Tuners?

[doug s.]

if you like all types of music, you will not find a better station, (on this planet, anyway), than:
https://www.fip.fr/
they also have genre-specific stations, if you're wanting to hear something more specific...

doug s.

View attachment 1766704

Ocean Digital WR-10...exactly the same size of my NAD 516BEE CD player. Makes listening to the radio fun again with all the available Internet stations.

 

[MJB1959]

Let's see here..
Yamaha T-5
Sony JX-35
NAD 4020
Denon ?
Rotel rx 202
Readers Digest 2000Dr

 

[TX-9100]

My favourite 3 tuners from those I do own (although I own several more) would be in relevant 1 to 3 order while revering to analog ON-AIR AM and FM stereo reception only:
1) Nikko Gamma 20 It's amazing !!!!
2) Kenwood KT-7300
3) Pioneer TX-9100
Of those I dont own, but have owned in the past; it would, without any other competitor for me for 1st place be; The legendary Philips Hi-Fi Laboratories 22AH673(1).

 

[egellings]

Two tunas; Technics ST7300, Fisher FM-50-B. Sansui 1000A FM-AM receiver.

 

[Gouper]

Hey Guys n Gals, I'm brand new to this forum but need to talk about something old. I'm thinking of purchasing a Marantz 4240 Stereo/Quadradial 4 Receiver and would love to know: First if anyone here has this and second if I need a preamp. I have seen reviews on youtube that never use a preamp.

 

[MX117.MC7150]

A 'receiver' has a built-in tuner, preamp & amp. Your Marantz 4240 does not need a preamp.

 

[audmod01]

Just about any modern FM receiver or tuner made since the early 1970s has an RF front end that is as sensitive as any of the RF preamps. Adding a preamp just increases the chance of causing cross-modulation of RF signals and adding distortion as a result. Also do not use an amplified or "active" antenna. They cause the same issues.

Marantz is one of the better manufacturers and has many great examples. Your 4240 is among them, so likely the only thing that might be needed would be a touch-up of alignment and you should be good to go. Due to age there could be some electrolytic capacitors that may need replacement. Power supply and audio coupling capacitors are the most likely units that might need replacement.

 

[audmod01]

I looked up the service information on the Marantz 4240 and it appears that its FM front end uses a 2SK19Y JFET RF amplifier transistor. I was unable to find any data on that transistor which showed typical noise figure. I did find some review data:
http://www.audioreview.com/product/amplification/receivers/marantz/4240.html
https://classicreceivers.com/marantz-4240
It appears that 1978 was the last year of production of these units. Year of production does not necessarily translate into year of sale. Sometimes units may remain in dealer's stock for years. The design was introduced in 1974, so it falls into what I would call an early 1970 design, not a late 1970 design. Look at the reviews and consider them. If possible I would suggest being able to try it at your location before buying.

There is a tuned RF circuit at the gate of the 2SK19Y and following that 2SK19Y there is a double tuned RF circuit. That will tend to provide more immunity to cross-modulation distortion than a receiver without RF tuned circuits both before and after the RF amplifier stage. Various FM tuners I have tried that use JFET RF amplifier stages do not exhibit quieting sensitivity as good as units that use dual-gate MOSFET RF amplifier stages. Noise figure may have been checked in some published magazine reviews of that era, but you would have to check.

Metropolitan areas are typically filled with many FM stations which contributes to lots of opportunity for cross-modulation in the RF front end of any receiver or tuner. If you have already bought the unit, try it out and see if you can tune in your stations of interest. Listen carefully for distortion in the audio and whether it it quiet between passages of music or between words of voice announcements. Also check to see if the same station appears at multiple points of the FM dial. If it does the unit's front end is cross-modulating. It may or may not show up as distorted audio on the stations you prefer. If a desired station does not come in as well as you would like, try orienting your antenna differently to see if that corrects the problem. A next step would be to have the unit checked by a qualified technician to see whether it needs alignment.

An RF preamp can sometimes improve the quieting of a received station, but I would not automatically add an RF preamp as a first step. There is always the chance of overloading the RF amplifier stage in a given receiver or tuner.

Marantz made better receivers during the late 1970s. You may find a better unit among the more expensive units of their line made then. Dolby FM is a thing of the past and is not a useful feature now. Quad channels are OK, but not so popular now. Modern digital 5.1 and better home theater receivers have better and current decoders built in to handle multi-channel movie DVDs etc. Consider the recorded media you want to use before deciding.

Good luck!

 

[Hoewieloewie]

I love tuners.

In my collection:
Marantz Model 2050,
Marantz ST450L,
Marantz ST6000,
Cyrus Tuner,
Superscope T-208
Superscope T-210,
Superscope T-220,
Superscope T-500,
Erres SX6194,
Sony ST-2950F

 

[KiM3Ce]

Believe it or not, I've been thinning the herd; this year I sold my HK Citation III-X, Sanyo Plus Series 55, Fisher TFM-300, Scott 312-C, Marantz ST 6000 and Sherwood S-2400.

In daily use:
Sherwood HP 5500
In the system and in rotation:
Pioneer TX-9500 II
Sherwood 3300 (non-FET version)
McIntosh MR 71
Eico Classic Series 2200
Scott 310-E.

In the bullpen:
Scott 4312
McIntosh MR 65B

Awaiting technical attention:

Sherwood SEL 300

Using a Slim Devices Transporter to stream KUAT Tucson (great high-definition stream) and KBAQ (sounds lousy). I use the Transporter like an RDS to display what KBAQ and KJZZ are playing while I listen in analog.

I am blessed and I know it!

 

[doug s.]

"thinning the school" (it's tuna, not cattle. ha!) that's what i need to do, with about 50 of them.

especially since i'm lately listening to so much internet fm. (grace gdi-irdt200 into a quality dac sounds really nice, especially w/higher bitrate stations.)

i strongly recommend fip.fr - best station on the planet, imo, if you like an eclectic mix:
https://www.fip.fr/
and, it saves its playlist history for two weeks, so you can find what you heard.

its higher bitrate feed:
http://icecast.radiofrance.fr/fip-hifi.aac

find other hi bitrate stations:
http://radiobit.50webs.com/
https://tunein.com/radio/320KB-Plus-c1267347/
https://www.24bit96.com/24bit96khz-download-sites/hd-internet-radio-streams.html
https://www.hiresaudio.online/cd-quality-internet-radio/
https://www.whathifi.com/us/features/10-of-the-best-internet-radio-stations-for-music

happy listening,

doug s.
present analog fm rotation:
revox b261
hk citation 18
philips ah673
stromberg-carlson sr443/sherwood s3mx

Believe it or not, I've been thinning the herd; this year I sold my Sanyo Plus Series 55, Fisher TFM-300, Scott 312-C, Marantz ST 6000 and Sherwood S-2400.

In daily use:
Sherwood HP 5500
In the system and in rotation:
Pioneer TX-9500 II
Sherwood 3300 (non-FET version)
McIntosh MR 71
Eico Classic Series 2200
Scott 310-E.

In the bullpen:
Scott 4312
McIntosh MR 65B

Awaiting technical attention:

Sherwood SEL 300

Using a Slim Devices Transporter to stream KUAT Tucson (great high-definition stream) and KBAQ (sounds lousy). I use the Transporter like an RDS to display what KBAQ and KJZZ are playing while I listen in analog.

I am blessed and I know it!

 

[setup1]

Yamaha T-2 in the main system, which alternates with a Scott LT110B or Dyna FM-3

Sherwood S3000-II in the mono hifi

Kenwood KT80 in the near-field system which alternates with an NAD 4300 or KT880D

 

[Beau Gest]

Amen, here it is the end of 2020, twelve years after your post, and I just bought a Monteverdi H330. Been looking for a good Monteverdi unit for a while now for sentimental reasons. My very first stereo, which I bought with my own hard earned money (back then) was a $99 Monteverdi with a turntable on top. I was so distraught that I couldn’t afford a unit, Monteverdi or otherwise, with a cassette player. I don’t recall seeing a Monteverdi with a cassette tape player but I know they had plenty with 8-track, which I wasn’t interested in. Definitely a low to mid-range unit but it was that or nothing at the time so it served my purposes. The unit I bought is near mint but I am overseas with no speakers so can’t test it. Headphones don’t seem to work but that could be due to my lousy adapter or that 220Vac outlet with the bad voltage converter that I first plugged it in to. Oops! Anyone out there have a user manual? For now my unit is just a paper weight /night light but it sure does bring back a lot of priceless memories. I have a near mint/very good Denon DPF-47 turntable in storage that I hope to hook up to it someday. Somewhat of a mis-match but what the heck, should be interesting. I think this thing is going to need a little TLC on it’s insides but I am not an electrician, clueless in that regard. Will look for a local repair shop. Any other brilliant ideas, please share.

 

[doug s.]

hi beau gest - welcome to ak!

your post reminds me of my 1st encounters w/audio. a couple years back, i found the same model as my very 1st radio, which i received as a present for my 6th birthday:

and, quite a few years ago, i found the same model radio which was my first exposure to stereo - this is like the stereo my dad had, when i was about 8 years old. i had to rebuild the power supply because it had a really bad hum. (the pics aren't my unit, but the exact same - ge model t1000):

here's my 1st stereo, i got it when i was 10 - panasonic re7670; and rs256us cassette deck. (i never had any desire to go find one to have now):

my 1st "real" stereo, at the ripe age of 13, was a pioneer sx828 receiver, dual 1219 turntable and bose 901 speakers, purchased from b-day & holiday money savings & a paper route. what really helped was an older brother who worked at a stereo store and could buy at cost. that stereo saw me thru college, and wasn't replaced until i was in my mid 20's. i then realized how much the 801's really sucked - ha! but before they went away, a graphic eq/pink noise generator really helped them a lot.

doug s.

Amen, here it is the end of 2020, twelve years after your post, and I just bought a Monteverdi H330. Been looking for a good Monteverdi unit for a while now for sentimental reasons. My very first stereo, which I bought with my own hard earned money (back then) was a $99 Monteverdi with a turntable on top. I was so distraught that I couldn’t afford a unit, Monteverdi or otherwise, with a cassette player. I don’t recall seeing a Monteverdi with a cassette tape player but I know they had plenty with 8-track, which I wasn’t interested in. Definitely a low to mid-range unit but it was that or nothing at the time so it served my purposes. The unit I bought is near mint but I am overseas with no speakers so can’t test it. Headphones don’t seem to work but that could be due to my lousy adapter or that 220Vac outlet with the bad voltage converter that I first plugged it in to. Oops! Anyone out there have a user manual? For now my unit is just a paper weight /night light but it sure does bring back a lot of priceless memories. I have a near mint/very good Denon DPF-47 turntable in storage that I hope to hook up to it someday. Somewhat of a mis-match but what the heck, should be interesting. I think this thing is going to need a little TLC on it’s insides but I am not an electrician, clueless in that regard. Will look for a local repair shop. Any other brilliant ideas, please share.

 

[simplynuts]

NAD 4020a

 

[Rt8]

Picked up a Denon TU-1500AE 2nd hand recently and am very impressed.

 

[Toni Harris]

Hello, my 2 favorite tuners (still own), and are only suitable for analog aerial AM and FM stereo reception: Kenwood KT-7300, Pioneer TX-9100. Among those things that I do not own but have owned; if there is no competition for me, I will get first place; the legendary Philips Hi-Fi Lab 22AH673 (1).

 

[Bill Spula]

I only have 3
Sony ST SA5ES
Sony ST s333ESXII
Sony ST 5000FW

 

[HiFiDude]

Just a few

Dynaco FM-3
Luxman T-400
Nikko Gamma 20
Pioneer F-99X
Technics ST-8077

 

[TX-9100]

i got several but latest addition is a Marantz Model 110 engraved pinky-ish champagne gold edition. Very good reception, stable , sensitive on FM and AM, heavy wellbuild, but a bit on the TO warm side.