[bikes and beats]

Hello,

I listen to local public and Jazz radio stations most of the time and I was wondering if anyone could recommend someone who performs tuner modification services.
I have an old Kenwood and am looking at switching to a different Kenwood, Marantz or Sansui that have been secessfully modified for audiophile performance such as delineated on the website www.fmtunerinfo.com.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[JimJ]

What model Kenwood do you have?

[woodsyi]

Doug s. has a boatload of tunas.    You can PM him to see what fits your budget.  I have Bill Ammons modified Kenwood KT8300 if you want.  I don't have any space on my rack to put up a radio right know.  I can pull the antenna out of the attic for you too if you want.

[Toka]

Mike Williams at Radio X is awesome:

http://www.radioxtuners.com/

[KS]

Have you considered an HD Radio tuner?  I find that the FM stations broadcasting in HD have near-CD quality with clean reception.  Here's a review of one of the best:  http://ham-radio.com/k6sti/xdr-f1hd.htm

[doak]

Have you considered an HD Radio tuner?  I find that the FM stations broadcasting in HD have near-CD quality with clean reception.  Here's a review of one of the best:  http://ham-radio.com/k6sti/xdr-f1hd.htm

ArrrrrrrrrGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Opus Flatus]

I recently had a Sansui TU-717 upgraded by Mr Joseph Chow of www.componentplususa.com. I had him do the basic upgrade. He did an excellent job with my tuner. I use it with a simple dipole with good results in NY's Hudson Valley, near Rhinebeck. IMHO it's an outstanding sounding tuner with a wide frequency response and sensitivity. The only draw back is it is big dimentionaly and has no presets. This is my best sounding/performing tuner.

I also own other tuners, the second best sounding is a Pioneer F99X. It is unmodded and sounds very good. I use it in Brooklyn, NY (my primary residence) with a Godar Model FM-1A (WAF primary reason). It is a slim and modern looking vintage tuner. Excellent sound, sensitivity, and has presets. I have a Dynaco FM-3, I modded it myself. It is high on the coolness factor and sounds great too. It isn't particularly sensitive, it needs strong signals, even in NYC. Last, I have another slimline Pioneer F90, unmodded- it's good sounding and is easy to modify.

I purchased a Sony HD radio; IMHO it sucks. It can't touch the sound of a late 70's early 80's analogue tuner.

Moral of the story, modify your vintage Kenwood, you can't go wrong.

[warnerwh]

The Kenwood KT 7500 is inexpensive and can be modded to be world class. I mean as good or better than the Accuphase which is rated by them at the top of the heap.  Occasionally you can find them for sale. Recently one sold on Ebay for 235 dollars. When you hear the improvement in sound quality you will be impressed.  After asking about how the new king compared to a fully modded 7500 I was told "I didn't say it was that good".

 Hd radio's quality can be UP TO mp3 level.  The companies broadcasting do not use the available bandwidth for quality, they would rather use it to make more money, go figure.  Depending on the quality of your system this may or may not be an issue.  MP3's on my system sound anemic and are easily outclassed by the Kenwood.  How these HD stations can call what they're broadcasting HD is beyond me. It's a lie plain and simple and it's no where near cd quality.  These are facts.

[Doublej]

...  How these HD stations can call what they're broadcasting HD is beyond me. It's a lie plain and simple and it's no where near cd quality.  These are facts.

HD stands for Hybrid Digital not High Definition.

I too am very disappointed in the sound quality of the Sony.

[warnerwh]

Thank You I didn't know that.

[richidoo]

Stereo Surgeon (Hartford CT) did a good job on my TU-717. Black gates, new lamps, new feet, clean and FM alignment, sounds great! He's not cheap and not fast, but I would recommend him.
Rich

[lonewolfny42]

A slightly related story....seems radio listening is on the rise... > Link <.....

[Hogg]

I've e-mailed this firm but never followed-through because I changed my mind. 


http://www.antennaperformance.com/

                                                                            Jim

[GBB]

I was wondering if anyone could recommend someone who performs tuner modification services.

Bill Ammons comes highly recommended from the FM Tuner Info web site.  He is very knowledgeable about aligning tuners, upgrading their audio sections, and also improving their selectivity with upgraded IF filters.  If you search the FM Tuners yahoo board, you will find many positive comments about him.  He upgraded a Sansui TU-9900 tuner for me a couple of years ago and I was very satisfied.  Send me a private message if you're interested and I can forward his contact information.

---Gary

[doug s.]

i would recommend bill ammons, bob fitzgerald, mike williams of radio-x tuners, joseph chow of component plus usa, stephen sank of talking dog transducers, stereo surgeon.  bob f and bill a do their work on the side, so turn-around may be longer.

i would awoid ed hanlon of antenna performance, as he is a bit on the psychotic side, and will tear you a new one, if you ask any questions about the work.  he has accused me (and others) of "trying to steal his secrets so i could diy".  as if i couldn't awreddy diy w/all the info on the tic, if i had a mind to do so!     likely, he's yust hiding the fact that he doesn't know squat about modding tunas - he subs all his work out.  so, why not yust go directly to the source instead of paying a middle-man?  i  dunno for sure, but i suspect he is now using these guys (he has used don scott and stereo surgeons in the past.):
http://www.approvedaudioservice.com/

speaking of don scott, he's another one to awoid.  he says he aligns tunas "by ear".  this is a physical impossibility - you need good test equipment to properly service and align tunas.  i know several folks whose tunas worked worse, or not at all, after don touched them...

if you want adwice re: specific tunas, i am happy to answer questions, i have listened to a lot, and presently own ~35... yikes!  also, ask questions on the tic's yahoo forum. 

re: the sony xdr f1-hd, i have found it to be the best sounding tuna i own, but only on stations other-wise unlistenable due to poor reception/noise.  and, only when used w/a tube buffer stage; otherwise the sound is too fatiguing, even on non-hd stations...  my better non-hd tunas beat the sony f1-hd's sonics on decent signals. 

hth,

doug s.