This giant Technics SA-1000 receiver is one of the rarer monster receivers.  You don’t see them come up for sale very often. And, while they may not be as popular as Marantz or Pioneer they still bring big bucks on the auction market.  They were produced from 1977 to 1979 at the height of  the receiver wars when every manufacturer was trying to outdo the rest.

 

 

The SA-1000 probably isn’t the best styled receiver from the late 70’s but it does look nice and has the distinctive Technics / Panasonic look of the time. What really got people’s attention was the performance.  Are you ready for these stats?  The SA-1000 put out 330 watts per channel!  That’s far more then most other receivers on the market at the time. It did this with less than 0.03% total harmonic distortion. It also cost $1800.00 which, back in the 70’s, was a lot of money. And, you would need help getting it to your car as it weighs in at an astronomical 87 pounds!

 

 

 

It also featured:

• Triple push-pull, Darlington-connected, pure-complementary OCL power amplifier
• Four 18,000 uF filter capacitors
• 12 power-level LED’s per channel (24 total) with 3-step range selector
• SEPP phono output stage
• Phono overload of 300 mV (1 kHz, RMS)
• Switchable phono resistance and capacitance for matching cartridge characteristics
• Steep-slope (-12 dB/oct) high and low filters
• Baxandall-type bass/midrange/treble controls plus “Acoustic Control”
• Midrange control center frequency variable between 250 Hz and 5 kHz
• Two-way tape dubbing
• 26-position true attenuator volume control
• Three-fold circuit and speaker protection
• Automatic load impedance detector
• 8-gang variable tuning capacitor (5 for FM, 3 for AM)
• 4-pole MOS FET utilized in both RF and mixer stage
• Local oscillator with FET buffer amp
• 85 dB selectivity
• 19 and 38 kHz signal cancellors
• Phase locked loop IC in FM MPX section for wideband, stable stereo separation
• MPX hi-blend reduces noise on weak FM stereo signals
• Ratio detector minimizes FM distortion
• Main and remote speaker facilities
• Jacks for adding future 4-channel FM and stereo AM adaptors
• Pre-out/Main-in jacks.

 

 

The SA-1000 has a nice symmetrical layout inside with the big transformer in the middle flanked by caps on either side.

 

 

As I mentioned above the Technics SA-1000 rarely comes on the market. When they do they can sell for over $3000.00 in excellent working condition.