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185.3.146.140
Looking for owners or anybody with knowledge of this Head amp. One of its capacitors blew and pioneer no longer has a replacement. It seems quite special with unique isolation method. Here is a pic.
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Are you sure that is a capacitor? It looks more like a magnetic of some sort.
The big thing is the tranny.
It has been "well-potted."The things in the upper right are some of the film capacitors. There should be other capacitors inside which are glass-coated.
Everything but everything on this piece has been tweaked to death in its design.
Edits: 07/08/15
it's an electrolytic capacitor inserted into some kind of shield. Pioneer say they no longer have those. I will have to use something else and hope it won't affect the sound.
Thanks.
Pioneer no longer has them. They were originally custom-made capacitors specifically for the Z-1 series. Some of the things at the top of the picture are film capacitors. Others are glass-coated. None have been made for 25yrs+ I expect.They were done this way to reduce as much internal electrical interference as possible in order to reduce noise. The tranny is potted/coated with huge buffer. The top is glass. Everything is coated/potted/etc. All the wire was custom OFC copper, special power cord, etc. These things cost a fortune back then - equivalent today would be $5-10k inflation-adjusted (and I have been told Pioneer lost money on them).
The only way to deal with this is find the quietest/best capacitor you can find and replace it that way, OR to buy some other Z-1 components which are themselves out of commission, and get the parts from them.I recommend finding a really nice replacement capacitor. The HZ-1 is an absolutely fantastic piece of equipment. All the other parts are fantastic so if all you have to do is replace a capacitor that's great.
The real problem child at this point is the M-Z1 - the power chips are also not made and there are no spares. Nothing to do here but find another amp which has some of them.
Edits: 07/08/15
Thanks travisty, I was told the same thing by pioneer. Amazing how little info there is on the web about this amazing equipment. My tech has replaced the capacitor but I have yet to hear the result. What replacement capacitor would you recommend (this one is not in the signal)?
Tal.
I missed a capacitor recommendation because....
I don't have one.
If it were me I would identify the function and then buy the best one available for that function.
Not sure what else you can do. I wouldn't try dipping them in molten glass. Not sure what else can be used as an electrical insulator for the one you took out. Some of the insulating materials used were ridiculously exotic.
Yes, good advice. Thanks.
I have had a few of these through and knock on wood no issues with the HZ-1. As long as it continues to work I do not think I will ever want or need another pre-pre device in my analog chain.
There is almost nothing written on the Z-1 series in English (you can try vintageknob.org), and a very limited amount in Japanese.
There were very few of the Z-1 items made (there was a monoblock power amp (MZ-1, then MZ-1a), a preamp CZ-1 then CZ-1a, and the headamp (HZ-1, no a)). The differences between the 1 and the 1a were small I am told. Something to do with the power cord, and some other small things. It was also a time when inflation was high so one was obliged to raise prices through model "upgrades." I have both the Z-1 and the Z-1a in the amp and the preamp and I don't notice much different. If anything, the treble sounds a little better (lower noise floor?).
I could live with the entire chain and never want for anything else. I have used (and still use) the entire chain. They are ridiculously good. One just takes the risk that they will conk out on you. For that reason the HZ-1 is 'safe'. AFAIK it doesn't have any of the SLC voltage devices.
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