Technics SA-800 (Years unknown)

Information on the Technics SA-800 is thin. The Archive has no factory spec sheet, no service manual and no production dates. What record there is comes from a handful of period audio-press reviews from 1978-79.

High Fidelity (November 1978, p.60) reviewed the SA-800 and said its distortion was so low it was barely measurable. The writer added that this was no longer news coming from Technics. The same review pointed to a low-boost switch which, used with the bass control, could bring up drums and bass instruments with a minimum of boominess. It also noted a high-treble control for the top end. HiFi/Stereo Review (September 1978, p.64) ran essentially the same assessment.

A fuller spec listing appeared in HiFi/Stereo Review (1979, p.87). It gives the clearest picture of the SA-800 as an AM/FM receiver:

Power band 20–20,000 Hz with 0.3% THD and IM distortion
Damping factor 30 into 8 ohms
S/N (IHF "A") 70 dB phono, 100 dB tape
FM mono/stereo THD 0.2%/0.3% at 1 kHz; stereo separation 40 dB
LED power-level indicator arrays for each channel
Listed at $240

Past that listing, almost nothing else is recorded about this model. There are no production years, no sibling context in the brand catalog and no surviving service documentation in this archive. If you own an SA-800 or have literature on it, send it through the feedback link below.