Sherwood S-8900A

Documentation on the Sherwood S-8900A is thin. The Archive hasn't located a factory spec sheet, a service manual, or a confirmed production span. What survives is mostly from the model's own moment: a handful of magazine advertisements quoting lab work. That's enough to place it. The S-8900A was an FM-only stereo receiver from Sherwood's early-1970s lineup, sold as the FM-only sibling to the AM/FM S-7900A.

Sherwood's advertising leaned heavily on the model's reception. An advertisement in Audio (April 1973, p.31) quoted Hirsch-Houck Laboratories as finding both the FM and audio sections to be among the best current performance for a receiver. It also cited an FM sensitivity of 2.7 µV for 50 dB quieting. Sherwood's later advertising in HiFI-Stereo (February 1974, p.5) made similar claims and emphasized excellent sensitivity. It noted that signal-waveform clipping occurred at 75 watts per channel in lab tests - a figure Sherwood described as conservative.

Sherwood's 1973 ads in High Fidelity (May 1973, p.87) used that acclaim as a sales pitch. They pointed out that dollar devaluation was pushing competitors' prices up while Sherwood offered a highly regarded receiver. Beyond those period advertisements, very little is recorded about the S-8900A's circuitry, pricing, or production history.