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Vintage tuners
Readers may find interesting (if a bit long) the saga of owning a vintage (tube) tuner.
Many years ago, my family owned a Scott 350B tuner. It was musical, sensitive, a real pleasure. Most of the tuners I've heard since don't approach it.
My current main system is a mix of vintage and new gear. I drive a McIntosh 240 amp via Cary P7 theater preamp. In any case, I felt the time had come for a vintage tuner. I shopped online and purchased (approx $500) a refurbished 350B from a reputable component restorer. (I won't mention his name; some of you would recognize it, and I'm not blaming him for any of what happened to me.) Sadly, the tuner developed a bad hum within days. Happily, the restorer took it back, found the bad power supply capacitor, and shipped the tuner to back to me.
For about a year, I enjoyed the 350B until it developed a loud tone that obstructed the music. Back to the restorer it went. This time, it required a second refurbishing, including alignment and some new tubes. I was surprised to hear that the tuner needed to be refurbished, at a cost of over $300, given the work that had been done prior to my purchase the year before.
The tuner was returned to me. This time, something like nine months elapsed before another tone began to obstruct the signal, this time in the stereo mode. I contacted the restorer and was told that a transformer (trim) adjustment on my part might solve the problem. It didn't, and I'm now told that the restorer will again look at the tuner with an eye toward repair. I've been cautioned, however: a) if one of those transformer has gone bad, it will be difficult to replace - perhaps impossible; b) these tuners were not built to last more than 10 years. In the restorer's view, only McIntosh and Marantz overbuilt their equipment. Finally, he regards tuners are requiring more maintenance than preamps or amps. (I believe I understood that principle, given the need to maintain tuner alignment.)
Would that I had understood these things when first I purchased the restored 350B. I wish I had understand that restoration was not total, that parts would be difficult to obtain, that the tuner itself might have outlasted its lifetime.
I don't know if this experience applies to any other fan of vintage equipment. My counsel would be, however to consider carefully any move toward a vintage tuner, particularly one with parts no longer available, such as tube gear from the 1960s. Of course, your own experience may differ.
Epilogue: I am about to receive a Magnum Dynalab tuner, analog, but contemporary.
Readers may find interesting (if a bit long) the saga of owning a vintage (tube) tuner.
Many years ago, my family owned a Scott 350B tuner. It was musical, sensitive, a real pleasure. Most of the tuners I've heard since don't approach it.
My current main system is a mix of vintage and new gear. I drive a McIntosh 240 amp via Cary P7 theater preamp. In any case, I felt the time had come for a vintage tuner. I shopped online and purchased (approx $500) a refurbished 350B from a reputable component restorer. (I won't mention his name; some of you would recognize it, and I'm not blaming him for any of what happened to me.) Sadly, the tuner developed a bad hum within days. Happily, the restorer took it back, found the bad power supply capacitor, and shipped the tuner to back to me.
For about a year, I enjoyed the 350B until it developed a loud tone that obstructed the music. Back to the restorer it went. This time, it required a second refurbishing, including alignment and some new tubes. I was surprised to hear that the tuner needed to be refurbished, at a cost of over $300, given the work that had been done prior to my purchase the year before.
The tuner was returned to me. This time, something like nine months elapsed before another tone began to obstruct the signal, this time in the stereo mode. I contacted the restorer and was told that a transformer (trim) adjustment on my part might solve the problem. It didn't, and I'm now told that the restorer will again look at the tuner with an eye toward repair. I've been cautioned, however: a) if one of those transformer has gone bad, it will be difficult to replace - perhaps impossible; b) these tuners were not built to last more than 10 years. In the restorer's view, only McIntosh and Marantz overbuilt their equipment. Finally, he regards tuners are requiring more maintenance than preamps or amps. (I believe I understood that principle, given the need to maintain tuner alignment.)
Would that I had understood these things when first I purchased the restored 350B. I wish I had understand that restoration was not total, that parts would be difficult to obtain, that the tuner itself might have outlasted its lifetime.
I don't know if this experience applies to any other fan of vintage equipment. My counsel would be, however to consider carefully any move toward a vintage tuner, particularly one with parts no longer available, such as tube gear from the 1960s. Of course, your own experience may differ.
Epilogue: I am about to receive a Magnum Dynalab tuner, analog, but contemporary.
