Finally got Tuna!

madmax

Over the years I've tried one tuner after another and every one has been a let down in some area. I'm sure there may be a $1500 to $9000 one that would have fell right into place but I won't spend that kind of coin on something that doesn't turn at 33 1/3 RPM.

In any case I got my last tuner right before I moved to CO a few years ago. I think I gave it a quick try to see if it worked but thats about it. I found it in a moving box a few weeks ago and got it going.

It is a Toshiba ST-420 with a 6 gang tuner made in Japan in 1977. It has a very unique style as you can see in the pic. It also has a built in volume control so it can feed directly into an amplifier and a 3 position de-emphasis switch on the back. I'm not sure what the switch does but its obvious soundwise where I need to set it.

Performance wise it picks up FM stations across the dial with no problem. AM works nicely and sounds pretty decent. I am blown away with the sound quality. It has many characteristics common with my TT such as a black background (on a tuner!), can create the atmosphere of the recording (on a tuner!) and represents the actual tonal quality of the music as if listening to vinyl (on a tuner!). And, it doesn't seem to add much of its own character (on a tuner!). Can you tell I'm impressed?

Its hard to believe it is 33 years old. Its a keeper and I no longer feel the need to keep looking for another. Wow, what a tuner!

danger boy

atta boy.. nice tuna.. analog tuners from the 70's are such great deals.. and they do sound very good.

I can tell you'll be happy with that Toshiba tuner for a long time. 6 gangs, wow. impressive.

Conradicles

Pure sweetness. I love tuners.

Jetmaker737

That's really a cool looking tuner. I love my analog tuner too... glad to see another like minded soul!

mhardy6647

Not a common piece of hardware; very cool.

cnh

A nice looking unit. I assume your problem is 'sensitivity': Are the FM stations just too weak or too far away in CO to lock in without a lot of noise and interference, because I've never had much of a problem with that--even with mediocre tuners?

Enjoy!

cnh

Zitro

Vintage tuners can sound excellent, can be had for cheap and will last you forever with a little TLC. My roommates thought I was playing a cd when I first played the Sansui's tuner for them

Congrats on the find!

schwarcw

Very nice score Chuck. Get yourself a big room mounted Yagi antenna with a rotor. You won't believe how much better a tuner sounds with an antenna mounted out in the open air, preferably on your roof. Congrats on a nice rare piece!

madmax

cnh wrote: »

I assume your problem is 'sensitivity': Are the FM stations just too weak or too far away in CO to lock in without a lot of noise and interference, because I've never had much of a problem with that--even with mediocre tuners?

There are no lack of close stations either here or where I used to live. The problems were varied. For example some of them couldn't pick up more than one or two AM stations and I do like AM talk radio sometimes. Also, all of the previous ones had their own very strong character which put itself in whatever music was being played. My latest one, a carver unit, has that Bob Carver sound whether you are playing classical or rock and roll. It sounds cool for a few minutes but you can't listen critically to music. Great for a party or background music. One had lacking lows and another had a crunch type sound on cymbals.

For the first time I look forward to turning on a tuna for some serious music listening rather than just for a few minutes to re-live the past. Thanks for the comments guys!

camp21178

schwarcw wrote: »

Very nice score Chuck. Get yourself a big room mounted Yagi antenna with a rotor. You won't believe how much better a tuner sounds with an antenna mounted out in the open air, preferably on your roof. Congrats on a nice rare piece!

I think the antenna is even more important than the sensitivity of the tuner. The best tuner in the world won't work with a crappy antenna. Also, the fewer couplers or connectors in the cable path, the better. It may be just my own preference, but I have digital and analog tuners, and I think the analogs sound better.

Phil Dawson

Chuck, I was just down in Denver picking up my Mac mr-71 fm tuner. It is amazing how good a tuner can sound. I had been using an older HK citation which is a good tuner but the mac blows it away. Have you tried one of the older mac tube tuners. The big boys still sound great, Thanks, Phil

madmax

I've wanted a Mac for a long time but have not found the right condition for the right price yet. Post some pics!

Phil Dawson

Mine was given to me by a friend who had no use for it. I need more friends like that. I took it to Intrinsic Sound on South Broadway in Denver (soon to be out of business due to retirement) as it wasn't working the way it should and I spent about $250 on new tubes and a clean up. It now sounds great. I see them in very good condition quite often on agon in the $700 - $800 range quite frequently. The MR-71 is considered to be the best or one of the best Mac tube tuners. I'll try for pictures but it it kind of buried in the rack. Do you still have the great college radio station out of Greeley? It was like the one up here where the DJs get to pick their own tunes. Thanks again, Phil

lightman1

I gots a trouser trout!

madmax

lightman1 wrote: »

I gots a trouser trout!

Yeah but did you ever build the Decware sub???




Not sure about a Greely station, I'll have to research that.

Phil Dawson

There was a big flap a while back with someone trying to take over the campus station (traditional NPR I think) and I don't know how it was resolved but I hope it is still there. Great tunes, and low compression. Phil
I just checked a google search for greeley campus radio and the station is still there - I couldn't find call letters and frequency in time to get back to this but I'm sure that they are there.

Phil Dawson

I waded through their website and discovered that they are on-line only now. This is sad. Phil