I picked up all of these Pioneer (Fukuin) items at an estate sale last week and am unfamiliar with them. They are: SM-B180 Tube-type Receiver, 2 PAX-20E Speakers, and an STP-1 "Transistor Head Amplifier" (whatever that is) all with original boxes and paperwork. Is this equipment of pretty good quality or junk? I heard that early Pioneer equipment was not too good. Anyway, I didn't pay much for it and just wanted to know whether it was rare, common, of mediocre quality, etc. Thanks in advance for any information. By the way, a really cool catalog was in one of the boxes as shown in the picture.

Pioneer was on a par with Sansui, and in the same price range in the 60's.

I'd put Pioneer ahead of SanSewage and Kenwood. Pioneer 'pioneered' laserdisc, which became CD and DVD. (Yes I know the format was invented by Philips. I worked on an industrial version in 1988-89.) SanSewage and Kenwood pioneered nothing.

Reading this doesn't sound like Kenwood pioneered "nothing":
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company- ... story.html

Pete

Fair to mfddlin' as I recall. Might connect to a long lost affectionado on EvilPay, especially in the box!

Thanks for the information. By the way, what is the "Transistor Head Amplifier" unit for? Any thoughts?

I'm no historian, but I believe that Fukuin Electric was the corporate predecessor to the modern Pioneer Corporation, much like the early days of Sony. And, much like Sony, the early equipment they made was NOT high quality.

The earlier one of this ?

http://audio-database.com/PIONEER-EXCLU ... p-2-e.html

I think that you are right - my STP-1 looks kind like the one in the picture you posted. But, what exactly does it do?

Anyway, I'm glad that I didn't pay much for the stuff. Looks like the quality/desirability is not too high! I would guess that the speakers are probably pretty much worthless, too. Actually, the coolest thing is the catalog - some really interesting pics in it!

I wouldn't give them away or trade them for a handful of magic beans. Probably not too hi-fi, but some people really like this kind of stuff, especially with the boxes and manuals.

The box seems to indicate that the receiver uses 6BM8 tubes for the outputs (is it stereo?). I wouldn't try to turn it on- even with a variac or dimbulb- too many old caps to smoke. Offer it as an untested "vintage" piece with no warranty and see what the market will bear.

Are those PAX-20E speakers 8" ? Here's a guy who loves his so much he posted on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pPb6R2qY4I

I wonder if the STP-1 is a headphone amp or maybe a preamp for a magnetic cartridge.

-Steve W.

In the late 50's tape recorders were available in two parts. The mechanical and the electronic part.

The box was necessary to use a tape mechanism alone. This was especially important because
when stereo first came out, people with mono tape machines could add an extra head to hear
both channels. The prerecorded tapes were either staggered or stacked. Staggered used the second head
spaced apart from the first head. If you ever played a staggered stereo tape on the later machines
that had stacked heads, it would play with an echo.

I'd say you have quite a find. The fact that you received the items in their original boxes with the manual and promotional material is a serious historical plus. How many people kept these things? Not many, I'd bet.

In regards to quality the Japanese didn't really start to hit their stride until the mid 70's however that should not stop you from enjoying the fine equipment you have before you. What one may say sounds lacking may sound great to you. Go ahead and experiment!

If these items haven't been used in a while I would *highly* recommend you bring up each item slowly on a variac. In addition the early Japanese hi-fi equipment contained quite a few capacitors (I believe they are paper in oil construction) that will eventually need to replaced. Whenever you do decide to get around to this and have any questions feel free to ask here as we'd be happy to assist you.

Great score and keep those boxes and literature in good shape. It's a piece of history.

I wouldn't try to turn it on, even with a variac or dimbulb (see my post above). My experience is that the caps in these old Japanese pieces will fail frequently and at random. I've seen smoke signals that tell me this is true.

-Steve W.

I dug out the intstruction book and found out that the "transistor head amplifier" is to be used with a "magnetic phono pickup" since the amplifier is only designed for use with a "crystal phono pickup" according to the instructions. By the way, the amplifier uses 4 output tubes (6BM8s) so it should sound pretty good. I think that I'll just plug 'er in and let 'er rip and see what happens (if it smokes a bit, no big deal!) Just kidding of course...

Yes use a variac and monitor B+ voltage. Bring it up slowly. If you notice anything amiss unplug it immediately.

What I like to do is connect my voltmeter to the second filter capacitor as it is easier to see a drop in B+ voltage as there is usually some sort of resistance between the first and second filter capacitors.

If all is well try the receiver out. The sound may not be all that good at first due to bad capacitors and out of tolerance resistors, but should give you some idea as to how it sounds. The speakers will more than likely need to have the capacitors replaced and also all resistors in the crossover (if any are used) should be replaced with non-inductive resistors.

What sounds bad to one may sound good to another.

Post at this link on the AudioKarma forum and watch the feeding frenzy begin....

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=90

Great find!

Mike

Based on experience with other Japanese electronics of that era, the coupling capacitors are certain to be bad. The electrolytic capacitors might still be OK, but I would check all of them just to be sure.

Agreed.

L

Although many negative comments are made about Sansui . . . and although their cassette decks were scary to work on . . . and although they changed their product line around 1981 and went downhill . . . the products they made from about 1968 to 1979 -- their receivers, their integrated amplifiers, their preamps, their power amps, and their turntables -- were often quite good.

As far as innovation, they were major innovators in the original surround-sound format. Their flagship QRX-9001 was the most advanced product of its kind ever made. You could select from the following four-channel modes: QS, SQ, RM, CD4 and discrete.

I still see two or three Sansui's every month at my store. Generally, their FM radios were a little more sensitive than the Pioneers, and significantly more sensitive than Marantz products.

Fred
Classic Audio Repair
San Diego