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I'm considering adding a tube tuner to my collection and was wondering
about the differences between the last two tube tuners McIntosh made.I know the Marantz 10B is held in high regard but I'm not interested in spending the crazy $$$ one of these can cost as well as the maintenance investment they seem to require.
So, McIntosh "folklore" has it that the MR71 was their ultimate tube
design effort at a good-sounding and good-performing tuner, but I'm told by many that the earlier MR67 is a better-sounding tuner.What do others think about the differences between the MR67 and the MR71?
Follow Ups:
You cant lose with either tuner. As posted above, codition should be more important then either the 67 or 71- Both --one a good station-- are still scary in thier musicality. Just my opinion but I wish redbook sounded as good as a good analog non compressed station on the macs.I bought a 71- simply because it was cheaper to retube.....just make sure there is no pitting on the chassis and you cant go wrong..
Clearly written in their literature that they do not need alignment as they are self aligning. Purchased one supposedly non functioning replaced the tubes and Walla perfect function...really impressive sounding units which somehow sounded better than the actual record!!!
A lot of money to be made by "needed" alignment... I would suggest you look elsewhere first if the sound is poor rather than immediately think alignment. Now with Mac tuners yes they do need infrequent alignments.
This question is moot in the Philadelphia area.
I've put my Mac MR-67 in storage since the FM band is reduced to almost nothing of interest here.
The all day classical and all day jazz have merged to a half day of each, no one is satisfied!
Everything else is NPR, smooth jazz junk and rock, mostly top 40.
I guess I should move, I loved the sound of the tuner, but not what it played.
Lost in Philly,
Ron
Hi,I have owned both. I have had the two versions of the MR-67 and right now have the early version produced in the first half of 1963. All in all I perfer the MR-67 for sound quality. But I admit I am now looking for another MR-71. I recently had my MR-67 converted with the Modafferi Modification and the difference is night and day. I have always been one against any modifications but decided to take the plunge on the 67. It is well worth the money for Rich's modification. The cost is $600.00 plus shipping but I have not regreted it for one minute. It is almost 3-D with a great balance from top to bottom. There is an open sound and the background is black quiet. Even if you decide not to mod your unit I would recommend you send it to Rich to go over.
Both tuners are great. I like the MR-67 a bit more but to each his own. All of our ears hear something different. As I stated I am looking for another MR-71. As goldenthal stated the MR-78 is a winner in the solid state dept.. I own one of those and swear by it. Another tuner would be the MR-77. A real bargain today.
Hope this helps.Good luck with your search. You can't go wrong with either.
PRM
Before you decide either post on the Yahoo tuner group. The most informed and friendly bunch of guys I ever meet when it comes to tuners. Then browse the link below. but do try the FMtuner group at Yahoo. Very informed bunch of guys and willing to share their knowledge.
charles
I own an MR-71 while a buddy owns an MR-67; I think I have the better tuner, and he thinks he does! ;-) What we both agree upon is that getting an EMM801 magic eye tube for some of the earlier 67s is a royal pain unless you want to part out a Dyna FM3. This tube is kind of odd in that it has dual indicator stripes whereas the EM87 as used in the MR-71 has just one and it's a whole lot easier (and cheaper) to buy this kind of indicator tube.Sonically, we've never gotten around to actually having a "tuner shootout" and in any event, mine's no longer stock: The selenium rectifier was weak, and the electrolytic coupling caps were suspect, so out they went, replaced by IRC Hexfred diodes and Solen film caps (only film cap readily available in a largish value that still fit inside the chassis.) I didn't monkey around much further because the stock sound was already pretty good. In the past 1-1/2 years since I got it, I've felt that I was about as happy as I was going to get with an FM tuner: It does have a certain "something" about it's sonics that I like a lot, and I often run it for several hours a day. It's been awhile since I've heard a 10B, but I liked it's sound a lot too; whether I'd actually be happier with a 10B, I honestly couldn't say.
I've had both, and at the same time. With my samples, there was little if any sonic difference between them. For that matter, the RF sections seemed to be pretty close - the MR71 did a tad better with marginal signals.The condition of the units will probably make far more difference than anything else. In good shape they will both perform well and sound good. If there is any rust or corrosion, check the IF Filter transformers (5 I think), and make sure they can be adjusted - sometimes the adjustment parts corrode solid to the metal cans encasing them, and when that happens, your tech person will have to remove each from the chassis, disassemble it, make the adjustment, re-solder it to the chassis, and then see if the adjustment is correct. This can make alignment an expensive proposition.
That said, both tuners are quite something. No PC boards - all point-to-point wiring, and beautifully, beautifully done. Richard Modaferri claims he can make an MR71 into a "10B killer" and I have no reason to doubt him. (BTW, due to the cost of keeping these old things up to par, I opted for the MR77, which you can sometimes get for a song, and which sounds almost as good as the tube units. Enjoy.
I had a chance to buy an MR-71 when I bought my MR-78. I made the choice because the MR-78 SOUNDED better -- honest! Wider-band, clearer bass and treble both. The sonic difference was not trivial.BTW, subsequently, (just to show you that I put my $$ where my mouth is), I bought a 2d MR-78; I use them both, happily, & have never gone looking for a tuner again. These tuners contain the only transistors anywhere in my system.
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