Pioneer SX-950: Should I Repair it? | Badger & Blade

Whether you should purchase a new one or repair the old one depends on how you use it or might like to use it. Will it be reserved strictly for music playback, or might you be interested in using it for home theater with your TV, DVD player, Roku, Fire TV, or Chromecast device.

The Pioneer SX-950 dates back to the 1976-1978 model years. That means its audio inputs are limited to RCA analog jacks. The digital audio S/PDIF and Toslink standards date back to the early 80s, so your receiver predates the digital input standards that formed the basis of digital audio compact discs.

Due to the age of the receiver, many of the filter capacitors in the power supply and amplifier sections of the receiver may have either failed or are failing, especially any large electrolytic capacitors. Thus, the receiver may no longer be performing anywhere near its original specifications. Whether it can be repaired to its original state depends upon the skill of the repair technician as well as availability of parts.

Before making your decision, I would suggest you take a look at some of the current stereo or even A/V receivers. They will have a combination of RCA, S/PDIF coax digital, toslink optical digital and HDMI digital inputs and outputs. As long as the receiver has a high quality digital to analog converter using digital connections are preferred. Whether digital coax or digital optical is preferred is a matter if debate among audiophiles. A high quality DAC will have a minimum specification of 24 bits/192 kHz sampling rate, but premium DACs are available that process internally up to 32 bits/768k sampling rate. That is far above the original CD standard of 16 bit/44.1kHz sampling rate. Whether you can hear the difference between standard CD quality and higher resolution depends on the quality of your hearing and the quality of your playback equipment. High quality headphones are the preferred listening device for hi-rez music.

In recent years, music is being released in multi-channel formats and even in 3-D formats such as Dolby Atmos. If you intend to use the receiver strictly for a phono turntable or CD player, a stereo receiver will work just fine. While turntables are analog, CD players are digital and have both analog and digital outputs. Generally, the digital outputs will provide a cleaner signal than analog, just like digital television is an improvement on analog TV.

If you get interested in high-resolution streaming audio, many of the newer receivers can stream audio from Tidal, Deezer, Qobuz, Amazon Music HD, Spotify, Pandora, etc. using a built-in Internet connection. The higher quality streaming requires payment of a monthly fee.

Pioneer still makes some decent audio equipment, but things have changed in the past 40+ years. It no longer has the stellar reputation it once held. You might want to do some research before purchasing anything. Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo, Marantz, and Sony are a few names you might want to consider along with Pioneer. And this does not even mention the true “audiophile” brand names. Fortunately, the you should be able to learn what you need from the Internet.