View Full Version : A Tuner Day
Big box turned up with one of these in on wednesday.
Onkyo T-9090ii.
http://www.thevintageknob.org/onkyo-T-G10.html
Not in mint condition - one foot missing and also the outer part of the socket of one of the fixed outputs. Remote doesn't work though could be just batteries. Also looks as if it once had wooden endcheeks. As I think its a keeper I'll address these issues.
Probably.
However....extremely nice bit of kit. Sounds as open as my previous Yam T7, which is good, but HELL does it pull in stations. Have a whole slew of Irish stations from across the water (I'm in North Wales) including Lyric FM and Radio Na Gaeltacht in good usable stereo, at worst about as hissy as non dolby cassette, the hiss vanishes if high blend is selected, but stereo remains, unlike other tuners I've had. Has switchable selectivity, which by selecting very narrow means its the only tuner I've got which gives me interference free reception on radio 4. (Radio 4 104.1, some other (Irish?) station 104, result whistling interference). It also selects what it thinks are the best parameters for reception - Dx/local, selectivity, hi blend etc - on the fly as you tune. You can override anything you don't like. Very easy to use, very good sound too.
Anyway coming up to Valentines I think it could be lurve...
Interesting thing, Nial. Onkyo, in my experience, tended to produce kit that was 'a cut above' that of your average Japanese manufacturer. Enjoy! :)
Btw, I haven't forgotten about our postponed music sesh from last year. I've got a few things to do this month and next, but perhaps we could sort something out for April? :cool:
Marco.
Interesting thing, Nial. Onkyo, in my experience, tended to produce kit that was 'a cut above' that of your average Japanese manufacturer. Enjoy! :)
Btw, I haven't forgotten about our postponed music sesh from last year. I've got a few things to do this month and next, but perhaps we could sort something out for April? :cool:
Marco.
Hi Marco
You've probably seen more than I have - the only other Onkyo experience I have was with some big boat anchor Integra CD, possibly even the same series as this tuner, I can't recall. I don't remember being massively impressed with it, then the laser failed in short order. Possibly its shortfall on the impressive front was due to the laser being on its last gasp. Back then there was plenty of this sort of thing cluttering up the car boot sales, so I skipped it.:o
The tuner really is a fierce bit of kit - I've had whistling R4 since I moved back here, and no tuners I've had, including the tuner section of a Tandberg 2075, had the selectivity to cure it. The Tandberg used to get quite a few Irish stations in just about usable stereo, but the Onkyo is astonishing.
April would be great for some music but anyway possibly see you at Scalford ? - didn't make it last year but hoping to this. Are you/AOS exhibiting this year (or just being a punter like me)?
walpurgis
15-02-2015, 23:51
Interesting thing, Nial. Onkyo, in my experience, tended to produce kit that was 'a cut above' that of your average Japanese manufacturer. Marco.
Yes, Onkyo have made some fine products. Many years ago I owned the Integra 725 integrated amp. It was a beautiful bit of kit and offered some of the highest specs ever seen at the time (seventies), outdoing even Luxman, who were probably the masters at that time. I also had the crossover amp they offered, of which I can't recall the model number. Very useful item though.
April would be great for some music but anyway possibly see you at Scalford ? - didn't make it last year but hoping to this. Are you/AOS exhibiting this year (or just being a punter like me)?
Punter this time, mate. Yup, would be good to meet up! Best idea is to PM me your mobile number, and I'll give you a bell on the day and let you know where I am. What time are you planning on getting there? I'll be there early doors, first thing, as soon as the place opens :)
Marco.
Hi Nial.
The Onkyo T-9990 MkII was well-known as being one of the best 'DXing' tuners around. It would be interesting to try one here but I have Denon's answer to it, the TU-800L, which, I think, has the same sort of sensitivity and selectivity specs.
Regards,
Nick
I just picked up a Hitachi FT 5500 II cheap here in Swissieland - interested to see how it stacks up against my modified A&R T21.
The Barbarian
22-02-2015, 14:29
Still have my 'T21' i think ive used it once since i bought it 2 weeks into production..
I have an A60 and T21 combo. I went overboard modifying the tuner when fixing a tuning drift issue & replaced all electrolytics with film caps (the drift fault was a low value tant in the tuning cct, I replaced that like for like) - sounded so good afterwards I went in and did the same to the A60.
Richard
Nick – I did have the Denon TU-800L vaguely in my sights, also other class acts like the Audiolab 8000T and Hitachi FT 5500ii (remember this doing very well in a mag shootout once) Revoxes or even a Kenwood L02T if one came up at the right price. But I’m very happy with the Onkyo and its DX skills and switchable narrow selectivity solving my longstanding R4 whistle problem is icing on the cake. For my purposes it’s just about ideal.
Had one or two A60 amps over the years but no A&R tuners. I did have the Amrstrong 625 in the living room system for a while – am I right in thinking these were the ancestors of the A&Rs? Pretty good but didn’t solve the whistle…
Afraid the under the bonnet delving is above my paygrade – though maybe I should try it!
Update on the Onkyo.
The remote works, just needed some batteries.
Got an old CD player I can cannibalise and get four matching feet very close in style.
The missing outer on one of the non variable output RCA sockets doesn’t matter electrically I realised, and this indeed proved to be the case, and sounds just a shade better too I think. Certainly some R3 was sounding scarily good today.
Going to leave the (lacking) wooden end cheeks for now – it’s in a rack anyway, so they’d barely be noticeable.
Went online and found a wee project in a half wavelength unequally divided dipole aerial. Made this and tie wrapped vertically it to the trunk of an ash sapling growing outside the workshop window. As the tree grows, so, hopefully, will my reception:eyebrows:. The Onkyo has a facility for two aerials, and when auto tuning will switch between them, selecting the one giving the best signal, so next project is a three meter circumference ring aerial, which might give a useful alternate take on some of the weaker signals. The signal strength meter showed the dipole was well worth the hour or so it took to construct.
Any AOS’ers made aerials and have any tips to share? I was surprised how much there was on the net.
DIY Ring-circular fm aerial? Don't bother, complete waste of time....
I've always used a bit of speaker bellwire around 1.5 mtrs, tie a knot at 50cm, split the 1 metre section, and the fiddle with positioning at the back of the tuner to get best reception. Works for me.
Richard
When the FM mood takes me.
http://s10.postimg.org/sadxm9j3d/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/46n5xz0md/full/) hosting images (http://postimage.org/)
When the mood FM a takes me.
http://s10.postimg.org/sadxm9j3d/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/46n5xz0md/full/) hosting images (http://postimage.org/)
Tuner porn indeed!
You want "tuner porn"? Then how about the Rhode & Schwartz EU-6021:
http://www.ak-tubes.de/Tuner/Ballempfaenger/EU_6201/01.jpg
http://www.ak-tubes.de/Tuner/Ballempfaenger/EU_6201/EU_6201.htm
Or if the above is too much like 'laboratory chic', then how about the Yamaha CT-7000? Has to be one of the most beautiful-looking tuners ever made.
https://sp.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608048441951718904&pid=15.1&P=0
Be still my box of kleenex....
So if you like the Rhode & Schwartz 6201 - then how about the Telefunken EBU 3137/3? More industrial chic! :lol:
http://www.ak-tubes.de/Tuner/Ballempfaenger/Telefunken_EBU/EBU1.jpg
I love those...industrial chic has it for me.
I'd no idea pro stuff like this existed, though I have heard of one of the B&O tuners being used in a pro at-the-transmitter context. Presumably performance is pretty stellar?
Love the cranked handle on the tuning knob btw, what a great idea.
More industrial chic tuner porn:
the Nems-Clarke 1906 surveillance receiver, covering 30-60MHz and 60-240MHz in two bands (the latter covering Band II and Band III). The chassis was silver-plated and it used several specialist valves that are almost certainly unobtainable today.
http://watkins-johnson.terryo.org/photos/equipment/Nems-Clarke/Nems-Clarke-1906-front.jpg
http://watkins-johnson.terryo.org/history/Nems-Clarke/1906.htm
Actually it might be better described as ‘battlefield chic’.
Similar, but having a slightly better (or more acceptable) appearance is the Communication Electronics Inc. CEI 901-1 receiver
http://watkins-johnson.terryo.org/photos/equipment/CEI/901/CEI-901-1-front.jpg
The maintenance of these two tuners would be very difficult to a non-specialist or enthusiast.
http://watkins-johnson.terryo.org/CEI-Receivers/901-1.htm#9017077
vinylspinner
26-02-2015, 15:56
Yamaha CT-7000, fantastic tuner.
I know where one is for sale, not cheap though at £500
Nigel
Yamaha CT-7000, fantastic tuner.
I know where one is for sale, not cheap though at £500
Nigel
So do I! :D
vinylspinner
26-02-2015, 16:05
And a Beomaster 5000 as well :D
Nigel
vinylspinner
26-02-2015, 16:09
One on the bay at the moment item number 131431521955
So do I! :D
It’s all scratched and chipped, though!! :rolleyes:
The Yamaha is a great tuner, no doubt, but I wouldn’t pay that much for it unless it was MINT, inside and out. Also, why can’t folk take the time to include some decent photos? Their stuff might have more chance of selling then. The ones there are poorly lit and shockingly out of focus.
One thing’s for sure, all these types of tuners, from the heyday of radio, sound *so* different [unbelievably better] than anything DAB can offer, it’s frightening.
For the first time in a while, yesterday I fired up my 1970s Sony and was stunned at how rich sounding and listenable, even Radio 1 and 2 was!! But not in a rose-tinted, ‘romantic’ way, just simply that voices and instruments were underpinned with realistic weight and ‘texture’. Compression effects and low bit-rate broadcast quality aside, the sound was still reasonably ‘lifelike’.
You need a good outdoor aerial, though, professionally installed, in order to hear what any good tuner can do.
However, compare the above with the bleached-out, tinny sounding cacophony of DAB (even expensive DAB), and it’s just laughable!! Progress?? :hmm:
Marco.
Spectral Morn
03-03-2015, 12:32
When the FM mood takes me.
http://s10.postimg.org/sadxm9j3d/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/46n5xz0md/full/) hosting images (http://postimage.org/)
I would love to try one of those, even buy one.
Regards Neil
Just simply gorgeous - and how a tuner should look! :stalks:
Bet that big knob feels wonderful to fiddle with….. ;)
Marco.
Spectral Morn
03-03-2015, 12:48
Just simply gorgeous - and how a tuner should look! :stalks:
Bet that big knob feels wonderful to fiddle with….. ;)
Marco.
They pop up on Ebay every so often but I don't generally buy tuners anymore - I have too many already - unless its something very special. Never been that impressed with the other Sansui's I own or have heard but that one and the one above it are rated highly.
Regards Neil
I have a TU-S9 that really hold on it's own when compared to the 9900, it's just incredible for a single height component! :stalks:
They pop up on Ebay every so often but I don't generally buy tuners anymore - I have too many already - unless its something very special. Never been that impressed with the other Sansui's I own or have heard but that one and the one above it are rated highly.
The problem is, Neil, that tuners, just like any other piece of audio equipment, can be victims of ‘over-complication’. The more filters and buttons for adjustment there are, which remember are all in the signal path, the more likely that is to ‘sit’ on the sound, and consequently affect the equipment’s ability to sound ‘musical’.
The best example of this, in the cassette deck world, for instance, is when comparing a Nakamichi Dragon to a CR-7…. Ultimately, which one had the purer sound? ;)
That’s why I have no real urge to ‘upgrade’ my little Sony ST-5055L, as it’s beautifully simple, immaculately screwed together, and has all that you need on it, with a fantastically sensitive and great sounding ‘front end’:
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/xs5WKa.jpg
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/18kWP7.jpg
It sounds absolutely brilliant, on the end of a quality outdoor aerial, and can be had for about £60! :)
Marco.
Light Dependant Resistor
03-03-2015, 15:51
Hi Marco
Have to disagree concerning your comment concerning less is more if that is one way of putting it concerning tuners.
You need to hear the difference between normal/ wide or narrow/wide intermediate frequency adjustment.
generally which is a feature of more expensive tuners, although there are exceptions such as the
Marantz ST50 which is a modestly priced tuner. wide IF is to my ear far more pleasant and preferable.
Now certainly less is more would apply if all tuners were provided with wide IF, but sadly this is not the case.
A tuner providing features such as selective filters, wide/narrow if , multipath filtering on/off muting is
descriptive of tailoring of the FM tuner front end, which nicely IMO has great audio benefit for the following
audio stages.
I regularly use a Pioneer TX9500, and also enjoy Yamaha CT1010 and Marantz ST50. Also Quad Fm4 and FM3
on other occasions.
Cheers / Chris
Sure, Chris, that’s your experience, which is equally as valid as mine. However, I’ve not found what you have to be true. One of the finest ‘modern’ tuners I’ve heard, for example, is the Naim NAT-01, with its matching PSU. That was expensive in its day, but about as simple as it got: the money was spent on where it mattered most.
For me, the things that matter most on a tuner are the quality of its ‘front end’, in terms of out-and-out SQ, its power supply [should be of the ‘hefty' linear variety and suitably over-engineered], and its ability to pull in stations and ‘lock onto' them without drifting, and then of equal importance, the quality of the outdoor aerial used, and how well that’s been set-up - not to mention living in a good reception area, somewhere high up on a hill! ;)
All that, in my experience, matters far more than anything else, plus the more buttons there are to play with, the more liable it is to aggravate one’s OCD tendencies and propensity to fiddle [and become confused/frustrated over which of the myriad of settings sounds best]!
As is the usual case in audio, optimise things AT SOURCE first, then worry about fine-tuning ‘downstream’ later. In audio, there’s a lot to be said for adhering to the K.I.S.S principle :)
Marco.
Spectral Morn
03-03-2015, 16:09
Hi Marco
Have to disagree concerning your comment concerning less is more if that is one way of putting it concerning tuners.
You need to hear the difference between normal/ wide or narrow/wide intermediate frequency adjustment.
generally which is a feature of more expensive tuners, although there are exceptions such as the
Marantz ST50 which is a modestly priced tuner. wide IF is to my ear far more pleasant and preferable.
Now certainly less is more would apply if all tuners were provided with wide IF, but sadly this is not the case.
A tuner providing features such as selective filters, wide/narrow if , multipath filtering on/off muting is
descriptive of tailoring of the FM tuner front end, which nicely IMO has great audio benefit for the following
audio stages.
I regularly use a Pioneer TX9500, and also enjoy Yamaha CT1010 and Marantz ST50. Also Quad Fm4 and FM3
on other occasions.
Cheers / Chris
Number of tuning gangs and filters generally has a great deal of bearing on tuning performance though if the analogue output is compromised overall quality will be lost.
I have a 9500 and 9500 mk2, I think the mk2 sounds just a tad better as does the 9800 but my favourite Pioneer is the 9100. Love the look and the blue displays, however the newer Pioneers sound better.
Regards Neil
Spectral Morn
03-03-2015, 16:15
Best sounding of the Sony tuners is the ST5000 FW and the ST6A (not heard a ST7). Of the 50 series the 5130 is a lovely tuner.
Regards Neil
Number of tuning gangs and filters generally has a great deal of bearing on tuning performance though if the analogue output is compromised overall quality will be lost.
Exactly. I’m not saying that the former don’t matter or make a difference - they do - but if a manufacturer has a budget to build a tuner (or anything else for that matter), it stands to reason that the more is spent on ‘facilities’, as opposed to the quality of the core components, then the less there is left to spend on the latter, and as such, performance suffers accordingly.
That’s simple economics.
Marco.
I've recently had a Marantz 2050 and a Trio KT-5300 pass through. Both are very decent sounding budget tuners but were clearly outperformed by my Pioneer TX-9500 in terms of SQ. I think I read on the web that the Pioneer has a fully discrete output stage which may account partly for the improvement.
dantheman91
03-03-2015, 20:44
My Pioneer F-676 is by far the nicest tuner i have owned vocals are excellent and the signal is always strong a nice piece of kit for peanuts.
My Hitachi FT-5500 II arrived - perfect cosmetic condition, but I hope it sounds better that it looks :) Full of technology (wide & narrow band filtering, as well as an auto-adjust function that supposedly delivers best noise/SQ selection), and pretty heavy - I'm fairly confident it will have a pretty low cost PSU and o/p stage which will respond well to modding - I'm going to put it in my office system for a while first before deciding. Not bad for £20 delivered though :)
I hope you have better luck with it than I did. I bought an FT-MD 5500 (slightly more compact version of the FT-5500 MkII) for a similar price to yours a couple of years ago but it sounded dull & shut-in, so much so that I wondered if it had been set for North American de-emphasis by mistake!
Regards,
Nick
We'll see I guess - it was quite we regarded in the day
pitadavespa
11-03-2015, 16:53
My Pioneer F-676 is by far the nicest tuner i have owned vocals are excellent and the signal is always strong a nice piece of kit for peanuts.
Interesting.
I have a Sansui TU-S9 that I find wonderful, but I always look at these (more recent) Pioneer tuners and feel they must be great.
Wakefield Turntables
11-03-2015, 16:57
How would you guys rate a dynalab ft101a tuner?
How would you guys rate a dynalab ft101a tuner?
Magnum Dynalab tuners always get good reviews and are very well regarded.
If I wasn't already satisfied with the Quad FM4, I would definitely be looking at the Magnum Dyalab FT101(A) tuner. I haven't compared specs, but I would expect the Magnum to be the better of the two. I also like the industrial/laboratory aesthetic of the FT101.
Used examples come up rarely - the last was a couple of years ago; sold for £215. (I paid £200 about five years ago for my FM4.)
We'll see I guess - it was quite we regarded in the day
Have you had a chance to play with the Hitachi yet?
Regards,
Nick
I have not - going to put it in the office system, but just started to commute via bike again, and need to get fitter before lugging it in on my back (25k one way :)). Next week sometime hopefully.
Richard
Light Dependant Resistor
22-03-2015, 02:01
The problem is, Neil, that tuners, just like any other piece of audio equipment, can be victims of ‘over-complication’. The more filters and buttons for adjustment there are, which remember are all in the signal path, the more likely that is to ‘sit’ on the sound, and consequently affect the equipment’s ability to sound ‘musical’..
Hi Marco
I have found that the marantz 10b from 1964 used photocells to couple some of the switching stages such as muting
and stereo mono. they were photocells rather than like todays LDR audio couplers. The marantz 10b whilst being fussy with alignment
was/is highly regarded for its audio quality, so likely there are good answers to additional switching issues, but I also get your
point with simplicity. The IF wide/narrow difference where offered is well worth while hearing & IMO a big audio improvement generally to tuners.
The differences between TX9500, and TX9500 (2) i think have been mentioned, which is the wide/narrow ability.
I need to upgrade my Yamaha CT1010 and Pioneer TX9500, both having pots, to have LDR's should bring a big
improvement.
Cheers / Chris
Sure, Chris. As they say: there are many ways to skin a cat! :)
Marco.
Have you had a chance to play with the Hitachi yet?
Regards,
Nick
Hmm - stunning with a good signal (separation and a natural bass are what first struck me), and from cold after god knows how long with out power. I leave it running a bit longer and report back.
Richard
Hmm - stunning with a good signal (separation and a natural bass are what first struck me), and from cold after god knows how long with out power. I leave it running a bit longer and report back.
Richard
Sounds like you are having better luck with it than I had with mine. I still think it had the de-emphasis set incorrectly. At least they can be had cheap :)
Regards,
Nick
Left it on overnight, it still sounds very good with a strong signal, I think I need to RTFM to understand how to fine tune weaker signals (I'm just using the ribbon aerial currently) :)
The stereo separation is really good - initially I thought it was somehow an artifact or false, but the difference between microphone and music content off of commercial stations is marked - microphone sounds almost mono compared to music content, and you can hear the different recorded quality of the ads.
Ugly beast though - it may provoke me into servicing my Troughline and fitting the stereo decoder...or bringing in the T21 instead, and selling this on. I bought it because of it's internet reputation and wanted to hear one for myself (it cost me CHF 19 :)).
Richard
Proof of ugliness :)
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7614/16912873111_44314124a8_b.jpg
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