Tuner old or new Q's

disneyjoe7

Is that Sand or Glass?


Now I'm Hijacking myself.

schwarcw

Don't forget some of the old Fisher gear. The KM-60 was sold in kit form. I've seen nice units go for less than $200. Once you've heard a tube tuner with a big **** antenna, it's pure bliss. Provided you have some quality radio stations like NPR, college stations, etc. I've got some NPR stations that play exceptional classical music, another plays jazz, and still another plays alternative/folk/soul a real eclectic blend of great music. I can tune all of them in for maximum reception with my Yagi.

Check out the Fisher:







It just doesn't get any better for the price!

disneyjoe7

Biding on this, hoping it doesn't get out of hand.

http://cgi.ebay.com/PIONEER-TX-9500II_W0QQitemZ130366259804QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Electronics_R2?hash=item1e5a6f425c

schwarcw

A Sansui 717 is also a great SS piece. These can be had for about $200. You got lot's of choices Steve.

For those of you who have never mounted a Yagi antenna on the roof, I cannot begin to explain the large improvement in the reception and sound quality. Tune it in and the S/N ratio is huge.

PS don't ever use a signal amplifier. It just amplfies the noise!:(

disneyjoe7

Well I also listen to AM if the truth is to done.


Air America fan you know

schwarcw

Take a look at this beauty: Here

schwarcw

Or this one Here

disneyjoe7

I'm a fan of Glass, but I have a.....


Age limit:(


Nothing from 1965 or under

Polkersince85

For strickly AM listening, it's hard to beat one of the tabletop radios from the 60/70 era. Clean the pots and most are good to go. For FM stereo, one of those glass Fishers do look nice.

disneyjoe7

You know my HT / 2 channel stuff goes full circle, It does it all. But I have a very nice sounding Sony portable for my AM needs in the garage

mhardy6647

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

Is that Sand or Glass?


Now I'm Hijacking myself.

All glass, all the time. According to the interwebs, that was the last tube model (late 1950s); I am not a TO expert (yet).
The radio was given to me by a neighbor who knew I was interested in old radios :-) I did explain to her that it was rather valuable. She said "That's OK. If you ever decide to sell it, we'd appreciate a cut of the proceeds." :-)

Fine with me... but I don't have any intention of selling it. I've always wanted a TO (tube or soiled state). Haven't investigated its functionality yet.

Back on topic: Yes, the Fisher tube tuners are nice looking and sounding. Some of them were absolutely excellent, and all were good. Ditto for HH Scott. Problem is, they're "collectible" and thus not inexpensive. The Sherwoods continue to be a little below the radar... I think it is because of their idiosyncratic cosmetics!

disneyjoe7

Back to playing with the Marantz 2238B receiver as a tuner. I pulled the cover and realized the dust build up on it, blow it off, washed it with Blue Shower II.

That tuner is really sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet :D:D:D:D The sound is so much wider the whole thing sounds like a CD. It's so more musical over the Pioneer SX-939 :eek:

disneyjoe7

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

Biding on this, hoping it doesn't get out of hand.

http://cgi.ebay.com/PIONEER-TX-9500II_W0QQitemZ130366259804QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Electronics_R2?hash=item1e5a6f425c

Ok I changed my mind..... crap what I'm a female?????

Someone needs to bid over my bid, come on now you know you what this.

mhardy6647

disneyjoe7

Can't make that out, is that Glass? and what brand?

mhardy6647

Scott. Soiled state. Kind of pretty, though, in its own mid-60s way.

disneyjoe7

Nice, and since you stated Scott I now make it out :rolleyes:

disneyjoe7

I'm getting a Sansui TU-717 http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?misctunr&1271950693&/Sansui-TU-717-

I let you know what it does over the Marantz if nothing else I would think less static noise.

Polkie2009

I've always heard nothing but praise for those older Sansui tuners.

pitdogg2

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.

+1 on the above

fmtunerinfo.com check out this site yahoo tuner group is another one i subscribe to I'm sure you could get the info from the fmtunerinfo site
that little sony can be hotrodded and had for 75 -100 bucks used on the ebay and other sites but the mods will cost and are very worth it from a post on the tuner group i just read 2mo ago
any of the old Sansui's Tu717 or Tu719 are very good and come up often for sale very desirable but you may also need the have any old analog tuner aligned and re-capped for best results

pitdogg2

Polkersince85 wrote: »

My main tuner is the Carver TX-11a that I've had for a while. Sound quality IMO is as good as any FM station can produce. Most of my radio listening is on a GE tube Tabletop/console for AM RadioFreeAmerica. Shortwave is on a Zenith Transoceanic D7000Y.
.

had one and traded up to the Tx11b night and day difference Bob really outdid himself much better cap and such but that being said I never thought i would buy another after the carver but my friend told me to take home his Sansui Tu719 and give a side by side.......he never got it back and i sold the Carver that 719 picked up more stations further away than that Carver ever thought it could same everything except tuner.......still the carver's are worth having if you can just have some gear laying around

mhardy6647

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

I'm getting a Sansui TU-717 http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?misctunr&1271950693&/Sansui-TU-717-

I let you know what it does over the Marantz if nothing else I would think less static noise.

The TU-717 I have here is underwhelming in terms of sound quality; RF performance is good... it hasn't been realigned, much less tweaked, so one is well-advised to take my comments with a grain of salt. It was a one-owner, lovingly-kept piece before I got my grubby paws on it, though. It is nice looking, too.

danger boy

hey Steve, what did you end up doing for a tuner afterall?

disneyjoe7

It's still in http://www.radioxtuners.com/ hands. Check Queue page under Steve K. I'm still waiting but not worried yet

mhardy6647

looks like a TU-717. Mike is excellent; worth waiting for.
I should probably cough up the bucks and get him to spruce up mine...

billbillw

Mike has been bogged down by some big pain in the arse restoration jobs. One guy gave him three different Pioneer SX receivers, all with major problems. Mike had to clean up the messes from previous hack job repairs and finally had all three pieces working and bench tested for a week. Then the guy took them home and promptly blew up two of the receivers! Mike thinks the guy is a big of a moron who doesn't know how to treat his gear. Anyway, now they are back on his bench. Hopefully he will get past this mess soon and get on to his normal tuner upgrade/alignments.

Phil Dawson

I also have a MR-71 hooked up to an antenna in the attic of my garage. It sounds great. I also have a couple of harmon kardon citation tuners - one analog and one digital. Both of them do a very good job - not as nice as the tube MR-71 though. I also have a Pioneer TX-6800 that I paid about $50 for and it holds its own nicely too. Many of the older SEPARATE tunes were quite good as the manufacturers knew that the buyer cared about quality and that the tuner wasn't just an add on to a receiver. My B&K reference 50 has a tuner in it and it is crap although the pre-amp processor sounds great-the tuner section was just an add-on to claim another feature. You should be able to get a good analog tuner for under $100.
Good luck, Phil

Jetmaker737

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

It's still in http://www.radioxtuners.com/ hands. Check Queue page under Steve K. I'm still waiting but not worried yet

This should be interesting. I picked up a TU-717 a few weeks back and I'm sending it to Joseph Chow in a couple of weeks:

http://www.audio-horizons.com/pages/upgrades.html

We'll need to both report in on our results.

(FYI - the Sansui kicks butt on the tuner in my Onk 805. Even my 11 year old son could tell the difference.)

Zitro

The tuner on my Sansui G-9700 has not been aligned or anything and the integrated circuit for the digital display needs to be replaced, but there are stations it still pulls in with crystal clear clarity. I was listening to classic rock 2 nights ago and my roommates both couldn't believe it was radio playing, thought it was cd. I can only imagine after I service it. Like bikezappa said, a cheap dipole antenna (maybe $7) worked very well with the tuner.

mhardy6647