Bogen question

[charne@sprin]

I'm looking at a Bogen RP230 to drive a pair of Klipsch Chorus II speakers. The Bogen is a lower power tube amp/receiver ... but comes with an AM-FM tuner section.

Anyone have experience with Bogen tuners? What should I expect? I'm not expecting McIntosh, but can I hope for Fisher or HH Scott sound quality, reception, and sensitivity maybe?

Thanks!

 

[cademan]

Bogen is very good stuff and even though I have not looked it up, I will guess that the RP230 uses either the 7408 or 7355 tubes both of which are good sounding tubes.

 

[gadget73]

Only experience I can offer is with an old FM-50 mono tuner. Its actually a decent performer, pulls in plenty of stations and sounds just fine. No idea how similar or not the RP230's tuner bits are to the FM-50 though.

 

[slater529]

I have a Bogen RP 230 in my 10' X 14' office/work shop powering a pair of Infinity Reference Fives, which aren't nearly as efficient as the Klipsch Chorus II. The Bogen has enough power to drive the Infinitys at decent volume, but in a larger room I'd probably need more efficient speakers. The tuner does a decent job of pulling in FM stations, but I can't tell you how it would compare the other receivers you list.

I use my RP230 strictly for streaming from my iphone while I'm working in the shop. It sounds very very good!

 

[TriodeLuvr]

It looks decent from the schematic, but not the more complex IF system seen in high-end models. The quality of most FM broadcasts now is truly horrid compared to stations in the '60s and '70s. I also understand many have added digitally-modulated subcarriers that create audible anomalies in older gear. Add to this the fact that restoring a 50-year-old FM tuner to original performance is a challenge that can involve many tens of hours of technical time and hand-fulls of parts. Most techs won't even work on them. Personally, I think it might be shortsighted to buy any gear like this on the basis of whether its tuners are good quality. It's heresy I know, but you'll be way ahead if you spend $50-100 on a used solid-state tuner from the '80s or '90s.

Jack

 

[rmp]

restoring a 50-year-old FM tuner to original performance is a challenge that can involve many tens of hours of technical time and hand-fulls of parts. Most techs won't even work on them.

That is not my experience.
That said, if FM is important, you would probably be better off with a Bogen amp and a Scott tuner.

 

[gadget73]

depends how screwed up it is, and how perfect you want it. Mostly I've had OK luck with tuners so long as nobody got there first and diddled with the adjustments. They do sometimes benefit from a re-alignment but its basically a touch-up at that point.

 

[charne@sprin]

I have a Bogen RP 230 in my 10' X 14' office/work shop powering a pair of Infinity Reference Fives, which aren't nearly as efficient as the Klipsch Chorus II. The Bogen has enough power to drive the Infinitys at decent volume, but in a larger room I'd probably need more efficient speakers. The tuner does a decent job of pulling in FM stations, but I can't tell you how it would compare the other receivers you list.

I use my RP230 strictly for streaming from my iphone while I'm working in the shop. It sounds very very good!

Thanks for this -- what device do you use to capture the stream and deliver it into the Bogen? Is it plugged into the aux or tape input?

As for my use of the tuner, this is a bit of a science experiment, so we'll see. The thing I found interesting is that the old Conelrad frequencies are marked on the tuner face (640 and 1240 kHz). Now THAT was a sign of the times.

 

[maxhifi]

Since you're in the UK, why not look for a Leak Troughline? That's where I'd be setting my sites, then you won't need to worry about voltage conversion, etc.

Also, UK broadcasts use the 50us equalization versus the USA 75us equalization, so an American tuner will never sound totally right unless you change this. Rather than paddle upstream a Leak or Quad would be an easier path.

 

[slater529]

Thanks for this -- what device do you use to capture the stream and deliver it into the Bogen? Is it plugged into the aux or tape input?

As for my use of the tuner, this is a bit of a science experiment, so we'll see. The thing I found interesting is that the old Conelrad frequencies are marked on the tuner face (640 and 1240 kHz). Now THAT was a sign of the times.

I have the Qobuz and Amazon Prime Music apps on my iphone. I simply use a 3.5mm to RCA cable, plugged into my iphone's headphone out, and then to the Bogen's AUX inputs. Since this set up is in my office/shop, it's not intended for critical listening. But it works great and sounds very good! My main system uses a dedicated streamer and external DAC.

 

[charne@sprin]

Since you're in the UK, why not look for a Leak Troughline? That's where I'd be setting my sites, then you won't need to worry about voltage conversion, etc.

Also, UK broadcasts use the 50us equalization versus the USA 75us equalization, so an American tuner will never sound totally right unless you change this. Rather than paddle upstream a Leak or Quad would be an easier path.

We're heading back to the US on Saturday. The Bogen unit will be picked up mid-August. That's the soonest I can get to it.

 

[charne@sprin]

Planning to pick up the RP230 Monday. Will install it later in the week. Need to add a streaming device, ordered an iFi Zen One Signature unit from Crutchfield.