Realistic STA-95 Receiver

Vintage Vibe, a review of Realistic's STA-95

[@1JGP1]

They are getting harder to find. It’s a nice unit, “under the radar” to some degree.

[@johns.7609]

Got one this past weekend for $100. I have a bottle of deoxit coming to the house today thanks to Amazon. Upon testing, it's very staticky on all inputs and outputs; the pots need cleaning. It is a great looking unit in person. Can't wait to hear how it sounds after a cleaning session.

[@1JGP1]

It's a nice little unit! Radio Shack are sleeper units,...well - for the most part ;)

[@tangyorange6509]

Ha I was playing The Band today, and got one of these!

[@nathanielnicholson559]

I found mine a few years ago for $5. at a yard sale. Got some Deoxit in the balance pot and monitor switch, hooked up a pair of Optimus 1s and I get a really nice sound for hours and hours without any fatigue at all. I have a stack of receivers that I don't like nearly as much as this one. It just sounds more natural and lively without any frequencies feeling 'pushed' or tainted, if you will, and I'm feeding it George Sheering, the Fixx, Bad Religion, Chet Atkins, Vivaldi, Cocteau Twins, Killing Joke... and checking mixes through it. Quite a unit.

[@1JGP1]

What a deal! All that vintage goodness for only $5!!! One of the best "scores" I've heard of yet!

[@bladzmetube5589]

WoW , Sounds better than twice the wattage of good vintage gear out there , Great unit , Everyone who i invite , always pauses in front lolll ,, :) Very nice sound , plus when it gets Darkish and you push the power on ,, The wow effect kicks in ,lol . Even during day light , it's still beautiful to observe ,. We were very impressed , i also have the magnificent sta-2300 - , new wood cabinet , all solders done , caps , as new , if not better ,Actually ,, it's better , caps and everything else were installed with better quality , recommended pro and company required component installments .I also kept all the original caps and such ...Even when it was stock , she was very impressive and also sounded great ! , It's one of those machines that you never want to let go of , And work on the restoration t'ill it's 101 percent ,, In 2 months or so , my sta-2100D will also be ''Fully'' restored ,,.Also finished restoring my Marantz 2265b.This ''65'' watt receiver Can blow any 200 watt speaker in a jiffy ,, lol .We are still wondering what makes this unit sounds so good and powerful , This unit is also very special Nice , Sounds better than my 2K or-3k unit's ,And they are never as pretty at 1k-2k-3k modern units .Why don't they make nice gears as before ? loll When people like us will pay big bucks 1k-2k-3k , We don't care to pay for nice visual metal face plate and chromed buttons for 40 bucks more per unit . Now days , their all metal black or plastic cheap black lol ! as these marantz and realistics pioneer , sansui and e.t.c .! , They Were better framed , Most were also nice to look at ,Now days , from a unit of 100.00 to 2000.00 You wouldn't know witch one is the better one if it didn't have a price tag, Anyhow . Enjoy Vintage Gear ..They just don't make them like that anymore... , s

[@1JGP1]

You're so right, I'm not sure what makes some of these just sound so good.I was listening last night to an old Sony tuner, ST 5130, it just has such a pleasurable tone to it! When I compared it to my thousand plus dollar Magnum Dynalab, I can actually see many of faults of my newer tuner and completely appreciate what's Sony did nearly 40 years ago! This audio things not a terrible hobby to have, lol.

[@cnhhnc]

A beautiful piece. I own one. While not the best of the STA receivers, it's pretty good! The distinctive feature here is the champagne face (as mentioned, it also has real wood veneer), unique for Realistics of that time and that is what makes this one of the best looking Realistics ever, though not, necessarily the best sounding! It's a bit tubey sounding, not the cleanest or most detailed treble, but nice warm tone a bit bass heavy, but that can be a good thing depending on the speakers. I'd say that the Realistic STA 2200 with its mosfet outputs is the best Realistic I've heard. I own the 2200 as well!

[@1JGP1]

Your right, a bit tubey sounding...very pleasant.

[@EC20121]

Thank you!

[@1JGP1]

You're welcome!

[@emmanuelsalazar7018]

Hi, how about I have the same component as you? Do you think a Krack subwoofer can be connected? greetings from Mexico

[@1JGP1]

Haven't heard of one...does it have line level inputs? I.E. can you run speaker wires from the amp to it and then our to the speakers?

[@emmanuelsalazar7018]

@@1JGP1 yes yes michad thanks if I could connect the bass thank you very much bro

[@1JGP1]

@@emmanuelsalazar7018 If you have line level inputs you should be about to connect the speaker terminals from amp to the sub, and then from the sub to the speakers. There would be (likely) a internal crossover in the subwoofer to control the frequency to the satillite or main speakers by doing this. The only real way to know for sure would be to upload a pic so we can see - or, respond back with the exact model of the subwoofer and I'll google it.

[@ivanmalave4688]

I needed one of this. Please is for sale.

[@1JGP1]

Unfortunately not. I sold the receiver shortly after I made the video.

[@DeMiTriDreams]

Are these rare?? I have one..

[@1JGP1]

Not necessarily rare, but cool.

[@jlutie2943]

I have one I like it