Tuner

Realistic

Hi guys most of you here know I purchased a p-5 pre and now I am on the hunt for the p-3 tuner that goes with it. Anyone here have one or know of one for sale? Needs to be silver to match the pre. Thank all of you for all the help and guidance its been a lot of fun so far. Bob.

Conradicles

Sweet tuner. I had one and it is identical to the Magnum Dynalab DT-5. Hope you find one Bob. Enjoy.

lightman1

No dice, Bob. Extensive search of the web for that tuner only led me astray and I wound up bighooters.com. Rare piece of gear.
I shall do more research later.

tratliff

I was on the hunt for one. I gave up. They are pretty hard to find but I have seen one or 2 since I gave up my search. Good luck.

Realistic

Thanks guys, they are out there but I am always to late. Big hooters, not a bad place to be lightman. How are things going with your pre hunt I check your post often but no new news. Thanks again for the help. Should I forgo the parasound and just grab a tuner of another make?

pitdogg2

Realistic wrote: »

Thanks guys, they are out there but I am always to late. Big hooters, not a bad place to be lightman. How are things going with your pre hunt I check your post often but no new news. Thanks again for the help. Should I forgo the parasound and just grab a tuner of another make?

Hard to beat most of the early Sansui's look for a Tu-517 Tu-717 Tu-719 or if money is no object get the upper models. I've had many great tuners Yamaha, Carver TX11b and others but once I got a Sansui they all went bye bye. I've had a Tu-719 for 10yrs now its going nowhere

https://www.google.com/search?q=vintage+sansui+tuners&safe=active&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEmJ3S9ovMAhUIwiYKHWEoC0oQsAQILw&biw=1440&bih=804

lightman1

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/172602/fs-rogue-audio-magnum-66-tube-preamp#latest
Bought it!

pitdogg2

here's one get your read on. I've belonged to this for years now very informative http://fmtunerinfo.com/

just go through and read up on the differences these guys like here have it on lock down they know their TUNERS:)

tonyb

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Realistic wrote: »

Thanks guys, they are out there but I am always to late. Big hooters, not a bad place to be lightman. How are things going with your pre hunt I check your post often but no new news. Thanks again for the help. Should I forgo the parasound and just grab a tuner of another make?

Hard to beat most of the early Sansui's look for a Tu-517 Tu-717 Tu-719 or if money is no object get the upper models. I've had many great tuners Yamaha, Carver TX11b and others but once I got a Sansui they all went bye bye. I've had a Tu-719 for 10yrs now its going nowhere

https://www.google.com/search?q=vintage+sansui+tuners&safe=active&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEmJ3S9ovMAhUIwiYKHWEoC0oQsAQILw&biw=1440&bih=804

You dog, I've been looking for a 717 amp and tuner for awhile now. Ones I see people want stupid money for, all original yet. Nice tuners for sure.

mhardy6647

TU-717 is a very pretty face, but a mediocre sounding tuner (from my perspective). Most of the popular mods for the 717 address its radio (RF/IF) performance, and not its sound.

Unless the OP is in a "problem reception area" -- there are, I'd opine, better and cheaper choices if the goal is to actually use the tuner to listen to. :- )

I do have a TU-717... but I don't use it much. Better sounding stuff here to actually listen to.

DSC_6978 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

There are better sounding and less expensive tuners -- I'm happy to offer suggestions, but I'll refrain unless asked :-P

pitdogg2

tonyb wrote: »

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Realistic wrote: »

Thanks guys, they are out there but I am always to late. Big hooters, not a bad place to be lightman. How are things going with your pre hunt I check your post often but no new news. Thanks again for the help. Should I forgo the parasound and just grab a tuner of another make?

Hard to beat most of the early Sansui's look for a Tu-517 Tu-717 Tu-719 or if money is no object get the upper models. I've had many great tuners Yamaha, Carver TX11b and others but once I got a Sansui they all went bye bye. I've had a Tu-719 for 10yrs now its going nowhere

https://www.google.com/search?q=vintage+sansui+tuners&safe=active&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEmJ3S9ovMAhUIwiYKHWEoC0oQsAQILw&biw=1440&bih=804

You dog, I've been looking for a 717 amp and tuner for awhile now. Ones I see people want stupid money for, all original yet. Nice tuners for sure.

They are still in high demand for sure. I got a lucky auction on the ebay site most were sleeping for sure.

mhardy6647

The AU-717 is a nice product -- even, I'd opine -- by modern standards :- )
I do wish I had one, in fact.


001a by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

(the only ss Sansui amp here is pictured above -- it works; but I've never spent much time actually listening to it)

pitdogg2

mhardy6647 wrote: »

TU-717 is a very pretty face, but a mediocre sounding tuner (from my perspective). Most of the popular mods for the 717 address its radio (RF/IF) performance, and not its sound.

Unless the OP is in a "problem reception area" -- there are, I'd opine, better and cheaper choices if the goal is to actually use the tuner to listen to. :- )

I do have a TU-717... but I don't use it much. Better sounding stuff here to actually listen to.

DSC_6978 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

There are better sounding and less expensive tuners -- I'm happy to offer suggestions, but I'll refrain unless asked :-P

Well as I said I have had several Yamaha's yes some were better sounding some were not good at all. I like the Carver TX11b but it needed some work and a gent made me an offer I could not refuse so out it went. The Sansui's I listed as well as the upper 9900 and 919 as well as the TU-X1 are much better but as you said to your ears they may not sound as good as other tuners, BUT we are talking radio here and radio to me does not sound as good as it did in the late 70's and 80's to my ears. The Sansui's were always known as the tuner that had GREAT reach out and get reception I found out with mine that is true with my dedicated AM-FM antenna I can get stations on some days that are 300mi away and sound as if it is a local station.

That is one reason I listed the tuner info site go through and read there is some good stuff there. From my experience on tuners I have had it is spot on.

mhardy6647

There were some fine Sansui tuners. As you note, they are "hot" radios -- which some folks need. My comments are related strictly to sound quality. The best Sansuis do OK in that regard, too -- but I cannot afford them (or, more to the point, I cannot justify the expense).

Yamaha -- mostly meh. Not bad, but... meh. T-2 is nice. I reckon the CT-7000 is, too... but I've never heard one.

Haven't heard a Carver tuner or receiver that was anything to write home about, but I cannot say with certainty I ever heard a TX11b.

For whatever reason, there have just been, in my experience, very very few good sounding solid state tuners. I don't think there's any intrinsic reason (i.e., no fundamental limitations of potential quality in using transistors), I think it's just that the switch to solid state design that began in the early 1960s coincided with a focus more on hardware performance and measured (i.e., printable) specifications vs. subjective and amorphous claims about sound quality. There are many top-performing solid state FM radios... but most of them sound two-dimensional and drab in the midrange; no depth nor richness to the sonics. It gets blamed on program material and broadcast engineering... but it ain't just that (again, IMO).

There are still good sounding radio stations -- although the upstream signal processing (and the source material limitations) have homogenized the sound of even the better ones in recent years. Live and taped live broadcasts can still be breathtaking on good hardware, though, in my experience.

Daily driver here, FWIW:

DSC_0247 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

Not a great tuner, but a very good one. Best I could "afford" (justify):

I am generally not a huge Mac fan (price to performance ratio is poor relative to my cheapskate tendencies) but they made some nice tuners. The vaunted ss Macs (MR78, e.g.) are fine radios, but only middling-quality to actually listen to, from my perspective.

FWIW, the single best sounding tuner I've heard with my own ears was an HH Scott 310E.
This was the only slightly housebroken consumer version of Scott's 4310 FM broadcast monitor. Tuners like the 4310 (and Fisher's FM-1000) were actually used to receive FM transmissions for rebroadcast by "repeater" stations due to FM's limited, line-of-sight signal range. The quality of the 4310 and FM-1000 is pretty much off-the-charts compared to virtually all consumer tuners.

Sansui's TU-X1 would fall into that same, rarefied range of uber-tuners, as would Dick Sequerra's name-branded tuners -- just to get sorta back on topic :- )

Realistic

Thanks a lot guys, man this place is great. I would like to have a silver faced tuner if possible for matching the pre but not set in stone. If its not to much trouble mhardy I would like you to list a few when and if you have time. Thanks again, Bob.

F1nut

There is a T3 tuner just listed on Audiogon. Doesn't say what color.

Realistic

Thanks a lot, is it worth the 399.00 plus shipping?

F1nut

It's not like they show up very often and you want one, so why are you wasting time asking what it's worth!?!

lightman1

Buy it NOW Bob!
Now!
Now!
Now!

mhardy6647

Seems prudent to me.
No peer pressure here -- no siree, Bob.

F1nut

Good point about the color, thanks.

I have to say though, if it sold that quick, it wasn't overpriced.

F1nut

It's still there.

Realistic

The only reason I asked is I have seen the sold ones, the ones I have found anyway have maxed out at 300.00. And I figure who better to ask than the guys who have been a great help to me. No pics on that site that I could find, I am going to go back and look again. Hey Russ I would not want ya around if I was going to jump off a cliff, all I would hear is do it Bob do it LOL. You guys are great to have as online buddies, sure wish I could meet some of you.

Realistic

Thanks Rick I tried to put in a offer but had to create a account, did that but have not received a email to confirm so I still cant log in and make a offer.

Realistic

Rick why did you sell yours?

Realistic

Still no email.

Realistic

Empty.

gudnoyez

That Parasound would be perfect for your P5, hopefully you can get it, if not look for a Cambridge Audio Azur 550t in silver I have seen them on audiogon before, and on ebay I have owned a few tuners and my 550t is the best one I have owned mines black but here is what one looks like.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SC7ID0/ref

Realistic

That Cambridge tuner would fit in nicely with the p5. I still have no confirmation email from them. Cant make a offer without it.

tratliff

Here is a link to a TU-717 if you are still looking. He is a great seller. I have made many purchases and sold many items to them.

http://www.tmraudio.com/product/xx-384

pitdogg2

Realistic wrote: »

You guys are great to have as online buddies, sure wish I could meet some of you.

well that is one way to ruin it....when you find out we are all just knuckle draggin scab suckers who really just own a am/fm radio.....and sit in our undies eating Cheetos and in TonyB's case bon bons