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Tuner addiction

radioactive

radioactive

tube gear fanatic
Cleaning up today I decided to dig out a few of the tuners I've collected over time that haven't seen the light of day in years.Of the tuners shown I've had the matching gear to go with most of them but that has since been sold.Ive always seemed to hang onto the tuners though.I do have the matching mono integrated amp for the Sherwood still.Ive gone through many tuners but this is all that's left(I think)Not shown is my McIntosh mr71 which is in my main system.
Who else here on ak is a tuner freak?
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painttoad said:
i'm not really a tuner freak, just a freak in general.

if i buy an integrated amp, i have to track down the matching tuner. same thing with separates.

i've got that same hitachi ft-920 :thumbsup: (and the matching int amp)
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I'm a bit backwards , I'll buy a tuner first and if I like it I then go hunt down the rest of the matching gear.
Here's what I had for a Hitachi system before I got the 920.
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Bushikan said:
Such a beautiful, sweet-sounding unit. I have a R.M.-modded MR78, which is superb and can do things the 71 cannot, but it’s not as delicate, nuanced, and sweet as the tubed 71.
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The mr78 has always been on my list of tuners to get especially with RM mods.It would of went nicely with one of my Mpi-4 scopes.
 
Not much of a tuner freak, I only have three :)

They all work, but one needs alignment so I need to get gear to align it. Vintage analyzers are huge and expensive, why aren't there modern equivalents available?
 
radioactive said:
Cleaning up today I decided to dig out a few of the tuners I've collected over time that haven't seen the light of day in years.Of the tuners shown I've had the matching gear to go with most of them but that has since been sold.Ive always seemed to hang onto the tuners though.I do have the matching mono integrated amp for the Sherwood still.Ive gone through many tuners but this is all that's left(I think)Not shown is my McIntosh mr71 which is in my main system.
Who else here on ak is a tuner freak?
View attachment 3854212
Click to expand...

I probably have more than that, but most are to be sold. There are more than a handful that would be very hard to let go of, including two ARCAM Alpha 8's, three Kenwoods, a Sanyo Plus T-55, and a Parasound T/DQ 1600.

I invested in a variac with a DIM bulb tester to bring the unused ones up to full voltage and power.
 
sound hound said:
I probably have more than that, but most are to be sold. There are more than a handful that would be very hard to let go of, including two ARCAM Alpha 8's, three Kenwoods, a Sanyo Plus T-55, and a Parasound T/DQ 1600.

I invested in a variac with a DIM bulb tester to bring the unused ones up to full voltage and power.
Click to expand...
Oh I have had my fair share of tuners that I've sold and regret such as a Philips ah673 and 6731.I loved that tuner so much I had one in black and one in silver.The amazing thing about that tuner is they paid just as much or even more attention to the mw band which made it a good Hi-fi dxer for that band with a nice magnetic loop hooked up to it.
 
I collect and restore antique radios and tuners. Here is a list of tuners:

Arkay AM-FM
Bogen T661
Edwards Fidelotuner
Eico HFT-90
Eico HFT-92
Fisher KM-60
Granco T-161
Harmon-Kardon Citation III-X
Heathkit AJ-10
Heathkit AJ-32
Heathkit AJ-1510A
Heathkit BC-1A
Heathkit FM-3A
Heathkit FM-4
Hitachi FT-3500
Knight (not identified, looks like the 83YX732 with a different RF front end)
Knight KG-50
Lafayette LT-100
Lafayette KT-500
Leak Troughline II
Pilotuner T-601
Pioneer AFT-12
Radio Craftsmen RC-10
Realistic HK-200
Realistic TM-150
Sherwood 2100 II
Tech-Master 50
Technics STS-78
Trio AFX-210

The best performer is the Sherwood 2100 II. The prettiest is the Knight KG-50. The most bizarre is the Heathkit AJ-1510A. The solid-state ones are Heathkit AJ-1510A, Hitachi FT-3500, Realistic TM-150 and the Technics STS-78. The oldest are the Edwards Fidelotuner and the Pilotuner T-601. The Heathkit BC-1A is the only AM-only tuner.

I'm ready for my episode on "Hoarders".
 
amptramp said:
I collect and restore antique radios and tuners. Here is a list of tuners:

Arkay AM-FM
Bogen T661
Edwards Fidelotuner
Eico HFT-90
Eico HFT-92
Fisher KM-60
Granco T-161
Harmon-Kardon Citation III-X
Heathkit AJ-10
Heathkit AJ-32
Heathkit AJ-1510A
Heathkit BC-1A
Heathkit FM-3A
Heathkit FM-4
Hitachi FT-3500
Knight (not identified, looks like the 83YX732 with a different RF front end)
Knight KG-50
Lafayette LT-100
Lafayette KT-500
Leak Troughline II
Pilotuner T-601
Pioneer AFT-12
Radio Craftsmen RC-10
Realistic HK-200
Realistic TM-150
Sherwood 2100 II
Tech-Master 50
Technics STS-78
Trio AFX-210

The best performer is the Sherwood 2100 II. The prettiest is the Knight KG-50. The most bizarre is the Heathkit AJ-1510A. The solid-state ones are Heathkit AJ-1510A, Hitachi FT-3500, Realistic TM-150 and the Technics STS-78. The oldest are the Edwards Fidelotuner and the Pilotuner T-601. The Heathkit BC-1A is the only AM-only tuner.

I'm ready for my episode on "Hoarders".
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Can I join you?I have a rc10 as well in the basement.
 
radioactive said:
Can I join you?I have a rc10 as well in the basement.
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Feel free to join me in collecting all the tuners you want. The RC10 is one of my favourite ones. It incorporates an audio preamplifier because at the time, it was intended to be sold as part of a system that had a mono amplifier plus this unit as everything else you would need. The world went in a different direction, but this is a quality piece with its chromed chassis. You could leave it in an audio system without any cover on, it was that pretty.
 
amptramp said:
Feel free to join me in collecting all the tuners you want. The RC10 is one of my favourite ones. It incorporates an audio preamplifier because at the time, it was intended to be sold as part of a system that had a mono amplifier plus this unit as everything else you would need. The world went in a different direction, but this is a quality piece with its chromed chassis. You could leave it in an audio system without any cover on, it was that pretty.
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Of course to complete the rc-10 one needs a rc- 2 or c500 or c550.
Myself I'd prefer the RC 2 with 6v6 output tube as I have a soft spot for that tube.
s-l1200 (21).webp
 
I felt the magic of radio in the 1960s when I got a crystal radio kit and could listen to top 40 in Chicago. I still love looking up at the broadcast towers on South Mountain.

FM tuners are the only ones that interest me now. The best ones all sound enjoyable, but present different soundstages on classical recordings. On some recordings, quieting is absolutely critical and only the best will do.

The Fisher TFM-300 was the most ergonomically pleasing of all my tuners but the sound wasn't in the top class.

The Scott 4312 was glorious-looking but didn't have enough separation.

The good news is that good tuners are affordable enough that you can try them out and find your favorite without being a plutocrat.

The bad news is that getting them serviced locally is getting tougher and shipping them is now madly expensive!

I must have cycled through at least 25 over the years. I have seven in the system at the moment; I am also experimenting with MPX decoders, both tube and IC-based. I like being able to switch and compare and find the best sound for the particular recording.

You have to have Jay Leno's money and talent to collect cars like he does, but one can enjoy a multitude of tuners on a middle-class income.
 
One was listed on Audiogon a few months ago for parts or repair. It sat for months. I tried to buy it. I made at least two offers but the seller could not be bothered to respond. Would love to own one.
 
The sad state about tuners is it's a niche market now and tuners are not as valued now as they once were.If your lucky you have a good station that isn't heavily compressed and that is a joy to listen too.Sadly far and few now.Tuner values have gone down somewhat which makes it good for us tuner guys but most people can't be bothered with a tuner.I don't know how many times I tried to get my friend a matching tuner for his system but he's just not interested.
 
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