First hand experience with ReVox tuners? Anybody?

[Dr. Flicker]

I have recently stumbled upon the realization that my main source has actually become FM broadcast. I am lucky/blessed to have local FM broadcasters that still believe in quality FM broadcast standards (read no crazy compression, etc) and quality music from quality recorded material....JazzFM, CBC Radio (our public broadcaster version of the BBC) and a couple of great college radio stations and small "ethnic" broadcasters.

Reception is never a problem, as I have a Magnum Dynalab whip located on the roof of my 5 floor building which is basically in line-of-site of the broadcast facilities on both the CN Tower & First Canadian Place located no more than 3 or so of kms away.

I never really considered it an actual "source" to seriously sit down and listen too (more of a background thing)...until I sat and listened to a live to FM broadcast performance from my local jazz station one night. I sat there with my mouth open...I couldn't believe the "presence" of the sound coming from my little Quad tuner. I had no idea just how good FM broadcast sound if all the stars are aligned.

Now, I love my little Quad FM3 to death, and I would never get rid of it (also, I would never recover all the money I spent buying it and then having it serviced)....they just don't come any cuter.

While it does have its fans, and I don't have a problem with what people tend to find its weak point (poor reception), I now have the "tuna bug". And you know how bad that problem can be for us audiophools on a mission.

Anyway, I've got a line on a vintage Revox A720 hidden away in a local pawn shop that I have become obsessed with. The price will be good (probably get it for under $500 CDN cash). The fellow is reputable and I've been going in his shop for at least 20 years...and he tells me it is in perfect nik (yet to be confirmed by me).

I've read all the on-line stuff there is already. That FMtuner site raves about the 760, which the 720 is supposed to be as good sounding, but that's just one guys opinion, which could be totally different than mine.

I was hoping that since this equipment (I assume) is/was more popular in Europe, someone here might be able to give me some first hand advice. I've always loved Revox...I owned their first cd player, and found it to be a great product. But my real love is for their 70's stuff...it's not just Mercedes quality...but 600 Pullman quality.

I really would like to upgrade to a seriously good sounding tuner (sound quality is the priority here...not being able to tune in difficult signals). And I really like the A720 (those nixie-tube number displays are just the coolest thing ever). It's also one of those "pre-tuners", which I won't be using its pre functions (it has outs so I can just use the tuner portion). It also has DUAL headphone jacks.

Hell, even if it isn't a major improvement over the Quad, I'd still like to own this piece of equipment just for posterity's sake, but I'm hoping I can have my cake and eat it too.


Here's some eye candy for you to enjoy....


http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/8898/3043177870a220ee4daao.jpg (http://img29.imageshack.us/i/3043177870a220ee4daao.jpg/)

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/1158/329bm4.jpg (http://img411.imageshack.us/i/329bm4.jpg/)

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/3230/3482613006433043c0e5b.jpg (http://img411.imageshack.us/i/3482613006433043c0e5b.jpg/)

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/526/34826125523418f3083cb.jpg (http://img33.imageshack.us/i/34826125523418f3083cb.jpg/)

[John]

A beautiful tuner must sound great
Sorry I cannot help ou with your question but I am sure someone here can

[Dave Cawley]

http://techtrading.ch/catalog/images/B261-01.jpg


Both the 760 and 720 are a mixture of very old technology. A sort of synthesizer and nixie tube display. I would pass on this and get a B261 or something similar. :kiss:

I have a thread on FM Tuners that I will be updating over the weekend.

Regards

:bag:

Dave

[aquapiranha]

Ooooh, if there is anything that will get me going when it comes to electronic equipment, it is Nixie tubes!!

I have never heard any revox kit, but I have always admired it's industrial styling, it always looks like it is going to pull the job off with lots to spare.

I do like the CD player, maybe one day (one or two use the TDA1451...)

:smoking:

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Dr Flicker.


I do have experience of the Revox 260-S. It is very good, excellent sensitivity and selectivity. Having been designed in a mountainous country it really makes the most of any signal it gets. However in pure sound quality stakes it isn't as good as my Leak Trough-Line 2 and EAR FM stereo decoder. Both items are valve based with the tuner dating from the late 50's early 60's with the decoder being a more modern unit.

I wrote a review of the Leak tuner and the Revox link (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2883) and while this doesn't help you exactly, you may find it an interesting read. Leak audio products were available in North America and possibly Canada. The export fascia was much nicer than the UK one, looking a wee bit more like vintage Marantz. However as they are rarer on your side of the Atlantic the cost may be higher or not, maybe they are not rated as much and could be got for very little cash. Worth looking for IMHO.

I don't know if what your pawn broker wants for the A720 is right or not, maybe you can haggle with him to get it for less money. While it is possibly true that Dave's recommendation or the 260-S is better that the 720, it is a very nice vintage unit, a collectors item for sure and may well be worth ago.



Regards D S D L

[hifi_dave]

That tuner certainly looks the biz but does it sound good once you get past the bling. I have heard but never owned one but I did own an A76 back when Angus Mc Kenzie raved about it but it never wowed me. It measured really well as confirmed by Mr Mc Kenzie but the sound was so, so, not involving at all.

I have a couple of tube McIntosh tuners and associated MPI and I would suggest something tubed from Mac or Marantz and the humble Leak Troughline will give you more listening satisfaction. The first two ranges also have the 'bling' factor.

[Alex Nikitin]

Revox tuners are quite common on German Ebay, AFAIK. Here is one, for example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230350010128

Alex

[DSJR]

I'm going to disagree wiv me mate HiFi Dave about the A76...;) I owned an early one (with old knobs) and I thought it sounded superb. I sold it at a small profit and used the tuner from the Beomaster 4000 (more sensitive and quite good sounding, believe it or not) and then replaced that with a Luxman T88-V which looked fab but sounded congested than "thick." I also had a Technics ST-3500 given to me (one I sold to the chap in 1976) and as a "radio" it was superb, but as a means of listening to good broadcasts it was dire - bright and thin toned..

When I was at KJ W1 in the late seventies, we had these Revoxes and fun though the nixi-tubes are, the CT7000 Yamaha sounded much better as I recall - clearer and with less "grain." I personally thought the far cruder Rogers T100 was one of the best sounding tuners I'd ever heard up to that point, having air and space that many of the top performing "radios" didn't reproduce.

I'm inclined to go with Dave Cawley's advice and maybe look out for a later Revox tuner. Built like a brick outhouse and with more modern technology, I think the later models *sounded* better too, although with most broadcasts being so dire these days, I don't know whether you'd notice any difference.

By the way, with a few cap replacements, the FM3 can be made to sound rather clearer than it did when it was made, due to larger capacity supply caps being available now for a similar physical size. Mine sounds fine now into the Croft as it's getting the correct loading on the Croft's line inputs..