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Any idea what this is? No cigar if you said desktop calculator,
though that is exactly what the Nytech CTA-252XD was supposed to look like. It
is actually a stereo tuner with a built-in power amplifier. In audiophile
circles it was given the nickname ‘Calculator Amp’, and not in a mean or unkind
way. It was, and still is highly regarded, to the extent that it was often
bought just for the very fine amplifier it contained. The calculator comparison
doesn’t stand up too well nowadays but you have to remember that when it first
appeared, in the mid 1970s that is what calculators looked like. However, one
of the original design goals was for the tuner to be part of a component-style
music centre, with the sloping lines of the hinged black cover matching those
of a Dual turntable. In the end that didn’t work out too well and Nytech wisely
decided to play to their strengths and focus on the high-end audio market.
The basic design and shape continued until the early 1980s. The
one featured here is a Series II model, dating from 1980 (according to the
inspection label inside). The most significant differences between this and
earlier models is an uprated toroidial transformer, beefed up output stage
delivering 25 watts rms into 8-ohm speakers and a redesigned phono input
circuit for magnetic cartridges.
The FM tuner, although fairly conventional works very well and was
spiced up with an array of three moving coil meters, where the calculator display
would be. They are basically window dressing, showing signal strength, tuning
and frequency; although functionally unnecessary they look really smart and
probably went some way towards justifying the hefty £100 price tag. That’s the
thick end of £1000 in today’s money (Autumn 2020). 
It has four station presets, adjusted by small bank of thumbwheels
concealed beneath a sliding cover. Above that the larger single thumbwheel is
for manual tuning and above that is a set of five slider controls for Balance,
Bass, Middle, Treble & Volume. Other tuner function on the main keypad
include the AFC button, four station presets and the FM mode selector. The
remainder of the keys are for power on/off, bass and treble cut, bass and
treble boost, tape and phono input selectors, mono sound and the two speaker
output selectors, Around the back there are 2-pin DIN sockets for the six
speaker outputs (two switch, one direct), more DIN sockets for tape input and
pre-amp output, an aerial socket and two flying phono sockets for phono input. 
You only have to pick it up to tell this is a quality item. It
weighs a hefty 4.5kg, most of which is due to the toroidial transformer and all
metal chassis. The quality of construction is outstanding with neat wiring and
excellent ease of access, should anything go wrong. At the time the amplifier
and power supply circuitry were considered somewhat unconventional but it
quickly won over the doubters with a sound that was favourably compared with
the best amps of the day. As an added bonus it proved to be kind to speakers,
unlike a lot of 60s and 70s power amps, which had a nasty habit of popping
their cones. Speaking of power, you might be surprised by the seemingly weedy
25 watts per channel output. It’s a mistake to equate power with quality; when
a well-designed amplifier is used with a pair of carefully matched speakers
power ceases to be an issue. Nytech urged owners to audition speakers at one of
their dealers and stressed the CTA-252’s audiophile credentials in the
instructions, pointing out that tone controls are only necessary when the
source material is of ‘inferior quality and requires optimisation’…