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Is an MR74 worth repairing?

edwinh

edwinh

Active Member
I got a really beat up MR74 and I'm wondering if it's worth repairing. It powers up. At first I was able to get AM radio reception, but while listening to it, the sound suddenly faded and now there's nothing. The local authorized repair place won't touch it, largely because they can't calibrate it.

I'm not huge on radio listening, but it would be nice to have.

Thoughts? I can post pictures if people want to see it.
 
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Definitely a fine tuner, send it up to Audio Classics in NY. They can fix whatever's wrong I'm sure. Good Luck with it!
 
How much did you pay for it and how much are you willing to spend for a unit that is, and will probably remain, beat up looking. Describe "beat up." You say you are not really in radio listening. Terry Dewick once noted that a unit in excellent cosmetic condition will always be worth something when repaired. A cosmetically challenged unit will almost never pay back the repair cost if attempted to be sold in the future.
 
jlovda said:
How much did you pay for it and how much are you willing to spend for a unit that is, and will probably remain, beat up looking. Describe "beat up." You say you are not really in radio listening. Terry Dewick once noted that a unit in excellent cosmetic condition will always be worth something when repaired. A cosmetically challenged unit will almost never pay back the repair cost if attempted to be sold in the future.
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I paid $250 for it. There are a few stations in the Boulder/Denver area worth listening to (jazz and college radio stations), so I would use probably weekly. I don't see why I would ever sell it. I've lived without a tuner for years, so I just see it as a good thing to have that would complete my Mac setup (C33, MC2255).

The front could clean up nicely and that's what faces the world. The top and back not so much, the bottom is pristine.


IMG_8226.JPGIMG_8227.JPG
 
Did you have any idea what they sell for when you bought it? Some people try to sell one knob for $30-$50. The front glass is now selling for about $200. That will be your tuner forever. Good luck.
 
New glass, a new knob, and a walnut cabinet will make it look wonderful. It can be electrically restored too.
 
jlovda said:
Did you have any idea what they sell for when you bought it? Some people try to sell one knob for $30-$50. The front glass is now selling for about $200. That will be your tuner forever. Good luck.
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Well, you can see that I'm not always bothered by cosmetics. This MC2105 has been my bass amp, PA amp, and home studio amp since 1978. Sounds amazing!IMG_4235.JPG
 
jlovda said:
Did you have any idea what they sell for when you bought it? Some people try to sell one knob for $30-$50. The front glass is now selling for about $200. That will be your tuner forever. Good luck.
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$200 for glass? seriously? wow....

So I guess I made a good move turning down $300 for this a couple years ago?

IMG_20210502_221348198.jpg
 
Glass: $200.00
Knob: $50.00 (If available)
Repair cost: $500.00 (shipping, labor and materials)

Cosmetic condition: Fair (failed)

From Audio Classics

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MR78

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MR 74 is considered by many to be the best sounding tuner from that period. Though I prefer the MR-78 for its ability to handle compromised signals and the MR-80 for it over all sound. The MR-74 with the right exterior antennae is well worth being restored if you are not willing to receive broadcasts over the internet via computer and a great DAC. My oldest sun uses the 78 quite often. While I use the 80 occasionally preferring to receive signal off the internet from stations all over the USA which aren't available over the air.
 
If you do get into repairing one, be aware that the online documentation available is incomplete, or at least, it was. The cut-off FM schematic has been amended, corrected, and verified against a bench unit.

http://www.wwdsltd.com/files/McIntoshMR74FMSchematic.jpg

McIntoshMR74FMSchematic.jpg
 
Thanks! Right now it's just sitting on a shelf waiting for me to figure out what to do with it. As people have intimated up above, I probably bought a doorstop.
 
As glass is already busted this is an easy to ship item that doesnt require buying a MAC or AC expensive box to ship it... Sell the existing knobs individually for 50.00ea. Put the tuner on ebay checking the global shipping option box on auction with starting price of .99.

Knobs value 200-250.00
MR74 250??
 
The example I just finished had multiplex decoding issues, and seems to have had some tweaking of the cores before it got to me. I hadn't done a complete alignment in a while, and while tedious, it was rewarding to decipher the partial instructions in the manual, throw them away, and resolve it the conventional manner to get everything operating. These units have an odd "selectivity" sub-board which affects muting threshold and IF bandwidth, as well as a separate muting level control, and a "stereo filter" control for whatever the hell that is supposed to do. It just makes the work a bit more intense. We've learned a lot since 1973.

If you end up diving in or taking it to a tech, pass along the clean FM diagram, because they will probably need it.
 
nolasally said:
As glass is already busted this is an easy to ship item that doesnt require buying a MAC or AC expensive box to ship it... Sell the existing knobs individually for 50.00ea. Put the tuner on ebay checking the global shipping option box on auction with starting price of .99.

Knobs value 200-250.00
MR74 250??
Click to expand...

Wow! $50 each! Maybe I should keep some of them in case I need them for my MC2105s. I think they are the same size.
 
If costs start to get out of hand, you might consider asking AC if they do trade ins on other gear in their inventory (I do know that they used to purchase used Mac gear outright).
This method could be more cost effective for you. Whatever you do, having a Mac tuner to go along with the rest of your system makes sense.
 
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