Tuner old or new Q's

disneyjoe7

I like to listen to a FM channel in Orlando Sunny 105.9 well this caused an issue. If the AVR is on the only way it can work is if pre amp is off, as pre amp bypasses the AVR if on. The pre handles 2 channel music, where the AVR handles HT duties. So listening to my new FM love, I couldn't listen to long as I felt it was flat / dead.

So in an attempt to fix this deadness audio, I tried a old Marantz receiver but it must have some issues in the tuner section as I didn't think it was clean sounding. I then tried using the tape output to back feed the tube pre amp, which sounds best for now. Now the question I like old Tuners and may sound best, but is there a newer tuner with today's toys which sound good also. I mean is there a tuner with Ethernet, HD radio that sound good also or I'm best to get an old tuner?

danger boy

I would stick with an old analog tuner.. they aren't that expensive.. and sound great most times.. Today's digital tuners just don't sound that good to me.

check out fmtunerinfo.com for info on all brands of old tuners and get your learn on. that's where I learned about mine.. Pioneer TX-9500II

disneyjoe7

Thanks Al, that's what my gut was saying to me also, Thanks for confirming it.

disneyjoe7

I own an old Pioneer SX-939 receiver and placed is a tuner to morning. I liked but it's big, I wonder how the turner section of a SX-939 compares to a TX-9500II tuner?

danger boy

I don't know how your receivers tuner would compare.. and yeah these old beasts are big and heavy and cumbersome. they were built to last.. and they surely have lasted 30 + years.

I guess your other option is to see if your favorite radio stations stream their signal over the internet and listen to it that way. it might be a good option.

steveinaz

Look at the old silver series Pioneer 8500/9500 models

disneyjoe7

Steve the SX-939 is silver also, but it's a receiver, where the TX-9500II is a tuner. Major difference between the tuner circuits?

billbillw

danger boy wrote: »

I would stick with an old analog tuner.. they aren't that expensive.. and sound great most times.. Today's digital tuners just don't sound that good to me.

check out fmtunerinfo.com for info on all brands of old tuners and get your learn on. that's where I learned about mine.. Pioneer TX-9500II

Today's digital tuners don't sound that great, I'll agree with that,, but many of the high end digital tuners from the 80s-90s sounded fantastic.

One problem with analog tuners is that the tuning capacitor gets dirty over time and the tuner gets out of alignment. Unless the tuner has been serviced (by a qualified Tuner guru), it is probably not performing anywhere near as good as it did when it was new.

The digital tuners stay more closely aligned as they age, so you are more likely to have one that sounds close to the same as new after 20 years.

If you want to stick to an analog tuner (and there are many reasons to), I'd recommend having any 20+ year old tuner looked at by an expert to clean and align it (and repair any problems if found).

Disneyjoe, you might consider sending that Marantz in to be looked at. Many of the Marantz receivers from the 70s had great tuners. Mike at RadioXtuners can get that thing in tip top shape. Mike is the tuner guru over at AudioKarma. Any of the guys listed for alignment services at FMTunerinfo would also be good choices.

That said, digital tuners from the 80s and 90s can be had quite cheap on Ebay. Any Sony ES would be good as well as many of the Onkyo models. FMtunerinfo is definitely a great place for sorting out what is junk vs what is quality.

disneyjoe7

The Marantz is a receiver for future? Garage or something else, right now is under a bed so no bigger. The SX-939 Pioneer was in a closet, I may get a TX-9500II tuner.

steveinaz

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

Steve the SX-939 is silver also, but it's a receiver, where the TX-9500II is a tuner. Major difference between the tuner circuits?

Not sure bud, but the 9500 is highly regarded--not to mention the silver series vintage Pioneer stuff is off the cool charts...

mhardy6647

Generally old/analog is the place to go for sound quality, but...
The current production Sony XDR-F1 HD tuner is getting good marks as is for both RF and AF performance, and can be modified by competent hands to near-greatness by most accounts. One key mod is disabling the auto HD/FM switching.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=198024
http://www.radioxtuners.com/Sony%20XDR-F1HD.htm

FWIW, I use a late-1950s all-tube Sherwood S-2000 AM-FM mono tuner when I am listening seriously to FM and sound quality is paramount.

Knucklehead

mhardy6647 wrote: »

FWIW, I use a late-1950s all-tube Sherwood S-2000 AM-FM mono tuner when I am listening seriously to FM and sound quality is paramount.

Id like to see a pic of that!

billbillw

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

The Marantz is a receiver for future? Garage or something else, right now is under a bed so no bigger. The SX-939 Pioneer was in a closet, I may get a TX-9500II tuner.

I'd recommend keeping your options open. There are dozens of excellent sounding tuners that often go under the radar. If you single out a single popular tuner like the 9500, you will end up paying a premium. If you are looking to pick up only local stations (as apposed to long distance-DX), you can probably get superb results from a lower end tuner that has been properly aligned (and perhaps received some audiophile mods). I know the lower end Sansui tuners sound great and they don't demand the high $$ like some of the higher Sansui models that are DX champs. The late 70's Sansui tuners are classy looking too. Black with white face and pale green backlit. I love them and will have one eventually.

mhardy6647

Knucklehead wrote: »

Id like to see a pic of that!

you're kidding right? :-)


http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72548&highlight=Sherwood

disneyjoe7

So would I like to see a picture of that Sherwood, but I like to see Al Dangerboys TX-9500II guts also I would like to compare these tuners / receivers. I can paste a picture of the SX-939 also.

mhardy6647

TX-9500II is a very good Japanese solid state tuner. The topline Kenwoods are arguably "better", but both are capable of very good RF performance and good AF performance (and both can benefit from some judicious modifications).

The earlier, blackout dial TX-9100 is probably a better buy, as would be one of the earlier Kenwoods (I am thinking of the KT-8003, KT-8005, KT-7001). These latter tuners are very fine but under the radar due to their old-fashioned cosmetics (I think).

As to Sansuis... the best Sansui tuners were something special, and command prices to suit. I have a TU-717 but I find it completely underwhelming, particularly sonically. YMMV, of course.

Finally, you all do know of these folks, yes? http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/
Depending on one's perspective, this site is the best or the worst thing to have happened to FM tuners in modern times :-)

danger boy

after reading the info at fmtunerinfo.com was what helped me make my decision.. i was also looking at Sansui and Kenwoods. after reading that, i went with the 9500II, even over the TX-9800 and TX-9500 or TX-9100

madmax

I've played with a couple stand alone digital readout tuners of the 80's and 90's and they don't sound anywhere near as good as older analog tuners.
madmax

bikezappa

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Generally old/analog is the place to go for sound quality, but...
The current production Sony XDR-F1 HD tuner is getting good marks as is for both RF and AF performance, and can be modified by competent hands to near-greatness by most accounts. One key mod is disabling the auto HD/FM switching.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=198024
http://www.radioxtuners.com/Sony%20XDR-F1HD.htm

FWIW, I use a late-1950s all-tube Sherwood S-2000 AM-FM mono tuner when I am listening seriously to FM and sound quality is paramount.

Get the Sony XDR-F1 HD. Great buy for cheap money IMHO.

Old tuners are also great but you will pay more $ and they may need work.

bikezappa

The most important item for quality FM audio is the ANTENNA.

billbillw

bikezappa wrote: »

The most important item for quality FM audio is the ANTENNA.

Yes, but I will say this. If you live in a suburban area with strong local channels less than 20 miles away, you can pretty much get away with ANY outdoor antenna. If you are trying to DX weak channels, then you need a good directional antenna and a rotor. I get every single channel listed within 60 miles of me by simply tapping into the UHF rooftop antenna that I put up 6 years ago for HDTV. I've been tempted to put up a separate FM antenna, but everything is very listenable as is, including the little 3500 watt college jazz station.

So many people worry about getting a better tuner when they are still using a simple wire hooked to the back of their receiver. Great gains can be made by making a simple 1/2 wave dipole and mounting it somewhere outside (under the awning facing the stations you need) or in the attic.

disneyjoe7

billbillw wrote: »

I get every single channel listed within 60 miles of me by simply tapping into the UHF rooftop antenna that I put up 6 years ago for HDTV. I've been tempted to put up a separate FM antenna, but everything is very listenable as is, including the little 3500 watt college jazz station.

Interesting, I myself placed a UHF antenna for OTA HD but also need to add a VHF antenna for my local NBC channel 2 which is broadcast on channel 11 now. I placed a RF jack off these antenna's in the attic for the closet for the porch receiver and found it picks up FM ok, can't be great as I don't get NBC signal on 11 but works for now.

billbillw

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

Interesting, I myself placed a UHF antenna for OTA HD but also need to add a VHF antenna for my local NBC channel 2 which is broadcast on channel 11 now. I placed a RF jack off these antenna's in the attic for the closet for the porch receiver and found it picks up FM ok, can't be great as I don't get NBC signal on 11 but works for now.

I use the old Channelmaster 8-bay UHF antenna which was known to work very well for high VHF bands as well (which is close to FM). I have two channels in the high VHF, channels 8 and 10. Both come in excellent for me.

disneyjoe7

I use a Yagi antenna for my UHF so I don't think FM freg is great at all. http://images.solidsignal.com//iview.asp?p=91XG&xzoom=Large#xview

disneyjoe7

Danger boy, could you open that tuner and post a picture, love to see it.

mhardy6647

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

I use a Yagi antenna for my UHF so I don't think FM freg is great at all. http://images.solidsignal.com//iview.asp?p=91XG&xzoom=Large#xview

That's a UHF Yagi; an FM Yagi has longer, more widely spaced elements (and no corner reflector).

I am using a fairly inexpensive two-bay stacked bowtie with reflector (from MCM Electronics) for OTA DTV.

disneyjoe7

I used an antenna like that so I can reduce any reflector signal in the attic. If it was placed outside I would use what you used.

disneyjoe7

Note I always enjoyed this receiver as I feel it sounds very sweet. I opened the cover over the tuner section, I don't feel this is on the same level as the TX-9500II tuner. This receiver does gives me an opener wider sounding over the Pioneer Elite 84, and feel the TX-9500II would be even better.

schwarcw

My favorite tuner is my McIntosh MR-71 tube tuner. I had an audio path upgrade and an alignment done by Terry DeWick. I have a 6 ft Yagi on the roof. The tuner meter is usually pegged and it sounds so good people think it's a CD playing.





I also have a modifed Marantz 150. This also was upgraded with some premium caps. Watching the scope dance is magical, but the sound is terrific. Excellent tuner for DXing.

bikezappa

Carl very nice equipment.

A simple set of $10 RS rabbit ears for an antenna would work well if you live in the city with many FM stations.

hearingimpared

Carl, those are beauties. As BZ said above rabbit ears work just fine. I've been wanting to put an antenna on the roof but that is a project for the summer. For now the rabbit ears are working okay and here in Delaware there is alot of crosstalk amoung stations competing for airspace with Philly.

I wish I could get the AM to work clearly but am having no luck.