[Val]

DXing is listening to far away stations, a job for a good tuner whether FM, AM, shortwave, etc.

[doug s.]

the prices of stock tu-719's & 919's are escalating; thus the prices for the modded ones.  a couple years ago, a tu-717 could be had for $100 or less; now they're approaching $300.  

re: mac, nostalgia & tank-like build-quality are certainly the reasons they are so coveted.  they certainly sound nice, but the sound quality is exceeded by many others, especially when modded.  except for the mr71 when hotrodded.  i haven't heard this one myself, but i trust the ears of an audiophile tuna fanatic i know, on this.  and, the mr78 is certainly up at the top for reception capabilities.  if marantz is the other brand yure referring to, then i'd have to say the same things apply as for mcintosh, except the 10b is more known for its sonics than its reliability...

regards,

doug s.

[warnerwh]

Another option would be something like an Onkyo 4087 or Yamaha T80 or t85.  The first two go for around 100 and the t85 usually around 200.  Any of these have descent sonics, good build quality and excellent performance.  These are digitals from the 80's but will compete with excellent modern tuners.  You can get a Kenwood 7300 for about 50-60 bucks, a true bargain.

[randog]

And the study continues...  

So... from what I've read the TU-X1 and TU-9900 are limited as far as modding (can't replace the filters?)... if so... ya take a 517, 717, 719 or 919 and mod it and you are getting into the price territory of the 2 Sansui big guns. What performs better? A stock top-of-the-line or a modded mid-range?

Randog

[doug s.]

well, ran, if ya take the word of jim rivers, the instigator of the tuner shootouts on the fmtunerinfo.com site, a lowly kenwood kt-7500, when modded, is right there in the thick of it, competing in his top "c" group.  personal taste becomes an issue at this performance level...  

be aware, also, that jim's shootouts, while educational & entertaining, are again, only the opinion of one person.  thus, the richochet's - also another persons' opinion.  for example, jim's system is actually bass-limited, imo, so the bass performance he talks about needs to be ewaluated in that context.  my system has a pair of vmps larger subs in the mix, so his results may not apply in my case...     and jim himself sez he might prefer someting else over the kenwood lo-t2, if he were in a bigger room, for example...

bottom line, imo, is that a *lot* of the tuna talked about positively on the fmtunerinfo site, & on the yahoo tuner forum, will likely give immense musical enjoyment, stock, or modded.  and, there is no *one* top tuna, yust as there is no one top amp, preamp, speaker, etc...  

i am awaiting delivery of a mitsubish da-f20 from ed hanlon, that i bought cheap off ebay & had sent directly to him...  it just looks so cool!  (another topic that many disagree about - i tink the mr78 is ugly!)     will it be better than my modded h/k citation 18, or my tandberg 3001a, or my onix bwd-1/soap?  dunno; mebbe it will, to my ears, mebbe not.  mebbe others will prefer it, mebbe not...  mebbe results would be different in a different room or diferent system...  

regards,

doug s.

[randog]

Yes, your words are well-heeded.    I've been around long enough to learn to absorb info like a sponge, digest it, keep what sticks and spit out the rest... especially what's found on the internet.

Question tho: those shootouts are fun to read on the website, but they look like they are all done with stockers. Yet you seem to be privy to shootouts after mods which I think would be *just as* interesting if not more so. Is that info hiding on that website somewhere or has Jim posted that info in the Yahoo Group?

I wish there were more ricochets as well. Jim seems like a pretty keen listener, but like you said he is one guy with one pair of ears (I'm making assumptions here!   ) and one setup. His site is so rare and informative on the net that it more or less becomes the authority by default and it would be oh-so-cool if there were more folks involved in the shootouts or more ricochets and checks and balances or what have you. Having said all that, we are lucky to have such a fine site to reference.

Randog

[doug s.]

hi ran,

well, for more *inside* info, ya yust have to sign up to the yahoo tuner forum & lurk & ask stupid questions, like i do!     also, read the individual synopses of the tunas on the fmtunerinfo site as well...

doug s.

oh, afaik, tho jim as an active participant on the fmtunerinfo.com site, the owners are bob fitzgerald & eric fadel...  i'm listed there somewhere as a contributor...  

[randog]

Doug,

You and I gots to talk... I was on Ed Hanlon's website and dropped him a note inquiring about one of his lower end already modded tuners (great price) and what kind of mods were done and you would *not* believe the response I got from him. I was fucking floored.  

Randog

[doug s.]

ed, unfortunately, isn't always the most diplomatic guy, i can imagine the kinda answer ya may have gotten.  i will send him an email, tellin' him how i'm promoting him & his stuff on the web, & that he shouldn't alienate his potential customers...  

doug s.

[icefox]

Doug,

Wonder if you have any thoughts on tube based analogue STEREO tuner?

Do you have any impression on any of those Sherwood tuner? Be it tube or SS Based.

Thanks

[doug s.]

hi ice,

better to ask this question on the yahoo fm tuner forum...  recent postings yust today on this issue!     personally, i have no experience w/toob tuna, but, i'd love too try a mcintosh mr67 or mr71, if i could find one at a garage sale, or someting...  someplace where the seller hasn't gotten wind of how much $$$ these get on ebay!     one of the main players on the fmtunerinfo & yahoo sites likes the old sherwood & fisher tuna...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FMtuners/message/9470

re: s/s tuna, i can say that my onix bwd-1 is the only one that sounds so warm, i've never tried it w/my ase z-man toob buffer stage, which has improved every tuna i've tried it with, even the modded h/k citation 18 presently in the main rig.  but, the h/k (besides the onix), is the only one i could live with, w/o the aid of the z-man.  

also, i have a toob amp, & toob pre, so i'm really not sure how much i need a toob tuna, but if the z-man is any indication, toobs couldn't hurt!  

regards,

doug s.

[eric the red]

I'll second doug's opinion on the Onix BWD-1 sounding warm.  I owned a Mac MR-77 and the Onix sounds better to my ears and is cheaper in price although it probably won't have the collectability of the Mac. I gave away my NAD tuner after hearing the Onix and listen to the radio all the time now.

[icefox]

I'll second doug's opinion on the Onix BWD-1 sounding warm.  I owned a Mac MR-77 and the Onix sounds better to my ears and is cheaper in price although it probably won't have the collectability of the Mac. I gave away my NAD tuner after hearing the Onix and listen to the radio all the time now.

Sounding better thant MR-77 menas a lot   ........ it sounds like a truely taker.

BTW, may I know if the unit switchable to 220V mains, assuming it's from UK? I am in Hong Kong. If I can do away with this tranformer thingy, I think it would be ideal.

[doug s.]

the onix bwd-1 runs on 36v dc, so any power supply, 110, 220, etc, that outputs 36vdc should work.  but, it's a special connector, & i dunno the pin-outs...  my soap-2 p/s sez 110/220 at the iec jack, w/no switch, so this would indicate it runs on either, but i have no way of confirming this...  i can hazard a guess that which pins are hot/neutral/ground are dependant on what power the supply sees, & then it sends the correct 36vdc to the pins which the bwd-1 can accept...

i dunno if the soap-1 has this; my stock p/s yust has a regular 15a 3-prong plug, w/no indication it will work w/220vac..

doug s.

[icefox]

Doug,

You and I gots to talk... I was on Ed Hanlon's website and dropped him a note inquiring about one of his lower end already modded tuners (great price) and what kind of mods were done and you would *not* believe the response I got from him. I was fucking floored.  

Randog

May I have Ed Hanlon's URL and contacts?

Thanks

[doug s.]

http://antennaperformance.com/

[doug s.]

hi randy (and all),

perhaps the following info, taken from the fmtunerinfo.com site, will provide a bit of insight as to why ed hanlon of antenna performance specialties, can get a bit testy:
========================
"An eBay seller calling himself "tokatlan060" (his real name is Elvan) listed a Kenwood 700T and claimed that it had been modded by Antenna Performance Specialties. Ed Hanlon of APS says APS has never seen a 700T, much less modded one. We apparently pressured the guy enough that he took down his listing and will probably re-list the tuner, but based on this shady episode we'd steer clear of him and his other auctions. Here's our questions and his answer, before he backed down: "Are you sure APS modded this tuner? Do you know what they did to it? Do you have a receipt or some other proof?" - "yes tuner has a APS modded.from estate sale works okey need new string is broke!" Guys like this need to keep in mind that the Tuner Police are watching them at all times! "
============================
doug s.