|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
24.187.59.165
The H&K Citation is a great tuner. Factory stock sounds very good and I prefer it over a stock Kendwood FT-990D that places 11th in audio quality in the famous fmtunerinfo shootouts.
I prefer the 50u seconds switch on the front panel engaged to push increase the high frequency sonics as I like a full range sound. Some FM tuners are a little soft on the high-end IMO.
Upgrading components could not be easier on this tuner. With the exception of the RF/IF board, the rest of the circuit boards are plug-in cards.
I have experience with Blackgate, Muse, Silmic II and a few other audio grade capacitors. I prefer the Silmic II. Digikey has these caps in many values for 25-75 cents each. Thus, the upgrade is inexpensive.
The Citation 18 schematic & physical layouts are posted at fntunerinfo.com. The various capacitor numbers are printed on the cards including polarity.
Multiplexer Card- Replace existing with Silmic II at C8, C17, C18, C19 & C20.
Output Amplifier Card- Replace existing with Silmic at C5, C10, C15, C20, C23 & C26.
Power Supply Card- It makes good sense to freshen up the power supply, however none of these capacitors were subject to high current causing heat in the capacitors unlike a SS power amplifier. I use standard Panasonic caps. Perhaps prefer FM series, but I believe all the Panasonic caps are quality parts. Replace C9, C10, C12, C13, C14, & C15.
Break-in time. Some do not believe in break-in, however I clearly hear a difference. The Silmic II are a little disorganized or scattered sounding at start up. Within a few hours this edgy sound goes away. Some say 100+ hours are needed, but 24 hours is sufficient IMO.
Be prepared, the upgrades seriously places this tuner a few levels up from stock. I do not use or need that 25u seconds switch engaged as the high frequencies are well balanced now. Voices on quality FM stations approach sounding like in my listening room talking to you.
I suspect the dual +15/-15 power supply with a discrete amplifier section vs op-amps are a plus. You may end your search with the simple upgrades to the Citation 18.
It makes me wonder if the Kenwood KT-8007 having a superior IC based multiplexer (like the Citation 18) and discrete amplifier section would also be a good upgrade candidate as well.
Follow Ups:
I changed capacitors C1 & C15 on the IF board. C1 changed to a polyproplyene & C15 to Silmic II. Ceramics are not as good as poly types at audio & in the upper kHz range, but I have little background with regard to a better capacitor at radio frequency in the mHz range.
I did not hear any difference & the poly cap in C1 position did not de-tune the circuit. So, I only suggest upgrading C15 as an option.
Hi Neff
C1 is at Intermediate Freq 10.7 MHz, a silver mica is nice there, the PP will work, the only caveat for anything being used there is that it should be non-inductive.
C15 is composite signal & I used a SilMic II there myself.
You also may want to change out the decoupling caps on the board. That would be C10, C16, C20, & C21. Panasonic FM or FR are very good. Watch C20, on mine there was a factory substitute. When I replaced the decouplers you can safely double the cap value. C10 & 16 are the important ones, 20 & 21 are tied to the mute circuit.
HoosierAudio, where are you located in Indiana? Is the Citation 18 your favorite tuner or is this just one of many. I have read that Sherod loves this tuner.
Edits: 11/10/11
I listen to my NPR station (88.5 FM) almost every night on it.
Yes, I would have used SM, did not have one- good suggestion. I am an old ham radio person & 'play' with RF myself.
I am also pleased you like this serious tuner as I am in bliss- absolute outstanding sonics using my upgraded Klipsch speakers & 2A3 SE amplifier.
First, thanks to everyone who has shared the details of their experience with this tuner.
I watch the used tuner market closely and don't see more that one or two Citation 18 tuners on Ebay in a year. This is weird, as HK is hardly an exotic manufacturer. Does anyone know how many Citation 18 tuners were produced? Seriously, the 18 comes on the market less than the Marantz 2130 or the Scott 310-E.
Rumor has it that vintage Marantz receivers are very fashionable among the newly rich Chinese and they are being exported there.
Post your conspiracy theory here... Have fun!
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: