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sherwood s2100 tuner

I picked up a mint 210011 a few months ago on eBay for $73. Unfortunately the fuse holder shattered from poor packing and I have yet to fire it up. Fwiiw, I was told by a guy who sells and collects alot of Sherwoods that the 210011 is the best sounding and most worthy of modding. I also have a mint 2200 which has problem even after a going over from a well known SoCal vintage tuner guy.(see current post in Tubes) I have a 3000V which does sound excellent and is atleast a match for my Richard Modaferri modded MX-110 performance wise. I really like the looks of the old Sherwoods through they are not built nearly as well as Macs or Marantz. I am not familar with Fishers but the Sherwoods are definately in the same class as Scotts, and IMO look a lot cooler.
 
I picked up a mint 210011 a few months ago on eBay for $73.
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wow thats the same price that the seller of mine paid for hid back in june or july.

I have a 3000V which does sound excellent and is atleast a match for my Richard Modaferri modded MX-110 performance wise
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interesting.although i have a mx110 it's not modified so this is going to be interesting to see how the 2100 does against it.
i read your post on the 2200 and sure hope you can get it working properly.i too like the looks of the sherwoods and the way they had the different color schemes supposedly so you could match them to your decor.im also plaanning on getting a s5000 II to go with the s2100 so ill have a complete set.do you own any sherwood amps?
chris
 
I have a mint fully functioning S-5000 and 2 different versions of the S-500011. The later both run 7868 tubes. One of the S-5000s had a blown transformer and I was lucky to find one on eBay for less the $20. I now have a good local tech to get it working but like most of these guys who do this for a hobby and then get "discovered", he is reluctant to take on new projects but I am working on him. BTW, Richard does a very professional job on the MX-110 and gives you a full detailed report. I am sure that the guys people use here on the board are also competent, but the market particularily on Audiogon does put a premium on RM's work so it is more like an investment on one of the few Mc pieces that even those cool on Mcs respect.
 
I think the Sherwoods build is every bit as good as the McIntosh tube units. Think of the complexity of each and the result at the outputs. Sherwood knew how to make a reliable circuit and make complex answers to problems. The weak point of the day were the coils supplied by Miller and Sherwood rather than have the problem made there own. Copper is a better shielding material than chrome. I made the mistake for some years thinking from its looks it had to be less than steller until 1 day I took it off the shelf where it had sat for about 10 years, never having even beenpowered on and too a really good look at it and realized that this thing was really built and not a POS.
 
Brian said:
I think the Sherwoods build is every bit as good as the McIntosh tube units. Think of the complexity of each and the result at the outputs. Sherwood knew how to make a reliable circuit and make complex answers to problems. The weak point of the day were the coils supplied by Miller and Sherwood rather than have the problem made there own. Copper is a better shielding material than chrome. I made the mistake for some years thinking from its looks it had to be less than steller until 1 day I took it off the shelf where it had sat for about 10 years, never having even beenpowered on and too a really good look at it and realized that this thing was really built and not a POS.
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owning a mac mr65b & a sherwood s-3000-III, i agree the build quality of the sherwood is every bit as good as the mac. cosmetically, it is clear that the mac has spent more money on this aspect... sonically, it's hard for me to compare these two, as the sherwood is dependant on whatever mpx decoder i use w/it since it's strictly a mono unit. both are excellent.

re: the less-expensive tubed mono tunas, the word is that the scotts are a hair less, sonically, than the fishers & sherwoods, but have better sensitivity/selectivity. and, that the sherwood 2000 is more sensitive than the later 3000/4000's but at the expense of sound quality. i still do not know enuff about the 2100 to know whether its fm section is closer to the 2000 or the later sherwoods...

doug s.
 
All this dicussion got me motivated to fix the fuse holder on the S-2100 ll and set it up with a indoor wire dipole, Sherwood S-5000 and my "new" Vandersteen 1Bs. The tuner came without much in terms of a guarantee and the seller's poor description and pictures probably kept the interest low as $73 on eBay for this rarer model seemed like a bargain. Condition was actually near mint after a clean up, case was not included but the one for the S-2200 fits it perfectly. I am not sure how the mkll differs from the 2100. Unlike my S-2200 and the S-3000V the chassis is copper. The tuning meter is the same Venier gauge as the S-3000V. I believe the S-2100 has a horizontal tube instead. There is a orange stereo light similar to the S-3000V. Controls on the front are knobs for bands and tuning. There are two slide switches for AM wide/narrow(useless considering the number and density of AM stations) and FM hush in/out which didn't seem to make much difference. The bezel is chromed and the face is ivory which matches the S-5000ll amp. The S-2200 is brass and complements the original S-5000.

Well lucky for me it fires up and tunes very well though not as well as my S-3000V which was aligned by Mike Zucaro. The local jazz station KJAZ 88.1 tunes in nearer to 88.5 but sounds great. Even without an alignment I am impressed with the performance and sound. I think is sounds as good as the S-3000V and is demonstrating very good selectivity. A definate keeper! I had corresponded a year ago with a guy on eBay claiming to be an avid Sherwood collector who advised me to find a S-2100ll as it was in his opinion their best made and sounding tuner. At this point I won't disagree.
 
...looks good....have u got it yet?
~~ there's a sherwood 2000 11 on ausebay.. 5819688780 ..which I am considering. from wot i can suss out its mono am/fm & 117v 60 hz ... which is no big deal, but the starting price of AU$117 is a bit steep....anyone have any experience of this particular piece? .. and anyone got recommendations 4 circuits for a outboard decoder - fm mono is not my cup of tea ..... cb
 
soundoc03,

glad to hear you got the s2100 II up and running and by the sound of it(no pun intended) its on par with the s3000v which i had suspected.as for the differences between it and the 2100 i suspect its just the cosmetics and the replacement of the tuning tube with a meter.i also think that the circuitry and specs would be the same for both the 2100 and II although i havnt saw any yet for th 2100 II.

tropicalcb,

no i still havnt received the tuner yet but it should be here anyday now.as for that sherwood s2000 on ebay thats a bit too much for it.it also probally wont sell and will be listed at a lower price.if you could get it for around $50 or less id say grab it.as for circuits for multiplexers sorry i cant help you there perhaps someone will see your post and help you out.
 
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tropicalcb said:
...looks good....have u got it yet?
~~ there's a sherwood 2000 11 on ausebay.. 5819688780 ..which I am considering. from wot i can suss out its mono am/fm & 117v 60 hz ... which is no big deal, but the starting price of AU$117 is a bit steep....anyone have any experience of this particular piece? .. and anyone got recommendations 4 circuits for a outboard decoder - fm mono is not my cup of tea ..... cb
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re sherwood tunas, that seems a bit high to me, unless it's truly pristine, & refurb'd. also, the word from those who have tried both is that an s-2000 will be more sensitive, while the s-3000 & later iterations will sound better at the expense of some sensitivity. i have never heard an s-2000; my s-3000 is sensitive enuff for me, but it certainly isn't up to that of my better (relatively) modern solid state tunas.

re: outboard decoders, join this site, & ask bob fitzgerald for info on his circuit - i know one member there is using one & he likes it a lot. bob may be coming out w/kits and fully-assembled iterations in the near future...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FMtuners/

also, onething is still making a decoder that needs to be installed in a box. not exactly cheap, tho, at 119ukp:

http://www.onethingaudio.com/OTA/9152-OTA-MAIN.htm
http://www.onethingaudio.com/OTA/MPX/9152-OTA-MPX-A1.htm
9512-OTA-MPX-IMG-MPX1-D1.jpg


and you can always look out for a vintage decoder on ebay, but these seem to have escalated in price quite a bit recently... even a relatively lower-end model (compared to the sought after fisher mpx100 & scott 35/335) by eico or heathkit will still usually cost more than a nice sherwood tuna.

doug s.
 
finally :banana2: :banana2: :banana: its here.took forever but it was sure worth the wait.this tuner is absolutely beautiful condition besides a little dust and a couple dull spots on the 2 end caps its in excellent codition.time to hook it up and give it a listen pictures also to follow. :D now i just need the s5000 II.
 
finally :banana2: :banana2: :banana: its here.took forever but it was sure worth the wait.this tuner is absolutely beautiful condition besides a little dust and a couple dull spots on the 2 end caps its in excellent codition.time to hook it up and give it a listen pictures also to follow. :D now i just need the s5000 II.
 
How about a S-5000? The II part is not necessary :D

Glad to hear it is looking great Chris! It should prove to be a fine tuner. I now have a S3000III headed my way but I would much rather own the 2100.

Want to swap? :D

RC
 
How about a S-5000? The II part is not necessary
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really?if it's the el84 based one i could possibly be interested as i've said before.in the interim ill be getting the s5000 II from greg.congradulations on the 3000 III and hope you like it .i dont think im up for a trade quite yet i just got it :D .im also posiibly going to get the 2000II listed in the classifieds.


The ll matches the chrome of the 2100, the 5000 has the same brass trim and knobs as the 2200
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true,so now i have to get a s5000 and a 2200 or the 2000II.dont you just like the addictiveness of this hobby :D
 
sherwood bug bites

i caught the sherwood disease also. Won two s5000s in the last two weeks. Averag cost, less then 40 bucks./..

Ive sent both to be checked by radio tuner x a board member...results to be posted later....

hope the sherwoods turn out to be as good as claimed....
 
kbuzz,
good luck with the tuners im sure youlll like them especialy once gone over and aligned.

i finally got around to taking a picture of the 2100 and theres one question i have .it looks like the endcaps on the side are gold as compared to the bezel which is silver is this correct?or do i have some perhaps from a 2200.im also experiencing some trouble with the stereo indicator light,although i can recieve in stereo it's very hard to get that light to come on.time to check a few tubes and then if i cant find the problem it'll probally be off for an alignment too.
 
FYI and FWIW, I got an S-2000 yesterday :-) It looks very nice, tho' I haven't had a chance to fire it up yet.
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great :thmbsp: another one for your collection.nice to see more and more people getting into the sherwood gear.by the way what color scheme did you get with this one?

chris
 
re: S-2000.... I am sooooo happy

Had a (seemingly) bad experience turn good today... a couple of weeks ago, I bought a nice looking Sherwood S-2000 AM/FM tuner on a (very) popular on-line auction site. First time I've bought something there in quite a while. Advertised to be in good working order. Seller has a large amount of extremely positive feedback.

It came last week, exceptionally well packed, and looking very nice. Left positive, enthusiastic feedback without firing it up ('cause time was very tight last week). Finally got 'round to Variac'ing it up today. Initial performance was crappy: AM and (especially) FM. Dang! Cleaned the function selector and the two slide switches on the front. AM better now, but FM was really lame. Put it aside.

Went back and re-read the description. Description was very thorough and accurate as far as I could tell. Just didn't seem right that it wasn't working well at all. Pulled it out again and figured I'd check tubes and clean pins. Checked all the tubes ('cept the 6X4... it WAS working, after all!). Cleaned the pins and reseated everybody. Turned it on "FM" and was BLASTED with sound. Problem solved!

Both AM and FM are working excellently.

I guess the moral (if there is one) is that it pays to clean and/or reseat tubes after something 45 years old is shipped 2/3 of the way across the country to you.

THe ONLY problem with this ol' girl is that the magic eye tube is kind of dim. I'll A/B the S-2000 with my FM only S-3000. If it sounds as good as the S-3000, I'll swap eye tubes with the 3000!
 
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