I made the daring move to purchase a Pioneer SA-8800 amplifier off of eBay in hopes of experiencing the vintage audio movement. I had heard rumors that some of the amplifiers from the 1970's could produce audio that would compete with some of the best of today's current production lineup.
First Impressions
When I received the unit, I was pleased to find that it had been packaged properly and arrived undamaged. The machined knobs were cool to the touch and had a very solid feel and appearance to them; a far cry from the big box mart mainstream equipment sold today. The detentes in potentiometers added to the feel that I was now the owner of something truly well-made.
I tested the unit with some of my common test media: Randy Roos, Diana Krall, Enya, among others. The sound was extremely transparent. It was light and smooth. I could not be happier. I did notice that it seemed to have a little bias in the upper treble frequencies - something that I have noticed on other Japanese amplifiers. Bass was punchy and accurate. Rated at 80 watts RMS per channel, it is no tank, but it held its own into very high volume levels with no sign of distortion.
The phono section was everything one could hope for. With several different cartridge options and settings, I'm not sure there is a record player that this could not accomodate. Again, audio from vinyl was everything I could hope for. I enjoyed my entire collection all over again just auditioning this amplifier.
Conclusions
The Pioneer SA-8800 amplifier is an amazing unit. For the mere few hundred dollars one can really get a great deal of quality audio out of this unit. At low wattages, the unit remains Class A, producing a good deal of heat, but excellent resolution and fidelity. If you come across one of these, you would be lucky to pick it up. Even if it sits on a shelf, it is a piece of art. Used for its intended purpose, it brings color-free art to ones ears.
Bass was punchy and accurate. Rated at 80 watts RMS per channel, it is no tank, but it held its own into very high volume levels with no sign of distortion. satılık
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know, this model does not support a moving coil cartridge (MC) but the SA9800 model does.
ReplyDeleteI made the daring move to purchase a Pioneer SA-8800 amplifier off of eBay in hopes of experiencing the vintage audio movement. I had heard ... pioneeramp.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteJust purchased Pioneer SA 8800 as my Technics was not performing as it usually does. Great sound and handling from this amp. I was using a graphic equalizer to get some sort of descent sound with the Technics but there is no comparison to the Pioneer absolutely fabulous.
ReplyDeleteI owned a pioneer sa 8800 many years ago along with a jvc qly 5f record deck and studio craft speakers,owned for a number of year's before up grading, I really liked the amp it was meaty heavy and well made, sound was good for what i understood at the time,my mother now has the system and still gets used from time to time
ReplyDeleteI am particularly interested wheather or not the pioneer sa8800 suports a MC cartridge,
ReplyDeleteanybody out there who knows?
Yes it does
DeleteCan anyone let me know if the Pionees sa 8800 supports an MC cartridge? I know that the 9800 does, but what about the 8800?
ReplyDeleteNo it doesn't. It has various adjustment with the capacitance and impedance on the MM cartridge input, which is very nice!
DeleteWhat's the detail like with this amp? Or is that the wrong question to ask? (don't be afraid to let me have it!)
ReplyDeleteEn esta año hoy 17 de septiembre encontre el mismo amplificador en un bazar en Victoria Tamaulipas pero se me hace demasiado caro 4800 ya que tiene un largo camino recorrido 70s a 2012 cual seria el precio correcto ademas de tener una falla en el encendido es exactamente el mismo aparato
ReplyDelete