General Asylum: REVIEW: Magnum Dynalab MD-90T Tuner by cmk

Model:	MD-90T
Category:	Tuner
Suggested Retail Price:	$1595
Description:	The MD-90 now incorporates all functions in a totally redesigned motherboard. This integration has provided the necessary design efficiencies to allow consistently higher levels of selectivity to be maintained. Along with added selectivity, the MD-90 has a redesigned power supply circuit that maintains the tuner circuitry at standby at all times when the tuner is connected to a live AC source.
Manufacturer URL:	Magnum Dynalab
Model Picture:	View

Review by cmk on August 26, 2007 at 23:30:41
IP Address: 203.92.83.114 Add Your Review
for the MD-90T

I've always wanted to get good radio music, since my dad turned on the radio every morning when I was young. Why? Its free, its a music jukebox giving you access to hundreds, no thousands of songs. New material and old material, whatever, its all there. If you don't like the channel, switch it. I've had no problems since most of my listening is on Symphony 92.4, they don't the DJs talking too much.

I had started out with a Rotel RT990, which at that time was considered to be a good tuner, similar to their then top of the line RHT10, it was a scaled down unit. It was good, but never really satisfied me - the music was imbalanced, too much gain and the bass overwhelming.

Next I tried out DAB, thinking its new technology, the wave of the future. No noise between transmissions, CD like quality. Great promises. The sound did live up to some of those expectations, it was quiet, it did sound musical, not bad really, but I always felt a little distant from the performance.

Having read reviews of MD tuners, you know they sound great, but just how great? I had always wanted one, lusted after their dials and the meters. If you've read some tuner websites, they blast the MD for being too expensive, over-priced and not as good as their obsolete and now-unavailable tuner. Well how am I going to know if the ebay model is the one they refer to? Or if I need to mod it to get the sound quality they talk about? Too many variables. Anyway, the review of the MD90T http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/magnum/md90t.html
peaked my interest. My local dealer was also quite convincing in saying that the MD90T was an improvement over the MD90, more sensitive and better sound quality. I had to get one.

After installing it, it sounded much, much cleaner straight out of the box. Its as if a thick curtain was pulled open and the performers were now in my room. It had body, and a touch too much bass as the unit hadn't run in. I just left it on for a few days, still popping into the room to listen as the sound grew more distinct and clear. It didn't take long to run in.

For the first time I hear real body of the instruments. Impact and dynamics were great. Between music, there was...silence. Great! I could get soundstage which was huge, with all the sense and feeling as if I was in the concert hall. There was air surrounding each instrument, and it was balanced, certainly much more balanced than I heard before. I do get tape noise in the silent parts of the music, but then it makes the performance all the more real, to me at least.

I decided to get the most out of the unit's sound, so I tube-rolled to a Tesla ECC88 gold pin, put the unit up on footers and that did the trick. The bass tightened up and the instruments were cleaner than than listening with the stock Philips JAN 6922. Interconnect used was the RS Cables silver.

I now listen a lot more to the radio. I guess you kinda figured that out by now. It sounds almost comparable to CD/LP, more importantly, good enough (to me) to enjoy the music.

Violence is the last resort of the incompetent - Isaac Asimov.
http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/3994.html

Product Weakness:	Slight bass heavy with stock tube.
Product Strengths:	Great window to FM stations.

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Sanders ESL
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): ModWright SWLP9.0SE
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Scheu DL2>Conductor>AT33ptg, Denon A11>Benchmark DAC1
Speakers: Cabasse Baltic/Thor II
Cables/Interconnects: Slinkylinks/RS cable
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Various mainly classical
Room Size (LxWxH): 15 x 16 x 9
Room Comments/Treatments: Thick velvet curtain behind main speakers.
Time Period/Length of Audition: <1 month
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): PS P300
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	Sanders ESL
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	ModWright SWLP9.0SE
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Scheu DL2>Conductor>AT33ptg, Denon A11>Benchmark DAC1
Speakers:	Cabasse Baltic/Thor II
Cables/Interconnects:	Slinkylinks/RS cable
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Various mainly classical
Room Size (LxWxH):	15 x 16 x 9
Room Comments/Treatments:	Thick velvet curtain behind main speakers.
Time Period/Length of Audition:	<1 month
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	PS P300
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner