Shure HTS-50SPA
The Shure HTS-50SPA was the power-amplifier component of Shure's HTS Theater Reference System, a matched surround-sound package sold around the turn of the 1990s. The complete system bundled three HTS-50SPAs with the HTS 5300 surround decoder, one HTS 50CF center-front speaker, one HTS 50SW subwoofer, and four HTS 50LRS speakers for the main left/right and rear surround channels. Audio (July 1989, p.89) said the package contained everything needed for a surround installation except source components and accessories, at a system price of $9,600. A later Audio system overview (1990, p.53) listed the same configuration at $5,990, so period pricing of the full system is inconsistent in the record.
High-Fidelity (July 1989, p.40) ran a special test report on the amplifier itself. It put the 50SPA at $1,650 each and noted that each channel includes a dynamically variable limiter - a design choice Shure tied to the heavy power demands of the center and subwoofer channels in the Reference System. Standalone documentation of the amp is thin. Both Audio system reviews concentrated on the HTS 5300 decoder rather than the amplifiers. One useful data point comes from Audio columnist Bert Whyte (August 1991, p.18), who used five HTS-50SPAs in his personal home theater, with four bridged for upwards of 250 watts apiece. That confirms the amps were bridgeable and capable of substantial output.
Known specs at a glance:
- Power amplifier, part of the Shure HTS Theater Reference System
- Period price: $1,650 each (High-Fidelity, July 1989)
- Dynamically variable limiter on each channel (High-Fidelity, July 1989)
- Bridgeable; at least 250 watts per channel when bridged (Audio, August 1991)
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