Stereo receiver repair/refurb

[Liteitup 138]

Recommendations for a place that does audio equipment repair? Over the years I've kept my old receivers when they quit working. I'd like to get them fixed if it's feasible.

Pioneer SX880 from the late 70's. Resoldered the safety switch a couple of times, finally replaced it with

Yamaha R9 from the mid 80's. Replaced with

Outlaw RR2150. I let the smoke out of this one last week. Poof, it just quit. What's that electrical smell?

Replaced with Cambridge Audio AXR100.

 

Of the three, I'd like to have the Yamaha the most. Then the Pioneer. Never really bonded with the Outlaw, but it's probably got the most value. It's probably also the most fucked.

 

[TwiceHorn 31489]

@Anton Chigurh seems knowledgeable on the care and feeding of vintage hifi.

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Where are you located? I took a Marantz to Dallas Vintage Audio. They took forever, and their communication was absolutely horrible, but it did get repaired after like 6 or 8 months or something (although I think I need to replace the speaker relay now; at low volumes, my right channel has issues).

I do minor repairs myself, but doing lots of circuit board work is above me for now.

[Liteitup 138]

I'd found them via a web search but their website was lacking. I'll add them back to the possibles, thanks.

I'm in Waco, so Austin or DFW is acceptable. These are all extra so timing isn't critical. I don't expect any of them to be fast. Cost is a factor as well. 

[LosIllini 91]

4 hours ago, Anton Chigurh said:

Where are you located? I took a Marantz to Dallas Vintage Audio. They took forever, and their communication was absolutely horrible, but it did get repaired after like 6 or 8 months or something (although I think I need to replace the speaker relay now; at low volumes, my right channel has issues).

Is this the shop in Ft. Worth?  Have an old Sansui 9090 i was going to take over there to get cleaned (pretty dirty inside/ tuner needs cleaned / want to get the caps checked).  Did they do a good job?

[Leeroy Jenkins 2404]

4 hours ago, Liteitup said:

I'd found them via a web search but their website was lacking. I'll add them back to the possibles, thanks.

I'm in Waco, so Austin or DFW is acceptable. These are all extra so timing isn't critical. I don't expect any of them to be fast. Cost is a factor as well. 

There is a guy in Bastop that I know who does this work.  

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Is this the shop in Ft. Worth?  Have an old Sansui 9090 i was going to take over there to get cleaned (pretty dirty inside/ tuner needs cleaned / want to get the caps checked).  Did they do a good job?

Yes (It’s in Hurst, really). The guy that repairs for them does it from home as a side gig, which is part of why it takes so long. That and they have to get info from him to give to you, so it can take a bit.

I would have appreciated an itemized breakdown of what was exactly done, but yeah it was repaired seemingly well. I had the power board rebuilt (don’t think the relay way replaced, though), as well as some caps replaced in the tuner board and maybe one other board, I can’t remember. It cost me $275 all in. I made a $50 deposit that went toward the repairs in the end.

When I brought it home and hooked it all back up, I had a series of loud kind of pops the first time I used it, which I think might have been a new output transistor “seating” itself. Since then, I’ve had flawless operation from it aside from the low volume issue, and I use it a ton.

But, they’re nice folks and seem to do decent work. I don’t really know of where else to go around here anyway.

[Deej 76811]

https://www.austinstereo.com/

[Liteitup 138]

40 minutes ago, Deej said:

https://www.austinstereo.com/

Personal experience?

[Deej 76811]

1 minute ago, Liteitup said:

Personal experience?

Yes, although it has been some time since I have used him for anything. I have had many friends who have used him. Zero complaints. He does only work on analog stuff, though. Place as been there for almost 40 years. 

Edited September 3, 2020 by Deej

[Liteitup 138]

41 minutes ago, Deej said:

Yes, although it has been some time since I have used him for anything. I have had many friends who have used him. Zero complaints. He does only work on analog stuff, though. Place as been there for almost 40 years. 

Thanks, I emailed them and already got a response from Joe. It was double what I was thinking, guess whoever processes my estate will have to throw away three receivers as I just can't bear to get rid of them. Back in the closet they go.

You were right, they would only work on the Pioneer.

[Deej 76811]

Might check these guys out...

http://soundgalleryaustin.com/

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

That Pioneer is worth saving for sure. What kind of quote did you ask for?

[Liteitup 138]

They told me they only do total restorations and it would be in the $800 range.

 

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

They told me they only do total restorations and it would be in the $800 range.
 

Oh damn.

[Al Czervik 1229]

Tapehead Electronics in Austin. 

Took in my 70's Pioneer SX-850 to figure out why it would lose the lower frequency signal intermittently along with a noisy volume knob.  The fact that it spent most of its life in a barn didn't help, but it also did not kill it.  They did replace a few parts and clean the entire inside of the unit and has since worked flawlessly, including the deposit which was applied to the final invoice, the cost was under $200.  I have cleaned the outer shell, repainted the rusting metal covers, sanded and stained the exterior wood and now looks like a retro piece of furniture that produces amazing sound. 

I did check a few other places in Austin and the estimates ranged from $500-$$800 depending on the scope after they get into the project.  Mostly these guys are looking to refurbish the unit and the money can be considered  well spent if that is what you're into.  I just wanted it to work again and am very happy with the result.  Also, I think it was less than a month when I got the receiver back,  a full restoration would have likely be months longer.       

[jimmyjazz 45963]

My bro-in-law is a UT EE grad and put himself through school fixing analog gear, decades ago.  He is a silver series Pioneer expert.  I'm quite sure he could fix your SX-880 without doing an $800 (!!!) full refurb.