• Please note that Audiokarma will be offline briefly for updates early on Monday morning, September 28th.

Top of the Line Receivers: Manufacturer's Model Sequence

bordeno said:
Before the Sony STR-6800 in your list would be:
Sony STR-7065 '73-'76
Sony STR-7065A ?
By the way, does anyone know the difference if any, between the 7065 and the 7065A? The 7065 is listed at 60 w/ch; the other may be 65.
Click to expand...
While Orion is not perfect, it has both listed as 70wpc. Same as the STR-6200/6200F, which actually was the TOTL for this period of time. The MRSP on the STR-6065/A were both $400. The MRSP on the STR-6200/F was $700, which would make it the TOTL. I've been looking for a 6200F for a couple of years with no luck. I sold the one I bought new in the Treasure Island PX in 1971 in SF because I went back to the east coast for school. I never even got it out of the box. :worried:
 
bordeno said:
Before the Sony STR-6800 in your list would be:
Sony STR-7065 '73-'76
Sony STR-7065A ?

By the way, does anyone know the difference if any, between the 7065 and the 7065A? The 7065 is listed at 60 w/ch; the other may be 65.
Click to expand...

And before that, there was the STR-6050, right? I don't remember the details.
 
In your Sansui list, you show the 9090DB as the TOTL receiver in the '76-'77 time frame. It could be argued that the QRX-9001 (70x4) was the TOTL Sansui receiver during that time. It's MSRP was a couple of hundred dollars more than the 9090DB.

- Pete
 
oldtubes said:
Scott R376 75x2 1977
Marantz 2385 185x2 1977
Click to expand...

Actually, I believe the 1977 model should be the 2500 (c'mon, Chris, you should know that), sold 1977-1979 (I think) and was succeeded by the 2600 (officially listed as 1978-1980, I think). Sorry, the 2385 was always sold as a little brother to one of those (I have the brochures to show that), so I think the 2330 was the predecessor (and turned into the 2330B top of Marantz' "middle" triad when the 2385/2500 came out).

I actually had in mind originally to take this a step further, at least for Marantz, and try to derive an entire family tree for the receivers (you could do it for other stuff) to show what turned into what, sort of.-kby
 
Last edited:
Audiograph- 2A100 100wpc (estimated), has the biggest caps I have seen in a receiver, 24000uf 75V, those things are huge! As far as I have been able to tell there are only 2 Audiograph receivers, and if more turn up I'd be surprised. My 2A100 and one that was listed prior are the only two to surface this far. I know the one listed prior was probably in the 75wpc range (based on the internal shots) and was broken. The guy who sold me mine used it as an estimate for a starting price on the one I currently have. My 2A100 is, for now, the only known working Audiograph receiver. I doubt it was a production product, and I am sure if such a thing was ever sold it was not cheap (its not cheaply designed)

Project One- the DC series which came out around 1980 was the good series. TOTL was the Mark 1500 at 150wpc. Originally listed for $900. I have three of them, and of those I have been able to locate the serial numbers were very close, leading me to believe production of these was not that high.
 
kby,

I think early 1977 the Marantz 2385 was the top of the line and still had the blacked out dial. The brochure I have states it is the finest receiver in the world with no mention of the 2500. Later in 1977 they came out with the 2500 and the 2385 became the little brother. Marantz introduced the silver dail then.
 
Realistic STA 2000D 1979 75wpc $450
I bought mine as part of a package with an LAB-400TT; 5 band, 2 channel EQ and an 8-track for $747
 
oldtubes said:
kby,

I think early 1977 the Marantz 2385 was the top of the line and still had the blacked out dial. The brochure I have states it is the finest receiver in the world with no mention of the 2500. Later in 1977 they came out with the 2500 and the 2385 became the little brother. Marantz introduced the silver dail then.
Click to expand...

I believe you are correct. I'll edit the list once I am able to confirm this information.
 
Just out of curiousity where does the 2330 fall into play then? It also came out in 1977. Based on the construction its sort of like an updated 2325. Blacked out dial which they seemed to transition into the silver dials like the 2330B.
 
yrly said:
Just out of curiousity where does the 2330 fall into play then? It also came out in 1977. Based on the construction its sort of like an updated 2325. Blacked out dial which they seemed to transition into the silver dials like the 2330B.
Click to expand...
I'd have to check the dates more. But what I would guess is that the 2325 (previously TOTL) turned into the 2330, shortly into the 2330B. By the time the 2330B came out, it was the top of the "middle" triad from Marantz, where the bottom was the 2216B/2226B/2238B/2252B; the middle was the 2265B/2285B/2330B and the top tier was the 2385/2500. The next go-around
the only ones that got different names were the 2216B which became the 2218, and the 2500 which became the 2600. I think some of these might have come out as what we might now think of as "mid-year-speed-bum-kickers" in the computer world. However, some of the specs changed so that they could meet their slogan of "Marantz True Power(tm)" which they defined as an across the board ability to claim 25% more power into 4 ohms over 20-20kHz for every receiver in the lineup. If you look carefully on the 2216B receiver of the previous line, this is most obvious because the 4 ohm spec is only 40-20kHz. The 2238B and 2252B got both their 4 and 8 ohm ratings bumped some (although it's not clear if it was just having a slightly lower error margin or a real change), as did the 2385. I don't know if the middle triad changed because I don't have a brochure set from there (although I might be picking up one on the 'bay soon). Cosmetically, all of the receivers in the last set can be distinguished from their predecessors (assuming all original parts) by the fact that the words "True Power Design" are on the glass (by the meters) except for the 2385/2600 where it's on the faceplate itself.

At this point in time, it appears (from hindsight) that Marantz was starting a kind of new thing in the 2385/2500[2600] and they are significantly different than the 2325/2330/2330B, most notably in having the [in]famous toroidal transformers.-kby
 
oldtubes said:
kby,

I think early 1977 the Marantz 2385 was the top of the line and still had the blacked out dial. The brochure I have states it is the finest receiver in the world with no mention of the 2500. Later in 1977 they came out with the 2500 and the 2385 became the little brother. Marantz introduced the silver dail then.
Click to expand...

Interesting brochure--learn something every day. Any chance I could get a scan of the brochure? I've never seen a black-dial 2385. I do see the one in the picture you have. Have you ever seen one?

So I guess I would now propose that the 2325 turned into the 2330 early 1977, and the black-faced 2385 was targetted for then (as I said I've never seen one, but that doesn't mean all that much) as the TOTL. The 2500 and the change to silver must have been late 1977 (although I thought I got my stuff around 1976--I'll have to check--not anything that big, but silver-faced), followed by the changes I mentioned in the previous post for the final lineup.

It's sometimes hard to figure out the dates on things when they come that close on; especially since most of the magazines back then (even when you can find them) had 6-month lead times.-kby
 
Last edited:
Don't forget....

...my favorite Akai receiver the AA-1200! 120 wpc, 1977-79, and $650 list price according to my Orion.

Ok, where are the Sanyo experts?
 
packrat said:
I think for Kenwood either the KR-7200 or KR-7070a was totl stereo from 73 to 76. I can't find any 'KR-9200' so the 7200 might have been tops at that time. Can't find anything of what a 7070 7070a is, but orion lists it at the same time as the 7200.
Hi, I have a Kenwood KR-7070, that was TOTL in 1970. The total output is 320 watts @ full power, which would be 160wpc into 2 speakers, I believe. There's not a lot of info on the web about it, lol. ;)
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I just got Axel to help me noodle the Sony TOTL receiver line sequence. All dates are circa and from memory and some models overlapped in production and local distribution. I've included the # of variable capacitors in the FM front end as one metric of quality:

6060F - 1967 - 5 caps
6060FW - 1968 - 5 caps
6120 - 1969 - 5 caps - 60 wpc
6200F - 1970 - 5caps - 60 wpc
7065 - 1972 - 4 caps (used ICs for phono amp and tone controls) - 65wpc
7065A - 1974? - 4 caps - (probably ditto) - 65 wpc
7800SD - 1976 - 4 caps - 120 or 125 wpc
V7 - 1978 - 5 caps - 150 wpc

Any mistakes in this data are mine - please correct as you may.
 
One thing appearent about your fine, useful list it the failure of all manufacturers to make a logical numbering system to relate to the wattage of their receivers. Marantz tried but had to screw it up by making us substract 2200 to find the wattage and then on only a few.

Charlie
 
vintagestereo said:
With all the knowledge here, I thought it would be fun to have a thread showing the sequence of each manufacturer's Top of the Line Receivers. I'll get the ball rolling:

Model : Years : Power : MSRP

Pioneer

SX-1000TD 69-71
SX-1500TD 71-72
SX-828 72-73 55x2
SX-1010 74-75 100x2 $699.99
SX-1250 76-77 160x2
SX-1980 78-79 270x2
SX-3900 80-81 125x2
D-7000 80 125x2
SX-9 81-82

Yamaha

CR-1000 74-75 70x2
CR-3020 76-77 160x2
CR-2040 78-80 110x2
R-2000 81 150x2
R-100 82 100x2
R-9 83
R-1100U 84

Sansui

5000A-X 69-71 55x2
Eight 72-73 60x2
881 74-75 60x2
9090 75-76 110x2
9090DB 76-77 125x2
G-33000 78-79 300x2
G9700 80-81
Z9000 81-82

Kenwood

KR-7400 ?
KR-9400 75-76
KR-9600 77-78 160x2
KR-9050 79-80 200x2
KR-1000 82-83 125x2


Marantz

Model 18 68-69 45x2
Model 19 70-72 55x2
2270 71-75 70x2
2325 74-75 125x2
2330 76-77 130x2
2600 78-79 300x2
SR8000 80 70x2
SR8100DC 81 70x2
SR940 82-83 100x2

Luxman

R-1120 77-79 120x2
R-1120A 79-80 120x2
RX-103 81-82 92x2

Technics

SA-5760 76-77 165x2
SA-5770 77-78 165x2
SA-1000 79-80 330x2
SA-818
SA-828

Sony

STR-7065 '73-'76
STR-7065A
STR-6800SD
STR-7800SD 125x2
STR-V7 150x2
STR-VX6 70x2
STR-V55
Sanyo

Nikko

R-1415 175x2

JVC

JRS-601
JRS-601 MkII

Sherwood

S-8900
S-7910

McIntosh

Scott

MCS

3275 74x2 77-78
3125 125x2 79-81
3285 85x2 82-83

Fisher

RS-1080 180x2
RS-2015 150x2

Rotel

RX-1603 180x2

Concept

16.5 165x2
12.0D 120x2

Lafayette

LR-1500 60x2
LR-1500TA
LR-3500 47x2

Setton

RS-660 120x2

Optonica

SA-5909 125x2

Sylvania

Zenith

Magnavox

Lloyd's

Tandberg

Bang & Olufsen

3000-2

Revox

Harman/Kardon

SR900
Eight-Twenty
930 45x2
730 40x2
670i 60x2
680i
690i

KLH

Pilot

Audiograph

Project One

Olson

Realistic

SA-2000
SA-2100 120x2
SA-2100D
SA-2200

Madison-Fielding

Akai

AA-1120 120x2

Onkyo

TX-8500 110x2
TX-8500 MkII 165x2

Quadraflex

Reference by Quadraflex

Kyocera

R-851 85x2
R-861 100x2

I'm sure there are a lot of errors here, but as you guys post to this thread, I'll modify and add to this list accordingly. This could be fun!!! :banana:

Thanks!

Chris
Click to expand...
Realistic sta2290 was a tol receiver, it replaced the sta2200 and was briefly their top unit till the next yr then replaced by the sta2500 and it was replaced by sta2600
 
This is a 21 year old thread. Not likely you will get much of a response from the original posters.

- Pete
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom