"Identify this" challenge

barkerd

Super Member
Picked this up for $20 .....look at the pics : it screams late 60's to about '71 maybe '72
has pre in /outs , 2 phono inputs, mic input and gain control , a stereo mode channel which goes stereo , reverse , all left or all right (havent seen that before) , high and low filter ....all this makes it pretty serious for late 60's doesnt it ?
research : there is a West Coast Cdn Co. called Pro-Linear that has been around since '70 ...contacted them and they say they never have carried a receiver ..hmmmmm....the thing says "made in Japan" ......internals look Japanese .....but check out the one pic .....between a bunch of small blue caps .......it can't be an I.C. can it ? :Ive googled this to death ...coming up empty ....HELP !!!! Anything ...... it works
 

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Well the back panel looks like a Sony to me, and the front kinda reminds me of a Kenwood, but its probably neither. :D

That looks to be well-built inside. Can you get a date code off the top of the filter capacitors?
 
It's for sure Japanese I'd say judging by the light holder, power caps, transformer and circuit boards. Are the output devices NEC?

update: Almost every part on it looks identical to Nikko. It is a rebranded Nikko.
 
It's for sure Japanese I'd say judging by the light holder, power caps, transformer and circuit boards. Are the output devices NEC?

update: Almost every part on it looks identical to Nikko. It is a rebranded Nikko.

A very dirty one at that..
 
receiver untouched for 40 yrs .......pretty clean IMHO

outputs are the scripted "Toshiba" (remember the old "cursive" looking "Toshiba" ? )

csa file number is LL-32967 ....'67 maybe?

the thing that looks like an IC is tagged "Toshiba TA7054P" ... now I'm really baffed ....a google says its an IC ???????? this is a little early for an IC isnt it?
edit: I stand corrected it is possible to have an I.C. this early (didn't know that) ....but how common were they in audio gear in the late 60's ?

no other date info I can find ..."pro sound distributors" is on the man. tag... but all I can find is a present day Chinese manufacturer

any other ideas on what I should be looking for ? ....what kind of clues as to output can I glean ? (it weighs around 20 lbs or so)

thanks
 
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There were a number of up-and-coming contract manufacturers of audio gear in Asia back in the 70s. They would advertise in Electronic Design News and even in some of the Audio trade magazines targeting distributors in the US.

They would offer 1 month turnaround of prototypes based on your faceplate knob layout, switching functionality and power per channel specifications. You could order integrated amps, separates or receivers. They also promised 3-4 month delivery of product via sea container. Sort of the first wave that I remember of the "outsourcing" so common today in the electronics industry. Of course, you could specify lots of other items like Brand, faceplate material, etc. Of course, the distributor had to handle the dealer network, marketing, shipping channels, and warranty/support issues. As a distributor, you could essentially create your own line of consumer electronics this way.

This looks a lot like such a line although the fact that it came from Japan says it was a more upscale version. I'm guessing here but this accounts for a number of rather unknown brands that surface occasionally with little or no provenance.

Cheers,

David
 
Thanks David : maybe we have a "one-off" ? It would be interesting to find out if any others exist.

I'm still wondering about the presence of the I.C. > is that unusual or not ?

And : does anybody have any "rules of thumb" (cap value / transformer size etc) that might give me a clue as to its output potential? / thanks
 
Here is one for sale in CL Toronto.
$30- not mine
http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/mss/ele/1017615528.htm
70s style receiver made in japan - $30 (mississauga)
Reply to: sale-1017615528@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2009-02-02, 12:39PM EST
prolinear nice orginal shape has preoutbut and main in dont let the name fool you comparable to sont jvc sansui

Location: mississauga
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 1017615528
 
auction link : agreed ....but it is also a moot point .....that is the receiver you're looking at ;) I bought it
 
Cool,

it did interst me beacuse it was cheap and I think it looks cool.
I really like stuff that no one else have but sounds great.

How does it sound?
 
Thanks David : maybe we have a "one-off" ? It would be interesting to find out if any others exist.

I'm still wondering about the presence of the I.C. > is that unusual or not ?

And : does anybody have any "rules of thumb" (cap value / transformer size etc) that might give me a clue as to its output potential? / thanks

Rickr15 got you the data on the demod chip. Those date to about 1974-5 or so.

I doubt it is a one off. I suspect a Canadian company would have brought them in. Perhaps there was a large stereo chain back then?

I'd estimate power at about 15 - 20 wpc or so, I don't remember the typical ratings for those Power ICs - its been a long time since I had my hands in one with them. This isn't uncommon for a middle-of-the-road receiver of that era just prior to the run-up to the Monster Receiver Wars.

Cheers,
 
At least cosmetically, it doesn't look Nikkoish at all to me -- the stamped cutouts in the faceplate seem more Sherwood of the X9100 series, though Sherwood made the apetures neater with a plastic frame. The knobs look somewhat like those on a Miida reciever I found once.
 
I havent had this much entertainment out of $20 in a long time !
Listening test this weekend...busy till then.
I'm starting to think house brand or small prototype run that didnt work out. It seems to have a "little bit of everything"
Thanksto all who are giving it a consideration
 
From what I have read Prolinear was a budget line sold in dept' stores, maybe Simpson-Sears, read that in a forum somewhere.
 
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