Most powerful receiver ever manufactured?

acdc7369

Active Member
The Pioneer SX-1980 was rated at 270 wpc...however, in the September 1978 issue of Audio Magazine, Leonard Feldman did a spec test on the SX-1980 and concluded that the rating of 270 watts per channel was too conservative. He stated in his report, "Though the new [IHF mandated] 'Dynamic Headroom' measurement is specified in dB, it should be mentioned that based upon the short-term signal used to measure the 2.3 dB headroom of this amplifier, it was producing nearly 460 watts of short-term power under these test conditions!"

At 460 watts per channel (2.3 dB dynamic headroom) into 8 ohm loads with THD 0.03%...even beating the Technics SA-1000... doesn't this technically makes the Pioneer SX-1980 the most powerful receiver ever manufactured? What do you guys think?
 
I think the Marantz 2600 receiver was the highest rated receiver at 300wpc. marnzt also was very conservative in rating their units so it is possible that this unit could even exceed your Pioneer.
 
In terms of FTC-compliant power specification, it was the Technics SA-1000 at 330 wpc.

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why bother anyway ? it's the sound quality that matters, 10 watts of perfect music on a pioneer or sansui sounds more powerfull than 1000 watts on a disco amp.
be serious ! 270wpc i saw the mighty quadral titans of 260lbs/piece almost killing at 2x300 watt on the pioneer meters. wich speakers can handle this amount of power perfectly pure without any more distortion than usual ?
 
"Though the new [IHF mandated] 'Dynamic Headroom' measurement is specified in dB, it should be mentioned that based upon the short-term signal used to measure the 2.3 dB headroom of this amplifier, it was producing nearly 460 watts of short-term power under these test conditions!"

The Marantz 2600 and the Technics SA-1000 would need to be tested with the same conditions to compare. I'm thinking the Pioneer would come in last place here.
 
why bother anyway ? it's the sound quality that matters, 10 watts of perfect music on a pioneer or sansui sounds more powerfull than 1000 watts on a disco amp.
be serious ! 270wpc i saw the mighty quadral titans of 260lbs/piece almost killing at 2x300 watt on the pioneer meters. wich speakers can handle this amount of power perfectly pure without any more distortion than usual ?


The SX-1980 was designed for Pioneer's HPM series of speakers, wasn't it?
 
I have a question: why is it so important to be able to have a sound system that can work within the entire SuperDome? Who gives a contential Damn about the most powerful amplifier.

I guess you may be able to tell that I am a big valve person, so anything over 35-40 watts RMS is overkill anyway.
 
Has anyone who had these receivers had it up to their max power? I wonder if listening at those levels for a extended period of time would effect your hearing.

For myself, I have an SX-950 that I only crank it up to 1/4th of the way up. I don't like it too loud anyways. I once had it to 12:00 position and I could not hear myself talk or yell.
 
I used to own the second-most-powerful receiver ever made, the Marantz 2600. In addition to being a massive mooring to haul around when needed, the interior looked like the wiring inside an ICBM casing. I went the seperates route and I greatly enjoy the ease of maintenance, moving, and mixing and matching. When you pack everything into a receiver that size corners are bound to be cut. I have an unremarkable 200WPC power amp that weighs almost as much as the 2600 and is just as large, so that says something.
 
Who gives a contential Damn about the most powerful amplifier.
It was the late 1970s, and fast, fuel-guzzling automobiles were rapidly becoming unfashionable as surrogates for penis size. For a brief time, the gap was filled (so to speak) with hi-fi power.

Now, of course, in the sophisticated 21st Century, it's flatscreen TV sizes.
 
It was the late 1970s, and fast, fuel-guzzling automobiles were rapidly becoming unfashionable as surrogates for penis size. For a brief time, the gap was filled (so to speak) with hi-fi power.

Now, of course, in the sophisticated 21st Century, it's flatscreen TV sizes.

As John Ringo has stated in some of his novels, it's like a bunch of guys standing around, banging their dicks on their desks to show who is the most Macho of them all. :D
 
Is the SA-1000 capable of generating MORE power into 4 ohm?

The 300 wpc Marantz 2600 has an FTC rating of 400 watts into 4 ohm.

The dual toroidal G-33000 has an awesome amp section so I'd imagine it has plenty of headroom.
 
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