Sony STR 6800 (1978)

Little is documented about the Sony STR 6800 apart from its own advertising and a brief group mention in a 1976 receiver roundup. Period materials usually style it STR-6800SD. It sat at the top of a three-receiver line that also included the STR-5800SD and STR-4800SD.

Sony's advertising in Audio promoted the STR-6800SD as the company's new, more powerful receiver. It carried over features generally found in costlier separates. One was a MOS FET input stage that Sony claimed delivered a very wide dynamic range. The other was a built-in Dolby noise-reduction system for Dolby FM broadcasts, built in rather than offered as an optional add-on (Audio, October 1976, p.65). A later Sony campaign in HI-Fi-Stereo-Buyers gave the specifics. The STR-6800SD listed at $565 suggested retail and was rated at 80W minimum RMS per channel into 8 ohms, from 20Hz to 20kHz, at 0.1% THD. The smaller 5800SD and 4800SD were rated at 55W and 35W respectively (HI-Fi-Stereo-Buyers, April 1978, p.39).

The one independent period sighting found so far is a listing in High Fidelity's November 1976 roundup of receivers with Dolby FM. It placed the STR-6800SD alongside a handful of other early Dolby-FM models (p.121). No full lab test or long-form review has surfaced, so the record is thin. The subjective claims about the sound come from Sony's own ads, and should be read that way.

Known at a glance:

• Late-1970s FM/AM stereo receiver with built-in Dolby FM noise reduction
• 80W per channel (8Ω, 20Hz–20kHz, 0.1% THD, minimum RMS)
• $565 suggested retail (1978)
• Part of a line with the STR-5800SD ($450, 55W) and STR-4800SD ($350, 35W)

eBay Listings

STR 6800sd Sony Vintage Stereo Receiver Nice

$580

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