Sherwood 2770RCP (c. 1987)

The Sherwood 2770RCP was a late-1980s digital-synthesis AM/FM stereo receiver. The period press listed it as the S-2770RCP. The record on it is a little fuller than for many Sherwood models of the era. HiFI-Stereo (August 1987, p.48) carried a full Hirsch-Hauck Laboratories test report, and Sherwood backed the model with a visible multi-month ad campaign in Audio. Those two sources are still almost the entire surviving record.

The lab report described a receiver loaded with features. The digital-synthesis tuner stored sixteen presets behind eight pushbuttons - each button held two memory locations - and an illuminated display showed status at all times. The panel had a large volume knob with a bright red LED indicating its setting. The LED was necessary because the knob was motorized and driven from the remote. There was also a horizontal-slider balance control and a switchable subsonic filter rated at a 12 dB-per-octave slope below 30 Hz. Price at review was $449.95, and the chassis measured 17¼ inches wide (HiFI-Stereo, August 1987, p.50).

Hirsch measured the amplifier at a rated 70 watts per channel into 8-ohm loads. Distortion ran 0.004 to 0.01 percent from 20 to 4,000 Hz, rising to 0.045 percent at 20 kHz, and lower still at half and one-tenth rated power. His verdict was more than enough clean audio power for most people, and an FM tuner with exceptionally low noise (HiFI-Stereo, August 1987, p.51). Sherwood's own advertising in Audio (September 1987, p.71) claimed 74 watts per channel, a minor discrepancy with the review's "rated 70 watts" phrasing.

The ads pitched the 2770RCP as the center of an audio/video system - TV audio, VCR audio and video, CD player, turntable, tape deck - all in stereo. It could synthesize stereo from monaural sources such as broadcast or cable TV. It could also decode rear-channel information present in most stereo sound and video programs, and Sherwood suggested adding a pair of rear speakers to turn the room into a theater.

Type: AM/FM stereo receiver, digital-synthesis tuner
Presets: 16 (eight pushbuttons × two memory locations)
Power: 70 W/ch rated (lab test); 74 W/ch claimed in ads
Subsonic filter: switchable, 12 dB/octave below 30 Hz
Remote: yes, with motorized volume
Price: $449.95 (1987)