[KnowTalent]

Since buying a Sansui TU-717 I've been listening to a lot more radio (mainly 99.1).
Jeff gave the gangs a thorough cleaning and adjusted the dial accuracy and it sounds amazing
I especially look forward to 99.1's Friday night Jazz show and NPR's on Sunday evening...keeping a pad of paper and pen at hand to write down new music.

Kicking back in the listening chair in a darkened room... basking in the warm glow of the illuminated dial...

I'm getting such enjoyment out of this I just bought a MR 78 and have bids on a MR 77 and TU-9900 

[doug s.]

hi,

having auditioned >100 tunas in the past ten years or so, and presently still owning >40, i have a soft place in my heart for tunas.     easily 90% of my listening is done w/fm, even when in the "sweet spot".

the tu-717 is an excellent sounding tuna, for sure.  i have one, and used to have a 517, which is really the same thing, sans fm tone calibration switch, which can be used to set tape level for recording.

regarding the tunas your are eying, i can say is you will certainly enjoy the tu9900; it's definitely a cut above the tu717, but to be honest, we are talking small differences.

but, i would awoid the solid state mac tunas like the plague.  those folks into serious tuna will tell you the mr74 & the mr77 are the best sounding s/s tunas mcintosh ever made.  even richard modafferi, the designer of the mr78, which is known as a supreme dx'er, says the mr77 sounds better.  now, i owned an mr77, which i had refurb'd by a mac-recommended tech w/35+ years experience, and a stock mint mr74, never serviced.  the mr74 was a hair better than the mr77, but this wasn't saying much.  these two tunas easily rank in the bottom five sonically, of all the tunas i have owned over the years.  they are extremely over-priced under-performers, imo.  and, many other folks agree w/me.  except diehard mcintosh fans.     i would be surprised if you think the mr78 you are getting sounds anywhere near as good as the tu717.  a buddy of mine who owned a mint mr74 got a tu717 on my recommendation, and he was amazed how it outperformed his mac...

now, i also owned a refurb'd & modded to the gills tubed mr65b, and this tunas was a sweet-sounding thing.  (ask carlman, of this forum; it now resides in his system.)  but, as i told carlman before he got mine, he could still do better sonically, and have at least as good reception, w/a much less expensive sherwood s3000ll or later tuna, if he wanted wintage tubes in his tunas.

if you really wanna make that tu717 sing, send it out to someone like mike williams at radio-x tuners. http://radioxtuners.com/  for other great tuna info, check out fmtunerinfo.com and its related yahoo tuna forum.  http://fmtunerinfo.com/

happy listening,

doug s.,
listening now to wypr fm, 88.1, "thistle & shamrock" show, thru my wintage pilot fa-680 & universal audio mpx stereo decoder...   

[KnowTalent]

yes, the TU-717 does sound better than the MR78...
I think the TU-9900 is the direction I'm headed

[bpape]

Outstanding.  We need more OCD in GAS

Seriously, glad you're enjoying the  new toys.

Bryan

[KnowTalent]

Outstanding.  We need more OCD in GAS

Seriously, glad you're enjoying the  new toys.

Bryan

...and I have not yet jumped back into the viynl pool 
My stepdad has a bunch of records that were his fathers (from early 20's thru 70's) that he wants to give me.  Unfortunately most were not properly stored and are in pretty rough looking shape.

Thinking about the new VPI Classic with a Dynavector 10X5 and PS Audio GPCH straight into the MC501s

[no1maestro]

This is my first posting in this area. I have been looking for great tuners over the years. Just last week I came upon a nice Adcom GFT-555 II which is very good for me to bring in 99.1 (my favorite) with clarity and quality.

My question is to you folks who know technicians locally. I obtained a mint looking(?) Technics ST-9030 which is completely "dead". I would love to find a tech who can give me an honest apprasial of just what to do. I would love to rescue this one without taking out a second mortgage. I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks!

[KnowTalent]

This is my first posting in this area. I have been looking for great tuners over the years. Just last week I came upon a nice Adcom GFT-555 II which is very good for me to bring in 99.1 (my favorite) with clarity and quality.

My question is to you folks who know technicians locally. I obtained a mint looking(?) Technics ST-9030 which is completely "dead". I would love to find a tech who can give me an honest apprasial of just what to do. I would love to rescue this one without taking out a second mortgage. I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks!

Contact Jeff and tell him Eric sent you (that way he'll owe me lunch...again)
He's a straight shooter and will give you an honest appraisal

Jeffrey A. Jackson
St. Louis CompuTronics, LLC.
2505 Metro Blvd.  Suite A
Maryland Heights, MO 63043
Office - 314-277-6393
Email - Jeff.Jackson@StLouisCompuTronics.com
Web - http://www.stlouiscomputronics.com
We Repair Your Equipment Right the First Time!

[KenSeger]

My stepdad has a bunch of records that were his fathers (from early 20's thru 70's) that he wants to give me.  Unfortunately most were not properly stored and are in pretty rough looking shape.

Out of curiousity, what is the problem with the records? Dirt? Mold? Warpage? I have a KMAL Record Cleaner and a moderately good binocular microscope and would be interested in experimenting, if it is a cleaning problem.  Though I'ld suggest contacting the Disk Doctor for his suggestions first.

Ken

[KnowTalent]

My stepdad has a bunch of records that were his fathers (from early 20's thru 70's) that he wants to give me.  Unfortunately most were not properly stored and are in pretty rough looking shape.

Out of curiousity, what is the problem with the records? Dirt? Mold? Warpage? I have a KMAL Record Cleaner and a moderately good binocular microscope and would be interested in experimenting, if it is a cleaning problem.  Though I'ld suggest contacting the Disk Doctor for his suggestions first.

Ken

Ken,
Some have minor surface scratching and others with mold...
the bigger issue for me is some are 78 mono and where the heck can I find a decent table that can handle 78 AND what about special needles for mono????
The cleaning aspect of viynl is a REAL turnoff to me

[KenSeger]

Ken,
Some have minor surface scratching and others with mold...
the bigger issue for me is some are 78 mono and where the heck can I find a decent table that can handle 78 AND what about special needles for mono????
The cleaning aspect of viynl is a REAL turnoff to me

Well if hu-fu is good enough, any old Lenco has 78.  If you want hi-fi, a Thorens TD-124 has 78. In fact a current model, Thorens TD-190-2B has 78. A less pricey new model would be the Esoteric at 60% less. Shure, Rega, Ortofon, Grado, and Stanton all sell 78 specific cartridges or styli.

78s, to my very limited understanding, require a different cleaning solution than vinyl LPs.  Without doing a bunch of research, I'll stick to cleaning 33s.

Ken

[BPT]

Eric:
I have a GCPH you can borrow.
Chris H.

[KnowTalent]

Eric:
I have a GCPH you can borrow.
Chris H.

Thanks for the offer Chris!  I'll keep you in mind    (you're enabling )

[KnowTalent]

Ken,
Some have minor surface scratching and others with mold...
the bigger issue for me is some are 78 mono and where the heck can I find a decent table that can handle 78 AND what about special needles for mono????
The cleaning aspect of viynl is a REAL turnoff to me

Well if hu-fu is good enough, any old Lenco has 78.  If you want hi-fi, a Thorens TD-124 has 78. In fact a current model, Thorens TD-190-2B has 78. A less pricey new model would be the Esoteric at 60% less. Shure, Rega, Ortofon, Grado, and Stanton all sell 78 specific cartridges or styli.

78s, to my very limited understanding, require a different cleaning solution than vinyl LPs.  Without doing a bunch of research, I'll stick to cleaning 33s.

Ken

Let me do some searching for the Esoteric as I'm not sure I want to jump in the deep end just yet

[tekwiz]

.