#sta-960

By Scott Fraser

April 04, 2023

In a place  far, far away, in a time long, long ago musicians pursued a quest for the search of what was referred to as “The Sound”. It started somewhere in the late 1950’s. During the 1960’s musicians around the globe would tweak, hack, and modify their guitars, amplifiers, microphones and even begin the creation of effect pedals in pursuit of “The Sound”. Each musician had  their own idea of what exactly the sound really was, and what it meant to them. Recording studios, sound engineers, guitar techs and even artists from other fields contributed to this pursuit. The album Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys is perhaps the greatest example of this during the 1960’s. Everyone from The Beatles to The Who to individuals such as Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Toni Iommie went to great lengths to produce their version of The Sound.

Maybe it was the drugs these artists were consuming. Maybe it was the technology that was emerging. Maybe it was the changing of the social constructs of the era. Whatever the reason music became something that would dominate western society. The impacts were scene and heard everyone - from fashion, to art such as paintings, photography and the graphic arts, movies and television, even the political ideals of the time were impacted.

Corporations were also parts of this pursuit as they were not immune to the quest for The Sound. Companies such as Marshall Amplifiers, Shure, Tascam, AKAI, and Foster would refocus their corporate goals to align themselves with the artists. On the home front corporations such as Yamaha, Marantz, Sony, Pioneer, Rotel, JVC and Techniques would join in on this quest by producing home audio equipment that was based in professional studio audio engineering equipment. Out with the basic mono single tube under 5 watt home stereo equipment and in with the high end hi fidelity equipment. 

The seventies would see the peak of this pursuit on the one audio front. The drive by engineers and geeks to reproduce to the frequency and exact note without distortion, the exact sound that the musicians had mastered in the studio became the defining goal. Every company had their own idea how to achieve this and some did it better than others. The seventies saw the rise of the home multi-channel equalizer, the home cassette player, high-end turn tables, multi-channel multi-speaker home amplifiers, pre-amps and a whole slew of tech that would enable the home listening to experience what the musician had intended when they recorded it.

Brand loyalty became a thing. Brand snobbery soon followed. Unknown to most who laid down their hard earned cash for high-end equipment, a large percentage of gear was actually made by only a few companies. C.E.C. manufactured audio equipment for companies including Marantz, Sony, Toshiba, Alpine, Teac, Kenwood and Grundig. Others such as Foster produced studio, recording and high-end home audio components for companies such as Realistic (yeah, Radio Shack). And yet others were rebrand to in-house brands such as LXI (for Sears) which in fact were produced by Pioneer. Magazines emerged to educate and inform the public, as well as a means to generate revenue and showcase the latest and greatest home equipment. Manufactures in turn upped the game by producing home equipment that were pieces of art in their aesthetic beauty.

Home stereo equipment went from costing tens of dollars to thousands of dollars. Out with the big console pieces which were as much furniture as audio device, in with equipment that looked like it belonged in a rack in a recording studio. Out with just a volume and tuning (radio) dials, in with a multitude of dials and switches that enabled the home user to have mastery over everything from High’s and Lows, loudness control, bass and treble control, etc. By the end of the 1970’s you could spend as much on a home stereo as you could a well equipment automobile of the era.

The early eighties was the end of the visually artistically stunning home units (unless one was buying uber high end brands such as McIntosh). By the mid-eighties tubes had been replaced by solid state and computers and embedded chipsets were integrated into home stereo equipment as the “home theatre” became a thing. The mini-system was born, bookshelf speakers became a thing, and the CD had been born and began to replace the warm rich sound of vinyl.

It wasn’t that the tech had become that much better, it was that modern systems were cheaper to produce. CDs were way way cheaper to produce than vinyl. Like many things, profits became more important in the end to the corporations than producing quality old school gear. The solid wood cases with shiny steel and alloy polished fronts were replaced with black everything, including as much plastic as was possible. The glow of lights on dials and the radio dial were replaced with cold digital digits.

In 1988 CDs outsold vinyl. Like reel to reel tapes and 8-track tapes, vinyl was on the way out. The modern computer chipset home amplifiers focused more on things like replicating the sound of this or that music hall, and less on sounding like what the musicians mastered in the recording studio.

Thankfully there were geeks, hackers, and music lovers who refused to compromise on sound quality and the under-ground era of “vintage sound” began. From flea markets to thrift stores purists searched high and low for older equipment, often restoring them to their former glory. Repairing and restoring music components from decades gone by became a hobby. With some basic soldering skills one could restore a high end amp for pennies, and the unit was normally acquired for little to no money as people gave them away or sold them at garage sales. Boxes of records could be had for free as they were left on the street as people gave them away as they had transitioned to CDs.

Like many of my Generation X peers I held onto to my vinyl. I shopped at used record stores. I recused boxes of records from people downsizing. To my ears vinyl has always sounded better. As someone who has spent his fair share in recording studios and jam spaces with bands as they record and practice I appreciate the warmth that digital music has never held. I bought one of the last series of turntables from the Sony store in Bonnie Doon mall in 1994 as a friend working there at the time advised me that it was the last model Sony was making. I still have that turntable. It’s mated to an early Yamaha Natural Sound amp that was designed to do one thing and one thing only - play music load and clear - no Dobly, no theatre modes, just play music clear and with power. The amp in turn is connected to two mid-seventies JBL loud speakers. The amp is new enough to have a CD selector and old enough to have tape 1, tape 2 and phone as well. There is nothing wrong with it. It’s not black, but it isn’t polished alloy. It has a digital dial for AM/FM, not the old school dial with lights of the earlier models. It’s case is all alloy, no wood. It has brought me countless hours of joy and happiness. It’s the amp my children grew up experiencing classic rock records being played through. I still remember the day I bought it and what I first played it through it (The Ramones for the record, no pun intended). 

I didn’t grow up with high end audiophile equipment in the family home. Yes my father purchased an LXI system in 1984 (I was never allowed to touch the family unit have blown a speaker when I was younger), but prior to that the family owned the ever common all in one (8-track, record player and AM/FM receiver) from Consumers Distributing. In my room I had a similar system except mine had a cassette deck, and not an 8-track. Quality of sound, pure clean replication of music was not what these units were about. I think it took me two weeks to blow one of my speakers when I got it for Christmas from Santa Clause at the age of 11 (thanks mom). As a result of said blown speaker I began my hobby or repairing building speakers. Radio Shack was my best friend during this era. One could score high quality tweeters and woofers for pennies on the dollars compared to the brand name stuff that I so couldn’t afford. I learned how to solder. I learned how to swap out capacitors and such in order to build my home-grown version of a high end speaker. I learned why speaker wire thickness was important as well as keeping the runs even length and as short as possible.

Ever year I would grab the newest Radio Shack catalog when it came out. I’d spend too much time hanging out there and asking questions. I also became a pest at the high-end stereo sales stores. I dreamed of one day owning one of those pieces or art that could produce that beautiful warm sound I knew existed. 

My Uncle Jimmy was the first to own an audiophile quality home system. In 1983 he purchased a full AKAI system after a settlement paid out (he had been hit by a drunk driver and barely lived). Jimmy was more than happy to let me use his system. He taught me all about it. He even sent to me with the manuals for each component so that I would truly understand how it worked. He’d let me bring over my records to hear them on that beautiful and expensive system. To this day I still have a sentimental attachment to the vintage AKAI systems.

In my bedroom as a thirteen year old I would look through the Radio Shack catalog and circle what I wanted. The folks at RS would list setups from good, to better, to best - they would also mate components together and show the buyer how much they would save buying all together at once VS buying individually. Not that my parents or Santa Clause was ever going to buy me said home setup but I could dream.   

The older we get the more sentimental we become. At least this has been my observation. For the past few years I have been keeping my eye on FB Marketplace as well as the local Used goods website watching for a pre-80’s Yamaha or Marantz (or maybe get lucky and see an AKAI system). This late winter (late January 2023) an AKAI amplifier (AM-2400) and receiver came up on FB Marketplace. I clicked the Save button on the ad and told myself if it was still there come by birthday in April I would make an offer. Last week I made my offer only to find out it had sold. Dave G replied that he had a Realistic STA-960 in cherry condition and sent photos.  It was beautiful. Visuals and aesthetic are really important to me but this is an amp, how would it sound? So I started my research on said amplifier. Sources I trust in the audiophile community ranked it better than a Marantz 2045 which is an amp I know well, and it was being offered at half to a third of the price. Dave then mentioned he has the matching turntable and loudspeakers for it. My research indicated it was in the higher end range of Radio Shack offerings and manufactured by Foster (whom I respect).

Time to make arrangements to go view and hear it. When I arrived at Dave’s place the first thing I noticed was the two Volvos. I smiled, because myself I am also a Volvo fan. My gut right then and there told me I could trust this guy.

It was beyond beautiful to look at and sounded even better mated to the matched loud speakers. The silver finish makes the unit look far more expensive than it really is, and the solid metal knobs feel like they were machined with precision. What makes it really work is the beveled glass front cover which allows the warm orange glow of the tuner dial and meters to really stand out. I turned the lights off multiple times just to enjoy the effect. The large solid metal volume dial has a notch to each point on the faceplate giving a very satisfying tactical feel when adjusting the volume. From the local FM station to Black Sabbath’s Paranoid (first pressing) it was everything an audiophile could hope for.

For my 53rd birthday I purchased the amp I had stared at in that 1981 Radio Shack catalog all those times as a child. I’ll be picking up the matching turntable and speakers in the weeks to come. I have no idea when I’ll be able to set up the whole system as currently the speakers won’t work in my current space, but I have a pair of bookshelf which should be fine. The first album that will be played on it will be my recently acquired first pressing of Iron Maiden’s Somewhere In Time.

Who says dreams can’t come true?

PS: In the infamous words of Darby Mills (and the Headpins) Turn it Loud