Realistic STA 2000 or 2000D? Any good?

"The STA-2380, while has all the appearance of bpc, is quite a hidden gem by the way. I've been looking for a mint example for a few years now."

I was able to pick up a few nice 2380's on Ebay for nuthin 5 yrs ago. They go for a bit more now.......worth every penny. Very impressive sounding. You don't expect it. I've never met a set of speakers that this didn't like. Like they say, "a 2700 without a remote". I have 1 in the garage running Mach 2's and Bose 201's, the other in my "office" running Cerwin Vega VE-12's. I keep the Loudness off, and the Bass up......works well. I also run a "bought new" 2700 in the living room with Infinity SM-150's. These Receivers look a lil cheap on the outside, but they certainly don't sound cheap!

I always thought that the "Loudness" button was there to enhance bass response while listening at lower volumes, but once you crank things up, you might wanna de-select it... to save your windows.
 
There may be an advantage to the -20 db button depending on how it is implemented. If like on the Yamaha CA610II and other models that have the direct switch that lowers the gain by -6db then it may be a good feature. On the 610II it bypasses the tone control board that introduces a 6 db gain before going to the driver stage. It reduces the power from 40 watts to 10. On higher level models a similar switch puts it into a Class A mode with reduced output. On the 610II, though the power is quite reduced, the sound quality is quite noticeable improved. Of course you need fairly efficient speakers to take advantage of this such as Klipsch. This weekend I am going to try it on my Wharfedales.
 
Frank Sol said:
Yamaha C-85 has a -20 'Audio Mute' button. I have used it when flipping or changing a LP
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A very nice feature indeed. My circa 1994 Optimus receiver has that button.
Also a nice button to push if other people mess with your stereo when you are not around.
 
HidezGear said:
"The STA-2380, while has all the appearance of bpc, is quite a hidden gem by the way. I've been looking for a mint example for a few years now."

I was able to pick up a few nice 2380's on Ebay for nuthin 5 yrs ago. They go for a bit more now.......worth every penny. Very impressive sounding. You don't expect it. I've never met a set of speakers that this didn't like. Like they say, "a 2700 without a remote". I have 1 in the garage running Mach 2's and Bose 201's, the other in my "office" running Cerwin Vega VE-12's. I keep the Loudness off, and the Bass up......works well. I also run a "bought new" 2700 in the living room with Infinity SM-150's. These Receivers look a lil cheap on the outside, but they certainly don't sound cheap!

I always thought that the "Loudness" button was there to enhance bass response while listening at lower volumes, but once you crank things up, you might wanna de-select it... to save your windows.
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I prefer the 2600 as they seemed to have over-built it and it appears your 2380 borrows from it. It surprisingly tolerates 4 ohms w/o tripping the circuit, it is punchy and bass-heavy on certain speakers though I have some 15" paper cone woofers (the old style that were "tight" and have the ribbon surrounds) and it's not as "boomy" with those. Only real complaint is they neglected the mids and highs. Have 6 tweeters and it won't push them right. Might need to search out some caps that favor a brighter sound. The 2280 I have, carries the same bias of bass while neglecting the mids/highs to a certain degree, but will not, under any circumstance tolerate a 4 ohm load. Even a tiny test speaker at 1/4 volume puts it into protection, but not a big a deal. Just always a plus when a unit is over-built. The 2600 barely got warm when powering some 8", 4 ohm woofers. Your 2380's should be fairly similar.
 
tom e said:
Was'nt the sta 2000 made by pioneer
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Foster Electronics manufacured all of the high end Realistic Receievers in Korea starting in the early 70's, clear through the last of the "Realistics" in 1989. They also made a good deal of RS Speakers and other components. It was a long and sucessful partnership. RS engineers were good at taking styling cues from other Brands like Pioneer, Sansui, Kenwood, etc. That's why most folks think they're just re-badged fodder from other known Brands. They wanted to stay competetive. In the 70's, the Hi-Fi world exploded, things got crazy. Everyone was trying to out do the other. That's how we wound up with the STA-2100, equipped with the the highly regarded "Toridal Transformer", and enough power to shake the roof tiles off of your house. The build quality was exceptional, for sure. They seem to be the Holy Grail for Realistic collectors. The STA-2000 is nearly the same, minus 50 wpc. These still seem to be popular sellers as well.
In 1989,the STA-2700/2380 were the last TOL Realistics made by Foster. Everything was re-badged OPTIMUS in 1990. There may have been a few carry-overs from Foster, but most of the product line started taking a serious dive in quality in the early 90's. I'm not sure who took over when Foster was dropped. It seems that Keeping costs low became more important than quality.....sounds familiar.

.....Anyone considering purchasing one of the big Silver Faced Realistics from the late 70's might want to remember that these were designed "pre-CD", and ony have 75db Input Sensitivity on the AUX inputs. Everything from the STA-2500 and up came equipped with full 100db AUX inputs for best CD performance.
 
HidezGear, are you saying the STA-2600 and STA-2280 are indeed Foster units? I believe the STA-2600 meets the "TOTL" criteria being 100wpc and ads from the era show it cost a staggering $500 new. The STA-2280, being roughly 60wpc I don't believe qualifies as a "TOTL", but the layout internally/externally is very, very similar.
 
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Billy Dio said:
HidezGear, are you saying the STA-2600 and STA-2280 are indeed Foster units? I believe the STA-2600 meets the "TOTL" criteria being 100wpc and ads from the era show it cost a staggering $500 new. The STA-2280, being roughly 60wpc I don't believe qualifies as a "TOTL", but the layout internally/externally is very, very similar.
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Indeed, Foster made them all. Foster was, and still is a huge company. They manufacture countless products that other Brands put their name on. Fostex is one of their many subsidiaries ...Your 2600 is really just a 2500 trying to "morph" into a 2700 or 2380. They're all very similar. Except for a few cosmetic changes, the design remained virtually the same for 5 years. It kept costs low. The days of the big Silver Faced monsters were over. Fair Trade laws were relaxed in the early 80's, and the market was flooded with cheap electronics. Everything changed....for all the big Brands. The 2600 was the last Realistic to have the silver-black mix front panel. I don't have any first hand experience with the 2280, or 2270, but I know they're still highly regarded, and are popular on Ebay. As far as the build quality of these units, most of them still work perfectly after a quarter century, and that says a lot about quality in my book. Their "Bang For Buck" rating is way up there, too. If I didn't already have two 2380's, two 2700's and one 2500, I would would like to have picked up a nice 2280, or 2600. I'm already hoarding more than my share..........
 
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Cool to know. I've seen elsewhere that the 2280 is desirable, in some cases more so than the 2600, which is puzzling. Other than the 2280 having the "Expander" circuit which is REALLY nice for typical TV viewings as it throws the effect out, giving a wider soundstage and making some small bookshelf speakers sound 3x larger than they should, the 2600 is definitely more robust plus the extra 40 watts per channel is nice. Maybe it's due to the nostalgic factor with the 2280 costing less initially and ending up in more teen's bedrooms? Need to get around to recapping them so they'll be optimum as it might improve what's already there, and the fact they shipped with basically no-name caps, I'll bet a difference can be had.

Got both second-hand on a whim a few months apart and everything works on both w/o issues including all lights so I'll agree with your "quality" assessment. Having a circuit that cuts and goes into protection is helpful too. Both luckily had ultra clean boards. I suspect with proper care they'll still be around in another 30 years.
 
Billy Dio said:
Maybe it's due to the nostalgic factor with the 2280 costing less initially and ending up in more teen's bedrooms?
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I think that their continued popularity is due to that "Expander" circut. Nobody else had anything like it. I don't think it was ever copied. It was only offered on a few select RS receivers. It's more than just a gimmick. It actullay works well. I've always read only good things about it. Even folks that nomally snicker at RS gear seem to break down and admit that it's pretty cool. I've been tempted to pick up a 2280 to check it out for myself. I wouldn't have a place to put it, though. For now, I've very happy with my 2700, and 2380's.......couldn't be without them. You seem to be pleased with your units, too. Lets hope they keep running for another quarter century!

You most likely have this link, if not:
http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalog_directory.html

Cheers!


" The most important person to impress with your audio system is yourself "
 
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Yeah, the Expander deal does work fairly well. Having the adjustable pot to fine-tune the effect is nice as well. Never listened to music with it, had it going for movie-duty and was a nice feature for it. Would definitely compliment a multi-amp set up with other speakers going to cover more sound (more dynamic) or to be used a pseudo center channel. About the closest effect I've heard otherwise is the old Matrix effect, which can be simulated with non-Matrix units on some stereos by running the positive + from both L/R channels into a single speaker's +/-. Creates a sort of "Hall Effect", but if listening to only those it's like listening to only one speaker in a stereo set up where it sounds quieter when the music is panning to the opposite channel. The Expander is like NOT having the sound pan out and oddly making the speakers seem large at the same time. Media Player has an audio "enhancement" setting called "WOW Effect" that incorporates a slider, and it drastically changes the way the sound is heard. I'd consider the "Expander" to be very similar to that.

For what it's worth, being how similar the 2280 and 2600 are with what you might possibly have, you might be able to buy a dead unit with the feature and incorporate it. The 2600 has a "Tone Defeat" in place of the 2280's "Expander" push button switch. There'd be no place to mount the adjustable pot in the front, but it could be mounted remotely on the rear. RS labeled the componentry for the Expander:

"10908739 IMX STEREO EXPANDER MX7020
IC406 USE MX5487 MX7465
REPLACED BY MX5487 MX7465 "

Dunno what's involved, but I imagine it could be retrofitted. Google shows a "REALISTIC TEN BAND GRAPHIC EQUALIZER 31-2020A IMX Stereo Expander", which sounds like the same thing just in an EQ. Seems RS cross-used a lot a of parts. Finding an old Realistic EQ most wouldn't even look twice at for $20-30 might make more sense if you were curious enough and didn't want to clutter the shelves with another full-on unit.
 
Billy Dio said:
Dunno what's involved, but I imagine it could be retrofitted. .
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I suppose It could be. I do recall one of the RS equalizers equipped with something similar. I'm just not stuck on it enough to consider tearing up one of my cherry units. 2280's are going for $100 or under on Ebay these days, so I would probaly go that route. Get the real deal. Let my mint 2500 go, mabye. I have Denon 3800 series receivers with all of my TV and Video gear, so I'm not hurting in the Surround department. Those Denons are like magic. I've got speakers and subwoofers everywhere.....yes, I'm single. I still like my 2ch Stereo the old fashioned way, though. I have lots of vintage gear plugged into to my 2700, and 2380, and it handles it all well. Having 2 tape loops is a plus. My vintage Teac DBX Casette Decks sound crystal clear, as well as my RT-707 R2R.......No complaints.


We seemed to have strayed off topic. All of the Receivers we've been raving over are 10 years newer than the 2000, and 2000D. A lot changed in those ten years, for sure. I know lots of folks are stuck on 2100's and 2000's, even the D's. I lusted after a 2100 for a while, myself. I wanted the much coveted "TORIDAL Transformer" and the 120 WPC! I realized after a while just how much I loved my 2700, and got a nice fresh unit on Ebay for a spare. It's packed away. I then discovered second-hand 2380's on Ebay going for nuthin........A 2700 with a REAL volume control! Once I realized how well these units worked, I forgot all about the 2100's. I can understand how some folks feel about the styling.......it was the late 80's after all. I got used to the funky looks of my 2700 as soon as I hooked it up to to my Big Electro-Voices......26 years ago. I'm way past the whole "Radio Shack" thing. I guess that we, myself and Billy Dio, just wanted to mention that the late 80's Realistics are worth considering. Most folks who own them are pretty happy with them.
 
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Bought a STA-2000 new, still have it today although out of rotation. That -20db button --- hook it up to Cornwalls and it suddenly makes lots of sense :)
-Lee
 
top gun said:
Hey, how about that STA 2100 no D? What a beast!
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Did the STA-2100 with the Toridal Transformer really sound that much more different than the later "D" version? I know RS got caught up in Copyright issues with Pioneer over the Transformer, and that the "D" is the for Dolby FM broadcast, but later came to be known as "No Toridal" to collectors. I'm just curious as to the sound difference between them, is it really that noticable?
 
HidezGear said:
Did the STA-2100 with the Toridal Transformer really sound that much more different than the later "D" version? I know RS got caught up in Copyright issues with Pioneer over the Transformer, and that the "D" is the for Dolby FM broadcast, but later came to be known as "No Toridal" to collectors. I'm just curious as to the sound difference between them, is it really that noticable?
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The only thing I think would be different is how well it covered heavy strains if it's dynamic wattage is high. I haven't pushed a home stereo hard in decades, but my 3233 in my teens was regularly pushed as hard as it could go with bass at 10 and loudness on, initially powering two 12", then eventually four 12" and it *could* do it cleanly since it had a high dynamic range that easily surpassed it's rated numbers. On heavy bass notes at loudest volume before clipping, the entire unit dimmed, so it was well beyond the ability of what it's transformer could supply, but if it had a really big transformer or dual transformers, I doubt it'd been an issue. "Dual Mono" units that's run dual transformers, typically can power w/o issue as they are over kill. I snatched a used TOTL 15 year old Sony car amp that has Nichicon KG caps and dual toroidal and it's a beast. I think the units with toroidal set up had an easier time powering the amps cleanly vs. traditional set ups that needed a very large and expensive transformer that sucked nearly twice the wattage.
 
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