Marantz SR-940 (1984)
The Marantz top-of-the-line receiver of the mid-1980s put out a hundred watts per channel, used digital-synthesis tuning and came with a wireless remote.
Overview
In the fall of 1984, HiFI-Stereo (September 1984, p.62) ran a short piece on the SR-940 and called it Marantz's top-of-the-line AM/FM stereo receiver. The magazine listed four headline items: 100 watts per channel, digital-synthesis tuning, a wireless remote control, and a built-in timer - all for $640. There was no analog dial to turn, and the remote let you run it from across the room without getting up.
The SR-940 also had a Motorola-system AM stereo decoder. That still felt novel in 1984, even though AM stereo had been around for a few years. FM stereo was the unquestioned king, but Marantz wanted to cover every source. The digital-synthesis tuning brought pushbutton precision that had only recently trickled down from much more expensive separates. It locked onto stations with none of the drift that plagued older analog front ends. The receiver could wake the house at a preset time, switch sources with a thumb-sized button, and push a clean 100 watts into whatever speakers were handy. That is not world-beating power, but it was enough to fill a living room.
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