JVC R-S55 Vintage Stereo Receiver – 40 WPC, Wood Cabinet

JVC R-S55 Digital Synthesizer AM/FM Stereo Receiver — 40 Watts Per Channel, MM Phono, Wood Cabinet

Where the R-S55 Sits

JVC built the R-S55 in 1979 and 1980, at the exact moment the receiver was changing shape. The tuner section had gone digital — a quartz synthesizer with station memory, tuned by pressing a button rather than by nudging a dial and watching a needle. The cabinet had not caught up yet, so the electronics of the new decade arrived wrapped in the wood of the old one. That combination did not last long, and it is why this one looks the way it does.

Power and Distortion

Forty watts per channel into 8 ohms, at 0.03% total harmonic distortion across the audible band. The damping factor is 45, which is where a receiver of this size and era wants to be to keep a real grip on a bookshelf or floorstanding speaker rather than letting the bass go soft. It will drive anything from 4 to 16 ohms, which is a wider window than most modern integrated amplifiers will admit to.

The Phono Stage

There is a proper moving-magnet phono stage, sensitive to 2.5mV, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 77dB. That is a real phono input designed when phono was the main source in the house, not an afterthought added back to a modern receiver to satisfy a spec sheet.

The Digital Tuner

The digital synthesizer tuner is the feature that dates it and the feature that still earns its place. Station memory means the presets you set are the presets you get, every time, with none of the drift that sends you hunting across the dial on an analogue tuner that has been sitting for forty years.

Service and Condition

It has been through our bench at Service Level 1. Condition grades good.

A Slim Cabinet

At 16.6 inches wide and only 4.3 inches tall it is a slim, tidy unit that will sit on a shelf where a 1970s monster receiver simply will not fit — and at 18.3 lbs it is straightforward to ship or to carry home.

Who This Suits

For anyone who wants a vintage receiver with a phono stage and a wood cabinet but does not have the shelf space — or the patience — for a full-size 1970s silver-face monster, the R-S55 is an unusually practical answer: real power, a real phono input, presets that hold, and a footprint that fits. Available for pickup in Kanata, or shipped across Canada and internationally — we have sent equipment to fifteen countries in the past year, each piece packed in-house in 275 lb test double-wall boxes. Live shipping rates for your address are calculated at checkout.

JVC R-S55 Digital Synthesizer AM/FM Stereo Receiver Specifications

• Power output: 40 watts per channel into 8 ohms
• Total harmonic distortion: 0.03%
• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz
• Damping factor: 45
• Speaker load impedance: 4 to 16 ohms
• Phono: moving magnet, 2.5mV sensitivity, 77dB signal-to-noise
• Line input: 150mV sensitivity, 98dB signal-to-noise
• Tuner: digital synthesizer AM/FM with station memory
• Tone controls: bass ±8dB at 100Hz, treble ±8dB at 10kHz
• Loudness: +10dB at 50Hz, +4dB at 10kHz
• Year: 1979–1980
• Dimensions: 16.6″ W x 4.3″ H x 15.9″ D (422 x 109 x 403 mm)
• Weight: 18.3 lbs (8.3 kg)
• Condition: Good
• Service: Level 1

⚠️ Important Information for International Buyers

This unit is configured for North American 110/120V power. Buyers outside North America will require a step-down transformer and appropriate plug adapter.

✅ Buy With Confidence — The Radique Promise

Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. When you’re ready to move on, we’ll take it back. That’s the Radique difference.

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