Pioneer SA-8500 worth bringing out of storage?

[RistrettoX6]

So, I bought this amp in 1976 and used it daily for about 15 years, then into storage. It used to drive EPI 120's with authority. I recently dove back into audio to primarily listen to my old and new vinyl. I'm thinking of cleaning and deoxiting it, but the spec looks less than awesome:
Power output: 60 watts per channel into 8Ω (stereo)
Frequency response: 7Hz to 40kHz
Total harmonic distortion: 0.1%
Damping factor: 30
Input sensitivity: 7.5mV (mic), 2.5mV (MM), 150mV (line)
Signal to noise ratio: 65dB (mic), 70dB (MM), 90dB (line)
Output: 150mV (line), 30mV (DIN), 1V (Pre out)
Semiconductors: 45 x transistors, 27 x diodes
Dimensions: 420 x 150 x 345mm
Weight: 13kg

https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/pioneer/sa-8500.shtml

Is this worth listening to?

 

[brad225]

Give it a try. You will probably decide rather quickly.

 

[Mikado463]

As Brad said let your ears be your guide ! A soon to be 50 year old amp at a minimum probably needs to be re-capped. Vintage can be fun and if it encourages you to listen to more music, all the better !

 

[Mr Peabody]

You only used it 14 years before storage so I'm not so sure it needs parts replaced, like capacitors.

I think you should pull it out, the circuits are discrete, you have 2 phono inputs and vintage amps are in vogue these days. You'd have to spend pretty good money to best it. Don't pay attention to the specs, they can make a home theater receiver have better specs on paper than a lot of high end gear. With 60 watts you'd still have to have efficient speakers if your room is large or you like high volume. In short, that would be a great amp for bringing the old record collection out for a listen.

On the other hand if you want to buy something else that amp should sell for much more than you paid for it originally, that vintage gear is selling for crazy money.

 

[Mikado463]

You only used it 14 years before storage so I'm not so sure it needs parts replaced, like capacitors.

Capacitors will age even in storage and if kept in ones attic where temps can get excessive that will hasten the process

 

[nicoff]

So, I bought this amp in 1976 and used it daily for about 15 years, then into storage. It used to drive EPI 120's with authority. I recently dove back into audio to primarily listen to my old and new vinyl. I'm thinking of cleaning and deoxiting it, but the spec looks less than awesome:
Power output: 60 watts per channel into 8Ω (stereo)

….

Is this worth listening to?

Only you can decide if it worth listening to and only after you plug it in of course! Good luck!

 

[RistrettoX6]

Thanks for the replies! I guess I'll clean up the tx-9500 tuner too!

 

[stereogeek]

Be careful with clean up. I "cleaned up" an old Carver amp I had, and it never worked again. If you clean it up do a very thorough job, I must have left some residue between some traces somewhere and they shorted, good luck.