EBay bargain

[Jac Hawk]

So a few weeks ago I started looking for a Mission 774 arm, I’ve always fancied one just to know what all the hype’s about. Anyway checked out all the usual places and I saw one on eBay but it was attached to a TD160 Super, so I sat and waited and noticed there were no bids going in, with 2 days of the auction left I sent a very cheeky offer and was expecting either to be ignored or told to fcuk off, anyway to my surprise it was accepted and I was then told it comes with a free amp too.

went today to collect everything was wrapped, and the seller told me the amp needs a service but it’s in good nick for a 70’s amp, go home and unwrapped a Pioneer SA7800 which looks very retro, the question is, is it any good?

[struth]

pioneer is a very good amp; they look good too; may need caps doing. sounds like a great scoop for you..

[walpurgis]

Nice amp, high quality and high spec for the time, a classic jap integrated.

[Macca]

It's from 1980 and looks like it was fairly high end at the time.

[Jac Hawk]

So I’ve got a Mission 774 in what looks like very good condition, a Thorens TD160 super in very good condition and a Pioneer SA7800 that may need a little work all for £299 I think I’ve done rather well:D

[struth]

the amp in good nick is worth that alone :lol:

[Jac Hawk]

I think so too Grant, all i really wanted was the arm and TBH the arm's with £300 too.

i'll post some photo's, but being that i've driven 300 miles today and the WAM show is tomorrow and that will be another 200 ish miles i'll not be doing it today

[Jac Hawk]

the Amp :D

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52397669860_a0a2c8c41c_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2nQcKK3)IMG_0505 (https://flic.kr/p/2nQcKK3) by mike davis (https://www.flickr.com/photos/185433896@N07/), on Flickr

[Macca]

Lovely stuff.

There's a bloke on eBay asking £1100 for one.

[Jac Hawk]

Lovely stuff.

There's a bloke on eBay asking £1100 for one.

Ebay is weird though, asking and getting are 2 different things, but it does seem to be a battleship of an amp, all the controls are metal and operate with a reassuring click

[Wakefield Turntables]

You have done very well indeed. The 160 super is probably £250-300 all day long.

[Barry]

Japanese amps were always well made with solid metal knobs and switch controls that had a nice smooth and reassuring 'feel' in operation.

Looks like you got yourself a bit of a bargain there Mike - well done! :)

[Jac Hawk]

You have done very well indeed. The 160 super is probably £250-300 all day long.

that was my thought Andrew, the auction was collection only and the seller put a high starting price though which can be a bit off putting, but he was a genuinely nice guy just didn’t have a place big enough for all his gear, I’ll get the amp serviced and sort the deck and arm out myself, then figure out what I’ll do with it all

[Wakefield Turntables]

Mike, nice to see someone getting some good luck!

[Ali Tait]

Yes indeed, amp looks decent, a mate’s dad had a Pioneer similar to this, maybe a bit further up the range, was a very nice amp. He had a Leak TT and AR18’s.

[Jac Hawk]

So a bit of an update. The turntable is in surprisingly good condition and just needed a new thicker armboard and a little bit of minor tweakage, the original dust cover is free from cracks and i'm going through the process of polishing out scratches and getting rid of a little bit of fogging, this is a messy job which i hate, but it will be worth it in the end.

The arm has been stripped, cleaned and rewired with silver cable, i was going to directly attach the phono cable, but in hindsight the lack of any sort of sturdy clamp on the arm to fix the cables has made me rethink and i'm going to run silver cable from the arm to a rear mounted phono plate and seperate earth.

The amp has been the biggest revelation, i was given it for free and told it was worth quite a bit, which i took with a pinch of salt, however after further investigation and reading quite a few reviews it turns out that not only is it very well regarded, it's built like a tank and one has recently sold for a shade under £600 on ebay. At the moment it's getting a thorough going over by Alan (Firebottle), I think it will more than likely need a recap and maybe the trim pots replacing, but it is a thing of beauty so i don't mind spending a few quid to get it running on all cylinders, other than that and a damn good clean it should be good. Once i get it back i'll decide what to do with it, but more than likely i'll take it to the next NEBO before making a decision.

i'll post some pictures shortly.....

[Beobloke]

That's a superb haul.

As to the amps, they are very good but who cares what they sound like? They've got Fluoroscan!!

[Jac Hawk]

That's a superb haul.

As to the amps, they are very good but who cares what they sound like? They've got Fluoroscan!!

Ha! you wouldn't be saying that if it was an Amstrad

[Beobloke]

Ha! you wouldn't be saying that if it was an Amstrad

Well, true, but only because, with Amstrad, the sound cones first.

[Pigmy Pony]

Well, true, but only because, with Amstrad, the sound cones first.

I think you mean with Amstrad the sound goes first... what's Fluoroscan?

[karma1967]

its the stuff they put in the water :)

[JohnNB]

I've got a Pioneer SA-01 (circa 1973). Had it since new. It's a beautiful amp. Powerful for 30w per channel, and built like a tank. I've had it repaired after it developed crackles. The engineer said he'd never seen an amp with that much dust inside! So your SA-7800 may be a gem.

[Beobloke]

I think you mean with Amstrad the sound goes first... what's Fluoroscan?

It’s the name given to the fab blue power meters.

[Jac Hawk]

I've got a Pioneer SA-01 (circa 1973). Had it since new. It's a beautiful amp. Powerful for 30w per channel, and built like a tank. I've had it repaired after it developed crackles. The engineer said he'd never seen an amp with that much dust inside! So your SA-7800 may be a gem.

Indeed, i've yet to read a bad review, however i'm always a little sceptical about reviews written by owners, no one wants to admit they've bought a lemon keeps rattling around my head. that being said they command a high value on ebay with one recently selling at a smidge under £600.

I went on vinyl engine a week or so ago and all the documentation for them is there, including the Pioneer catalogue from 1979-80 showing this in the top of the range group of Pioneer integrated amps at that time, it's bigger brothers the 8800 and the 9800 having increasingly more power as well as more inputs, a MC phono stage and a few more tonal adjustments, but fundamentally are the same.

As i've said it's with Alan (Firebottle) at the moment getting the once over, it's more than likely going to need a recap, the switches cleaned and maybe the trim pots replaced, but it is a thing of beauty and since it doesn't owe me anything i don't mind spending a few quid to get it back performing at its best, with any luck there's nothing majorly wrong with it and anything it does need is easy enough to get a hold of. i know Alan is busy at the moment and to be honest i'm not in any major rush to get it back, however i'd like to think if it isn't beyond repair than it could get an outing at the next NEBO.

[mik_rik]

Coincidence Mike,I was thinking of hauling along my Pioneer SX 1250 for a run out at the next NEBO (if I can get the bugger out of the house)

[Jac Hawk]

So a bit of an update. I've finished the arm rewire and given the turntable a service, I don't like the arm earthed through the cartridge cabling so i've ran a separate wire and mounted one of the cable block screws upside down so i can terminate the earth, given the arm a good clean and mounted the Dynavector 10x5, now some photos.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52476812503_f01abc2e0c_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2nXco6n)IMG_0241 (https://flic.kr/p/2nXco6n) by mike davis (https://www.flickr.com/photos/185433896@N07/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52476732125_9edc499185_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2nXbYcx)IMG_0242 (https://flic.kr/p/2nXbYcx) by mike davis (https://www.flickr.com/photos/185433896@N07/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52475766227_3af092eeea_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2nX7258)IMG_0240 (https://flic.kr/p/2nX7258) by mike davis (https://www.flickr.com/photos/185433896@N07/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52475766252_8cfa179769_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2nX725y)IMG_0239 (https://flic.kr/p/2nX725y) by mike davis (https://www.flickr.com/photos/185433896@N07/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52468826555_e9ab932d79_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2nWus9B)96341FED-86C1-46AE-ACD4-1D14FF48F303 (https://flic.kr/p/2nWus9B) by mike davis (https://www.flickr.com/photos/185433896@N07/), on Flickr

[Pigmy Pony]

Looking good Mike, but will that cabling affect the free movement of the tonearm? When does the t/t get its maiden voyage, or have you already tried it?

[Jac Hawk]

Looking good Mike, but will that cabling affect the free movement of the tonearm? When does the t/t get its maiden voyage, or have you already tried it?

I was worried about that too Steve, but as it happens it doesn't affect the movement at all, to be honest they should have had the cable coming out of the top of the arm rather than the side it would have meant that the cable moves even less i don't know why they didn't, but everything is working as it should the earth cable i've put in is working dead silent so happy days.

I've given it a little run it would be rude not to, obviously the new cable will need a few hours to settle in but my 1st impression was that the Dynavector 10x5 has never sounded as good, it's not as refined a sound as i get from the TD125 with the Art9, but it's very punchy with loads of bass, on some recordings i can possibly see this being a bit over the top, but on LP's that are bass light, The Clash London Calling, Blondie Parallel Lines, for example it adds depth, basically makes them listenable

[Jac Hawk]

So a bit of an update, the rewired Mission 774 is singing sweetly and mounted on the Thorens TD160 Super it came on. the deck itself was in really good condition and only needed a good clean and a new armboard as the original was too thin and allowed the arm mounting screws to protrude and stop the suspension working properly, you see this a lot and you'd think people would realise the issue and get it sorted, all i did was order a thicker than normal armboard from The Vinyl Source 5mm rather than 3mm and that was it sorted. i fitted a Dynavector 10x5 and the sound from this combo is a bit more laid back and a bit more bassy than my other decks, i'm not saying it's better, it's different and makes those LP's that are a bit thin sounding much better.

So the free amp which had one channel quieter than the other, i sent it off to Alan Kendal aka Firebottle and asked him to basically sort it. That was over a month ago now, i wasn't worried if there was a load of repairs as i got the amp for free and they sell on ebay for £600 upwards. So i called Alan at the beginning of the week just for a bit of an update, i was expecting it to need a recap minimum and all the switched cleaned as a minimum, as it turned out it didn't need anymore than a good clean, which just goes to show the build quality of these battleship amps from the late 70's and early 80's.

i picked the amp up on Friday, Alan has done a great job removing the fur coat from the insides and cleaning the front panel and switches, like most amps of this era it has spring type speaker terminals and i'll be replacing them in the following week with more modern terminals that will take banana plugs. So how does it sound, one word wonderful, i mean really wonderful, I sat for about 3 hours today, it was fed from the TD16 super mentioned above via an EAT E-Glo Petit, played through Kralk Audio TDB12's the delivery was relaxed, this amp doesn't make your tweeters shout at you and allows you to listen at high volume for extended periods without becoming fatigued, i was quite surprised how well this amp played with the TDB12's as they tend to prefer valves, so overall for a freebee i'm chuffed to bits, to be honest if i'd paid £600 or £700 for it i'd be thinking what a bargain honestly it's that good.

I'll be taking it to the next NEBO if anyone is curious, but for now a picture of it playing this afternoon.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52524888121_5a856c6158_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2o2rMik)IMG_0529 (https://flic.kr/p/2o2rMik) by mike davis (https://www.flickr.com/photos/185433896@N07/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52524421332_f6038a18db_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2o2poxf)IMG_05299 (https://flic.kr/p/2o2poxf) by mike davis (https://www.flickr.com/photos/185433896@N07/), on Flickr

[Macca]

wonderful - ready for another 40 years of action.

They didn't make stuff to be thrown out after a few years back then, it was built to outlive the owner. And possibly his children too.

[Oddball]

Great stuff Jac , a really nice find :)

[Jac Hawk]

100% Anto, sometimes it’s just good fortune, and now I’ve had time to listen to the amp playing all sorts through it from hip hop and RnB to Mongolian rock, I’m thinking I might just keep it, it really does give the Primaluna a run for its money the only thing I miss is a remote control, but it goes to show good kit will always be good and high quality sound hasn’t really come on that much in 40 years.