I pulled out the Ace Bass B2-50 for someone today and connected it to what I had lying around.   A pair of budget Audex speakers (circa 1960) and a Pioneer SX-1250 receiver.  I turned out be quite a good demo, mainly because the small 6-8" woofers in the 2-way Audex speakers are quite bass shy, giving the superb B2-50 lots of room to shine.  Of course, the SX-1250 was an excellent performer (as always) with 160 watts on tap into these 8 ohm speakers.  I've never seen a receiver pull in so many FM stations in stereo without an antenna connected.

Some details on the AudioPro Ace Bass.  Its a powered subwoofer produced by 3dGruppen of Sweden and utilizes two 6.5" drivers made by Philips capable of doing 20Hz at realistic listening levels.  It does great for audio, where many modern subwoofers fall flat.

A few more shots after the break.
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Marantz 2215B Receiver (1973-1977, MSRP 250 USD)

The Marantz 2215B has a relatively modest 15 watts per channel, and certainly isn't as big and powerful as some of it's bigger, but similiar, Marantz receiver brethren, but it still has that wonderful Marantz sound.  The five main control knobs have a wonderful sense of symmetry on the classic brushed silver Marantz faceplate.  Also present is the classic Marantz blue dial.

The 2215B can be paired with a WC-116 or WC-15T wood cabinet.

Check out the rest of the pictures after the break.

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Hitachi SR-303 Receiver (1977)

Sure, it's not as powerful as its bigger brothers like the Hitachi SR-503, SR-703 and definitely not the mighty Hitachi SR-2004.  This little Hitachi SR-303 does firmly fall into the cute and sound sweet category though.  It's not a bad little looker either.

The clean lines are helped with a thick aluminum faceplate, real aluminum knobs and a weighty-ness usually reserved for higher end machines.  The tuner dial's white background makes it easy to read, and adds to the simple look as well.

At about 20 watts per channel, this receiver won't blow you out of your house, especially not if you're driving some in-efficient speakers.   But, if you're looking for a good receiver for your apartment, office, or bedroom, this is  a great choice.  It has all the inputs you'll need - Aux, Phono, Tape and push button selectors for 2 sets of speakers.

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All Photo Credits Skibjr on eBay

The SX-5590 is very similar to the Pioneer SX-1250, but it's different in one very obvious way - it's black face vs. the silver face of the SX-1250 and most other Pioneer receivers from the 1970's.   The SX-5590 was manufactured for 8 months in 1976,  and less than 2,500 of these "special edition" receivers were built during this period.  Furthermore, they were available only to U.S. military personnel stationed overseas through  European post exchanges (a.k.a. "PX's").

In this post, we feature an another amazing, all out restoration of this wonderful receiver by eBay member Skibjr.  (Check out his restoration of a Pioneer SX-1280 here).  Skibjr  sells on eBay. Check out his latest listings here.

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Pioneer SX-1280 Receiver Full Rebuild / Restoration

The SX-1280 was a follow up to the original 'monster' Pioneer SX-1250 receiver.   Rated at 185 watts per channel. From 1978. Features, tone controls, on/off two separate bass and treble controls, filters, mic input, two tape in/outputs one aux input and two phono inputs, phono two selector is also the mic selector. Tape duplicator switch, phono selector for the right stylus and the best response, from your needle, Adaptor switch to add a equalizer etc.

In this post, we feature an amazing, all out restoration of this wonderful receiver by eBay member Skibjr.  Check out the full restoration by Skibjr on eBay. Check out his latest listings here.

Specs:

Power Output: 185 watts per channel RMS into 8 ohms.
Harmonic Distortion: Less than 0.03%
Intermodulation Distortion: Less than 0.01%

FM Sensitivity: 1.7uV
FM Capture Ratio: 1.00
FM Harmonic Distortion Mono: <0.10%
FM Harmonic Distortion Stereo: <0.15%

Dimensions: 22.00 x 18.25 x 7.50
Weight: 63.25 lbs

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Pioneer SX-626 Receiver

Manufactured from 1971-1973

Specs:

20 Watts Per Channel RMS (20 Hz to 20 KHz, both channels driven, 1% THD)
Damping Factor @ Load Impedance    40 at 8 ohms
Output Impedance(s)    4 to 16 ohms

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Tandberg TR-2040 Receiver

Built in 1975 in the Tandberg Radio Factory, located in Oslo Norway, the Tandberg TR-2040 is a receiver that is a little different from what you might find in similar units from Pioneer, Sansui or Yamaha receivers of the time.   For one, this receiver is FM band only, and has a distinctively un-Japanese look to it.  The differences are more than skin deep, though.

Unusually, the FM radio has six presets which can be selected through the square push buttons on the right hand side of the receiver.  The presets are set by using the small 'tuning' knob under each preset button.  A neat touch is that the signal meter moves to the number of your preset when it is selected.

Sound quality is excellent, and this receiver produces a respectable 40watts per channel.

New Price: 4,000.00 NKr. (1975)  ~ $700 at 2013 exchange rates.
Net weight (2.2 lb = 1 kg) 9.6 kg / 21 lb 2.3 oz (21.145 lb)
Dimensions (WHD) 515 x 143 x 320 mm / 20.3 x 5.6 x 12.6 inch

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Setton RS-440 Receiver

Pioneer, Marantz, Sansui and Yamaha all rivalled to build and market the best receivers during the 1970's, but there were also lesser known brands that made equipment every bit as good - and sometimes better.   This Setton receiver may be one of those.   The RS-440 uses a direct coupled, OCR amplifier design, that puts out a very conservatively  rated 55 watts per channel.

There are many other nice features as well, such as an IEC power socket on the back, machined metal knobs, and a distinctive rose colored tuner windows.  There are indicator lights for heat, clipping, and the protection circuit for the speakers.

This Setton RS-440 is sold! Check ebay listings after the break.

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Marantz 4230 Stereo 2 + Quadrial 4 Receiver (1973-1978, 499 USD MSRP)

RMS Power Per Channel    12wx4 or 30wx2
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)    0.5%
Power Bandwidth    40 hz to 20 khz
Intermodulation Distortion (IM)    0.5%

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Kenwood KR-9600 Receiver (1978)

Perhaps not as well known as the Pioneer SX-1250 or the Marantz Model 2500 but those in the know recognize this monster Kenwood is firmly in the same league.  There's a 3-stage differential amp, Dual Power-Supply (but one transformer only), four large caps, sizeable side heatsinks, relay switching, DC and overcurrent protection for the amp section.

You can own this fine example (with original manual included) for just $450+ shipping.  Contact us for more details.

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