JVC S-300 (c. 1976)
Little is documented about the JVC S-300 outside its period advertising and one substantial lab review, but what survives makes its place clear. It was JVC's moderately priced stereo receiver of the mid-1970s, and it earned a small footnote in receiver history: Audio (September 1976, p.51), testing the S-300, reported that JVC was, to its knowledge, the first company to build a full graphic equalizer circuit into an all-in-one receiver — a five-zone SEA system allowing individual tonal adjustment across the musical range, far beyond what conventional bass and treble controls offered. JVC's own advertising leaned hard on the same identity. In High Fidelity (November 1976, p.17), the company presented the S-300 as a break from the look-alike, perform-alike receiver crowd, and a follow-up ad (February 1977, p.51) put it bluntly: JVC built in the graphic equalizer other receivers left out.
Audio's September 1976 lab report was generally favorable. Measured THD was no more than 0.31%, IM distortion was 0.3% at rated output, and stereo THD remained a low 0.2% at 6 kHz, with little evidence of high-frequency "beats" out to 10 kHz. Inside, the equalizer circuit was covered by two granted U.S. patents, and the output stage used dual-polarity voltage supplies filtered by a pair of 10,000 µF capacitors.
Beyond that, the record thins. No original price, production years, or fuller specification sheet have surfaced in the available documentation.
- Moderately priced stereo receiver, mid-1970s
- Five-zone SEA graphic equalizer — claimed as an industry first for an all-in-one receiver
- Measured THD: no more than 0.31%
- Measured IM distortion: 0.3% at rated output
- Measured stereo THD: 0.2% at 6 kHz
- Dual-polarity output supply with paired 10,000 µF filter capacitors; equalizer circuit covered by two U.S. patents
eBay Listings
As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our independent vintage technology research.