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High end vintage tuner as their main source?

post #1 of 10
11/17/08 at 4:06pm
Thread Starter 
Hello,
Does anyone use a high end vintage tuner as their main source?

For example a McIntosh tuner with a nice headphone tube amp like Zana Duex?

I remember that people used to record programs off the radio onto reel to reel decks for use as reference material.




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post #2 of 10
11/18/08 at 1:59am
I don't but I wish I did. A live concert on analogue FM at it's best is to me almost as good (or even every bit as good) as the very best one can get from vinyl. Unfortunately these days in Australia, even the classical music stations use too much compression. And it seems they don't seem to put the same effort into technical side of the broadcasting that they used to in the 70s and 80s.

I used to record live broadcasts onto both reel to reel and metal cassette tapes and this was a much preferred source for me than CD.
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post #3 of 10
11/18/08 at 2:14am
If I have a Sequerra tuner, I probably would.
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post #4 of 10
11/18/08 at 2:25pm
Thread Starter 
WOW! I have never heard of a Sequerra tuner?
It is beautiful!

There is one on ebay for a buy it now price of $4,699.00!!

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post #5 of 10
11/20/08 at 10:35pm

Tuner As Source

Top quality tuners can be great sources IF you have good FM stations nearby. Unfortunately, good FM stations are more and more rare.

If you want to go this route definitely go for a vintage tuner but probably not a tube tuner (not really for amateurs unless you have a good tube tuner tech you can rely on). And whatever you do, get the tuner aligned by an expert.

I have both high end classic Pioneer and higher end classic Sansui solid state tuners that have been completely gone over and aligned by Stereo Surgeons in East Haven CT. Kenn Bernacky is as good as they get on classic tuners and very reasonably priced. He does a hell of a mail order business, so he must be doing something right. I also have several classic high end Fisher tube tuners but they are another story entirely.

The difference in performance (e.g., background noise) between a properly aligned high end tuner and your average tuner is really dramatic. Plus Kenn will install new power supply caps (the ones that usually degrade first) for a very reasonable price.

Regards, James
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post #6 of 10
12/7/08 at 10:23am
If I still lived in England I would. God I miss Radio 4 and Radio 3. *sigh*
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post #7 of 10
12/7/08 at 11:48am
I have a high-end vintage tuner (Kenwood KT-8300) but there is little to listen to. The local classical FM station got a bad case of mono (banished to the AM band so the frequency could be used for one more rock station) and the NPR stations are mostly NWO propaganda. The up side, if there is one, is that the tuner only cost me twenty bucks. On the other hand, it needs a little work, but every time I consider taking it to the shop, I realize the payback is near zero (or is that near naught?).

Laz
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post #8 of 10
12/7/08 at 7:51pm
now that ive gotten a magnum dynalab tuner...yeah, thats pretty much all I listen to.

FM Tuners, Triode Tube FM Tuners, Audio Receivers, Integrated Amplifiers and more - Magnum Dynalab

the products are well supported, and any product can be upgraded to the newer versions..
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post #9 of 10
12/1/11 at 7:33am

Most of my listening time goes to a Restek Metric - a totally underrated (on fmtunerinfo) - Tuner which is by far better than a Acccuphase T-108 / Studer an Revox tuners ...

There are two good stations who have a classical and jazz programme and you need a good antenna (That's the most important point)

 

Regards Gerorg

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post #10 of 10
12/3/11 at 1:03pm

I have a moderately nice Yamaha (TX-492), nothing as exotic as a lot of what's been posted here, but pretty nice for what it is. There's nothing worth listening to though. Previously (in another location), it was great for pulling in classical and jazz stations - anymore though, it sits in a box and collects dust. I miss it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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