harm4645

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Service Merchandise

Summary:
This Receiver was just about state of the art in 1979 when I purchased it. With a fantastic power bandwidth from 0 Hz to beyond audibility and probably almost a NASA quality tuner, and a plethoria of inputs, outputs, and other features, there was almost no limit to what all you could connect to this thing. When you're listening to an LP with this unit, every nuance in the recording comes to life with awesome clarity and transparency, With a CD player, the 1280 reveals the clarity as well as the flaws of the 16 bit 44.8 khz sampling system. Listen to a SACD (Direct Stream Digital) and you are blown away by just how sweet recorded music still can be. This receiver delivers on all the printed specs that came with it, and the bottom line is warm natural sound, solid thunderous bass, silky highs, and the ability to handle any speaker system that you can attach to it. I am presently using two pairs of stacked Advents paralled to present 4 ohms to the amp. It doesn't even grunt, and yes it will remove objects placed on nearby shelves when you crank it up. I am just as pleased today as I was when I purchased it in 1979. Although, by present technology standards, this thing is probably considered a dinosaur, It's solid design and high quality components still cranks out sound that outclasses anything available today. It still looks handsome, to boot. At this point in it's life, it resides in my home office somewhat married to the sound card output from a PC. I record now only digitally, and the 1280 is a fantastic monitor for some of my LPs that I have made into CDs. Yes, you can hear a difference between digitized audio and it's analog source. The LPs still sound better. SACD, on the other hand, does have that full warm sound, and even though I'm only using two channels (SACD is 5.1 capable), the sound through the 1280 is fantastic. Although I now have a multi-channel surround system, this one is still my first love, and I won't be parting with it anytime soon. The way Pioneer built this thing, it may outlive me!

Strengths:
185 watts per channel into 8 ohms right down to DC. Ultra low distortion. Dual bass and treble contour controls. Quality, high stablity and high sensitivity MOSFET FM tuner. Warm "vacuum tube like" sound. Solidly built.

Weaknesses:
Tuner could use a switchable bandwidth feature for better fringe area performance, but this is a minor drawback. The thing weighs about 78 Lbs. Controls and switches get noisy with age, and are difficult to clean.

Price Paid:  $270.00 from eBay

Summary:
Have had this SX-1280 for a few years now. It is mainly being used as a power amp for front main for a surround decoder. Sound quality for FM tuner and phono is excellent. Enough bass drive to shatter bulbs in the ceiling lights. Only disappointment is the FM tuner adjacent channel selectivity which is too wide to allow for decent FM DXing. Pioneer should have included an IF bandwidth selector for wide/narrow/super-narrow. The 25uS and/or multipath switches could have been moved to the rear of the unit to accomodate an IF bandwidth switch which has much more useful functionality for routine tuner operation. Overall SX-1280 is a great unit, but after comparing the two units, I believe Hitachi's SR-2004 looks better, it has more power (200WRMS/CH)and more headroom +/- 98.8 VDC supply for output stage, while SX-1280 is +/- 76 VDC, and much better FM selectivity with SAW filter and selectable narrow IF bandwidth. Still Pioneer SX-1280 is very good value for the money and there's almost always one available at any given time on eBay.

Strengths:
Great sound quality. Excellent S/N ratio. Well built. Look of quality.

Weaknesses:
Power supply regulator circuit runs very hot. FM tuner selectivity could be much better in this league.

Similar Products Used:
Nikko 1219, Technics SA-828, Hitachi SR-2004, Sansui QRX-6500, Sony STR-4800D

Price Paid:  $150.00 from Private

Summary:
Basically i'm lucky to have this thing.

Strengths:
Bass, warm solid sound just not found now.

Weaknesses:
Ok...idiots...this thing is heavy BECAUSE IT IS EXCELLENTLY BUILT!!! I AM STOKED IT'S HEAVY, NOT B****ING. You listen to this, not move it. Go get yerselves a nice light peace of crap they build nowadays.

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo tx-831

Price Paid:  $750.00 from Audiovision, Sumter

Summary:
I bought mine new in 1979, when it was nearly the top of the line, bested only by the SX1980. Lost it in the divorce in 1992. Have regretted it ever since.

Strengths:
Truly transparent sound with no hint of stridency whatsoever. Haven't been able to find a better tuner, preamp or power amp since. Separates may look cool, but unless you have many thousands to spend, you are probably better off with this receiver. Sections are matched perfectly. Power is seamless and I drove a pair of Bose 901's and the sound was breathtaking. It has a quality feel and sound that cannot be matched by any current-day mid-fi offerings. If I ever see one again, I WILL snatch it up.

Weaknesses:
For the power we're talking about, it could really use binding posts for the speakers. Heavy.

Similar Products Used:
Too many to list. Ten years after losing it, I'm still trying to achieve that smoothness of sound. I've spent a fortune on separates and have come close, but no cigar.

Price Paid:  $950.00 from North Vancouver, BC,

Summary:
I purchased this unit new in 1979. It cost an arm and leg for those days, but I've never regretted the purchase. This was used for six or seven years with custom-built speakers (3x10", 3x 5", 3 tweeters - per speaker) which took a lot of power. Then, for another six or seven years, with a 4 speaker setup - 2 x AR and 2 x Advent. For the final six years, it was used with KEF 104/2 speakers - that was a wonderful combination! At the 15 year point, I had to have the power transistors in one channel replaced. Not surprising, considering that the unit had been used almost every day for 15 years! At the 20 year point, the power transistors in the other channel went, plus another problem came up with hum which I am still looking to resolve. It is hard to find people who can work on these massive beasts. This unit provided pure, clean sound and impressive power. Truly a classic

Strengths:
Versatile input/output, excellent FM section, pure, clean, plentiful power. Makes those so-called 500 watt AV receivers look like Dinky toys.

Weaknesses:
Big and heavy - 78 pounds.

Similar Products Used:
SX-737, Adcom 5400