Vintage Heathkit AR−1250 Stereo Receiver Kit
Cool Product Report

This vintage Heathkit AR−1250 Stereo Receiver kit is one the latest Heathkit kits which appeared on eBay, although this one is mostly built. At least you can see the innards in the photos. There appears to be a lot of parts to assemble, but by 1985 Heathkit was shipping kits with major RF circuit components already mounted and tuned. Without photos of the unassembled kit I cannot be sure, but being declared "a four-evening kit" means it likely did have pre-assembled sections.

I have been saving these kinds of images in order to preserve the history. A constantly growing list is at the lower right.

The first instance of the AR−1250 Stereo Receiver I could find in a Heathkit catalog is in the 1985 Spring-Summer issue with a price of $349.95, but by the time the 1985 Christmas issue was mailed, the price had been lowered to $299.95 ($745.61 in 2021 money per the BLS Inflation Calculator).

Heathkit AR−1250 Stereo Receiver Kit Parts  (eBay photo) 

Audiophile quality in a medium-powered 30-Watt Stereo Receiver from Heath

• A multitude of versatile features, size and price make this the perfect unit for the apartment dweller or college student
• An array of exceptional specifications and more performance for your dollar with our high 2.5 dB (53 watt) dynamic headroom
• All-in-one audio quality - designed for highest fidelity first, then for high styling
• A four-evening kit of uncompromising value

30 Watts, Minimum RMS, Per Channel, into 8 Ohms with Less Than 0.009% THD from 20-20,000 Hz 

The AR−1250 Digital FM Stereo Receiver is ideal for the college student, apartment dweller or budget-minded audiophile who wants a high-quality, medium power stereo system. This 30-watt Stereo Receiver fuses the best in audio technology with versatile features.

Heath's award-winning engineers designed the AR−1250 to meet the highest standards of accurate audio reproduction - just check the Receiver's outstanding specifications. Excellent FM sensitivity and very low distortion allows you to enjoy clear FM reception at an extraordinarily low price.  <continued...>

Kit AR−1250, Shpg. wt. 23 lbs. .....................................Last Call $299.95

...continued

 

Ease-of-use and versatility are part of the design with a bright green digital frequency display, a bar graph display of instantaneous signal strength and power output level, and exact LED center-tune and stereo locking indicators. Select A or B speaker systems, or both. A pre-amp-out/power-amp-in adapter loop makes adding an equalizer, audio processor or electronic crossover very easy. Three source switches route the audio signal with full monitor or dub from one tape deck to another, or listen to any source while recording from another source.

Connect up to two tape decks, headphones, power amp, or auxiliary sources like a TV, turntable, etc. And shape the amplifier response with bass, treble, flat and loudness controls. In addition, switch-in low and high frequency filters for selective noise rejection of frequencies below 30 Hz and above 7 kHz.

Easily build the Digital Stereo Receiver in just four evenings with the famous Heathkit manual and enjoy this high-performance low-priced receiver that gives you more of what you listen for. 

Kit AR−1250, Shpg. wt. 23 lbs. .....................................Last Call $299.95

Heathkit products were well known for the completeness of its instruction manuals, with clearly illustrated instructions. During the writing and editing process, Heathkit employees were given pre-production kits to take home and build, while annotating any difficulties or errors encountered. Doing so helped minimize the situation where the writer inadvertently assumes his own familiarity with the process is shared by the customer. Having built a few Heathkit products myself in the 1970s when I did not have a lot of experience with electronics assembly, I can attest to the user friendliness of the instructions. Heathkit still sells many of its vintage manuals for around $15, which is what you would pay on eBay.

Contact Info

Heath Company (Heathkit)

Operations: PO Box 15, Ottsville, PA 18942

R&D/Mfg: PO Box 3115, Santa Cruz CA 95063

Phone: +1 (831) 480-4368

E-Mail: info.2015@2015.heath.company

Posted July 14, 2021