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Dr. Flicker
06-08-2009, 02:01
Sorry..forgot to post back when i joined.

The Quad FM3 looks to be on the way out, as I have my sights on a Mitsubishi DA-F20.


http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/1553/pict6975.jpg (http://img233.imageshack.us/i/pict6975.jpg/)

Spectral Morn
06-08-2009, 07:27
Hi Dr Flicker


What an interesting room. can we have some close ups please?



Regards D S D L

Dr. Flicker
06-08-2009, 10:15
Sure...


ASL AQ-1005DT
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5210/pict6843.jpg (http://img193.imageshack.us/i/pict6843.jpg/)

Rega Planet 2000

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/5181/pict6985.jpg (http://img34.imageshack.us/i/pict6985.jpg/)

Quad FM3

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2896/pict6810.jpg (http://img80.imageshack.us/i/pict6810.jpg/)

The Vinyl Adventure
06-08-2009, 14:08
i love the look of the rega cdp's, how i understand it is that the lid looks like the starship enterprise because the guy who designs it likes star trek... brilliant!

Beechwoods
06-08-2009, 18:43
Now that is a very nice man-cave; very chilled out, and not at all spit and sawdust! :) It's a shame your FM3 is on it's way out. I love their warm orange glow. And they don't perform badly either, IMHO. What's up with it? Quad still service their old kit, or have you just fallen out of love with it ? ;)

Dr. Flicker
06-08-2009, 19:16
The Quad isn't going far, and yes, I love the way it looks. It has been recently serviced and between the original purchase and servicing, I have more into it than I could sell it for, so I will be keeping it.

I've just decided to start collecting tuners based solely on fidelity, rather than looks. The Quad isn't the worst sounding tuner out there, but it is just a simple 3-ganger, and I really wanna try out a few of those "top rated" tuners. FM is my most listened-to source, and I have great local reception of some great stations that play the material I love, and have pretty good uncompressed signals (including live-to-air broadcasts from their studios).

Some of those great sounding vintage tuners can be had pretty cheaply, so I plan on picking them up as they present themselves. At the moment, it looks like my first will be a Mitsubishi DA-F20 (ranked #7 on that fmtuner site shootout), which I will be able to get in great condition for less than $200 CDN. I also know of a Pioneer TX-9500 available, as well as a Yamaha CT-7000 & Revox A720 (but those two will probably fairly expensive).

Collecting tuners all of a sudden seems like a reasonable hobby for some reason...as opposed to collecting cd players or turntables. The added bonus is they come with a free $million software package. ha ha

Beechwoods
06-08-2009, 19:32
The added bonus is they come with a free $million software package. ha ha

:lol: :lol: I know what you mean. Over here, FM is under threat of switch-off, the immediacy of which I suspect is as much rumour mongering to increase sales of DAB equipment and suggest governmental forward motion more than anything. There is much debate about whether 2015 is the likely date, or whether 2020 is more like it. This uncertainty is likely to be good for Tuner prices (ie; lower) and I suspect that it will take longer rather than shorter for the powers that be to manage a switch off that has very little consumer benefit. What's the score in Canada on FM longevity?

Chris aka The Grand Wazoo and Neil (aka Dalek Supreme) are both major tuner fans and will no doubt be along at some point to give their view on what's collectible and what's not :) For me, I have an FM3 and a Sugden R21. The Sugden is currently resting, due to lack of shelf space! It's an ugly blighter but a bit of a design classic too :)

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

Spectral Morn
06-08-2009, 20:31
Indeed, I am.

The Pioneer 9500 mk1 is considered to be better than the Mk2 (it has a brighter sound apparently, not heard one my self), so worth looking for. Trio 7500 or 7300 also worth looking at (these can be modified to increase sound quality a lot apparently). Chris (The Grand Wazoo) rates the Accuphase 101 and 100 greatly and I love the Leak Trough-Line models. If you can find one of these and the American export version has a copper finish and different look to the UK models that with the right aerial would be worth hunting down IMHO....no doubt cheaper in the states and Canada.

The choice of radio stations is limited in the UK, compared to your part of the world, and as Nick says the march of digital is gaining strength (though not sound quality. DAB is crap). There is a resistance here to it though....but is it futile ?

Tuner collecting is a nice hobby.


Regards D S D L

Dr. Flicker
06-08-2009, 20:49
Over here, FM is under threat of switch-off

Yea...so I gather. What's that all about. What's going on with you guys anyway...Britain was always my touchstone for good old fashioned (sometimes stodgy in a good way) "Britishness". I figured you guys to be the last place on the planet to let go of analog FM.

When exactly did Britain jump the shark and become just another bunch of convenience-seeking hipsters?

This aint good. Do something.

Here in Canada, or I should say Toronto, we may not be winning the war...but it's far from over. Industry standards and compliance are still fairly high...public broadcasting (CBC) is still alive and (almost) well, dedicated to quality programing. There are great private, listener-funded, multi-cultural & college radio stations that are fighting the good fight, so there's still something to listen to for the healthy population of people who enjoy quality over convenience.

This is what got me started on collecting great tuners....one night I was listening to JAZZFM, who was airing a live performance from their studio not far from where I live (superb reception). They don't compress their signal (much), and I was actually sitting in the sweet-spot chair and listening to the performance...and I swear it was better than listening to a good recording on the Rega (perhaps it was due in part to the SET 300B's & my warm little Quad tuner).

I'm quite sure it wasn't my imagination. I'm hoping good old uncompressed analog FM signals will be here for a long, long time. But without a quality signal, and quality material to broadcast, it would be pointless.

Beechwoods
06-08-2009, 20:56
When exactly did Britain jump the shark and become just another bunch of convenience-seeking hipsters?

We didn't! We are however governed my a complete bunch of careerist losers who have no idea what good governance and good policy is. They're too busy playing the system for all the allowances they can get.

Nuff said :) I'm glad that things are looking more positive over where you are!

The Vinyl Adventure
06-08-2009, 22:09
ooooh it does get political on this website sometimes ;)

Dr. Flicker
07-08-2009, 00:04
Here's is what I hope to be my newest addition...


http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/9921/imagephph.jpg (http://img196.imageshack.us/i/imagephph.jpg/)


from fmtunerinfo.com...


Shootout #75 (posted 01/04/05): Kenwood L-02T vs. Mitsubishi DA-F20
Winner: L-02T

If tuners were wives, I would be in jail for having too many. As a matter of fact, I would be before the judge once again for cohabitating with this new lovely. The DA-F20 is a unique beauty that will never be accused of being just another "me too" black audio box. I'm happy that this review starts off the Shootouts for 2005.

I set up the L-02T and DA-F20 on a quiet, rainy night. This was actually the third or fourth attempt to complete this review as it's been one strange series of interruptions and changes at Tuner Central, Texas. Earlier listens showed a lot of promise that proved true this time around. I started the DX tests with 88.7 KTCU in Ft. Worth. Since KTCU increased their power output, 88.5 causes less interference during tests, at least on better tuners and with my directional antenna setup. I also fear that attempts to find 88.7 KTPB Kilgore, Texas, will become more difficult. Both tuners were able to reject 88.5 and receive a good stereo signal from KTCU, in both wide and narrow modes, but both had some background noise on this still-weak signal. The L-02T seemed to suppress the hiss-type noise slightly better. I rotated the antenna from west to east in an attempt to capture our other 88.7 in Kilgore. Neither tuner could find KTPB but the L-02T captured KTCU off the rear of the antenna, while the DA-F20 produced only noise as I fished between locals 88.5 and 88.9. On another day, with different weather conditions, I was able to get waves of music signal from KTPB, better through the L-02T than the DA-F20. For another DX acid test, we point the APS-9 toward 105.5 in Oklahoma. The DA-F20 could not find anything usable between locals 105.3 and 105.7, while the L-02T was able to find 105.5 in intermittent waves. 88.1 KNTU in Denton, Texas came in clean, loud and clear on both tuners.

The DA-F20 was a pleasant sonic surprise. It held its own against my benchmark and I found myself doing more direct listening and less A/B comparing. I almost felt compelled to just sit and listen. On many a Shootout night, listening has felt like work, but with this tuner, it felt like a vacation. Before I pick the nits between it and the L-02T, I'll sum it up with a few direct words: clean, fast, precise and musically involving.

Now, next to the L-02T, the bass wasn't quite as rich but seemed quicker, by just a touch. Both tuners had dynamics working for them. The Mitsubishi's midrange was very focused and believable. In comparison, the sound was a step more forward. It definitely kept me interested in the music. The DA-F20's highs were more extended while still sounding like a real part of the music. Stereo imaging was precise. The midrange seemed just right with a nice open quality. Everything seemed just about right, to such a point that I gave up looking for flaws between the two. It was seductive in a toe-tapping, not sleepy, sort of way. Finally, I turned off the L-02T and just enjoyed this new wife... err, tuner.