Using Pioneer Elite integrated A88-X as amplifier

wendelltate

Active Member
Ok. So I scored this beast at a GW last week. It seems to be in great shape. And 120w per channel. There is a lot more I would like to discuss with this amp.
I gave it a good deoxit cleaning and have been listening for a couple of days. It is very sweet. I am actually thinking about recapping it and keeping it. I can't imagine that I could gain a whole lot more in my system by spending more money...
So I was thinking...I wonder if there is a way to use just the amp portion of this thing. I would like to use it with my Fisher 400 preamp. There are no preamp outs on the back. The SA88 does have this feature called "Line Straight" on it. It is a button on the front. The manual says that when used, this feature bypasses the tone, bass, mode, etc. controls on the amp and the signal is passed through flat and balanced. How similar is this to just using a preamp out?
I first connected the pre to the aux on the and used this "line straight" feature. It sounds great and I can tell a small difference when I click the button.
I have also read that you can use the tape rec connector on the integrated to bypass some inner circuitry.
Has anyone experimented with any of this?
Thanks
 
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