• Please note that Audiokarma will be offline briefly for updates early on Monday morning, September 28th.

Would you spend $5,500 on this new tuner ?

kappclark

kappclark

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
New McIntosh MR89 tuner..

I have been reading reviews - clearly a top of the line tuner, but I suffer some sticker shock at $5,500 ??? I know Mac equipment is expensive, and to those who can afford it, more power to you .. meanwhile, I can always dream ...

...I have to say that the KT-815 I recently acquired does everything I need, and does it quietly and reliably ... not sure I cld tell the difference if I ever were able to get one of these MR89 tuners..

As with all Mac equipment, it looks cool enough
mr89-lifestyle.jpg
 
Register to hide this ad
I wouldn't but I also wouldn't spend the kind of money that people spend on other new Mac products. That said, there are a lot of folks that wouldn't spend the money I did on my Mac gear. And there are definitely people out there that will want this tuner to whom the cost is chump change.
 
I'm a little shocked that companies are still sticking R&D into radio given the spread of streaming and in Hi-Rez at that. I listen to a local FM NPR quite a bit, but it's literally almost the only station I listen to in the main rig or shops.
 
Quite a long thread over on TIC.. actually horrible specs for that kind of money. Could do better with a $100 ebay tuner. Why do I need big blue output meters, For a tuner signal strength, modulation, and multipath would be much more useful.
 
Nope. I still have several tuners. Both tube and SS. With the state of FM these days, it's just not worth it. I have one tuner set up right now with an outdoor antenna. But the tuner just doesn't get used that much.
 
techguy0192 said:
Absolutely not. If a person really wants a tuner, get one from a manufacture that puts more focus on tuners. Magnum Dynalab or DaySequerra are the two main brands to look for if dropping big bucks on a tuner.
Click to expand...

Or Accuphase, which is still pushing the boundaries of the state of the art in FM tuners. However, their current T-1200 is double the price of that Mac. Much better value, though.

If you have to match your other Mac gear, a restored MR-78 or MR-80 will be much better than the new model, which is apparently not much more than a car radio chip in a fancy box. Putting power meters on the front rather than traditional tuning and signal strength meters should tell you all you need to know about Mac's design priorities these days.
 
No, because I'm happy with my ADS T-2 tuner, which I snagged for fifteen bucks, or the Rotel tuner for ten. Both tune well, sound great and most importantly are all I need in tuners. $5500 would be better spent on a tall mast, good antenna and a rotator.
 
There is something a little odd in that photo of the tuner. It is tuned to 103.9, WSRK, aka "Mix 103.9", essentially a top 40 station.

While the display shows that the station is "Binghamtons Hits", WSRK is actually a 1400 kw station in Oneonta, and the radio-locator coverage map shows Binghamton as outside of the fringe reception area. Perhaps WSRK is an extreme rim shot station. Perhaps they were trying to show off the tuners ability to pull in distant stations? But only someone in the Southern Tier of New York State would notice that.

Personally, I would have picked WSKG or WSQX for the advertising photo, not a top 40 station.
 
A few years ago, I sold off my Magnum Dynalab tuner, Magnum Dynalab Signal Sleuth, and matching antenna. I switch to streaming FM and couldn't see myself going back to a tuner. Sure, the gear was cool to own and look at....but for me in my area, streaming sounds 10 times better.
 
Last edited:
I always wonder why so many high end equipment pieces have "low end looking displays", is it to preserve the old seventies monochrome ascii computer video display terminal font look?

Or are the elcheapo Chinese displays the only ones manufactured?

How many years will such display last?

Still, this tuner looks nice, to me.

No, not spending 5500 on a tuner since 55 would be more than enough, but if having to choose between spending 5500 on some expensive watch or the tuner, I would go for the tuner ;)
 
Last edited:
In my book, $5,500 is a lot of money to spend for any piece of equipment. One of the things I like best about McIntosh is its high resale value which basically means it costs little or nothing to own over the course of ownership however, that wouldn't apply to new McIntosh and barely applies to vintage McIntosh tuners. At any rate the MR80 I presently outspecs the MR89 so that's what I'll be keeping.
 
Yep! But only if I could afford it!

Money loses meaning (so I've been told:rolleyes:) if the pocket's deep enough.

Since I can't afford it...I'll just pass on considering this radio component.


But, don't let me stop y'all from going for it.


Q
 
ap14608 said:
There is something a little odd in that photo of the tuner. It is tuned to 103.9, WSRK, aka "Mix 103.9", essentially a top 40 station.

While the display shows that the station is "Binghamtons Hits", WSRK is actually a 1400 kw station in Oneonta, and the radio-locator coverage map shows Binghamton as outside of the fringe reception area. Perhaps WSRK is an extreme rim shot station. Perhaps they were trying to show off the tuners ability to pull in distant stations? But only someone in the Southern Tier of New York State would notice that.

Personally, I would have picked WSKG or WSQX for the advertising photo, not a top 40 station.
Click to expand...

Good call !! I am sure they have a highly directional FM antenna ...but Oneonta isn't THAT far from Binghamton .. I can pick up Albany stations with good quality using a 4 element Yagi, but I am also at 2,000 feet, so have a nice shot to the Hudson ... strange that the Oneonta station shows up as Binghamton Hits (which must be super compressed garbage to start ..) . ...
Love the Southern Tier -- went to I.C. for 2 years wayback in the dark ages of the 70's ...Ithaca had some good radio stations as I recall .. I think I had a Pioneer tuner ....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom