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Your favorite "little" receiver ever?

My first receiver was purchased at Crazy Eddie in Syosset NY when I was in 9th grade.
It was a Pioneer SX-535 ($169.00) with a BSR MacDonald turntable which was then very very quickly upgraded to a Pioneer PL-112D with a Shure M95ED and Dynaco A-25 speakers.
After that I graduated to a Pioneer SA-8500II and a Pioneer PL-510A turntable in my senior year and I could go on.. and on......from there.....
I would have to say the SX-535 was my most favorite little receiver.
 
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Gotta admit I've always had a soft spot in my heart for my sweet-lookin' Realistic STA-78. :D Something about it just catches my eye. Nice sound as well. Ain't this fun? :yes:
 

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The Enduring Badness of the Incredible Nikko NR-1015

At the time, 1982, there were still big guns on the shelves of the local stereo shops, receivers with mind-shattering wattage, house-crushing power and hundreds of thousands of buttons and dials. NR-1015 was dismissed as the progeny of a johnny-come-lately house-brand marque but I when I heard it and was astounded by its tuner, I knew that its modest 85 WPC was more than enough and its sound was cleaner than anything else on the shelf.

After decades of uninterrupted service, Nikko had to be briefly hospitalized for failed transistors. Rather than store it, I sold the Resurrected Nikko to local college student who report that when they play Weather Report on it with their ancient ARs, hundreds of nude women appear kneeling in the snow in the parking lot next to their apartment building, arms outstretched and weeping the joy of Nikko, yes, Nikko!
 
My first receiver, an EICO 3570 I built from a kit. It's from about 1967 but it was a left over kit I bought in 1975. It is rated at 10 watts from 20 to 20k but is a very wide band design with a frequency response of 5 to 100k +/- 1.5db. It is capacitor coupled and has the warm Marantz 2230 sound. I brought it to a HK amplifier clinic that was showing how much better the HK receivers reproduced a square wave than the competition. The little ECIO was the best non HK receiver the clinic tested.
 
My first start was a Fisher 500T. Their first generation SS receiver. I really liked that receiver and wish I could find another in mint condition to replace it someday. It powered my 846A's well and I kept it until I saved up for seperates in 1971
 
I think the SX-1500TD escapes from the little category as it was at the time I believe the TOTL and a powerhouse compared to the average receiver of the time.
 
I guess you are right. Maybe nowadays it is small. But I guess back then it was a TOTL. I know it sounded real good back then and still today.
 
During the early 70's, we at Lafayette Radio sold tons of a particular model - the LR-1100, which, as I recall, sold for only $199.95, had about 20 watts per channel of "real" power, and which just about never broke down. It looked good, had a nice "feel," sounded good and, best of all, WORKED all the time. A tough combination to beat. And it held its own against far costlier models from the major brands.
 
My first: Pioneer SX-424. 15 wpc. Beautiful, warm. Would love to find another.

My second: Technics SA-5170. 25 wpc, the college workhorse.
 
Like the Pioneer SX 424 Too!

speidi1 said:
Pioneer SX 424 with two small pioneer bookshelf speakers (can't remember model no.), which I bought in the PX at Griffiss AFB, NY in 1972; and an AR turntable which Ibought at a stereo shop in in Vestal NY. The turntable had a Shure M91ED cartridge.

I've since acquired another 424, for sentimental reasons. I sure with I had kept the AR turntable.

Nice sounding combo. It got me started down the hi fi road.
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Brings back good memories too! :music: Eric :music:
 
my first real receiver was a phillips back around 1977 or so when they were still a real audio company, lasted a good many years and powered many a keg parties way back then :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :yes:
 
I have a Philips 785, 796 and 797. There also is a 784 and 783 as well as a 794. If the black version then add a 1 on the end. Do any of these sound familiar?
 
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