Pioneer SA-9500

Excellent working condition SA-9500 Amp. My tech went through it recently it: he ran checks, replaced a couple lamps and did a cleaning - everything checked out perfect.  Sad to see this silver-faced beauty go, but time to clean house. A couple "well loved" scars (see photos). 

From an old revirew:  Top of the line Pioneer SA-9500 is one of the most popular amplifiers in the history of stereo equipment, and for a good reason: looks tough, built like a tank to last many decades under heavy use, can drive virtually any speaker load, is musical, transparent and powerful enough for all but the most discriminating tastes and can be used not only at home, but also in business applications (club, DJ, restaurant, etc).Its multitude of switches/options leaves nothing to be desired and allows the user to tailor the sound to any imaginable taste.It can also be used as separate preamp or power amp.Pioneer rated things conservatively in the 70's:SA-9500's rated power is 80 Watts per channel, that said, it is significantly louder and much more musical, life-like and dynamic sounding than any new millennium Pioneer, Sony, Onkyo or Denon receiver or integrated amp rated at 100 Watt per side. This explains the ongoing popularity of old school silverface Pioneer and shows you what real quality is all about: no corners cut.

* Aux1, Aux2, Tuner, Tape1, Tape2, Phono1, Phono2* All inputs except Phono are line inputs, can be used with CD player, iPod, computer, etc* Speakers: A, B, A+B, Off* Quadruple tone controls* Filters* - 15dB, - 30dB (for quiet listening)* Tone Defeat .. and more...
I’ve been using it with a pair of Technics phase aligned SB-5000A speakers and I am finding the combination very enjoyable. The music is dynamic and alive, making you want to tap your feet in time with the music. To me, this is what it is all about. Excellent tactile feedback from the quality controls make it very pleasurable to use.

From a 1976 Pioneer brochure;

Pioneer believes in music. And if you do, too, you'll find a faithful friend in the new SA-9500; one of the most musically minded pre/main stereo amplifiers we've engineered.

It combines massive stereo output power with a delicacy of transparency; a rare blend in these days of lots of power at any cost.

In other words, we haven't simply beefed up the power section at the expense of the tonal quality, frequency response or other aspects so important to the sound of a high fidelity component.
The Pioneer SA-9500 does deliver an unusually large continuous power output of 80 watts per channel, min RMS at 8 ohms from 20 Hertz to 20,000 Hertz with no more than 0.1% total harmonic distortion, but it also ensures that even when operated at low volumes the performance retains a crisp, sparkling clarity.

The dynamic response and reliability of the SA-9500 are matched with a flexibility of use you'll rarely find in this price range. Tone control versatility, for instance: both the bass and treble sections have 3-position turnover selection and there's a tone on/off switch for "flat" response at a touch.

The 2-step high and low filters, the extra convenient tape duplicating switching system, multiple input source selection, 2-system speaker switching and much more mean first-class handling.