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A McIntosh Tuner, Is There One In Your System?

Not in many years. Tuners were replaced by streamers in my homes, also haven't listened to radio (regular broadcast nor satellite) in any of my cars for over a decade (maybe much more really). I don't like the rambling of DJs, I don't like commercials, I don't like not being able to skip a song I don't like, mostly a control thing.
 
Yes, there is one in my system. Rarely gets used, but I needed something to match the MA6100 so I ended up with an MR74. Hmmm, guess this is an old pic. My granddaughter in the pictures is now a freshman in high school.

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I've a MR77 but since I moved from Abu Dhabi city out to the boondocks in the desert I can no longer get the one good FM station - "Abu Dhabi Classic." They had a great DJ'ed program at 7 to 9 pm every night called "Dinner Jazz with Sarianna." She had a lovely voice in her slightly accented English.

Used to have a date over for dinner with "Dinner Jazz" playing and then secretly call in a dedication in my date's name. Thrilled 'em every time!

Back in Silicon Valley I had a fine MR71 tube tuner and before that a MX113. The MR71 was best of all but the ex-wife claimed it.
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jdandy said:
These days, with all the various sources available, CD, SACD, DVD-A, Streaming Audio, Music Servers, Vinyl, iPod. etc., I began to wonder how many folks have a McIntosh tuner in their system, which model, and whether FM stereo is even considered a viable music source to you any longer.

I have had several McIntosh tuners through the years. My first McIntosh tuner was a MR67, an FM only stereo tuner that I used with a MA230 integrated amp. It performed well, of course, I lived in San Francisco at the time, and all the stations I listened to had towers within a 15 mile radius, so reception was never a problem. The worst McIntosh tuner I owned was the MR7084. It had good specifications on paper, but poor reception, even with an outside antenna. I had it for 13 years, and listened to it very little because it was not a good performer. It was just in the rack looking cool, but that was about it. I now have the MR85, and it is the best McIntosh tuner I have owned. It is extremely sensitive, pulls in stations from 50 miles like they are next door, and has excellent seperation, low noise, and wide frequency response. I find myself listening to it almost every night when the University of Florida's station broadcasts their Jazz After Midnight show beginning at midnight. Their tower is 50 miles from my antenna, but the signal comes in on the MR85 clean and clear. I look forward to listening to this show at night. They play a ton of good jazz, they do not compress the signal, and it sounds great. It has been many years since I was last excited about listening to radio, but the McIntosh MR85 rekindled my fire.

So, do you have a McIntosh tuner in your system? Do you listen to it, or is it just filling rack space? Does it perform to your satisfaction?
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I have an MR67 that is being refurbed right now- should have it by the end of May. From the forums, it appears the MR67 was a strong contender for a tube tuner right along with the Marantz 10B. My tech is also reworking a C28 for me and I just got my MC2205 back from him- it is perfect. If anyone needs restoration services in the North Texas area, I can recommend CROSSED PATHS VINTAGE. He specializes in McIntosh and Marantz.
 
Is your MR67 one with the onboard MPX? I had a pristine MR67 with onboard MPX I should have held on to. As with all vintage McIntosh, buy based on cosmetic condition as everything else is an easy fix by comparison.
 
It does include an MPX on/off dial, and I bought all three pieces based on cosmetics- amp, preamp, and tuner are all nearly perfect cosmetically, and I located OEM wood cases that are nearly perfect too- I really got lucky. All three will feature new LED lighting too. Curiously, I bought a new blue lens kit off eBay for my MC2205 new faceplate, but my tech refused to use them and instead removed/reinstalled the original blue lens citing that the newer acrylic did not provide the correct blue tint - he was right- it looks as good as when I was a dealer in the 70's.
 
I have 2: MR78 and an MR88. Love the MR88 for it's sound and style. Also like the HD as there are some interesting formats being broadcast.
My dealer wanted to buy the MR88 but I won't sell. The MR89 is advertised as being better but no HD.
Other sources I have are a MCT500, turntable and streaming preamplifier. But still make time to listen to the '88.
Where I am I receive Boston, Providence, and the Cape with a 13 element yagi.
 
I regularly use my MR-65 tuner with MA-5 Stereo MPX adapter installed. Besides restoration, I made a few modifications to make its Mode Selector switch operate in a more useful manner in today's audio environment. It's not the most sensitive tuner I've used, but it is very selective, and the decoded Stereo MPX signal delivered is absolutely superb.

Dave
 
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