You can Tuner Piano, but you can't Tuner Fish

[The Grand Wazoo]

Vintage & Classic Tuners.

A haven for radio lovers and fans of 1970's 'GIZMOLOGY'....!!!!



So come on, let us know about your loves & loathes in the world of tuners.

Bring back the weighted tuning knob!

(.........ahem, erm - so to speak).

[DSJR]

Oh all right then ...:lolsign:

[Spectral Morn]

HI Chris

My first Tuner was a Rotel 850 AL, like most of my old kit I still have it (I guess cause its not worth much S/H). I had a real problem trying to buy it. The shop in question did Rotel but they also did Kenwood (lots of spivs on this brand at the time), so after ringing to check they did Rotel and had the tuner I wanted in stock (what an easy sale) I arrived to receive a really hard sale on the Kenwood. "I don't want it I want the Rotel" I said. Eventually after 40 mins of crap I bought what I wanted and the sales guy admitted that the Rotel was better anyway. What a waste of his time and mine...I guess the spiv/commission must have been large. A trip to the far east perhaps ?...common at the time, back in 1989.

Second tuner was (still have it surprise...surprise) A Revox B 260. I loved the look of it and the gloss wood end checks just make it for me. I remember a time when all Japanese high end kit had wood ends, and many other non Jap brands copied the trend as well. I for one missed this look, when it finally stopped in the early 90's. This was one of the first tuners to have RDS and it's sensitivity and selectivity was breathtaking; it could pick up loads of stations. Fm only, so at the time I kept the Rotel for AM/LW...I listened to a number of stations on these bands, such as Radio Luxemburg and American forces radio from Germany...for the American AOR rock music.

Revox B260 Fm Tuner.

http://www.trocmusic.com/annonces/upload/220919.jpg Sorry about picture quality image taken off the web.

http://www.revoxonline.ch/images/new-tuner-B260-s.jpg

Sound quality was a massive jump on the Rotel and I used away at this for years. However I started to hear about this vintage tuner which was supposed to be very good from Leak. Hi-Fi World rated it very highly, and while on holiday in Scotland I found one in a very nice shop in Edinburgh called Retro Reproductions. Graham the owner was very helpful, so I bought it. So a Troughline mk 2 (the Art Deco one) became mine. In mono it was very nice but was very fussy about the aerial quality (unlike the Revox). I used a Y splitter to connect it up, mono to two rca plugs, and despite listening in mono the sound was amazing...I was hooked. The following year I bought again from Graham a mk3 mono (not as nice looking as the mk2...plain silver )with an EAR valve FM decoder, truth be told I bought it for this item and not to have another Troughline. I connected the EAR decoder to the mk2 and it worked brilliantly, and offered a significant jump in quality..though I did and do still like the sound in mono. As long as you hook a good aerial up with just the right amount of gain (to much and the sound goes off ), you will have an excellent FM only tuner. Are there better tuners out there ? The answer is probably yes. I for one would love to find a Day Sequera....I can but dream.

My Leak Troughline MK2

http://i549.photobucket.com/albums/ii364/davros124/holidayandhifipictures226.jpg

I used a wood box sleeve from another Troughline I had bought to put my MK2 in. This is how I bought mine with metal top and bottom.

http://www.bigearsaudio.org.uk/valve_amps/used_valve_amplifiers_files/leak%20troughline.jpg

Rear view of a Troughline.

http://www.hifiworks.co.uk/images_fullsize/ler4.jpg

Mk2 with an EAR FM decoder...mine is black with a proper front panel and EAR logo.

http://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk/hfw/hfwImages/features/leaktroughline.gif

Front view of a MK3

http://www.onethingaudio.net/OTA/MPX/Images/9512-OTA-MPX-IMG-LEAK-TL3-A1.jpg

Inside view of a MK3

http://audio-nirvana.fortunecity.net/img/leaktu2.jpg

I love using these units and the MK 2 which sits downstairs on a book case always draws admiring glances and questions. A 3m connecting lead feeds the FM decoder in my audio rack. If there is an issue it is just the sensitivity and selectivity and the aerial matching issues that rise out of this. I am afraid a bit of wet string just will not cut it with these tuners.


Regards D S D L----Neil :)

[The Grand Wazoo]

You may have seen these photos of my Troughline from before "The Great Assault of the Hackers of 2009".

Anyway, I've had a MkII & a MkIII Troughie & I preferred the MkII - the one I still own. As you say a good aerial is a requisite.

Mine is, I think, of interest because it still has a factory label attached.

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/139/imgp1589.jpg

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/7519/imgp1588.jpg


Beechy & I commented that to certain worshipers at the 'Temple of the Online Auction', this label could actually be worth more than the tuner! - Not to mention the vintage 1963 string.

[Spectral Morn]

HI Chris



Beechy & I commented that to certain worshipers at the 'Temple of the Online Auction', this label could actually be worth more than the tuner! - Not to mention the vintage 1963 string.


Yep....probably true...:mental:



Regards D S D L----Neil :)

[The Grand Wazoo]

The shop in question did Rotel but they also did Kenwood (lots of spivs on this brand at the time), so after ringing to check they did Rotel and had the tuner I wanted in stock (what an easy sale) I arrived to receive a really hard sale on the Kenwood. "I don't want it I want the Rotel" I said. Eventually after 40 mins of crap I bought what I wanted and the sales guy admitted that the Rotel was better anyway.

Hehe......nice tale......but Kenwood (well, Trio as was) did make some pretty magnificent tuners in their time. The LO-2 was ugly as a very ugly thing, but pulled in a decent sound (though not from all that far!). It's perhaps one of the best tuners ever with the right kind of signal....... if you can find one. There's not many about - £1100 was a lot of lolly in 1983-4!

Also, the 917 was a bit of a peach....... and it looked a bloody sight better than the LO-2..........and you could grab the tuning knob properly! It had a 9-gang front end. Sensitivity was great, but it wasn't big on selectivity. There's always something isn't there?

The other good 'un was the 600T, which looked very similar to a 917, many of the features of the 2 were common, but I'm told the circuits were very different and 1 less gang.

At the section of the market you were buying in at the time though, I'd have gone for the Rotel too!!

[Beechwoods]

:goodthread:

Interesting stuff about the Troughline. My tuner is an R21 Sugden, an all-transistor machine from 1969. Like the Truff it needs a good aerial to excel. I have an indoor smokestack that sounds good on certain channels, but rough on others. I plan on installing a proper external FM aerial at some point, probably this year. When we installed the TV aerial I didn't have the money to do the FM at the same time.

I find that Radio 3, Radio 4 and some of the low power local stations sound good, but heavily compressed commercial stations don't.

I love it's very understated very English looks. The typography and very simple tuning 'thermometer' are classics :)

The Sugdens are something of a 'best kept secret' - I picked up mine locally for £25 a year or so ago. Most people seem put off my the looks :confused: and around the £30 mark seems to be it's natural price at the moment.

http://homepage.mac.com/beechwoods/AOS/sugden_off_s.jpg

I must admit that now that I have a Quad 33/303 amp setup I would like to find an FM3 at a good price. More because I love the look of the Quad 3 Series and the 33 and an FM3 in a wooden sleeve look so good :)

[Spectral Morn]

HI Nick


That looks like a very interesting Tuner.....I like its looks more calassy than a MK3 Troughline IMHO. Maybe worth looking for...


Yes Chris the more up market Kenwood/Trio Tuners are/were very good...but the Rotel was £150 and back in its day, as you said the Rotels were considered to be about as good as it got for very little money. I also owned a budget Trio tape deck as well back then but in retrospect it wasn't that good (I didn't keep it).


Regards D S D L---Neil :)

[The Grand Wazoo]

It's a shame that seperate coarse & fine tuning knobs didn't catch on, because that's a really useful feature.


A very short time before the meltdown of AoS, I posted a suggestion for cleaning that fascia. After some discussion with Mrs Wazoo, who knows a thing or two about cleaning up old gear, we'd suggest removing one of those tuning knobs & trying a gentle rub with a very sparingly applied amount of WD40 on a Q-Tip. Just do a small area, so you've got room to try other methods, if this one fails. WD40 if used extremely carefully, is surprisingly gentle. If it works OK on the patch hidden behind the knob without lifting the foil finish, you can use it on the exposed areas of the fascia.

Good luck!

[DSJR]

I worked out that over the years I've owned THREE Quad FM3 tuners and one was sprayed matt-black at a car paintshop. Looked good too and if anyone finds it, it IT'S MINE as it was STOLEN from a friend back in the mid eighties!!!!!!!

I have an FM2 which sounds rather soft-n-soggy. I understand the awful stereo decoder is the prime suspect and that a "One Thing Audio" decoder (which is a straight fit) will transform it. Anyone tried this?

My favourite tuner was a Revox A76 and I'd willingly have another one if it was in good order. The sound was clear and truthful and it works better with modern ss line inputs than the Quads, which need a very high (relatively speaking) input impedance to sound crisp.

The worst tuners I had were a Lux T-88V, which sounded syruppy anf clogged most of the time, despite looking and feeling gorgeous. The other was a Technics ST-3500, which is a superb "radio" but in standard form anyway, was thin toned and not very "spacious."

A real surprise was the tuner section of a Beomaster 4000 receiver, which sounded very good and was very sensitive too (I'm sure the better Tandberg receivers were even better, but I never had any of them at home to try).

Lastly, a friend had/has a Pioneer TX-9500 tuner which was never tuned away from Radio 3. He made some stunning recordings "off air" from live concerts onto his calibrated Revox B77HS

[The Grand Wazoo]

I just totted up the number of tuners I have in my ownership at the moment.

I sold most of my collection a few years back, but right now I've got (.......and admittedly there are quite a few receivers in there) a MkII Troughline, an Accuphase T101, a Yamaha CR1020, a Marantz 1515L, a Sansui 350a, a Sansui TU 919 (away for repair at the mo'), a Technics ST-9038, a Pioneer SX-440 (black-face) and some old Technics don't know the model number, quartz locked, synthesized, homogonised, pasturised, pileoshite.

......You should have a decent FM tuner in every room!!

These things are selling for absolute peanuts at the moment..if you ever thought you might but never got round to it, then now's the time to buy a vintage tuner.

[The Grand Wazoo]

.............a MkII Troughline, an Accuphase T101, a Yamaha CR1020, a Marantz 1515L, a Sansui 350a, a Sansui TU 919 (away for repair at the mo'), a Technics ST-9038, a Pioneer SX-440 (black-face) and some old Technics don't know the model number, quartz locked, synthesized, homogonised, pasturised, pileoshite...........

But this is the one for me...........

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9070/acct101.jpg

My Accuphase...........an Ebay bargain

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/599/imgp1599h.jpg

It's bit like Irn Bru - made from girders. Weighs a tonne - 24 lbs (this is a tuner, remember!). I had to take the feet off to get it to fit in my rack - now it sits on some tiny inverted cones. Inside each section's in it's own screening can. It's got two outputs - one with a volume pot & one without. There are only 4 gangs on the front end, but they're pretty sensitive - it gets a better signal without an aerial than the Troughline can muster with a massive multi-element array. The T100 was similar, but with AM as well.

Imaging is first class. Through the wrong amps it can be a little forward in the treble, but when it's well matched it can't be beaten for the sort of money they go for.

[The Grand Wazoo]

If you're interested in tuners, especially the old stuff that's hard to find out about, this is a great resource. Just bear in mind that it's a bit U.S.-ccentric.

http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/

[Beechwoods]

Ha ha... I've got that one bookmarked already :) It's a very nice resource. You're right about the US being a lot more interested in Tuners than the UK. I suppose it's as much down to the deregulation of local frequencies, and the amount of local stations as a result. All the UK commercial stations sound the same. And DAB just sounds cr-p in my humble opinion. Thank god for the BBC :)

[Spectral Morn]

Ha ha... I've got that one bookmarked already :) It's a very nice resource. You're right about the US being a lot more interested in Tuners than the UK. I suppose it's as much down to the deregulation of local frequencies, and the amount of local stations as a result. All the UK commercial stations sound the same. And DAB just sounds cr-p in my humble opinion. Thank god for the BBC :)


The BBC is behind plans to fob us off with crap Dab...them and OFF-Com. The BBC used to stand for quality in the past not now IMHO.:(


Regards D S D L---Neil :(

[Beechwoods]

I just admit I'm far more worried about FM switch-off than UHF/TV switchover. It wouldn't so bad if the UK had adopted the MPEG4 compression standard for DAB, but we get stuck with MP3, and at really bad bitrates.

I did hear that FM switchover had been delayed because of concerns about quality. You are right about the Beeb of late though. It's very sad. The Beeb used to innovate the technology and there's very little of that in evidence when it comes to radio broadcasting in this country. So sad :(

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Nick


I have not heard DAB+ but whats wrong with Fm....use Dab to replace AM.

The TV switch over does make sense Digital TV as a platform offers much more but as Radio is about sound...should quality not come first ?


Regards D S D L----Neil :(

[Beechwoods]

Neil - nothing wrong with FM! The quality concerns I heard about referred to DAB - even the industry which implemented it don't think it's good enough to replace FM! They will do it sooner or later though.

[Spectral Morn]

Neil - nothing wrong with FM! The quality concerns I heard about referred to DAB - even the industry which implemented it don't think it's good enough to replace FM! They will do it sooner or later though.

Hi Nick


I was asking a rehetorical question....I know you are a FM fan as I am too...it was aimed at the industry in general. Theres no doubt about it typing isn't as good as talking face to face.


Regards D S D L---Neil :)

[Beechwoods]

Gotcha! :doh: I know what you mean... it boils down to quantity versus quality. Governmentally they make a mint from selling off the frequencies (remember how much they charged the mobile phone companies when they sold off those franchises) the same will happen with the FM frequencies currently reserved for public radio broadcasts. Secondly, they can cram a lot more mediocre commercial cr-p in there making more money for the people owning the stations (of which there will only be a few very big providers, you can be sure of that).

Same old same old...

[The Grand Wazoo]

As far as I can see, the problem with DAB is the same as that of TV, schools, hospitals etc, etc which Government (& not just the present one) fail to see.

They mistake choice for quality.

I'd be happy with just 1 channel if it transmitted only high quality programming. Instead what high quality there is becomes so diluted by the crap that you give up & settle for the lowest common denominator.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Haha. You were typing..............


Gotcha! :doh: I know what you mean... it boils down to quantity versus quality............... Same old same old...

While I was typing.............



As far as I can see, the problem with DAB is the same as that of TV, schools, hospitals etc, etc which Government (& not just the present one) fail to see.

They mistake choice for quality.

[DSJR]

DAB at 256 was ok, but at 192 it's very dependant on distortion in the source material and the compression that the Beeb and others take for granted these days..

FM has a nice cosy 2nd harmonic distortion I read somewhere (HiFi Snooze?), which gives a nice rosy bloom to the sound; something that many older analogue tuners make worse for whatever reason.

By the way, Freeview TV is worse in resolution than the old analogue PAL system - too many stations using up bandwidth on too few transmitter frequencies. Just look at badly lit and over-saturated TV shows (Egg-heads used to be awful for this) and the various "shades" of black and white crush out to an alarming degree. LCD TV's with their "pixillation" problems and over-brightness make this worse IMO. HDTV may be a different thing entirely though and a genuine advance.

[Spectral Morn]

DAB at 256 was ok, but at 192 it's very dependant on distortion in the source material and the compression that the Beeb and others take for granted these days..

FM has a nice cosy 2nd harmonic distortion I read somewhere (HiFi Snooze?), which gives a nice rosy bloom to the sound; something that many older analogue tuners make worse for whatever reason.

By the way, Freeview TV is worse in resolution than the old analogue PAL system - too many stations using up bandwidth on too few transmitter frequencies. Just look at badly lit and over-saturated TV shows (Egg-heads used to be awful for this) and the various "shades" of black and white crush out to an alarming degree. LCD TV's with their "pixillation" problems and over-brightness make this worse IMO. HDTV may be a different thing entirely though and a genuine advance.


Hi Dave


You are 100% right about the problems with digital TV...which are much worse on Free view than Sky. However Sky channels (not the main stream ones) suffer from this too. I was thinking about HD TV and the extra facilities that say the red button option gives...being able to watch a concert or sport etc.

Yes I agree LCD TV makes digital issues worse, Plasma isn't as bad (if its a good one). My last CRT TV a Sony was poor on analogue pictures but very good at digital. My current 36inch Panasonic (also CRT) is good at Digital but stunning on analogue pictures...go figure. All these picture quality issues have made me hold back on going flat panel. The plan is to wait till the HD content is about 60% and then I will switch..assuming I can find a flat panel TV which meets my high picture quality standards. I have yet to see one I could live with..so far.

However at the end of the day audio is more important to me than TV.


Regards D S D L---Neil :)

[DSJR]

I agree.

Isn't there a huge issue with LCD TV's consuming as much energy as an old valve TV from the early seventies? I understand that there is a new TV screen type coming (LED?) and this should be better IIRC.

Our main TV is a now elderly Panasonic PL1 28" widescreen which does us ok with the contrast reduced substantially. 100Hz was the buzzword at the time, but caused problems with fast moving images, especially with a more stationary background. Smaller than 32" doesn't need 100Hz and I loved the B&O idea nicked from Pro monitors where the lateral scan was varied in speed to give sharper vertical lines. Text was superb on their early Avant and Beovision 1 sets.

[Ali Tait]

Interesting how we all prefer the sound of FM,yet it's a 14-bit system..

[Beechwoods]

The lossy-compression is lot less on FM broadcasts though. Bitrate versus word-length...

Here's a great article about the difference between DAB and FM. It explains how the Beeb distribute the FM signal to it's transmitters:

http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/articles/DAB-vs-FM-sound-quality.php

The BBC uses NICAM to distribute the audio signals of its stations to the FM transmitter sites, and NICAM uses a bit rate of 728 kbps where 14-bit linear PCM samples are 'companded' down to 10-bit where large amplitude input samples only have 10-bit resolution but small amplitude input samples have the full 14-bit resolution -- the human hearing system is less sensitive to relative errors when the amplitude is high than it is to errors when the signal is small, and the SNR of high amplitude samples is also higher than for small amplitude samples, hence why NICAM uses a lower resolution for large amplitude samples and higher resolution for small samples.

Basically, in a perfectly fair comparison where the same signal is being transmitted via 128 kbps MP2 on DAB and via FM with NICAM distribution to the transmitter sites, and where there was good reception quality on both DAB and FM, then if 128 kbps DAB ever sounded better than FM then I'm afraid that bears no longer shit in woods.

That last line is killer :)

[Spectral Morn]

I agree.

Isn't there a huge issue with LCD TV's consuming as much energy as an old valve TV from the early seventies? I understand that there is a new TV screen type coming (LED?) and this should be better IIRC.

Our main TV is a now elderly Panasonic PL1 28" widescreen which does us ok with the contrast reduced substantially. 100Hz was the buzzword at the time, but caused problems with fast moving images, especially with a more stationary background. Smaller than 32" doesn't need 100Hz and I loved the B&O idea nicked from Pro monitors where the lateral scan was varied in speed to give sharper vertical lines. Text was superb on their early Avant and Beovision 1 sets.


Yes Dave

All those green people who dumped their CRT TV have done the world no favours at all. Plasma sucks more power too than a CRT TV. WE who still do CRT are greener than those that don't. It allows me to run valve amps with out guilt ;)

B&O sure have some sexy CRT tv's back a few years ago (about 5 years ago).


Regards D S D L---Neil :)

[The Grand Wazoo]

There's an Accuphase T100 on Ebay at the moment.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320348695900&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:GB:1123

It looks like a good example, recent service. Nothing to do with me!

Just like my T101, but with AM too.

[foxysounds]

I know I'm going to attract a lot of attention for saying this but I feel I have to stick up for DAB. I haven't read anything about the technology involved I just know that in my house I get a better listening experience from DAB than from FM (both through a loop aerial on the roof of my house).

I can never get rid of the hiss and other noise on FM. Now, admittedly my FM tuner is not an expensive one - but then nor is my DAB tuner and I very rarely hear any off-putting interference on DAB (unlike FM).

I mainly listen to speech radio (Radio 4, Radio 5 live) and I guess the difference in theoretical quality is not so great for speech. The other channel I listen to a lot is Planet Rock and of course, that is only on DAB so a direct comparison is not possible.

YMMV.

Simon.

[Beechwoods]

Just off to pick up a minty FM3 in half an hour. The Quad-tastic collection expands :)

[Marco]

Nice one - classic tuners rule!

This Sony of mine sounds bloody fantastic. It's the best £45 I've spent on hi-fi in a very long time :)

The manufacturers of modern FM and DAB tuners should listen to these designs and then realise how broken theirs sound in comparison...

Progress? Pah!

Marco.

[Beechwoods]

I like to think there's a golden age when a tuner really was the second or only source for most people, and they were designed likewise. The next upgrade I need is a decent external aerial!

[The Grand Wazoo]

This Sony of mine sounds bloody fantastic. It's the best £45 I've spent on hi-fi in a very long time :)

Marco.

Sorry Marco, which model is the Sony?

[Marco]

Here it is, Chris - nothing 'fancy' but it sounds absolutely stunning on the end of a quality outside aerial:

http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220353462068&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:FR:1123

It has that lovely warm analogue sound but not in a soft sense though - it's bursting with 'life' and detail, but completely devoid of the thin, 'grey', 'transistory' sound of modern FM and DAB tuners. If I didn't know better I'd swear there were valves inside!

Marco.

P.S Beechy, maybe you could make the Ebay picture show up automatically without having to click the link? :)

[DSJR]

You know, at the time, we took these qualities totally for granted and a duffer was usually a cheapo UK sourced model.

Another Sony model worth seeking out is the replacement model, the 5950. sadly, the Pioneers and Sansui's tended to sell more, in our shop at any rate, but this model "performed" and sounded good too.

[Marco]

Are you familiar with the Sony I've got then, Dave? I suspected that it was relatively unknown, not being particularly knowledgeable myself about tuners.

Marco.

[DSJR]

I knew Sony from 1973 to around 1978-80, when Linn and Naim took over my audio life for a few years (as it has done to many others).

Not all Sony's were good, the 3650 amp and matching 2950 tuner weren't that wonderful back then, but the V-FET amps (we had the 5650 and 8650 in the UK and there was also a 4650 plus mk2 versions in the US I understand) could sound lovely. The tuner you have is from my HiFi virginity, when tuners didn't interest me as much, but I'm sure I've played with one and its matching amp and they were good, the Technics equivalent being the bigger seller IIRC (3500 series) if not as good overall. the ST3500 is a great radio, but sounds thin and scratchy by modern standards, although tweakers may be able to beef up the audio side.

Apart from the CT7000 (YUM!) and Accuphase 101 (Double YUM!!!!!!!!!), a favourite was the Revox A76, with reasonable radio performance and superb sound. Some of the B&O receivers also had good sounding tuner sections too, the 'master 4000 sounding good from its tape output (Scandinavian/Danish tuners had to be good and the B&O had pre-sets too).

[The Grand Wazoo]

Apart from the CT7000 (YUM!) and Accuphase 101 (Double YUM!!!!!!!!!),

There are still 3 hrs left on that Accuphase T100 on Ebay!!

[DSJR]

There are still 3 hrs left on that Accuphase T100 on Ebay!!

Got no money for anything at the moment, but am intending to sell a few bits for the benevolent fund...:)

[Barry]

:goodthread:

I must admit that now that I have a Quad 33/303 amp setup I would like to find an FM3 at a good price. More because I love the look of the Quad 3 Series and the 33 and an FM3 in a wooden sleeve look so good :)

I still use an FM3 and you're right, it does look good along with the 33 in the wooden sleeve. The Leak Troughline sounds better though. I had a stereo version (Mark III, I think) and loaned it to a friend of mine as he was tunerless at the time. Sadly he died unexpectedly and his next of kin quickly got clearers in to empty his flat. The tuner dissapeared. Loosing the Troughline was insignificant compared to loosing my friend.

As piece of Hi Fi history and kept more as an objet d'art, I have a Quad AM1 (with the 'half moon' switches), left over from when I had the Quad valve kit.

Finally, I would like to tell you that I am the proud possessor of a Marantz 10B tuner. Unfortunately I can't despite placing a winning bid on eBay for one. The seller was obviously disappointed with the sale price and would not complete the deal.

Easy come, easy go....

Barry

[Spectral Morn]

Finally, I would like to tell you that I am the proud possessor of a Marantz 10B tuner. Unfortunately I can't despite placing a winning bid on eBay for one. The seller was obviously disappointed with the sale price and would not complete the deal.

Easy come, easy go....

Barry


CRAP.....CRAP.....:(:(:(:(:(:steam: Oh to own one of those or a Daysequera. I am sorry it didn't work out for you Barry. I have a couple of Troughlines...amazing tuner love it. Especially the mk2 with the art deco look.

http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/Marantz10B.jpg

http://www.allegrosound.com/DaySequerra_FMR.jpg

http://mpbarneytuners.googlepages.com/fm1frontview.jpg/fm1frontview-full.jpg


Regards D S D L

[The Grand Wazoo]

I wouldn't fret too much about not owning a 10B - soggy bass & never-ending repairs. It's a good job they look nice, 'cos I think they're hugely over-rated in the sound quality stakes.

If it had to be a Marantz, I'd prefer a 20B, a 2130 or an Esotec ST8

The 10B's were supposed to never need realigning but this proved not to be the case. Marantz got a bit burnt with realignment on the 10(A) because when they were being built, the soldering gear they used magnetised the inductors which threw the IF stage out of wack. So they went to town on the 10B by carrying out the alignment with the components at operational temperature - I have heard that there was actually an oven involved to bring them up to temp!

An oscilloscope's fun to look at and meets the requirements of the sophisticated gizmologist, but its not the best signal meter - I think that honour goes to the set up in the Harman Kardon Citation 14 - there was a Quieting Meter so you had a measure of the ratio of signal to noise.


http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/1162/hkcitation14.jpg

Now, that's a tuner I'd love to own.

[Spectral Morn]

HI Chris

Thats what I love about here you can learn so much. Harmon used to make great gear years ago and the Citation kit was very good...I have never heard it but have never read anything bad about it. Yes the tuner looks very interesting.


Regards D S D L

[The Grand Wazoo]

I've never seen or heard the Sequerra in the flesh, but have always wanted to. I always thought that they looked like a well clanged together bit of kit, though!

[Barry]

I've never seen or heard the Sequerra in the flesh, but have always wanted to. I always thought that they looked like a well clanged together bit of kit, though!

Having listed most of the ‘usual suspects’ of desirable tuners such as the Yamaha CT7000, Accuphase T100, Kenwood (Trio 917), Linn Kremlin, as well as various Marantz and McIntosh models, I have a couple more that I would like to try out. For those of you who do not mind your systems looking like the corner of a laboratory and are allowed to do so by their partners, may I suggest the following items: -

Rhode & Shwartz EU 6021

This design is largely solid state but does uses two 7895 nuvistors in the front end.




Knowing that the Art of Sound forum likes photographs, here are more some showing the breathtaking build quality of these receivers. To an engineer they are as close to being pornographic as is allowed.

http://66.102.9.132/translate_c?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.ak-tubes.de/Tuner/Ballempfaenger/EU_6201/EU_6201.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3DTelefunken%2BEBU%2B3137/3%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4DKUK_en-GBGB213GB213%26sa%3DN%26start%3D10&usg=ALkJrhjeWYIedXmZAH8U4DfTauO9UNlYJQ

Regards

Barry

[Beechwoods]

Blimey! It looks like a sweetie shop! Far more interesting than a bunch of IC's and a couple of capacitors!

[Barry]

Oops! - still having problems with images.

For those that are interested, either type Rhode & Schwartz EU6201 or Telefunken EBU 3137/3 into Google or go direct to

www.ak-tubes.de/Tuner/Ballempfaenger/Ballempfaenger.htm

Barry

[Barry]

Oops! - still having problems with images.

For those that are interested, either type Rhode & Schwartz EU6201 or Telefunken EBU 3137/3 into Google or go direct to

www.ak-tubes.de/Tuner/Ballempfaenger/Ballempfaenger.htm

Barry

Having listed most of the ‘usual suspects’ of desirable tuners such as the Yamaha CT7000, Accuphase T100, Kenwood (Trio 917), Linn Kremlin, as well as various Marantz and McIntosh models, there are a couple more that deserve mention and that I would love to get my hands on.

For those of you who do not mind their systems looking like the corner of a laboratory, and are allowed to do so by their partners, may I suggest the following items: -

Rhode & Shwartz EU 6021

This is a portable network relay receiver covering 87-100MHz.

https://www.soriaudio.com/zboard/data/b_myaudio/1155203583/EU6201_msdc2.jpg


Knowing that the Art of Sound forum likes photographs, here are more some showing the breathtaking build quality of these receivers. To an engineer they are as close to being pornographic as is allowed.




https://www.soriaudio.com/zboard/data/b_myaudio/1155203583/EU6201_msdc2.jpg

Overall interior view. Tuning circuits on the left, IF and filters at centre.

Oh I want one, I want one, I want one…………..


Telefunken EBU 3137/3

This design is largely solid state but does uses two 7895 nuvistors in the front end.

http://www.ak-tubes.de/Tuner/Ballempfaenger/Telefunken_EBU/EBU1.jpg




Again more photos, showing the superb construction.


http://www.ak-tubes.de/Tuner/Ballempfaenger/Telefunken_EBU/EBU3.jpg
Overall view of the interior


http://www.ak-tubes.de/Tuner/Ballempfaenger/Telefunken_EBU/EBU4.jpg
Tuning stages, the two Nuvistors can be seen at the centre.



http://www.ak-tubes.de/Tuner/Ballempfaenger/Telefunken_EBU/EBU6.jpg
IF stages and filters


http://www.ak-tubes.de/Tuner/Ballempfaenger/Telefunken_EBU/EBU8.jpg
Power supplies

http://www.ak-tubes.de/Tuner/Ballempfaenger/Telefunken_EBU/EBU10.jpg
Tuning meter and IF stages


http://www.ak-tubes.de/Tuner/Ballempfaenger/Telefunken_EBU/EBU11.jpg
Power supply

[Spectral Morn]

Well done Barry


Regards D S D l

[The Grand Wazoo]

If you're interested in tuners (or think you might be) and you haven't seen Neil's adventures with the Leak Troughline, then you need to read these:

A History: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2837
Comparative Review: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2883

They are essential reading for anyone with the slightest interest in getting a great FM sound on the (relative) cheap.

[The Grand Wazoo]

If you're in the market for a proper tuner on the cheap, & right now, you need to give Dave at Green Home Electronics a buzz.

He's got a Pioneer TX-9100 in stock at the moment for much less than it should sell for. These don't come up too often & it looks as sweet as a nut too!

http://www.usedhifishop.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=728

One of you guys really needs to for it!! (I've been banned from buying tuners for the moment)



(No connection with Dave other than I bought some gear from him for my daughter's 18th birthday & he seems like one of the good guys)

[The Grand Wazoo]

This sounds like it might be worth dropping a few quid on - I expect it could be brought back to life with very little work.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ACCUPHASE-T-101-TUNER-FAULTY_W0QQitemZ150368606280QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_ AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Tuners?hash=item2 302aad848&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

[DSJR]

Ssshh! They'll all want one...

[Spectral Morn]

Ssshh! They'll all want one...

Looked at it, don't trust the source. And the photos don't exactly show the damage very well. Photos can be made to make a thing look not to bad, in this case(and I could be wrong) I think its worse than it looks. Getting a new glass panel cut to the right size and fitted will be awkward and if the metal work is pitted, dented etc, never mind internal damage .....no walk on by would be my advice...and no I am not looking at buying it.


Regards D S D L

[DSJR]

The glass front on my Lux T88-V was broken in a house move, yet a local glass dealer was able to cut out a new one made from "picture-glass" (Marco will know the correct term). At least the case was otherwise undamaged and not scratched. if someone lived near to this seller, they could ask for a viewing first...

[Spectral Morn]

The glass front on my Lux T88-V was broken in a house move, yet a local glass dealer was able to cut out a new one made from "picture-glass" (Marco will know the correct term). At least the case was otherwise undamaged and not scratched. if someone lived near to this seller, they could ask for a viewing first...


I have had dealings with this guy...in the past...not good and a very good friend of mine at the moment is getting the run around on some cables. The fact he has stuck this on E-Bay and not his own web-site suggests to me its a dog.

I could be wrong....but I doubt it. Just checked his web-site not there..."I can't be bothered" and his long list of grumpy answers to possibly legit questions says it all IMHO/E.

Caveat Emptor ...


Regards D S D L

[The Grand Wazoo]

Well, I'd imagine it'd all depend on the price it went for as to the degree of caveat that the emptor ought to have.

[Spectral Morn]

Well, I'd imagine it'd all depend on the price it went for as to the degree of caveat that the emptor ought to have.

Fair point Chris, fair point.....what its at at the moment would be fine...allowing for the potentially huge cost of fixing.


Regards D S D L

[Beechwoods]

I must admit that eBay listings like that put me right off. I'd hate to be on the end of that email manner in the event that whatever I'd bought wasn't as advertised, or if it had been damaged due to poor packing. I guess this isn't so much of a consideration for a £10 item, but I assume that he sells other stuff that's a lil more pricey too...

[DSJR]

It'll go for more than a tenner I suspect...

I wouldn't mind a Sony ST-5950. Sounded very good , felt good to use and doesn't quite have the cachet of the Pioneers, which were exceptional as I remember...