Victoria - Australia	This amp has been relatively finished. I have replaced nearly every cap - electro's incl' and almost every resistor for good measure (NOS carbon comp). All the signal caps (all of them waxy brown types) have been replaced with the Rusky Millitary K40Y-9 and K42Y-2 caps. The volume pot was off on it's own mission, now replaced but it has a loudness tap at a different part of track than the original . Does the job as the amp is now very usable. It sounds so good it is a bit spooky ! Check out the mortar shell PIO's in front of the output trannies (K40Y-9), there was no room for them underneath and had to do a little modding to fit them on top. Looks pretty darn "killer". Glad I did this . Sorry I've taken so long to reply to this. (My Sansui 1000A is kicking some serious butt now too). Cheers

26th April 2012, 09:31 AM	#9
Archibaldy The Crimson Dynamo diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Victoria - Australia	Sorry, I am unable to post any pics. The options have changed (not giving me the option). Bastard !

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