Akai AA-1050 (1976–?)

The Akai AA-1050 is an AM/FM stereo receiver. It was reviewed and advertised in the mid-1970s, but the exact production years aren't documented. What survives comes from a handful of period sources.

Audio (June 1976, p.50) ran an Equipment Profile that published the manufacturer’s specifications. The FM tuner section was rated at 1.8 µV IHF sensitivity, with a mono signal-to-noise ratio better than 75 dB, selectivity exceeding 100 dB, and a capture ratio of 1.0 dB. Total harmonic distortion was listed at under 0.15% in mono and under 0.3% in stereo. Stereo separation at 1 kHz was better than 40 dB. The AM tuner section showed an IHF sensitivity of 180 µV/m with the internal antenna and 8 µV with an external antenna.

The same review noted a loudness compensation circuit that added treble emphasis along with the usual bass boost at low listening levels. The variable muting threshold got a mild critique. At its most sensitive setting, muting was overcome at about 20 µV. At the far end of the adjustment range it took nearly 600 µV to release, and reviewers felt a lower minimum would have been more useful. Otherwise, the controls were described as handling well.

A period advertisement in High Fidelity (January 1977, p.27) claimed 50 watts per channel continuous output into 8 ohms from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. It placed the AA-1050 within Akai’s receiver line, which ran from $200 to $900 suggested retail. The exact price of this model alone is not recorded in available sources.

Beyond these magazine accounts, the record on the AA-1050 is thin. The specs above come from a single thorough review and a corresponding ad, and that is virtually all that is firmly known about this model.