Pioneer SA-9900

Yes : they still do make 'em that big and heavy. Just not as healthy, that's all.

If the next gen' would see a major improvement in specs (SA-9800), the SA-9900 was as lavish an integrated amplifier as the mid 1970s could produce, with an internal structure closely related to the SPEC series and the EXCLUSIVE C3 preamplifier.

Differential FET- and PNP/NPN-charged phono section, differential FET- and PNP/NPN-charged stepped tone controls, 2-gang volume control, biiiiiig trafo, two 22,000uF caps, large heatsinks cooling four pairs of 12A / 100W bipolars.

Plus a physical structure which many (most) would rapidly follow before the use of relays made internal layouts simpler for everybody : source i/o's to the right side, outputs to the left side - straight and simple.
However, since the speaker terminals are left side and the power section at the back, there still is _some_ signal travelling back and forth.


Looks-wise, it is safe to say that the SA-9900 set the tone for Pioneer's golden age, before the interesting, often magnificent if shortlived design attempts of the very late 1970s and early 1980s : solid stack of shiny silver with nothing else but... shiny silver !

The big volume pot is lit from its surrounds but it is something the 1970s photographers (and Pioneer's publicity teams) forgot to capture on film most of the time - silly.

As usual, available in Germany much longer than elsewhere (until 1981 !) by which time, in Japan, it was a very old and old fashioned thing for beginners with a strong 1974 nostalgia.
But unlike most of the early 1980s efforts, the SA-9900 still shines, today.