To tell the truth, I wasn't in the market for a tuner! I bid a couple of times early and saw that it went up to 200 bucks. Seeing that there was only a couple of hours left, I bid just one more time and...no more bids! I bought it. I will do a mini shootout at the house, against an Ed Hanlon modded Magnum Dynalab and keep the better of the two.
I have occasionally bid on an Empire 208 even though I don't need it. So far haven't won. "Be careful what you bid for, you just might get it"
Paul
awesome!
seriously, that is a fine sounding unit. if you were patient, you may have been able to find one for less, but likely not as clean as that one, and not w/upgraded caps & diodes. internally, these are almost identical to the better known 717's; if anything, the 517 might sound a tiny bit better, due to a shorter signal path, and the fact that it does not have the tone calibration switch that was used to set recording level for those who tape radio shows. i owned one, and presently own a tu717.
i saw this thread initially, and didn't wanna brag on it, cuz it woulda mebbe made the price even higher, haha! i would wager it will sound better than your modded m-d. (i know that, bone stock, a tu517 sounds better than your m-d, if it were stock.) but, even if it doesn't, i would sell the m-d. why? cuz you will get more money from it, and if you have the 517 modded further (op amps and filters), it will sound close to the wery beast awailable.
enjoy!
doug
ps - you
DO need an old wintage empire, you yust don't know it yet.
slap a nice arm on one, and watch your other decks tremble nerwously...
