A "Kind and Generous" Karma -- Technics SA-5170

mhardy6647
mhardy6647 Posts: 32,927
edited August 2019 in The Clubhouse
With apologies to Natalie Merchant. :)
Her song, Kind and Generous does a good job of thanking somebody.

https://youtu.be/uAwyIad93-c

I want to take an opportunity to thank the members of Club Polk for the kindness and generosity that so many folks here have shown me over the years! Way above and beyond the call it has been. I am deeply appreciative and indebted to many folks here (I think they all know who they are!), so here's a little karma in their honor.

Our karmic volunteer today is a very vintage (ca. 1975) Technics SA-5170 stereo receiver. The provenance of this particular example was -- ahem -- the Grantham, NH town dump :) I say that proudly, though, because other than being a little dirty/dusty and having dirty controls/switches and two lamps burned out, it was in good shape overall.

The SA-5170 was an entry level receiver (actually one step up from the absolute bottom -- there was an SA-5070, but I can't recall ever seeing one), but is better made (and, arguably, better looking) than its more commonly found successors such as the SA-202 (IMO, of course). Rated at 25 wpc into 8 ohms @ 0.5% THD (and OK for use into 4 ohms). Specs, docs, etc. available at: https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/technics/sa-5170.shtml

This one's been cleaned up a bit, controls and switches cleaned, and the two burned out festoon bulbs replaced with "close enough" automotive lamps (same voltage and current rating). No other restoration has been done.

The receiver works well and sounds good (again, IMO -- what can I say?).
This would make a the heart of a great garage/second hifi or a good starter for someone interested in the hobby (especially if he/she is intrigued by "vintage" equipment). EDIT: In full disclosure, I have listened to FM radio and used the AUX input to play CDs. As of 28 August, I have not tried the phono input, tape monitor loop nor the phono input. I am happy to do so upon request. :) Remember that I am nothing if not lazy!

This Karma's open to members with at least 200 posts and located in the US "Lower 48".
Pick a number between 1 and 100 and say you're "in".
I'm going to run this for two full weeks, hoping that it generates some interest :)
I will randomly select the lucky (?!) winner on Thursday, September 12th , not later than 9pm EDT.

There is one catch to this Karma -- because shipping has become expensive in recent years :( I reserve the right to ask the lucky winner to chip in up to 25 dollars to help defray shipping costs. I am in for the first twenty-five dollars of the actual shipping cost, and any costs over fifty dollars in total. But from $25.01 to $50.00 of actual shipping cost, there's gonna be some cost sharing involved :p

Photos will follow immediately after this post.

Thanks again to all of you and to the Polk folks for hosting this terrific forum!
«13

Comments

  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,927
    Rick88 wrote: »
    ...

    And I LOVE Natalie Merchant!!


    Me, too (well, not that way -- Mrs. H would not approve ;) )
    We saw her last month in Bethlehem, NH and she was great. Just her and a guitarist.
  • ken brydson
    ken brydson Posts: 8,640
    Cool karma. In with 60. Thanks!
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,927
    But wait, there's more!

    Herewith, my feeble attempt to document the performance of this ol' trouper (the Technics, not Ms Merchant!) playing a CD through a pair of ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2 loudspeakers (6 ohm nominal load).

    Not a Natalie Merchant track, though :/

    In full disclosure, my old-ish, cheap-ish DSLR does not have a great built in mic, has no provision to add an external mic, nor does it produce particularly high quality video. Nonetheless, I figured this'd be fun and, perhaps, better than nothing :)

    Note that the audio is just a 1 minute snippet of a tune, out of deference to the copyright holders :|

    https://youtu.be/M7I7FxAEus8
  • monepolk
    monepolk Posts: 1,140
    Nice, but not in.
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    Doc you Rock pal...

    awesome karma. Someone better than I needs this
  • codycatalist
    codycatalist Posts: 2,662
    Nice karma Doc! Not in simply as I dont have any speakers efficient enough ha.

    Good luck to everyone who enters, that piece is quite a looker.
    Just a dude doing dude-ly things

    "Temptation is the manifestation of desire which equals necessity." - Mikey081057
    " I have always had a champange taste with a beer budget" - Rick88
    "Just because the thread is getting views don't mean much .. I like a good train wreck doesn't mean i want to be in one..." - pitdogg2
    "Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know." - heiney9
    "Audiophiles are the male equivalent of cat ladies." - Audiokarma Member
  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,042
    Very cool Mr. Hardy. Not in, but very cool.
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    Wow, that there is one pretty receiver!

    I'll leave this to the other guys here, tempting as it may be. :) Good luck to those who enter!
  • tonyp063
    tonyp063 Posts: 1,044
    Mark,
    A most excellent karma. in with 21 please. I'll add this to the things I'm accumulating saving for the kid once she gets out of grad school
  • oldrocker
    oldrocker Posts: 2,590
    Awesome karma Doc!!!

    Not in.
  • vmaxer
    vmaxer Posts: 5,116
    In with 40.
    Pio Elete Pro 520
    Panamax 5400-EX
    Sunfire TGP 5
    Micro Seiki DD-40 - Lyra-Dorian and Denon DL-160
    PS Audio GCPH phono pre
    Sunfire CG 200 X 5
    Sunfire CG Sig 405 X 5
    OPPO BDP-83 SE
    SDA SRS 1.2TL Sonicaps and Mills
    Ctr CS1000p
    Sur - FX1000 x 4
    SUB - SVS PB2-Plus

    Workkout room:
    Sony Bravia XBR- 32-Inch 1080p
    Onkyo TX-DS898
    GFA 555
    Yamaha DVD-S1800BL/SACD
    Ft - SDA 1C

    Not being used:
    RTi 38's -4
    RT55i's - 2
    RT25i's -2, using other 2 in shop
    LSI 15's
    CSi40
    PSW 404
  • Manticore
    Manticore Posts: 408
    Nice retro karma!!! Not in,
    Good luck to those that are!!!!!!
    Denon AVR X4200W
    Parasound A23 amplifier
    Parasound A23 amplifier
    LG 65" Ultra HD4k
    LG 4kBR - UP970
    Denon DVM 4800
    Denon DP 3000 turntable
    Saec 308sx tonearm w/
    Dynavector 10x5 cart
    Vincent PHO 701 Phono Preamp
    MIT Avt3 Speaker c's
    Audio Quest Big Sur ic's
    Polk SDA 1C's modded
    Polk LSim 707
    Polk LSiM706c
    Polk RTiA 3's
    Polk 80F/X-RT
    Polk DSW PRO 440wi sub
    Infinity bu2 sub
    "The early Klingon gets the Gagh"
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,927
    edited August 2019
    Rick88 wrote: »
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    Nice karma Doc! Not in simply as I dont have any speakers efficient enough ha.

    Good luck to everyone who enters, that piece is quite a looker.

    These are real 1970s continuous watts, man, not those jive-bottom, inflated 21st Century home theatre watts!

    B)

    Doc,

    Since you posted this I cannot get Miss Merchant out of my mind. She has one of the most distinctive voices in music. I had to change my playlist for today to include her because of this.

    Thanks! B)

    My work is done here. ;)

    We had friends go with us to see her who only knew her from her performance on the reboot of the Cowboy Junkies' Trinity Sessions (Trinity Revisited). They weren't disappointed. Her voice is utterly unique. Her music's good, too. There's no one else quite like her, is there?

    I'll make another demo video when/if the opportunity presents itself.
  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 9,969
    Very nice karma. Not in, but someone will enjoy this vintage unit.
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,560
    Cool karma, not in.
  • ZLTFUL
    ZLTFUL Posts: 5,640
    Awesome karma, Doc. But not in.
    "Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."

    "Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip
  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
    Very nice Karma Mark! :)
    Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
    Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
    Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
    Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
    Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
    Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD.
  • joecoulson
    joecoulson Posts: 4,943
    edited August 2019
    Fantastic and generous Karma Mark!
    Not in, but very very cool!!
  • Jimbo18
    Jimbo18 Posts: 2,310
    No current (npi) use for it, but very nice karma.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,927
    Dang -- youse guyses. Wouldn't you like to have this fine little receiver takin' up space in your house instead of mine? :)

    Seriously, it's a fine little receiver and I do hope it finds a good home!
    I will post another video anon -- yes I will -- and Miss Merchant shall feature in it (unless she takes umbrage with copyright infringement and sends me a sternly worded tweet, of course).

  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,517
    Doc I’d LOVE to have it, but I’d just be adding it to my hoard and my kids ain’t old enough for their first system yet..

    I do hope someone gets it as it’s awesome, but I want it to go to the right person, and right now don’t think that’s me...
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
  • codycatalist
    codycatalist Posts: 2,662
    Fine I'll take Rick's lucky 17. In Doc :)
    Just a dude doing dude-ly things

    "Temptation is the manifestation of desire which equals necessity." - Mikey081057
    " I have always had a champange taste with a beer budget" - Rick88
    "Just because the thread is getting views don't mean much .. I like a good train wreck doesn't mean i want to be in one..." - pitdogg2
    "Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know." - heiney9
    "Audiophiles are the male equivalent of cat ladies." - Audiokarma Member
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,927
    Now, I feel like Tom Sawyer :)
    In fact, if anyone feels like whitewashin' a picket fence... :#


  • CH46E
    CH46E Posts: 3,521
    Very cool! In with 81 please.
  • CGTIII
    CGTIII Posts: 1,022
    Very nice.

    Not in but are you selling that custom antenna alone. :D
    Expect that there will be bumps in the road. Choose to not let them rattle you.

    Polk - Monitor 10As, SDA 2Bs, LSi9s, White RTi4s, S4s, M3s, various centers.
    Boston - CR7, CR6s, CR4s.
    Subs - M&K V4, M&K VX-7B, JBL SUB150P, Jamo Sub 250, and others.
    ​Thompson Adventures, Inc.
  • SIHAB
    SIHAB Posts: 4,494
    Great Karma.
    I would LOVE to own a item from the legendary town dump.
    Not in though.
    Speakers: Polk Lsim, ATC SCM19 v2, NHT SuperzeroSpeaker Cables: DH Labs, Transparent, Wireworld, Canare, Monster: Beer budget, Bose ears
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,927
    CGTIII wrote: »
    Very nice.

    Not in but are you selling that custom antenna alone. :D

    I could do a limited production run if there were sufficient demand B)