Grundig A-903 (1989)

The Grundig A-903 is an integrated amplifier that reached the U.S. as part of the company's late-1980s return to the American market. Stereo Review's January 1989 bulletin announced that Grundig was back. It noted that the German manufacturer was still best known here for its short-wave radios. The A-903 carried the "Fine Arts" designation. The most detailed record of it is a Hirsch-Houck lab test in Stereo Review (May 1989, p.61), which listed it at $899.

That review found the A-903 clean by late-'80s standards. Total harmonic distortion stayed around 0.01 percent across most of the power and frequency range. It dipped to 0.005 percent at 1 kHz and 50 watts, and peaked at 0.0148 percent at 20 kHz and 10 watts. The tone controls gave roughly ±15 dB at the frequency extremes and left the 500-1,500 Hz band largely untouched. Reviewer Julian Hirsch also observed that the front-panel controls were understandable without the instruction manual - which, he added, was clear and comprehensive.

The A-903 was a substantial 24-pound amplifier, 13 inches deep and 4½ inches high, with movable decorative end plates. Beyond this one test report, documentation is thin. No service manual, production-run details or sales figures have been located.

Type: Integrated amplifier (Grundig Fine Arts line)
U.S. price at review (1989): $899
Dimensions: 13 in deep × 4½ in high (width not stated in the review)
Weight: 24 lb
Measured THD: typically ~0.01%; min 0.005% (1 kHz, 50 W); max 0.0148% (20 kHz, 10 W)