[rcag_ils]

The front, I keep telling myself I am so lucky to have these.....

[pansixt]

The old Dyna's are hard to beat.

All of those look, and I'm sure perform masterfully.

Within the last year I had my Mac MR78 reworked by my guru here.
Wonderful sound and sensitivity.

I will grab the next Mac or Dyna tube tuner that comes within my reach.

Like the Steely Dan song says - No static at all, FM

Damn, I'm gonna listen to that tune now thru the Dyna tubes.

[doug s.]

Hi all Audio Circle members.

Here in Vietnam, the FM sucks...

The signal is very weak for most of the FM stations,

the programming is terrible (No specialize station for one type of music.)

and some station have boosted the bass to a point that it's unbearable or annoying...

I am anxious to get back to Montreal, Canada (March the 15th) where the FM is king.

I will be looking soon for a (Vintage) MacIntosh MR71 FM stereo tube tuner that will be mated with my Niteshade Audio and GR Reserach speakers.

Guy 13

 

don't waste your money, guy.  not that a mr71 won't sound nice, (can't say that about the s/s macs - even the mr74 & 77 - supposedly the best sounding s/s macs, rank in the bottom 5 of about 100 tunas that have passed thru my rig), but a refurb'd sherwood s3000ll or newer, either mono w/modern outboard mpx, or stereo, will sound better for a lot less coin.  reception at least as good, too.   

doug s.

[doug s.]

I must say,after rebuilding several Dynaco tuners w/new boards and components,I will never feel the same way about FM Stereo again,They may not be the best tuners ever made,but I must say the sound is "INCREDIBLE",another word I could use is simplicity. How can a tuner this simple,sound so fine????  Modern tuners may be more sensitive as well as selective,but the sound "Terrible",I guess that is why I've always played a CD,or record,and left the FM,OFF!!! Not any more.  I find myself listening to the Dynaco,more than I do my iPod,even with tube equipment. I just thought I would chime in,it's been awile,hope everyone is doing well.

i owned a dyna fm3 - extensively modded and refurb'd aligned.  unfortunately, i could not judge its sound quality, as my reception conditions are less than ideal.  and reception is not the fm3's strong suit.  but the guy i sold it to has good reception, and he assured me that it is one of the best sounding tunas he has ever heard.  and, from my time on the yahoo tuna forum, and knowing his other tunas, i trust him on it...   

also, regarding simplicity, besides the sherwoods i mentioned earlier, i have seweral wintage old mono tube tunas that sound amazing, when run thru a modern s/s outboard mpx decoder.  (and no, these s/s decoders do not disturb the tube sound).  particularly good -as good as any top dollar tuna i have ever heard - is the stromberg carlson sr445/sr445a and its single-chassis fm-only brother the sr443.  but these things are so insensitive, they make the dyna fm3 look like a signal hawk! i had the s-c's in a prior location w/good signal, so i was able to give a proper ewaluation...  the afore-mentioned sherwoods are also at the wery top of the heap regarding sound quality, imo.  up there w/my fave s/s tunas which include modded refurb'd hk citation 18, modded refurb'd sony st-a6b, modded refurb'd rotel rht-10, modded refurb'd sansui tu-x1, yust to mention a few...

doug s.,
so much tuna, so little time... 

[pansixt]

I knew that having neglected to mention the Sherwood and Marantz and other amazing tuners that have been built would bring scorn or at least comments. Scott, another great rig. Magnum Dynalab (no tube build that I have seen).

Just the fact that we still maintain FM Tuners in our set-ups, says a lot considering that some of us have Internet Radio (my S Box) and other options, and still actively pursue the original and true pure analog sound of an FM Tuner is? Well, are we stubborn or just, some kind of music pursuetist's? (is that a word)?

James

[doug s.]

I knew that having neglected to mention the Sherwood and Marantz and other amazing tuners that have been built would bring scorn or at least comments. Scott, another great rig. Magnum Dynalab (no tube build that I have seen).

Just the fact that we still maintain FM Tuners in our set-ups, says a lot considering that some of us have Internet Radio (my S Box) and other options, and still actively pursue the original and true pure analog sound of an FM Tuner is? Well, are we stubborn or just, some kind of music pursuetist's? (is that a word)?

James

the only marantz's i have heard are the 20 (inside an 18 receiver) and the more modern st-17  both are excellent sonic performers, if not quite up to the best, receptionwise.  many tuna buffs prefer the 20 over the more famous tube 10b.  i have also owned one of the best scotts - the 310d mono plus 335mpx combo, modded and refurb'd by the scott  expert foster blair.  the sherwoods see them all off sonically.  forget about the m-d's - a marketer's dream, but way overpriced for what you get.  literally dozens of tunas in the $50-$500 range that will sound at least as good, if not better than the ~$6k (tubed) md108.  i dunno about the (tubed) $10k md109; i haven't heard any feedback on it.  i do know that, if i had that kinda $$$, i would try the new accuphase t1100, which is supposed to be a cut above everything else.  and it's "only" ~$5k.   

i love fm cuz i am lazy - put on a good station, and let them do the work.     unfortunately, today that means yust a few non-commercial stations; i can't remember the last time i listened to commercial fm...

doug s.

ps - james - i have a modded refurb'd heathkit aj1600 on loan in reston.  if ya wanna pick it up and hear what a truly good sounding fm tuna sounds like, i might be able to arrange it.   

[pansixt]

Nothing but Blues and Elvis, and somebody else's favorites on!

No Static at All!!

[dB Cooper]

Had an FM5 which AVA first modded then put their own complete Super Tuner II circuit set in. Sounded OK stock, spectacular with the AVA circuit. Have an FM3 now which I am probably going to sell if I ever finish restoring it. There just isn't enough music I like on the airwaves here to justify keeping it- one station that plays jazz part time. WDC, the birthplacde of Duke Ellington, can't sustain a full time jazz station, but Wyoming, a state with more livestock than people, has one- go figure.

[Wayner]

I have a Marantz 115B tuner and it is a stellar performer. Not only does it look good, it sounds very musical, especially on our local NPR station.





Wayner

[rcag_ils]

I have a Marantz tuner that looks kind of like this, with a few less button and less one meter. A few burned out lights. Not sure about the musicallity, assuming all Japanese tuner are average at best, Model # is 109, I think.

[doug s.]

Had an FM5 which AVA first modded then put their own complete Super Tuner II circuit set in. Sounded OK stock, spectacular with the AVA circuit. Have an FM3 now which I am probably going to sell if I ever finish restoring it. There just isn't enough music I like on the airwaves here to justify keeping it- one station that plays jazz part time. WDC, the birthplacde of Duke Ellington, can't sustain a full time jazz station, but Wyoming, a state with more livestock than people, has one- go figure.

between wpfw and weta in dc, and wypr in fredneck, the majority of my listening time is spent listening to fm.  while i wish wpfw would dewote more of its hours to jazz and less to talk, there's still enough jazz on evenings/weekends, that would keep me from selling my tunas, even if jazz were my only musical interest.  it is sad that there isn't more of a jazz offering here, though.  and there isn't one decent alternative/progressive/new music station.  even wrnr/103.1, (the remnants of the old whfs), kinda sucks, and isn't listenable much west of laurel, cuz its signal is so small.  that's why, for new music, i listen on line to radio naba, out of riga latvia.  freaking awesome station.

http://www.radionaba.lv/
http://www.radionaba.lv/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=22

ymmv,

doug s.

[Indiansprings]

I have a Marantz 115B tuner and it is a stellar performer. Not only does it look good, it sounds very musical, especially on our local NPR station.





Wayner

Wayner,

That thing is ridiculously beautiful. I had a wonderful Marantz 2325. It was just a MONSTER. Older Marantz gear is classic.

Mike

[Wayner]

Mike, I had one of those too:



I also am running a 140 power amp:




And recently acquired a mint 3300 preamp:



 

Wayner

[Indiansprings]

I really believe Marantz had the market cornered in style. Sure the big Pioneers were nice to, BUT........Marantz was king. 

[doug s.]

nothing touches sansui, imo, when it comes to appearance of a tuna.  and, nice as marantz's sound, they're not quite up the the standards of this one either:


not sure why i sold my modded refurb'd iteration.  yes, my modded refurb'd sansui tu-x1 is a tiny bit better sonically, and nice looking in its own right, but it doesn't hold a candle to the looks of the tu-9900, imo.  and, you will only notice the sonic improvement in careful a-b comparison...


the other sansui gear of the period is also stunning, imo:





and their performance is also top notch.  i have a wintage au11000 integrated, and i would put it up against any solid state integrated at anywhere near the price these things typically sell for on today's market.


oh ya, the sansui receivers were not to shabby either:



don't get me wrong, i like marantz - i still have one of these - fantastic tuna inside!   


but, when it comes to wintage tuna, sansui is hard to beat...

ymmv,

doug s.

[doug s.]

I have a Marantz tuner that looks kind of like this, with a few less button and less one meter. A few burned out lights. Not sure about the musicallity, assuming all Japanese tuner are average at best, Model # is 109, I think.

i can't say it's true w/that specific model, but with few exceptions, wintage, (and modern, w/accuphase), japanese tunas own the category when it comes to the best sounding tunas ever made.  the overwhelming majority of the finest tuna ever made are made in japan.  and not yust "imo".   

doug s.

[rcag_ils]

Japanese tuners have very good sensitivity and selectivity, smooth tuning mechanism, good reliability, the sound is nothing to write home about. I have a few of them sitting right here, they are Kenwood, Yamaha, the old Standard Radio (made in Japan). The Yamaha sounds OK, however.

[doug s.]

Japanese tuners have very good sensitivity and selectivity, smooth tuning mechanism, good reliability, the sound is nothing to write home about. I have a few of them sitting right here, they are Kenwood, Yamaha, the old Standard Radio (made in Japan). The Yamaha sounds OK, however.

sorry, you are mistaken - the better japanese tunas are the best sounding tunas ever made.  not sure what you have been listening to - there's literally hundreds (perhaps thousands?) of different japanese tuna models that have been made over the years.

i will say that i was never impressed w/the kenwoods in stock form.  (except, perhaps,  for the wery rare iterations like the l02-t.)  modded, the better kenwoods move right up to excellent.

i owned a yamaha t-2 that was a fine sounding tuna - comparable to the tandberg 3001a.  caveat being that, while some thing the 3001a is one of the best, i am not one of those folks - i simply think it is wery good - what i would call at the top of the 2nd-tier tunas, but a bit short of the wery best.  i have a yamaha tx1000 that is also a fine sounding tuna. 

doug s.

[SteveFord]

Hey, doug,
You forgot WTMD right there in Towson, MD - every Sat afternoon they have Weasel on and then there's a great blues show in the evening.
FM is magic through a tube tuner in the evening.

[doug s.]

Hey, doug,
You forgot WTMD right there in Towson, MD - every Sat afternoon they have Weasel on and then there's a great blues show in the evening.
FM is magic through a tube tuner in the evening.

thanks for the heads-up.  as my yagi antenna is in the attic, and i am not able to do a rotor, i will have to inwestigate getting a 2nd antenna hooked up - my antenna is pointed towards dc so i can get wpfw.  w/my antenna oriented towards dc, wtmd is noisy here, even in mono, i yust checked.   

while i am in love w/a good tubed tuna as much as anyone, trust me when i tell you fm is magic through a good s/s tuna as well.     i am looking forward to the "thistle & shamrock" show and "alternate routes tonight, on wypr...   

thanks again for the heads-up on another listening source!   

doug