Realistic STA-2080 AM/FM Stereo Receiver. The Best RS Receiver - Extra Minty.

Description

Sparkling clean and fantastic sounding Realistic STA-2080 receiver. Other Realistic receivers had more wattage, but the 2080 is generally considered to have the finest audio qualities. For looks, build quality, and sound this unit easily stacks up with similar models by Pioneer, Marantz, and Sansui. Made in Japan during the height of the receiver wars of the 1970’s, probably by CEC under contract by Realistic, this receiver is absolutely gorgeous - one of the prettiest ever made. Please see pics.
Operationally this unit has been cleaned and tested and is 100% working. Phono section sounds great and FM tuning is excellent. All dial and indicator lights work and there are no scratchy controls or knobs. And overall sound quality is impressive. A very hefty 80 watts per channel and weight of over 40 pounds puts this receiver in legitimate Monster Receiver territory.
From the Classic Receivers website:
This Realistic STA-2080 is a great looking receiver. It also has all the features the average music listener needs. Introduced in 1981 it retailed for 9.95 and given its features it was very competitive with similarly outfitted Pioneer or Sansui receivers. The 80 watts per channel made it a strong performer in the middle price range of receivers at the time.
The blue dial and large power and tuning meters have a beautiful glow in low light environments. Overall it has a look of class, quality, and power that really appeals to the eye. Push button Muting suppresses noise when you tune and the Hi-MPX filter gives you noise free reception of weak stations. The 3 boost and cut tone controls have 21 detented positions and include a mid-range adjustment for finer control.
The Realistic STA-2080 has power meters for both the left and right channels as well as meters for signal strength and tuning. Realistic used a 4 gang tuner with 3 ceramic filters in the FM tuner which makes it an above average performer.
The STA-2080 has two magnetic phono inputs, two sets of push connect terminals for A and B speakers, a headphone jack, AUX input, Tape 1 and Tape 2 inputs, and main in/preamp out jacks.
The build quality of the STA-2080 is really good. People occasionally scoff at the Realistic receivers but many of them were very well built. Many of the Realistic lines were built by Foster/Fostex and Hitachi though there were other manufacturers involved as well.