Masthead

Pioneer SX-203

Pioneer SX-203 Some time I'll see if I can get a better photo. This is a component-stereo model, which sits as part of a stack of my 80s-era stereo gear. Nice-enough unit. It suffers from the same problem most of my radios do: I live in an area where the stations I want come in poorly; it cries out for a quality antenna and I don't have one for it.

But if you jack in a CD player and a turntable and a reel-to-reel or the TV set or whatever else you want to use a source, and hook up quality speakers, you get a hell of a nice, room-filling sound. Every once in a while I fire it up with something and it's a joy to listen to, especially after all those hours listening to MP3s on headphones of mediocre quality.

What it really needs is a remote control. I believe there was a wired version for it, but it was designed at a time when remotes on audio stacks just weren't done. But being able to run this thing from the sofa would make it a lot more convenient.

Current status: works fine.