I stumbled across a 1977 Realistic STA-84 receiver that was in mint condition with the original owners manual still taped to the unit.
This receiver was rated at 25 watts per channel and has a cool glide path FM in the tuner and quadraphonic sound
It was exceptionally clean when I opened the beautiful real wood veneer cover. Just a bit of dust was scattered when the compressed air hit it.
It appears to be a really well made Japanese receiver with a pretty heavy transformer and two 5600uf caps neatly in place.
The amplifier rail has Sanyo electronics installed so I wonder if Sanyo had made this to Realistic spec?
This unit shows no scratches in the face plate of the veneer case, it is absolutely mint for it's vintage.
I cleaned the pots and the volume slider with contact cleaner, this removed the scratchiness from the unit.
I also found that the "Perfect Loudness" was really muddy in the bass region and the unit sounds best when the bass and treble are at this setting.
So what a bout the sound? Well this is the second Realistic receiver that I have owned and I was impressed with the System-7 that I sold off about a year ago.
The sound from what little information there is out there that it is a warm tube like sound and that the 25 wpc are a little understated.
Once I got the system up and running I was simply astonished in how good this unit sounds. The STA-84 as I had set it up had the perfect amount of bass that was clean, very clean. Where this unit really shines is in the mid range and how well the transparency is in the music. The highs where spot on with out being brash or harsh.
I managed about 5 hours of listening time since Saturday and have run the receiver with speakers that image really well already but this amp kicked it up the sound stage to a new level.
So far I have run mostly 2-way speakers including the B&W D5, Mission 770 Freedom 4's, Audio Spec Perseus (which are a harder pair of speakers to drive.) the EPI 120C'c (wow) and the Advent 2002's
To be honest I will have to do a side by side with the Myryad T-40 and see which one sounds better, it is that good for Realistic.
This receiver will definitely be sticking around for a bit. There is plenty of music and speaker combinations I want to explore with this unit.
The Realsitic STA-84 probably flies under the radar of most Pioneer, Kenwood and Marantz aficionados and therefor can be had for a reasonable price. This unit is well worth picking up if you come across one.
This receiver was rated at 25 watts per channel and has a cool glide path FM in the tuner and quadraphonic sound
It was exceptionally clean when I opened the beautiful real wood veneer cover. Just a bit of dust was scattered when the compressed air hit it.
It appears to be a really well made Japanese receiver with a pretty heavy transformer and two 5600uf caps neatly in place.
The amplifier rail has Sanyo electronics installed so I wonder if Sanyo had made this to Realistic spec?
This unit shows no scratches in the face plate of the veneer case, it is absolutely mint for it's vintage.
I cleaned the pots and the volume slider with contact cleaner, this removed the scratchiness from the unit.
I also found that the "Perfect Loudness" was really muddy in the bass region and the unit sounds best when the bass and treble are at this setting.
So what a bout the sound? Well this is the second Realistic receiver that I have owned and I was impressed with the System-7 that I sold off about a year ago.
The sound from what little information there is out there that it is a warm tube like sound and that the 25 wpc are a little understated.
Once I got the system up and running I was simply astonished in how good this unit sounds. The STA-84 as I had set it up had the perfect amount of bass that was clean, very clean. Where this unit really shines is in the mid range and how well the transparency is in the music. The highs where spot on with out being brash or harsh.
I managed about 5 hours of listening time since Saturday and have run the receiver with speakers that image really well already but this amp kicked it up the sound stage to a new level.
So far I have run mostly 2-way speakers including the B&W D5, Mission 770 Freedom 4's, Audio Spec Perseus (which are a harder pair of speakers to drive.) the EPI 120C'c (wow) and the Advent 2002's
To be honest I will have to do a side by side with the Myryad T-40 and see which one sounds better, it is that good for Realistic.
This receiver will definitely be sticking around for a bit. There is plenty of music and speaker combinations I want to explore with this unit.
The Realsitic STA-84 probably flies under the radar of most Pioneer, Kenwood and Marantz aficionados and therefor can be had for a reasonable price. This unit is well worth picking up if you come across one.
Sanyo made output transistors found on a wide assortment of Japanese receivers. Onkyo made the STA-84. The 'AutoMagic' colour changing tuning guide is the giveaway… exactly the same as Onkyo's servo tuning feature on their receivers. The STA-84 to sounds a lot nicer than the vast majority Radios Shack receivers of whatever vintage, some of which can be absolute junk. But this one is different… clean, silky smooth and dynamic with good solid bass for a 25 watter.
ReplyDeleteOnkyo NEVER made anything for Radio Shack! Period, end of story. This was built bu Foster Electronics as were many other Realistic receivers.
DeleteWould it be possible to get a hi-res scan of the schematic that's in the manual? Thx
ReplyDeleteI no longer have the receiver or manual.
DeleteI just bought a STA-85 Realistic rated at 35 watts per channel. This gave me hope that I purchased a good receiver. Thank You for you expert opinion! Patrick B.
ReplyDeleteI have owned an STA 120B since 1973. The lid was taken off of it for the 1st time February 2017. I cleaned the dust and dirt out of it. Believe it or not this unit tested to spec within every board(and there are many!). Personally I would put this piece up against any for rich, full and very load sound. Perfect Heavy Metal Power Amp. Only knock is high end is bit weak. Now I could only find another set of Avid 330's(one of my kids killed the woofers on my original set)...oh well not only do I get to listen to a very very competent receiver but ai get to have a lot of flash backs along the way! I'd by another today just to have parts of this one ever rolls over!
ReplyDeleteHello! Im trying to clean mine out and am having issues getting the volume knobs off. Any trick to removing these? All the other knobs came of easily.
DeleteThanks!
I own an STA-120B since my Old Man bought it new in 1973. With 80 wps and even more headroom! I actually have never heard a unit that sound the same. This unit paired with some Avid 330's and a vintage Pioneer Turntable puts out some seriously powerfull music. A heavy Metal barrage. Furthermore, for some reason I felt like I needed to have it services? Sent it off and it was sent back with nothing but cleaning done. It tests to speck on all boards to this day. I want to buy 3 more to clean up and give to my sons!
ReplyDelete