Tube Tuner - FM Stereo Advise

thsmith
thsmith Posts: 6,082
edited May 2014 in Electronics
Looking for a descent Stereo FM Tube Tuner, can have AM but FM must be Stereo. Reception is not a real issue where I live. Not looking to break the bank and budget is $Free - $400.

Not looking to repair or refurb anything just plug and play.

If you have something that might fit the bill and looking to sell or know a place to make such a purchase please let me know.

TIA,
Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
Post edited by thsmith on
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Comments

  • TNHNDYMAN
    TNHNDYMAN Posts: 2,145
    edited May 2014
    I'd hit Mhardy up, he's bound to have something on one of those shelves at the batcave.....
    2-ch System: Parasound P/LD 2000 pre, Parasound HCA-1000 amp, Parasound T/DQ Tuner, Phase Technology PC-100 Tower speakers, Technics SL-1600 Turntable, Denon 2910 SACD/CD player, Peachtree DAC iT and X1asynchorus USB converter, HSU VTF-3 subwoofer.

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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited May 2014
    Most of my vacuum tube tuner hardware is resolutely mono. :-(

    I do have a Sherwood S-3000V FM MPX -- unfortunately, I like it too much to let it go. Listenin' to it as I type this, in fact (albeit listening to All Things Considered on it).

    I can recommend one, if you stumble across one - for the $ I don't think that the sound quality can be beat. I paid $25 for this one, if memory serves, last year at the NEARC antique radio fleamarket.

    10068125505_3afc77f6d3_b.jpgSherwood S3000 V 1 by mhardy6647, on Flickr
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  • Speedskater
    Speedskater Posts: 495
    edited May 2014
    The trick will be to find a technician who remembers how to correctly align one.
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  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    edited May 2014
    Thanks guys. I am hoping to find one that does not require any sort of work.

    DSKIP, That Luxman is nice, too bad I am in KS.
    Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
    Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
    Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
    Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
    Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
    Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited May 2014
    If that S-3000IV goes for its current price... ;-)

    (I've bought three old Sherwoods; two out of three were dandy as procured; the third required minor touch-up to perform well (of which I was capable. My sense is that they hold up pretty darned well)

    EDIT: By the bye, those Luxman tuners were quite nice (not to mention absolutely beautiful -- something that cannot be said of the Sherwoods)
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited May 2014
    I missed my 20-min editing window, having been distracted by a post at AK about "Tesla Spirit Radios" :-P

    Just to finish the thought vis-a-vis the Sherwood aesthetic :-)

    10127591963_e8cf10e534_b.jpgDSC_8058 by mhardy6647, on Flickr
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  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    edited May 2014
    you are killing me
    Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
    Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
    Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
    Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
    Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
    Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
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  • Big Dawg
    Big Dawg Posts: 2,005
    edited May 2014
    Marantz 10b on that auction site:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marantz-10B-Tube-Tuner-Liquid-Warmth-Extra-Scope-New-Glass-30-Day-Warranty-/331215783922?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item4d1dffc7f2
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited May 2014
    Some weird duplication - sorry!
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited May 2014
    ditto :-(
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited May 2014
    ahhh... Groundhog Day :-O
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited May 2014
    thsmith wrote: »
    you are killing me


    Sorry! :-(
    My primary intent is just to illustrate -- honest. :-P

    Although they are beautiful and capable tuners (and not really all that expensive, for what they are), I'd suggest steering clear of the Marantz 10B. They're a bit finicky.

    If you want to aim for the high end; consider the Macs.

    but...

    Besides the Sherwoods, the HH Scott tuners are also mighty fine; the MPX stereo 350 series and their kit-built Doppelg
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  • cnh
    cnh Posts: 13,284
    edited May 2014
    Mono tuning? In the 21st century? Really? I understand what you're saying but you are listening to music that is two channel music, no? Your hearing must be leagues better than mine, because I can't hear a huge difference on some of my vintage pieces. Some sound rather exceptional in stereo FM with the right speakers.

    OK, I see! The OP was about TUBE tuners, so perhaps this is a special case since most of those are Pre-stereo tuners if they are vintage.

    cnh
    Currently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!

    Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
    [sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash]
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  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    edited May 2014
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    Sorry! :-(
    My primary intent is just to illustrate -- honest. :-P

    Although they are beautiful and capable tuners (and not really all that expensive, for what they are), I'd suggest steering clear of the Marantz 10B. They're a bit finicky.

    If you want to aim for the high end; consider the Macs.

    but...

    Besides the Sherwoods, the HH Scott tuners are also mighty fine; the MPX stereo 350 series and their kit-built Doppelg
    Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
    Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
    Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
    Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
    Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
    Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited May 2014
    No, cnh, the specifications for any FCC-licensed MPX stereo tuner will always be better in mono than stereo - flatness/extension of frequency response, sensitivity for full quieting, THD, s/n -- it's intrinsic to the clever but kludged multiplex system that was developed to keep stereo FM compatible with mono FM tuners (prior to the digital era, the FCC almost always insisted on backwards compatibility).

    Will you hear the difference? Maybe yes, maybe no - I could go all audiophile and say "well, if you cannot hear the difference, it's obvious that your system isn't revealing enough". :-P

    ...BUT...

    No, I don't believe that crud when I read it, either :-)

    Nonetheless, the technical price paid for compatible analog multiplex stereo FM is... well... what it is.

    At any rate, superbly reproduced mono FM is... pretty superb.

    You really do need to come by sometime! :-)

    http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scots_Guide/RadCom/part21/page1.html
    http://transmitters.tripod.com/stereo.htm

    The demands that FM MPX stereo places on the accuracy and stability of tuned analog circuits is pretty amazing -- at least, until one starts to read about RCA's compatible color television technology developed in the early 1950s ;-)
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