Technics SA-850, TOTL 100wpc from 1984

[petes'picks]

I dont see much info on this one so I decided to post some pics and my impressions of it. I picked this one up 4 or so years ago because it had a little heft to it but the looks almost made me put it back and leave it. Cleaned sliders with faderlube and they have been perfectly quite sense then. I was very surprised the first time I heard it but hadn't used it much because of its looks, I even put it out for a garage sale at a crazy low price and luckily it didnt sell. I have heard and had dozens and dozens of receivers come through here sense then and each time I revisit it I realize thats its a much better receiver than I first gave it credit for because I was mostly infatuated with the warm fuzzy sound of my better looking 70s stuff (still am).
Its rated at 100wpc 20-20K @ .005%thd, IM .01%, 1.8db headroom, 500watts consumption. Main filter caps are 12000uf/71v with a dummy support leg, lots of IC chips in circuits but the outputs are discrete. Tuner has wide/narrow option, has a clean and full sound but I would guess this one needs alignment because dial is off a hair (89.30 tunes better at 89.35).
It has a sound close to the JVC Super A stuff I have heard. The SA-850 has bass that goes deep, stays in control and has a fullness that a lot of receivers lack from that era. I may recap this one with silmics and poly where they fit.
Not sure what the "NEW CLASS A" means, if anyone knows if it really is class A at the first few watts it would be nice to know so if our resident Technics guru SVI2004A or anyone else have any info or impressions of this receiver I would love to hear them. My SA600 may have an edge in imagining and but the SA850 is an outrageous bargin when comparing costs (when you can find one anyway) and beats it in low end propulsion.

 

[pognoot]

I picked up an SA-850 for $35 at a garage sale. I just like the looks, believe it or not. Very 1980s with that display. It sounds OK enough, I am using for a bedroom system right now with some JBL L110s.

 

[twiiii]

We sold Technics, Yamaha, Marantz, B&O,Mcintosh, and some Pioneer, Revox, Tandberg,Nakamichi, Altec, EPI, Boston, RTR and Bozak during that period. In fact we were the leading Pioneer dealer for 5 years in a row in the Rocky Mountains. The only reason we sold Technics electronics was to get the Turntables. The Technics were good units, they weren't Pioneer or Sansui however. I preferred the smoother sound of the Sansui. Pioneer was a little smoother, too. I always recommended Pioneer to my friends. Technics was the leader for a while in the Big receiver race, with their big unit rated at 300+ watts per channel. The issue with Technics was warranty service. It was just easier to exchange units when one of the big beasts crashed as the factory was slow on parts and even slower when they tried to fix their own units. They would not fix the GI's units they bought over Seas or at the PX under warranty and that was a big issue for us, so we ended up having to quietly drop the electronics. We pissed off to many customers saying we couldn't fix their units under warranty and that is bad for your reputation in the retail business.

Today is a totally different world and consumers are use to the new rules. I'm not. The idea Apple refuses to service your computer when it becomes 6 years old really pisses me off. I run their most advanced software, so why not service the unit.

 

[djbuszko]

I have one, and brought it out from the shelve and the display is dim. Anyone have an idea? Power supply needs recapping ?
Anyone know if there is a kit available?

 

[djbuszko]

I have one, and brought it out from the shelve and the display is dim. Anyone have an idea? Power supply needs recapping ?
Anyone know if there is a kit available?

Display is actually fine the lens were clouded. Mine is actually in the brown color. I really like it in silver wow

 

[djbuszko]

Got mine all cleaned up, the bulbs were burned out, I replaced them all. from sitting on the shelf for many many many years, it needed some cleaning on the inside.
All the faders were cleaned and lubed. the push button switches were the roughest, they were very staticly. What i did because they are sealed was prop the unit on an angle, sprayed they slide part of the push button so it would leak in. after several days of doing this, they are working like new no static at all. Sprayed the bias pots as well moving them back and forth, was able to dial the bias in with .3 fluctuation. My matching tape deck stored better for some reason. minor cleanup and fader cleaning and lube.
Here is a video of them. I am new to posting videos but seems to sound really nice with my Cerwin Vega LS-5's. They have big sound for their size

Technics RS-B78R

Restored Technics RS-B78R New belts, cleaned all slider pots and fader lube'd. Paired with a Technics SA-850 100wpc

rumble.com

Here is video of the receiver alone

Technics SA-850

Technics SA-850 100 Watts per channel. Spacial Dimension. Sound Effect. Cleaned all boards. Cleaned all slider pots. Cleaned all push button switched. Amp re-biased 4-5mv set to 4.6mV Replaced lamps.

rumble.com

 

[Govany]

I have a SA-250 that has been used 6 days a week for over 10 years in my shop..it's not anything special but it's one tough SOB..

 

[djbuszko]

I have a SA-250 that has been used 6 days a week for over 10 years in my shop..it's not anything special but it's one tough SOB..

That is awesome... This run of the Technics receivers are very cool. My love of HiFi equipment started with my parents equipment growing up. They has a Pioneer SX-1000TW, which i restored, my very first receiver i bought for myself with communion money and allowence is my Pioneer SX-3900, which i refreshed recently, and so on. Then shelfed it for newer stuff, my dad bought me a Technics SA-550 for birthday, wanted to record Friday night videos with the tv tuner, and for graduation my mom bought me my Technics SA-850. Right now i have 2 SA-TX50's on the shelf because had to up date my surround system with HDMI, and if the SA-TX's did HDMI i would be still using them.

 

[djbuszko]

We sold Technics, Yamaha, Marantz, B&O,Mcintosh, and some Pioneer, Revox, Tandberg,Nakamichi, Altec, EPI, Boston, RTR and Bozak during that period. In fact we were the leading Pioneer dealer for 5 years in a row in the Rocky Mountains. The only reason we sold Technics electronics was to get the Turntables. The Technics were good units, they weren't Pioneer or Sansui however. I preferred the smoother sound of the Sansui. Pioneer was a little smoother, too. I always recommended Pioneer to my friends. Technics was the leader for a while in the Big receiver race, with their big unit rated at 300+ watts per channel. The issue with Technics was warranty service. It was just easier to exchange units when one of the big beasts crashed as the factory was slow on parts and even slower when they tried to fix their own units. They would not fix the GI's units they bought over Seas or at the PX under warranty and that was a big issue for us, so we ended up having to quietly drop the electronics. We pissed off to many customers saying we couldn't fix their units under warranty and that is bad for your reputation in the retail business.

Today is a totally different world and consumers are use to the new rules. I'm not. The idea Apple refuses to service your computer when it becomes 6 years old really pisses me off. I run their most advanced software, so why not service the unit.

I agree with the apple rules, I had to upgrade my hardware laptop, that ran 4k. I think things have greatly changed and loss of skill sets. We have become a society of tossing equipment away, I seen the change when going to college, from when being a bench tech repairing TV's, Stereo components was a great job, the shifting began when instead of fixing a burnt component, it was cheaper to swap the board, next why swap the board, when you can just buy a new TV, etc. This why i like my old vintage stuff and being able to repair it when it breaks. I do like the more modern stuff but mainly for watching movies etc. When it comes to music, i like the textual aspect of, dropping the needle on a record, and getting up and flipping for side two, Same with a cassette deck, putting the tape in, pressing play, and flipping it over, or even on my autoreverse decks hearing the mechanical sound of switching to side 2, or inserting a 8-tack and hearing it switch from track to track, Reel to reels same thing. You don't get that with modern music, you have files and touch screens. don't get me wrong I like my CD's as well. because there is some physical interaction with them. The digital has its place, convenience aspect is awesome, playing trough a bluetooth speaker in locations you can't with analog music. I have to say i do find that analog music seems to my ears, more warmer, human, vs digital sterility.