Technics SH-8066

Name: Technics SH-8066
Brand: Technics

The Technics SH-8066 is a stereo graphic equalizer with a built-in spectrum analyzer and automatic room equalization. It was one of the more ambitious EQ designs Technics offered in the mid-1980s. Most of what survives about it comes from a single equipment profile in Audio magazine (November 1986, p.96).

The big feature was automated setup. A built-in pink-noise source works with the supplied microphone, which goes at the listening position. The owner runs a full room-equalization sweep with a couple of button presses (Audio, November 1986, p.97). Manual control was unusually flexible too. EQ level ranged from −12 to +12 dB in 2 dB steps, and a "Direct EQ Level Control" on the front panel offered a 156-point touch matrix for setting any band by hand (Audio, November 1986, p.97). Manufacturer's specs quoted frequency response of 10 Hz to 50 kHz. The microphone was nondirectional, rated at −72 dBV sensitivity re 1 µbar and a 110 dB maximum input level.

Audio's reviewer found the automatic mode genuinely useful. Overall sound was better with automatic EQ than without - smoother in general, though lacking some detail (November 1986, p.100). The same review noted approvingly that Technics seemed to want listeners to use the equalizer repeatedly, learning more about their music and their room along the way (Audio, November 1986, p.100). A short item in the September 1986 issue (p.41) also observed that the SH-8066 was the kind of equalizer people might use to tweak response curves simply because it sounded pleasant, even when no correction was strictly needed.

Beyond that late-1986 coverage, the record is thin. Production years, original price, and full specifications are not documented in the surviving sources.