I have a plethora of Vintage Audio Equipment from the 70's and 80's, and have restored most of them. Back in the 70's I cut my teeth at age 11 on my dad's Kenwood TK-140X Stereo Receiver, and got hooked on High Quality Audio ever since! Your contributions are always welcome. Please click on the PayPal icon below if you feel so inclined.
The Radio Shack STA-52 circa 1977 is a very nice looking AM/FM Stereo Receiver indeed! I believe that the STA-52 was engineered with 12 watts per channel RMS & the later model STA-52B was 16 watts per channel RMS!
Question on my STA 64 I lose the left channel when I flip up loudnesses lever, I used deoxit on all switches and don’t see any burnt diodes are bulging capacitors any help would be appreciated thanks.
Found this at a goodwill the other day for real cheap. Did a couple repairs to it and it works like a dream. Glad to know I made the right choice picking it up
I just got one Thursday 5/16/2024 , 100 bucks an it’s mint to my eyes , all component connections work great , put a new fm antenna on it an with in few hours all fm stations I picked up were great sounding , I live in a valley like area an trees all round thick wood an sometimes I have some stations not being picked up , but for what is is an era from , I’ve got a great piece , an it goes along with it set of period correct 3 way 8”woofer relistic mid size speakers an they have a low normal an high switch at area of speaker connections , an they work perfect .
It's "crown" jewels. Not "crowned" jewels. The phrase refers to the large gems and jewels that would be set into the crown belonging to a member of royalty..... BTW, you'd have to be out of your mind to pay $700 -$1,000 for a 1060.
It is an IR remote which is delivered with the Technics receiver or amplifier. You connect the deck with the receiver so you can control the deck with that remote control. Synchro edit is to connect with a Technics cd player having that facility.
Q-VOX is "QUATRAVOX". The gimmicky name Radio Shack called that feature when they built the STA-90. It was also featured in some of their other models in that era. I owned a Realistic STA-1000 amp with that same feature back then.
Great video, thank you! I just bought one of these, I always wanted one and am excited to get it. Would you happen to have a service manual you could share with me, or point me to where I can find one? I have searched around and am coming up empty but I have seen pictures of them so I know they exsist. Any help is appreciated.
Today, FM stations crank up the base to the max and that’s what causes base boom on these stereo receivers and many others as well. I have lots of off the air FM recordings from the 80’s that sound great compared to today’s over boosted base music.
This receiver, nor any other Realistic receiver, employed "perfect loudness". Perfect Loudness was an adjustable loudness circuit found on the large integrated amps SA-2000 and SA-2001. There was an adjustment knob on the front "which allowed you to customize loudness compensation to various listening levels - the ONLY way a loudness circuit can function properly and as originally intended". Quoted from the 1978 catalog, page 38.
Great review! If the STA-90 didn't win any awards, it should have.😎 I have a 1976 model, and you're correct, the "Perfect Loudness" circuitry can be overwhelming at volume although I use it often at low volume to fatten up the end result. I've come to really appreciate this feature. All in all, one of the best bang for your buck recievers out there. Made in Japan by Foster Electronics (later Fostex). A true "sleeper".
Perfect Loudness was a variable loudness circuit found on Realistic integrated amps SA-2000 and 2001. It didn't appear in any receivers. The STA-90 was made by Foster Electric. Fostex was a brand name of Foster's, unrelated to stereo receivers.
I had one of these and I always thought it was such a nicely designed receiver (especially liked that it didn’t have those goofy volume slider controls). Unfortunately the FM section on mine had a problem and even when connected to my roof antenna it would only pick up a couple of strong stations. I ended up selling it to someone who didn’t care about FM, they just wanted a good amp that looked nice so they were happy with it. Never did figure out what was wrong with it but I bet they have a great tuner when working properly.
Nice honest little receiver. I have a Realistic STA-47 from around the same time period out in my garage. It’s a blazing 12 wpc or so, yet it sounds very warm and clear plus it can get very loud if called upon. The FM tuner is amazingly sensitive too. I don’t know how they pulled it off but it’s a real underdog and a winner in my book. When I was a kid in the 70’s we always used to bash anything Radio Shack, but if your STA-64 or my STA-47 had been my first piece of gear I would have been VERY happy. BTW the STA-47 is on the cover of the ‘76 catalog and I think it came out in late ‘74 for the 1975 catalog (they had a weird schedule for some products back then).
I have 2 Realistic STA 46. In first unit, the stereo light does not come on, signal meters barely move. Don't know yet if the light is burned out or if it's the weak reception. I've had this problem with Marantz receivers and was able make an easy fix by adjusting a certain variable resister explained in the Marantz service manual. In this case I have no reference to go by. __ The second STA 46 receiver Has low volume noise/crackling in the "right channel" when in stereo mode. However, when switched into "mono" both channels work fine. I sprayed the pots with Deoxit, but the problem persists. Can someone tell me what adjustments or fixes I need to make on both units. Any help or suggestion would be deeply appreciated.
I love these nice, simple Realistic receivers. If this had been my first receiver when I was 12 I would’ve been a very happy camper. No more crappy ceramic cartridges, facilities for a 3 head tape deck, great FM tuner, it’s all I would’ve needed for years!
What are the rca outputs in between the front and rear speaker outputs? I assume it's for QVOX as shown but how do you set up your speakers? Do you setup front speakers as normal and rear speakers with rca connections to get QVOX sound or how does it work???
The rca outputs are simply an alternative speaker hookup for the main speakers. The Quadravox is available through the regular speaker hookups and will be noticeable on the rear speakers when the circuit is engaged.
Those black toggle switches gives it an appearance of it being pro studio equipment ..I have a HK receiver from 1979 I think , very basic style and they are a great brand or were anyways ..
Would you consider sharing your parts list for the upgrades? Thx. I have all the twin power units 930,730,630,430, and all the 330 single powered. Would like to restore them all. Thanks!!
I got mine in college, 1973, with a pair of Large Advents and a Thorens TD-160 with a Shure V-15 Type III. I think the receiver (metal cabinet) was $495, total system was just over $900.
I just bought one of these in October for $250 Canadian and its in t he shop getting a check up !!!! I also own a Harmon Kardon 670 which I just bought two weeks ago go it for $325 and I have a Marantz SR4000. I love them all. Getting excited to get the HK930 and give it a test drive.
Neat! Reminds me of my 1975 Realistic STA-47 I use out in the garage. Radio Shack was still using that old style Quasi-Comp circuit in some of their gear until the early 80’s whereas most manufacturers had stopped using it by ‘74 or so. Their receivers worked pretty well and had sensitive tuners though, and they met a reasonable price point.
@@johnbeckham1483 wish mine had been! My first was the Stereo Three, basically a table radio with separate speakers. Would’ve been a happy camper if I had the STA-47 as my first receiver. Could’ve had a turntable with a magnetic cartridge, recording outputs, a tape monitor loop and bass / treble controls!
i have a sony 555 es av reciever 125 watts by 5 27 surround field plus reverberation settings,its a freaking nice solid av reciever..early 2000`s model
