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Tuners?

Pecrobet said:
I own a Kenwood KT-9900 and numerous other tuners. I'm looking to unload some of mine to.
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The tuner market is very unique. You really need to be patient when selling tuners. With all the hifidelity audio component options in the marketplace these days, it's difficult to find buyers. That's just my opinion.
 
Pecrobet said:
I own a Kenwood KT-9900 and numerous other tuners. I'm looking to unload some of mine to.
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Pecrobet said:
I own a Kenwood KT-9900 and numerous other tuners. I'm looking to unload some of mine to.
Click to expand...
I noticed you own a Marantz 104 tuner. A few years back, I got it in multi deal trade. I've had a difficult time finding a lot of information on it. Do you know of any sites that provide details and/or specs for the 104?

I know of a few sites that offer some information, but very little. Thanks!
 

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I have and regularly use a few tuners.
Digital
Marantz ST-530
Sony ST-JX521
Fisher FM-9535
Analog
Stromberg Carlson SR-455 Simulcast
HH Scott 350
HH Scott LT-112

The digital tuners are nice for their selectivity and ability to kill background noise but compared to the others they sound pretty thin. The best sounding is easily the SC but I don't have a multiplex adapter so it unfortunately gets little use. The Scotts both sound amazing. The LT-112 gets used almost daily as it will lock onto even the weekest stations through the band saturation here and still soud great.
 
Nimbley said:
I have and regularly use a few tuners.
Digital
Marantz ST-530
Sony ST-JX521
Fisher FM-9535
Analog
Stromberg Carlson SR-455 Simulcast
HH Scott 350
HH Scott LT-112

The digital tuners are nice for their selectivity and ability to kill background noise but compared to the others they sound pretty thin. The best sounding is easily the SC but I don't have a multiplex adapter so it unfortunately gets little use. The Scotts both sound amazing. The LT-112 gets used almost daily as it will lock onto even the weekest stations through the band saturation here and still soud great.
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you mean s/c sr445, right? i had one of these, and i presently have the fm-only iteration, the sr443, which was refurbished by the p/o. and yes, when its mpx out is fed to a good stereo mpx decoder, the sound is as good as anything i've heard. it needs a decent signal, though. get a good (s/s) decoder. talk to bob f, over at the fmtunerinfo forum. he makes boards...

doug s.
 
audmod01 said:
JC;

Keep in mind on the tube type tuners that they are all quite old now and can benefit from new parts. One area that is especially important is coupling capacitors in the multiplex and audio path. Replacing ceramic capacitors with polypropylene caps can improve the sound. In the case of Fisher and H H Scott tuners that use electrolytics as a coupling capacitor for the multiplex composite signal, any of that type should be replaced with a new part and have at least a .1uF polypropylene or polyester (Mylar) cap bridged across it for best results. In cases that use germanium diodes in bridge circuits to detect the left and right channels, the diodes should be checked for aging resistance imbalance and replaced as necessary. The manufacturers took steps to try to assure equal conduction of the diodes, but best results are obtained by choosing replacements that have matched forward resistance using ohm meters to test select them. Some friends and I took the time to do this by selecting from a lot of 100 new germanium diodes and/or schottky diodes and were rewarded with better sound.

Joe
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Dear Joe,
I have a Mcintosh MR71 and it uses 4 germanium diodes for the MPX decoder. The diode D12 is the outlier. I do have matched pairs of these germanium diodes. Should I match D12 and D13?

Richard
 

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My tuners (all from Pioneer!):

TX-7500
TX-9500
TX-9500II
TX-9900 (Japanese market only)
Exclusive F3 (Japanese Market only)


20220910_114747.jpgTX-9900 Kleinazeigen.jpgIMG_1515.JPG

Does anyone have a circuit diagram or service manual for the TX-9900 or know where to find it? :idea:
 
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New to this forum. I have 2 off Revox B261 (1 just bought this week, 1 being worked on), and an NAD 4300 monitor series (that I listen to both regularly), an Akai AT-2600 (awaiting some attention) and an Ambit MK3 that was built from a kit (not by me) in the early 80's.
 
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djsb said:
New to this forum. I have 2 off Revox B261 (1 just bought this week, 1 being worked on), and an NAD 4300 monitor series (that I listen to both regularly), an Akai AT-2600 (awaiting some attention) and an Ambit MK3 that was built from a kit (not by me) in the early 80's.
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b261 is a great tuner. i rebuilt the power supply in mine several years ago, when the tuner started to hum. nad4300 is nice, but i prefer a smidge more detail. it seems nad gear from that vintage had a house sound that was focused on "smooth".

doug s.
 
As far as component stereo tuners are concerned, I only have my Kenwood KT-7500 at the moment.

Listening to it right now. It is making a listenable stereo signal with only 1.5 on the signal strength meter; I like left-of-the-dial FM a lot....no commercials and more eclectic sounds.

All I did to this tuner was replace the output opamps to NE5532 and beefed up the PS with some quality Panasonic lytics. I did not align it, it was spot-on and pulls some deep fringe just fine.

Anyone care to recommend the next step up from the -7500? I hear the KT-8300 is the real deal but haven't heard one yet.
 
Very satisfied with my KT-8300, it has several high-quality build features, like the front glass panel that's perfectly flush with the brushed aluminum faceplate, and it's also beveled (ground edges). Another premium detail is the frequency scale bar, which is made of real glass crystal, unlike the KT-5500 where it's just plexiglass.
One aspect I particularly enjoy is the deviation/multipath meter, this tuner actually has three analog meters, and I find all those analog needles simply irresistible.
Also handy is the rear-mounted dimmer switch for the tuning dial lights, which lets you reduce their brightness, a nice touch.
One thing I do miss compared to my Pioneer is the four preset to store favorite stations, but that’s just a minor detail.
In terms of sound, it’s excellent, maybe slightly less musical and warm than the Pioneer, but it has outstanding sensitivity and selectivity, and it's a true 6-gangs tuner, Pioneer only 4.
For an upgrade, you should consider the KT-8300 or the 600T.
The reference model was the 600T , FM-only tuner, or the KT-917, although I’m not a fan of the KT-917’s aesthetic finish.
 
Fab9 said:
Very satisfied with my KT-8300, it has several high-quality build features, like the front glass panel that's perfectly flush with the brushed aluminum faceplate, and it's also beveled (ground edges). Another premium detail is the frequency scale bar, which is made of real glass crystal, unlike the KT-5500 where it's just plexiglass.
One aspect I particularly enjoy is the deviation/multipath meter, this tuner actually has three analog meters, and I find all those analog needles simply irresistible.
Also handy is the rear-mounted dimmer switch for the tuning dial lights, which lets you reduce their brightness, a nice touch.
One thing I do miss compared to my Pioneer is the four preset to store favorite stations, but that’s just a minor detail.
In terms of sound, it’s excellent, maybe slightly less musical and warm than the Pioneer, but it has outstanding sensitivity and selectivity, and it's a true 6-gangs tuner, Pioneer only 4.
For an upgrade, you should consider the KT-8300 or the 600T.
The reference model was the 600T , FM-only tuner, or the KT-917, although I’m not a fan of the KT-917’s aesthetic finish.
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Cool, I agree that it's great to have an MPX deviation meter. I had the same Akai AT-2600 that was recently mentioned upstream in one of these threads, and it had it. Also my old Pioneer SX-1050 had an mpx button for zeroing out multipath noise by ear.

I love the look of the 600T and have read about its amazing performance. On my radar.
Thanks for the tips about the 8300. I'd be excited to demo it versus my 7500. I want to see just how close the sensitivity and adjacent channel selectivity is between the two.
 
the best kenwood tuner i owned was the l-07tii. i had a kt7500 that was meh sounding. not bad, but not great either. i had a kt8300 given the full-tilt mods by bill ammons, and while it sounded great, it also had the highest noise floor of any of my better tuners. not noticeable most of the time, but easily noticeable during quiet passages.

if i were interested in acquiring a kenwood, the l-07tii would be what i'd be seeking.

ymmv,

doug s.
 
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