Technics SA 800 Vintage Receiver Review - Stereo Hi-Fi 

The HiFi store I worked for from 1979 to 82 regularly made sure the Technics SA 300, SA 500, and SA700 receivers were readily in stock, they were very popular and always an easy sell. They looked great, sounded good enough, and were reasonably priced. Thanks for another enjoyable video :_)

Picked up one today in the original box at an estate sale. Looking forward to listening to it this weekend.

I have the earlier SA-5570. Weighs about four pounds more than the 700 (only two pounds lighter than the 800) but is only 85 watts x 2. But those 85 watts sound more like 100 watts. They're a very powerful 85. Very nice looking receiver. A keeper, in the collection. I almost scored an SA-1000 years ago, for a fantastic price, but the seller had second thoughts and decided not to sell. Too bad, that would have been something to have. The POWER KING, lol.

I have one that I bought new from Crazy Eddie's in NYC. Its pushing a pair of Cerwin-Vega 12 TR's. I also have the Technics turntable. There is not a mark or blemish on any of them. I did change the incandescent bulbs to LED. I was able to apply some Deoxit through the front panel opening of the Tape Monitor switches and that seemed to work just fine. Nice review!

The Luxman R series made from 1976-79 also had LED power meters. The R-1120 was the top of the line and sold for $995 with 120 watts per channel.

Picked up an SA-500A (black face - international version) recently. It's a great looking unit! It's my understanding the SA-500 and up utilized discrete transistors while the SA-400 and below utilized Darlington power packs.

My first receiver was a SA-300 bought new in 1979. I currently have a SA-800 that is in very good condition that I ran with a pair of Klipsch KG 4.2s. I currently don't have a large enough room to set it up in that is convenient for listening so I am probably going to sell it.

Thanks for bringing us another great piece of audio history. When my ship was in Japan in 1978 the Technics were a big favorite among my ship mates. I think it was the LED power level indicators. About 15 years ago I bought an SA 200 on ebay. It arrived badly bent and with the fuses blown. I got my money back, twisted the frame into shape, had to trim some metal off to get the face plate to sit flush and it worked great. The face plate was mint at least. I wish I had kept it.

Seems that vintage Technics receivers fly under the radar these days. I remember the 50 series and this 100 series. They were good components. When we were goin' steady I got my wife a "budget" hifi system for Xmas 1981. It consisted of an SA-80 receiver, Akai CSm01a tape deck and Synergistics S12B speakers for around $300. That little SA-80 did impress me as a swell basic receiver. There was also the SA-101@ 18wps. The most powerful receiver (from the receiver wars) I recall was the Hitachi SR-2004 rated at 200wpc with 3dB's headroom giving it short term 400wpc. Nice to see Technics being "talked up" on youtube. Neat video. I like your Large Advents and what looks like a Teac X-3 open reel deck. I got the X-3 in 1982.

I picked one of these up over a year ago. It was sitting in a basement for almost 20 years. And it was just a good cleaning of all controls brought it back to life. I really like this unit. I have been a Technics fan since my very first hi-fi setup as a 16yo in '77. I currently buy/restore/sell vintage. I currently own 2 600's, (one a dark face). I've owned a 200 for almost 30 years and sold it when I got the 800. I also have a 5270 (was my first receiver). I currently have 2 700's. One working and needing cabinet restoration. And one not working, that I will get going soon. I've also had through my bench a 300, 400, and 500. As well as 5070, 5470 and 5570. For some reason, most don't give Technics the same respect as "other" brands. Doesn't upset me. Just means we can get good deals on these Technics units. I just found StereoNiche and subscribed. Thanks for your review of this wonderful unit.

Nice review! Seeing this review brings back a lot of memories of the 70s and 80s HiFi, which was the best, IMO. Thanks. p.s. the volume transition is about right, probably okay 👍 Sorry if I insulted you. I didn't mean to.

Good video, I have a Technics SA-200 (the baby in the lineup) and find the build quality nice. You are right about the pots though, they are finicky.

I think I've seen a Sansui Eight in the background on previous videos. Could you add that to the review list? Thanks. As far as Technics components I've owned, I had an SA-R100 wall mount stereo. It was an interesting piece.

Scott, your stuff always looks amazing.

Wish I bought that series. The separate high and low boost looks cool. Had a 5570 and sold it. Sounded lifeless.

powerful receiver, rare too

I am currently running this receiver with a Pioneer PL-560 and Bose 901 Series ii. Was thinking of selling this receiver and upgrading but not sure what would replace this. I don't have the heart to even put it up for sale yet.

I have the later 1980 Technics SA 616. I wonder if they did something different with the pots by then....

Have had my SA-700 since March 10th, 1980. Had it serviced in last few years. Sounds like brand new listening to phono and tapes

Hey Scott. Thanks for the review on the SA-800. I was lucky enough to pick up a SA-700 about 6 months ago at a Goodwill store for about $25. After cleaning the tape monitor switches it was sounding great. I replaced the lamps which were kind of dim. I agree with you those pots are a real bear to get to for cleaning. Here is a link to my quick restoration video if you are interested. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zJzwR7y1cmY.html

Hey like the channel, i recently picked up a fisher rs 1058 90wpc...was wondering if know anything/thoughts or comparisons about this unit thanks!

Technics was known for using particleboard bottom plates instead of metal like Kenwood, Sansui, Pioneer, and Marantz uses. Do the higher Technics SA line use a metal bottom? Or the same, cheap particleboard?

I've had many vintage receivers from the 70's over the years, and....I didn't like them. To my ears, the bass sounded excessively boomy due to a lack of damping. It seems like starting in the 80's, manufacturers tightened up on the damping factor, and the bass sounded much more tightly controlled

Hi there , Im working on mine and unfortunately broke the power toggle switch . The switch states , SMK Under Lab INC Snap switch ,Issue L 637 , filp side of the switch SSL81 84 , Im searching online and cannot find the switch , Any help would be Grand ? thank you

Puhleez