Altec 711 (1965–1968)

The Altec 711 solid-state stereo receiver was early to all-silicon transistor circuitry. Many competitors still used germanium devices or a mix of both. HiFI/Stereo (October 1965, p.115) ran an ad calling the 711A the “world’s first all-silicon stereo receiver” and claiming 100 watts of power at 0.5% THD. A later review in High Fidelity (April 1968, p.66) looked at the 711B variant. It lists dimensions of 16⅝ by 5⅜ by 12 inches, a price of $399.50, and an optional walnut cabinet for $24. The reviewer measured frequency response well beyond the 20-20,000 Hz range at 1 watt, with low distortion and clean square-wave response. Altec’s own advertising (seen in High Fidelity, May 1967, p.36) pushed reliability. The suggestion was that the all-silicon design was so trouble-free that owners would rarely need to see the internal components again. The 711 was sold in at least two versions - the 711A (introduced around 1965) and the 711B (reviewed in 1968) - but production years and total sales figures are not recorded in surviving documentation.