Pioneer SX-1000TA
A hybrid receiver that kept tubes in the FM front end while the rest of the world went solid-state — and got away with it.
Overview
The SX-1000TA is one of those transitional pieces that tells you exactly where the industry stood in 1967: Pioneer hadn't rushed into transistors the way some rivals had, and this top-of-the-line receiver was built as an almost-all-transistor design with three tubes deliberately retained in the FM front end — a 6HA5 and two 6CW4 nuvistors. Behind that tube front end sit 45 transistors, 37 diodes (one of them a zener in the low-voltage section of the power supply), and two thermistors. Audio (October 1967, p.75) described the SX-1000TA as a top performer, well able to provide the most critical listener with what he wants to hear, attributing this to a canny use of advanced solid-state circuit techniques.
The power story is more interesting than the badge suggests. Audio measured the amplifier with both channels driven and found 40 watts per channel into 8 ohms, 50 watts at midband into 4 ohms, and 25 watts per channel into 16 ohms, with a power bandwidth of 15 to 40,000 Hz. The magazine's reviewers reckoned that on the IHF 4-ohm rating the receiver could fairly be called a 110- or 120-watter.
The tuner section holds up too. Audio measured FM IHF sensitivity at 2.5 µV, with a listenable 50 dB signal-to-noise ratio reached at around 12 µV — a sharp sensitivity curve that gives more usable sensitivity than the raw number implies. Optimum FM signal-to-noise was 58 dB, frequency response was flat from 22 Hz to 10 kHz before drooping to a -3 dB point at 15 kHz, and stereo channel separation exceeded 30 dB through the critical midrange and treble, hitting 35 dB at 400 Hz. Pioneer's own literature claimed 2.2 µV front-end sensitivity and 38 dB channel separation; the independent bench numbers came in close enough that nobody was arguing.
Around the back, the SX-1000TA is unusually well-connected for its class. There are three phono inputs total — magnetic or ceramic on phono-1, a second magnetic on phono-2, plus a separate tape-head position — along with tape monitor in and out, aux, and a DIN record/play socket for European tape recorders. The speaker connectors are the standout detail: they pull off the chassis entirely, two screw-type terminals on a fat separator to prevent accidental shorts, so owners can swap speaker runs without reaching around the back. There are two a.c. receptacles (one switched) and a slide switch to reconfigure the power transformer for 120 or 230 volts. Antenna connections are three screws up top — two for 300-ohm FM, one for AM — plus a swingable, tiltable ferrite loopstick.
The front panel is dense but sensible. From left: power switch, earphone jack, concentric but unganged dual bass, low filter, high filter, treble, balance, muting, afc, defeatable loudness compensation, volume, phono-1/phono-2, and mode. Tuning and the AM/FM/tape/aux selector sit above and to the right, with a signal-strength meter and a stereo indicator lamp. Audio singled out the slow-acting volume control for not blasting when cracked open, and noted that Pioneer stood virtually alone in offering defeatable loudness compensation that boosts both bass and treble at low listening levels. The switches are flat-ended vertical throw levers, off in the upright position — positive action, easy to grab, no miniature fiddly controls.
Physically it's a compact piece: 16 inches wide, 5-5/16 inches tall, 13-1/16 inches deep, 25 pounds bare. The oiled walnut cabinet was included in the $360 price — Pioneer made a point of it in the advertising, and the case adds a little height and weight. Audio called the cased receiver undeniably handsome, which mattered in a market where the cabinet was often an upsell. When Pioneer ran its 30th-anniversary promotion the following year, the SX-1000TA was cut from $360 to $299.95 without the walnut cabinet, with the new SX-1500T taking over the top slot.
What does it sound like? Audio's listening notes describe smooth, easy-to-take sound that can be lived with nicely — not a firebreather, but a receiver that gets out of the way. The AM tuner wasn't bench-tested but was judged fine for what AM transmission actually delivers. The plug-in speaker connectors are a genuine convenience that most rivals didn't offer, and the defeatable loudness circuit remains a small luxury. For a collector chasing early solid-state Pioneer, the SX-1000TA is the honest transitional piece — tubes where they helped, transistors where they paid off, and a $360 price that Audio thought made it an easy recommendation.
eBay Listings
As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our independent vintage technology research.