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Vintage Audio Classic never goes out of Style |
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#1
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New (Old) Tuner in MY System
I haven't used a tuner in my system for, probably 15 years.
At one point I bought a used McIntosh MR78 and sent it off to Audio Classics for Richard Modafferi's upgrades. It sounded great, but I probably only played it three or four times before I sold it in about 2005. Haven't turned on a tuner since. Anyway, I've listened to so much FM and XM radio in my car that I've felt "why bother" when I was at home. But, this morning, I was looking in a closet, full of old "HiFi" junk and found two old tuners. One was a Pioneer Elite F-91 Reference Tuner, that I probably bought in the early 90's, and the other a genuine, collectable Kenwood L-07 T-II tuner that I bought in about 1980. I thought that the Kenwood looked more substantial, so I plugged it in . . . Wonder of wonders, the darn thing started right-up and sounded AWESOME! (I know we all hate the word "AWESOME", but that is how it sounded.) That was this morning at about 9:30 and I haven't stopped listening all day. It sounds great! Why have a turntable or CD player - the tuner sounds WONDERFUL!
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.... I have a record player and a cd player and some other stuff that sounds pretty good. MAIN SYSTEM: . . . Audio Physic Caldera III Loudspeakers, Spectral DMC 30SL Preamp, Spectral DMA 250 Amp, Spectral/MIT interconnects and speaker cable, Basis Debut V Vacuum turntable, Walker Precision Speed Controller, Graham tonearm, [B]Koetsu Rosewood or Grado Statement 1 Cartridges, PASS - X-ono Phono Stage, Esoteric K03 CD/SACD Player, Lexicon RT-20 Universal Player, Exact Power EP-15A & SP-15A power regeneration and conditioning devices. Symposium Acoustics Svelte pads & RollerBlock Jr's under speakers. ASC Tube Traps, Arcici Suspense Rack System, OPPO and Cambridge Streaming Devices. DOWNSTAIRS SYSTEM: . . . Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento Speakers, JL Audio F112 Sub, McIntosh MA7000 Integrated Amp, McIntosh MVP871 Universal Disc Player, OPPO BDP-105 Blu-Ray Player, VPI Scoutmaster with periphery ring clamp, VPI SDS Motor Drive, Koetsu Pro IV, or Clearaudio Discovery Cartridges, Mark Levinson No. 25s phono stage, Wadia 170i Transport with a Meridian Bitstream 203 DAC, VPI HW-17 Pro Record Cleaning Machine, Five Richard Gray RGPC 400 devices scattered around the two systems, Arcici Suspense Rack System, Discovery Essence and Essential Cables, 14,000 ± LPs . |
#2
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Quote:
I am an enthusiast who thinks no sound system is truly complete without a decent tuner. As far back as the late 60's I have had a tuner in every single system I have ever assembled. I love twisting the tuning knob, searching up and down the dial for stations, especially late night programming. Believe it or not, there's still some great music being played on FM. Terrestrial radio is as enjoyable to listen to as streaming Internet radio, and occasionally you can find a station that doesn't destroy its signal in its quest for coverage and loudness. I have three separate systems, well five actually if you count my little NAD receiver in my shop and the McIntosh 4300V receiver that powers my deck speakers. All of them include a tuner, three component tuners, and two receivers. I like tuners, and it pleases me to see you resurrect the vintage Kenwood. Way to go.
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Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A Last edited by jdandy; 10-05-2012 at 02:58 PM. |
#3
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I fully agree that a system is NEVER complete without a TUNER! And as a student, money was limited, I did an all in one by having a RECEIVER (Tuner/Integrated Amplifier), the first being the Luxman R800, followed by the R1500.
The Tuners you have are the TOP tuners of the day for the brands you have! Keep them, classics! The Kenwood is so rare, dont even sees it during its hey day! One word Julian .... WOW! Know what, I keep coming back to gaze at the picture for the past 30 mins as I have never seen it before! WOW! WOW! WOW!
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Turntable: SME Synergy All-In-One Thorens TD147 Jubilee + Plixir LPS + Ortofon A-Mono DS Audio ION 1 SACD/DAC: Luxman D-10x Server: Roon Nucleus+ 8TB SSD + Plixir Elite LPS Bluray: ModWright Oppo UDP205 Amps: Air Tight ATC-5/ATM300R/ATH-3 Speakers: Avantgarde Uno XD Piano Black/Stealth Grey Cables & Interconnects: Audience Au24 SX Series Power Conditioner: Audience aR6 OX Rack & Amp Stands: Audio-Philar Last edited by JSCC; 10-07-2012 at 04:47 AM. |
#4
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Julian,
Interesting timing here. I just finished installing a roof FM antenna, including rotor, so my Mx135 tuner has been in the signal path more the past week than usual. I too have always felt a tuner was/is essential. There are so many possible sources of music, news content, etc. that I would not want to be without this source for long. I hope you find continued pleasure using a fine component from the past. Last edited by maxsmart; 10-05-2012 at 07:04 PM. |
#5
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That's a great looking tuner, I don't believe I've seen that particular model before. I agree with the others, I find that a tuner is an integral part of any "serious" listening setup. Most of the fun is in the 88-92 band for me, but despite the naysayers, you'll still find plenty of content out there on the dial. Enjoy!
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#6
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Julian,
That is a very cool looking tuner. I am with the rest of the guys on the tuner. It rounds out the audio system giving more options. Plus it is like a treasure hunt as one is turning the tuning knob not knowing what tunes will be playing at the next station. ~Mike |
#7
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Great tunner! Let us know how is the burn in... I still use the radio
from the receiver, but I always wanted a dedicated tunner. I don't have the extra space, so it'll have to wait. What else do you have in your closet...?
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Main: Mc C2200 (Telefunkens) and MC207, Spectral DMA-180, Marantz AV8805A, JL Audio CR-1 and SAv2, Sony ST-SA5ES, TC-KA3ES and MDS-JA50ES, Oppo UDP-205 and BDP-103D, Bryson BDA-3, Magnum Dynalab FM Signal Sleuth, Remedy, PS Audio P12, Pioneer DT-555, Samsung 65" QLED TV 8K, JBL 4311B, M&K MX125II on Ultra SS Stillpoints, B&W HTM2D2, CCM7.3 S2, CCM683 Office: Sony TA-F700ES (Mod), MDS-JA50ES (Mod) and SEQ-333ES, Accuphase T-107B, Bryston BDA-3, BHA-1 and BUC-1, Audeze LCD-4, Linn Tukan, REL T7 on Ultra SS Stillpoints, PC Server (16 TB) Mobile:Audison bit One Virtuoso HD, bit Play HD, Amps and speakers. |
#8
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Hi,
Seem like alot of trouble to go through for the MR78 to then sell it off. Just wondering why didn't you put it in the closet too. Did you really forget you had those tuners in the closet? |
#9
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Currently using a modified Pioneer 9800 II tuner. The vintage tuners are certainly the best. I would love to get a Sansui 9900.
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#10
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FM = Free Music ! Internet radio stations to suck the very life out of the music (there are some good feeds, for sure), and it is so much more satisfying to hear an actual human discussing a piece of music and/or composer prior to playing it ..as opposed to a random stream .. Tried HD Radio (Sony) and the signal very quiet, but it was pretty compressed. |
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