To the Technics bashers...

quatsino

Active Member
In most forums on the Internet some single company or set of equipment gets a bruising and over time the unsuitablity of this same equipment takes on urban legend proportions. People need something to agree on in the negative I guess. On AK and elsewhere (although AK is king) Technics seems to have fallen victim to this phenomenon...

I picked up a gorgeous Yamaha CR1020 receiver the other day - mint of course, and hooked it up to my regular system for a try out. I'll post pics later. Then hooked up Akai AA1200 to do a side by side test. The Akai has never done well on my Angstrom speakers - too much bass and forget about the loudness switch -the speakers just want to pop out and the whole thing sounds like ass. So...out come the Kabuki Sansui XP's.

I know these aren't the best speakers around but the 120wpc Akai makes 'em work - the setup rocks, clear and tight - loudness switch in and the sliding glass doors start to rattle. But most importantly the sound is GOOD - phono or CD. This Akai just needs the right speakers.

So next I unpacked the 125wpc Technics SA-800...center the control knobs - nice resistance and tactile feel, each knob is even after all these years and 1000's of hours of play time. (I'm first owner from '78) Hook up the XP's, the Angstroms too, next the phono and the Nakamichi CD deck and an FM dipole. Volume down and....contact. All lights and LEDS looking good - give Madonna a whack on her big behind - and turn up the big knob. Magic - kickass magic - hit the acoustic control (tone defeat for bass/mid/treb and 2 boost switches) and roll on some tone controls. Yeah the little engineers at Matsushita knew what they were doing. Acoustic control off and hit the loudness switch - roll the power to 4 - sliding doors start to open by themselves. What about the sound at this volume? SOLID, punchy, clear, no hint of distortion, fun to listen to. Turn down the volume a bit and click over to the Angstroms - beautiful sound. Puts the Akai in it's place.

All of this out of mint 30 year old equipment that would look classy on ANY high-end audio showroom shelf. Sorry Technics bashers - All I have to say is that I guess you've never heard the good stuff.
 

Attachments

  • Resize of Technics SA800 (8).JPG
    Resize of Technics SA800 (8).JPG
    66.5 KB · Views: 2,573
  • Resize of Technics SA800 (5).JPG
    Resize of Technics SA800 (5).JPG
    130.4 KB · Views: 2,000
I had an SA-800 for about a year or more. It was a great receiver and worked and sounded wonderful. I like those LED meters for the output level, too. It's a darn wide receiver...that's for sure!
 
You think Technics are bad for being bashed? Some boards you mention Radio Shack, Realistic, or Optimus and you might as well tuck your head between your legs and kiss your butt goodbye!

Another reason to like AK. Logic seems to reign greater than brand loyalty or disloyalty.....with exception to Nuance and Thrusters! :D :D
 
I've always liked Technics. It's amazing the same company that made stuff like "Thrusters" in that same era also had a serious side and this is a prime example of that. It's unfortunate that most people only remember the bad stuff. Amazing, beautiful receiver you have there.:thmbsp:
 
Technics never really caught on in the mainline stores in the olden days (they shared their distribution channel with the Panasonic brand, and that didn't help differentiate Technics from Panasonic... who made good consumer stuff, BTW).

But towards the end of Technics' life, it was the use of fiberboard on the bottom of some units that cemented the negative perception.

I've always preferred Technics products to Pioneer, across most of the product range.
 
Since I've posted the initial note I've kept the SA800 at 3 1/2 on volume (about all I can take) and I glanced back to see a ceiling lamp slowly turning.

Walk over and holy cats, the heat is BOILING out of the top. Pop the top quickly - whew, all is OK - just the output transistor radiators doing the job. Can't touch 'em - I forgot how hot these power sections get when you take 'em out for some exercise. It would be neat to see the home power meter spin with an SA1000 shaking the walls!

Guys, let's remember to keep these beasts well ventilated!!
 
Technics did make some great stuff and sold as good bang for the buck. The Panny Plasmas of today are not bad either.
 
Since I've posted the initial note I've kept the SA800 at 3 1/2 on volume (about all I can take) and I glanced back to see a ceiling lamp slowly turning.

Walk over and holy cats, the heat is BOILING out of the top. Pop the top quickly - whew, all is OK - just the output transistor radiators doing the job. Can't touch 'em - I forgot how hot these power sections get when you take 'em out for some exercise. It would be neat to see the home power meter spin with an SA1000 shaking the walls!

Guys, let's remember to keep these beasts well ventilated!!

LOL! Good thing yours is not a lower model in the line. They have masonite bottoms.
 
That Technics is pretty high up the line and sure looks great!

I have a Technics SA-300 (or something like that) and it is less than impressive. It uses amp bricks and was a PITA to disassemble and clean the controls.

I'm not bashing Technics as a brand but the stuff at the lower end of their lines was really crappy. You really had to buy at the top of their line to get something decent.
 
I think Technics can hold their own with a lot of the gear out there.

I just bought a service manual for my SA-5760. One of the channels is out and would like to hear her in all her glory powering my Technics SB-7000A's. From what I can tell she is a real beast.

Someday she will be brought back to life to shake the walls.

Rock on,

Dennis
 
I'm sure Technics has made some very inexpensive pieces. I suppose they tried to compete for the consumer dollar in too many aspects. But they gave it a go nonetheless.

Fwiw, I had a SA-5770 for a while, and it was very good. Plenty of power, and inputs. It had a wicked tuner section, and it's onboard Phono stage was superior to the Concept 16.5 I also had to compare it to, side-by-side, at length.

So Technics covered a broad range of products over time.

You know, a whole lot of people with not a lot of money, truly enjoyed music because they could afford to buy a Technics. And now they likely have cherished memories as they look back, remembering those times.

Since this is supposedly a Site all about Karma and NO attitude, I suggest we refrain from unnecessary generalities about Brand(s). If we all listened to music as we grew up, we no doubt have special memories about certain pieces of gear, even if they are deemed inferior by some know-it-all audio "cork sniffers".

The Love of Music, the power of good music to make someone feel better, even if they feel bad, is something that is a true Gift, and has helped many people.

mho only

ymmv
 
I love Technics bashers. I wish they would step up their efforts. I'm looking for an SA-1000 and I want it cheap. So as long as they keep bashing, maybe it won't cost too much :)
 
Volume at 3 1/2 sound like 1/3 rated power real torture on an amp section, if you play at 1/3 power for more than an hour it's doing what it can to dissapate all that heat, it'll run cooler cranked up.
peace,Craig
 
Volume at 3 1/2 sound like 1/3 rated power real torture on an amp section, if you play at 1/3 power for more than an hour it's doing what it can to dissapate all that heat, it'll run cooler cranked up.
peace,Craig

Yeah, that's how amps are "conditioned" prior to testing. They are run at appox. 1/3 their rated output with a signal, usually pink-noise for an hour. This is where the transistors are at their most inefficient area of operation and produce the most heat other than extreme overload. Gets 'em good and hot, ready for critical listening.
 
Thanks for the thread! :thmbsp: How odd to long on and find this particular discussion... I bought an SA-700 today! :music:
 
1/3 Volume

Interesting about the relative efficiency at 1/3 throttle. Have to admit she was running pretty hot...Growing up with this receiver though I've noticed the heat many, many times. Because of this I never placed the unit in an enclosure - always out in the open and never anything on top of it. It's just been a very long time since I've had it cranked up a bit.

I don't know what the Nak OMS-5 CD player is running for output current but it's probably relatively high which likely means that 4 out of 10 on the loud knob is a LOT more than 40% of rated power.

Ozmoid - ENJOY the SA700. It's got a lot of what the 800 has to offer!
 
Back
Top Bottom