PL 3300, 300, 5100 acquisition

[Sanscardinality]

Hi all,

Just found these in really great condition at a local record shop. They work perfectly and sound amazing, but I suspect they are all original which might lead to some component failures in the near-ish future? I've done a fair amount of repair/replacement on old tube guitar amps, but have never worked on HiFi SS gear. I'd love some guidance on how to determine if/when I need to do maintenance and relative difficulty of DIYing it. Pic below and great forum you have here!

Best,
Josh

 

[laatsch55]

The 3300 is a great pre-amp and can be much better. Check the 3300 rebuild threads, that will give ya some idea what you are up against. The 300 is a good little amp, in fact it had the best distortion specs of the bunch.....BUT.....it uses the same output transistors as the mighty Pioneer SX 1980, so good luck finding them without mortgaging your house.

Never had the hood up on a 5100....but if it's a Ser II it was built by Pioneer...

 

[Sanscardinality]

Do the output transistors likely need replacing? How could I tell? The units came as a group, and I'll use them mainly for studio monitoring recording sessions and listening to LPs, so the 5100 was an aside. I'll search for the 3300 rebuild threads and thanks!

The 3300 is a great pre-amp and can be much better. Check the 3300 rebuild threads, that will give ya some idea what you are up against. The 300 is a good little amp, in fact it had the best distortion specs of the bunch.....BUT.....it uses the same output transistors as the mighty Pioneer SX 1980, so good luck finding them without mortgaging your house.

Never had the hood up on a 5100....but if it's a Ser II it was built by Pioneer...

 

[Fishoz]

Welcome Sanscardinality. Enjoy our little corner of the world.

Plenty of reading here for your PL equipment. Let us know how the 5100 works for you. Haven't run across many.

 

[laatsch55]

The output transistors are VERY robust, it takes a lot to kill em. That amp was also one of two that came from the factory with DC protect for your speakers.Don't worry about em till they blow. If you push the amp hard put a fan blowing air on the heatsinks....

 

[laatsch55]

Man, we gotta have a real name, that user name is too much to spell every time. Gotta be a story behind that one....

 

[Fishoz]

Waiting for you to ask that one Lee....

 

[laatsch55]

Well Dave, as you have seen, there are some great stories behind these names, and I love a great story....

 

[Sanscardinality]

Josh is fine...

Sorry - Josh is fine. Sanscardinality has no good story, but likely shows how much of a geek I am. It's another way of saying infinite set, which is a particularly fearsome scenario in programming (in some languages). Basically a joke that points out how much I annoy my wife and employees, and I've been using it for years so is my reflexive alias as it is never taken. In reading that, I now think I should come up with a story.

Good to hear on the transistors being robust!

 

[Fishoz]

Hey Josh....that was a fine story....said a lot about you. Josh is easy, don't think we have one here.

Nav.....how about a special one for Josh?!!

 

[laatsch55]

First Josh I know of, see there was a story....

 

[stuwee]

Welcome Josh ! Nice to have another Lp lover here and, great grab from your local record store!

 

[Northwinds]

Welcome aboard Josh! Nice bit 'o gear you have there

 

[bill7621]

Hi Josh, I'm fairly new here myself and everyone here is great and always willing to help. All you need to do is ask.

 

[NavLinear]

Sanscardinality - another way of saying infinite set.

Amber Campisi says she will "prendere all'infinito"! Oh my. Welcome to our world.