Hey all you Pioneer folks! I don't get to this neck of AK much and I really don't need any more stereo gear. However, at a community wide garage sale yesterday (held annually in 500 + homes the same 3 days) I stumbled upon a TX-9500 II tuner by accident.
After arriving at our umpteenth sale of the day in the driveway of a particular home I spotted some Utah speakers and some other stuff. I mentioned the speakers to the owner and we chatted a bit about stereo equipment. I suggested he check out AK since he formerly sold stereo equipment (a place called Leo's in California) and was very knowledgeable about equipment. I passed on the Utah's and he had little else worth considering. He and his wife teach yoga and he gave me his card.
I was ready to leave but on a lark asked if he had records or other equipment that might be for sale. I was surprised when he asked if I wanted to see some of his surplus equipment in his garage. In the garage, he pointed out a Phase Linear 400 power, pristine Sherwood S-7200 (just like my desk stereo but not for sale), tiny Marantz integrated (not for sale), a Pioneer SA-8100 (or was it a Kenwood KA-8100?) integrated and the TX-9500 II Tuner all in mint cosmetic condition. I asked if the tuner was for sale and if so, what he wanted for it. He said he'd let it go for $40. Even though I vaguely recalled it was considered a very good tuner (I'm not all that familiar with Pioneer equipment), after briefly considering it, I reluctantly passed. I already have a Sony ST-J60, Sony XDR-F1HD, NAD 4020 and Yamaha T-300 tuners but figured the TX-9500 II was probably better than any of these.
We headed about 4 blocks away to another sale we'd previously visited so my wife could buy a very nice vintage Danish dining room table and 6 chairs (also $40) she couldn't stop talking about and regretted not buying earlier. After about a half hour of dismantling the table, and gathering up all the chairs, we were cramming the table and all 6 chairs into the minivan when we coincidentally ran into the Pioneer owner's wife who complimented us on the dining room set. Unfortunately, it reminded me of the tuner again and I told my wife that I probably should have bought it. We got into the car and out of the blue, my wife suggested we go back and buy the tuner and consider these purchases an early anniversary gift to each other. I jumped.
The TX-9500 II is surprisingly heavy, very clean and seems to work perfectly except for a burned out Stereo indicator lamp. From what I can find, opinions on this tuner seem to vary, but to me it sounds very good temporarily running through my desk Sherwood S-7200 receiver and DIY Indignias. It is very quiet with virtually no background noise. The owner had offered me the box but then recalled it had gotten wet in a recent flood and was discarded. He didn't mention any manuals either but I am going to contact him to see if he still has them.
Haven't figured out the wide/narrow settings yet, nor the multipath switch which seems to distort the signal.
I am headed out of town for a couple of days but will post pics soon.
After arriving at our umpteenth sale of the day in the driveway of a particular home I spotted some Utah speakers and some other stuff. I mentioned the speakers to the owner and we chatted a bit about stereo equipment. I suggested he check out AK since he formerly sold stereo equipment (a place called Leo's in California) and was very knowledgeable about equipment. I passed on the Utah's and he had little else worth considering. He and his wife teach yoga and he gave me his card.
I was ready to leave but on a lark asked if he had records or other equipment that might be for sale. I was surprised when he asked if I wanted to see some of his surplus equipment in his garage. In the garage, he pointed out a Phase Linear 400 power, pristine Sherwood S-7200 (just like my desk stereo but not for sale), tiny Marantz integrated (not for sale), a Pioneer SA-8100 (or was it a Kenwood KA-8100?) integrated and the TX-9500 II Tuner all in mint cosmetic condition. I asked if the tuner was for sale and if so, what he wanted for it. He said he'd let it go for $40. Even though I vaguely recalled it was considered a very good tuner (I'm not all that familiar with Pioneer equipment), after briefly considering it, I reluctantly passed. I already have a Sony ST-J60, Sony XDR-F1HD, NAD 4020 and Yamaha T-300 tuners but figured the TX-9500 II was probably better than any of these.
We headed about 4 blocks away to another sale we'd previously visited so my wife could buy a very nice vintage Danish dining room table and 6 chairs (also $40) she couldn't stop talking about and regretted not buying earlier. After about a half hour of dismantling the table, and gathering up all the chairs, we were cramming the table and all 6 chairs into the minivan when we coincidentally ran into the Pioneer owner's wife who complimented us on the dining room set. Unfortunately, it reminded me of the tuner again and I told my wife that I probably should have bought it. We got into the car and out of the blue, my wife suggested we go back and buy the tuner and consider these purchases an early anniversary gift to each other. I jumped.
The TX-9500 II is surprisingly heavy, very clean and seems to work perfectly except for a burned out Stereo indicator lamp. From what I can find, opinions on this tuner seem to vary, but to me it sounds very good temporarily running through my desk Sherwood S-7200 receiver and DIY Indignias. It is very quiet with virtually no background noise. The owner had offered me the box but then recalled it had gotten wet in a recent flood and was discarded. He didn't mention any manuals either but I am going to contact him to see if he still has them.
Haven't figured out the wide/narrow settings yet, nor the multipath switch which seems to distort the signal.
I am headed out of town for a couple of days but will post pics soon.
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? Thank you!