Hi,
I am a proud owner of a reasonably well functioning Pioneer SX 680 but I am craving a long project, so I plan to make this receiver work well for the next 20 years so I plan to :
As I live in South America and electronic and quality electronic components are expensive and sometimes unobtainable I plan to buy a restoration kit with all the components so I can save time and headaches, so, my options are
I was looking into some threads in audiokarma for a part list but they are usually incomplete and/or other members comments that is wrong or something like this, but if anyone has a part list (or a mouser / digikey cart ) and can assure me it's correct I can go the route of buying the parts myself
And before that I know they're gonna be people that will say that this kind of project does not make sense in a lower tier of vintage receiver and that I should get a better one, but right now, here people are asking 3500 USD for an 1250 and god know how much for an SX 1980
If anyone had any experience with any of these vendors and their kit, the feedback would be appreciated
Thanks
Alex
I am a proud owner of a reasonably well functioning Pioneer SX 680 but I am craving a long project, so I plan to make this receiver work well for the next 20 years so I plan to :
- Recap it completely (and change know problematic transistors)
- Remake the exterior fake wood trim in real wood
- Replace the bare speaker terminals for banana terminals
- Replace the light bulbs with LEDs
- Replace the STK modules with the discrete design that rcs16 made and posted in audiokarma (maybe, I'm not sure now if I will be embarking on this one, the STKs are working fine for now)
As I live in South America and electronic and quality electronic components are expensive and sometimes unobtainable I plan to buy a restoration kit with all the components so I can save time and headaches, so, my options are
- HiFi Audio : Their kit seems ok, but there are not good feedback from the seller and their kits (and their support)
- marblehead199 : Their kit seems ok too, there does not seem to be any opinion of their kits in the web
- peace.love.and.music : Their kit seems fine too, there is one good commentary about this selller in audiokarma and it seems that is an active member of the forum with good reputation
- Cool and dry : Their kit is cheaper, but it seems that has less components than the other ones and it's half the price, bad reviews in reverb
I was looking into some threads in audiokarma for a part list but they are usually incomplete and/or other members comments that is wrong or something like this, but if anyone has a part list (or a mouser / digikey cart ) and can assure me it's correct I can go the route of buying the parts myself
And before that I know they're gonna be people that will say that this kind of project does not make sense in a lower tier of vintage receiver and that I should get a better one, but right now, here people are asking 3500 USD for an 1250 and god know how much for an SX 1980
If anyone had any experience with any of these vendors and their kit, the feedback would be appreciated
Thanks
Alex
The Pioneer SX-680 is a nice looking machine!
I'll give your thread a bump by supplying a link to images etc.: https://classicreceivers.com/pioneer-sx-680
I'll give your thread a bump by supplying a link to images etc.: https://classicreceivers.com/pioneer-sx-680
I just finished restoring an HK 430 using the Marblehead "Ultimate" kit I purchased on eBay a few days ago. The kit contained high quality parts (Nichicon and WIMA caps, for example) and I was happy with the results. Note that there are no instructions or diagrams so you'll need to procure the schematics and component placement diagrams. It is a little pricey for what it is but it saved me a lot of time ordering parts from Mouser and Digi-Key. Hope this helps...
Hi ctom,
I appreciate your feedback, the lack of instructions makes me want to avoid it (even more because the one from peace.love.and.music comes with a "surprisingly well-written instruction sheet"), maybe it's just because HK is not as """mainstream""" in the vintage hifi receiver market (as Pioneer or Marantz are for example)? anyway I asked marblehead if the Pioneer kit comes with instructions
I appreciate your feedback, the lack of instructions makes me want to avoid it (even more because the one from peace.love.and.music comes with a "surprisingly well-written instruction sheet"), maybe it's just because HK is not as """mainstream""" in the vintage hifi receiver market (as Pioneer or Marantz are for example)? anyway I asked marblehead if the Pioneer kit comes with instructions
Thank you, indeed the silver face-plate and the VU meters draw me into it, and after replacing the veneer with real wood trim should make it more beautiful
Glad I could help. Regardless of how good the instructions are, you should download the service manual as a reference. I went to hifiengine and downloaded the service manual for your SX-680. Have fun!
So, just got a response, what they (or he) include in the kit is a HINTS & INSTRUCTIONS pdf but nothing specific to the SX-680 (or any receiver at that)
Sorry, I did not saw this, thank you! Gonna take a good look before turning my soldering iron
Asked this vendor about their instructions and they say it's detailed and even has instructions for the transistor replacement, so I think I made my mind and I will go with peace.love.and.music for this one
Thanks everyone for chiming in
Be sure to replace the heatsink compound on the STK modules. The old compound can dry up after 20-30 years of use.