Sony STR-V5 Receiver

Another mid monster receiver happened my way, this 85WPC Sony STR-V5, this one from the end of the golden era in Hifi, 1978.

Weighing in at 41 pounds there is a massive torroidal transformer matched to two 10,000uf filter caps. The build quality is pretty impressive, it is a Sony of course. As the Vintage Knob refers to these as "built like tanks", something you do not see anymore in modern electronics.

Two models rested above the STR-V5 the STR-V6 (115WPC) and the STR-V7 (150WPC).

This receiver is in line but not as powerful as the Kenwood KR-9400 that graced my presence and much smaller that the Rotel RX-1603 Monster that I had.

Big and powerful the Sony is a really nice piece for a Solid State unit.

Rotel RX-1603 Receiver

One of the King Daddy of the "Monster" receivers came my way, the Rotel RX-1603.

This offering from Rotel comes in two parts with the pre amp tuner up front and the massive power amp in the rear.

This unit was rated at 180WPC into 8 ohms and 250WPC into 4 ohms.

An absolute stunning unit and rare to come by, these were $1100 USD back in the 70's.

Another write up can be found on the Classic Receiver site.