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Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but...

71.192.138.56
Posted on October 23, 2021 at 06:06:08
mhardy6647
Audiophile

Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 We're not. Not yet, anyway. ;)

"We" need some radio-chatter. OK, I need some.
Let's get a little more (wait for it)... radio active on this subforum.

please...?

;)


DSC_0637 (2)

So much superheterodyne... in such a confined space.


all the best,
mrh

 

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RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on October 23, 2021 at 16:43:08
HoosierAudio
Audiophile

Posts: 377
Location: MidWest, USA
Joined: November 28, 2005
 Naw, its not dead, just taking a little nap. Putting the finishing touches on an Aiwa AT 9700 and doing a small shootout against a Rotel RT 2100.





Pretty nice pair, I think. I'm a sucker for an FM only box.

HA

 

excellent! thanks :) (nt), posted on October 24, 2021 at 05:19:42
mhardy6647
Audiophile

Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 enn tee

all the best,
mrh

 

Your boost attempt last August, posted on October 24, 2021 at 08:40:37
M3 lover
Audiophile

Posts: 6604
Location: SW Mich
Joined: May 29, 2005
Contributor
  Since: July 4, 2007
 brought quite a response. Maybe this time will too.

In the past I loved FM and had great listening pleasure (mainly learning about new recordings). I was fortunate to experience the emergence of so many independent stations plus the AOR play of the late '60s through the '70s. But the take-overs by mega media companies of many stations, resulting lack of variety has been a real blow. But streaming music has likely been a bigger killer.

For all that I can't foresee a time without a FM tuner in my system. The Denon does a good job with what remains available.

"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing, if you can fake that you've got it made." Groucho

 

yup, and thanks for the comment :), posted on October 24, 2021 at 17:17:06
mhardy6647
Audiophile

Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 We are lucky to have one (well, two, really) excellent "networks" nearby -- Vermont Public Radio, with two separate O-T-A analog program streams on a network of separate transmitters: VPR News (which has other programming, including a small number of excellent, locally-produced music programs) and VPR Classical.

Oh, they also have the best weather forecasts (in terms of accuracy and clarity) that I have ever heard -- anywhere. And we've lived in some pretty serious radio/TV markets (DC/Baltimore, Silicon Valley, and Boston) prior to retiring to the boondocks.

Makes having a tuner worthwhile even out here in the sticks, fortunately.


all the best,
mrh

 

NUR and FMT, posted on October 25, 2021 at 18:40:03
Mats Gunnars
Audiophile

Posts: 387
Joined: May 7, 2006



Here in Evanston WNUR has excellent sound, despite an I'll considered HD piggyback.
WFMT is coming out of years of horrible compression problems.
I've had good experiences pursuing dialogues with engineers,
on air presenter, and even station management. I would encourage
anyone with love of FM sound to become an activist.
It can make a big difference.

Radio-X brought my Accuphase T-101 up to it's full glory.
Almost daily I marvel over this amazing musical format.
Thanks for keeping the flame lit!

-Mats



 

oooh, Accuphase! :), posted on October 26, 2021 at 03:48:04
mhardy6647
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Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 Nice.

Another shoutout for Mike/Radio X.
He "did" the tuner of my Fisher 500, years ago (before it was my Fisher 500, come to think of it.

DSC_9817

Yeah, she's a shelf queen most of the time. Not too proud of that. :(

all the best,
mrh

 

RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on October 26, 2021 at 08:38:51
dee eye why
Audiophile

Posts: 1148
Location: so. ohio
Joined: March 20, 2003
 You'll have to pry my tuner from my cold, dead hands!!
Love me some FM radio. Couldn't live without it. If either the wife or I are home and awake the radio is on. We have two good local public stations.
I recently bought a new Yamaha tuner and have been blown away by the sound quality.
I have a highly modded Yamaha T80 in my main system and this new one sounds every bit as good and maybe better.


.
Freak out...Far out...In out....

 

I listen to radio every day, posted on October 26, 2021 at 18:19:21
belyin
Audiophile

Posts: 1285
Location: New Orleans
Joined: November 1, 2003
 Lots of good non-profit radio in New Orleans; I principally listen to community station WWOZ (wwoz.org if you stream.)

 

Also a fan, posted on October 27, 2021 at 07:15:32
BFitz
Audiophile

Posts: 547
Joined: July 21, 2000
 Of VPR too. I get both VPR classical (on 95.1) and VPR talk (94.3) anywhere in the house with a dipole. Lots of great FM here in Saratoga County NY. Also listen to WMHT and their roots/rock station WEXT. Plus WAMC, and 5 public college stations from RPI, Skidmore, Sienna, SUNY, and Union.

I miss the old VPR nightly Jazz program,though. Been gone a long time now.

Of course, also a big fan of FM tuners. That's a given. Not dead here. Maybe just shaken and stirred a bit.

 

RE: I listen to radio every day, posted on October 27, 2021 at 11:34:43
louie3
 Listen all day too, lucky to have two NPR stations in Chattanooga, one mixed jazz, etc, one classical, plus XM radio.

 

Thakns for the post! I've still got the MPX board you sent me :-(, posted on October 28, 2021 at 09:43:59
mhardy6647
Audiophile

Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 to try with an S-3000. Years ago. :(
I do tend to move kind of slow -- I do my part to forestall the heat death of the universe.
I do know where it the MPX board is, though, and it's still in the padded envelope (IIRC) in which it was shipped, so I also still know WHAT it is. ;)

all the best,
mrh

 

is that their (one?) little component tuner?, posted on October 28, 2021 at 09:46:50
mhardy6647
Audiophile

Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016

The only one I've seen (in the US), at any rate.

T-S500. Looks like it's discontinued, if that's the model. :(



all the best,
mrh

 

To paraphrase Mark Twain..., posted on October 29, 2021 at 05:46:21
1973shovel
Audiophile

Posts: 10117
Location: Greenville SC
Joined: February 25, 2007
 "The reports of the death of radio have been greatly exaggerated."

Perhaps among the audiophile community, radio may not be what it once was. But they tend to be a fickle lot anyway, using changing technology as an excuse to buy new equipment. Look how many of them gave up their LPs and turntables in the early 1990s, only to later regret it. Then some of them used that as an excuse to buy a new table and a new collection of LPs.

Or, then again, I may simply be a Luddite who has more tuners than any one man needs.

 

RE: Thakns for the post! I've still got the MPX board you sent me :-(, posted on October 29, 2021 at 09:01:46
BFitz
Audiophile

Posts: 547
Joined: July 21, 2000
 I ran out of chips and stopped selling those MPX boards over a year ago.
The board also works great with any tuner that has an X Y scope output. One of my favorite lashups is with the TX-9500II.

Now that you mention it, I have a bunch of old kits from Old Colony sitting here too, still in the envelope as well. and a few DIY Audio group buy boards. Maybe this year...winter cometh

 

TX-9500 II, posted on October 29, 2021 at 18:22:23
mhardy6647
Audiophile

Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 One of those here... operating condition: unknown.
I should probably try it sometime.

DSC_6307 (2)


all the best,
mrh

 

Let's not start counting tuners, OK? ;) , posted on October 29, 2021 at 18:26:02
mhardy6647
Audiophile

Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 I might not win, but it's sort of like counting nuclear weapons, you know?

;)

all the best,
mrh

 

RE: TX-9500 II, posted on October 30, 2021 at 08:20:27
belyin
Audiophile

Posts: 1285
Location: New Orleans
Joined: November 1, 2003
 I really like mine; it has replaced a McIntosh MR-78 in my system, at least for the time being.

 

RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on October 30, 2021 at 09:42:31
svisner
Audiophile

Posts: 1165
Joined: March 30, 2002
 Our Sony XDR-F1 HD tuner is almost a daily driver and it sounds wonderful.

 

RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on October 30, 2021 at 14:14:46
brush001
Audiophile

Posts: 60
Location: ON. Canada
Joined: January 2, 2011
 Using Yammy TX1000 and TX900u here

 

I hope you have WAY more tuners than me..., posted on October 31, 2021 at 06:54:43
1973shovel
Audiophile

Posts: 10117
Location: Greenville SC
Joined: February 25, 2007
 ...because it'll allow me to feel a bit less compulsive.

In my defense, most of them were acquired cheaply, when others simply wanted to dump theirs.

One, the Marantz 105, was acquired simply for the blue dial lights and horizontal tuning knob. It was something I admired as a teenager, but could never afford back then.

 

all I can say is..., posted on October 31, 2021 at 11:11:12
mhardy6647
Audiophile

Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 see link below :(



all the best,
mrh

 

*like* :) , posted on October 31, 2021 at 15:44:21
mhardy6647
Audiophile

Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 I don't know either one of those... but I'm gonna look 'em up.

:)

all the best,
mrh

 

You win, posted on November 2, 2021 at 12:18:27
1973shovel
Audiophile

Posts: 10117
Location: Greenville SC
Joined: February 25, 2007



For me, it goes back to when I was about five, and I got a small crystal radio as a gift. Hook the alligator clip to something metal in the house and music would come out the ear phone. I thought it was magic.

 

That TX-1000 is very versatile I had to read the manual twice and , posted on November 8, 2021 at 19:25:54
kff
Audiophile

Posts: 1033
Location: SE PA
Joined: October 19, 2006
 I kinda know what they are talking about. Nice tuner. When I got mine it immediately took over in the main rig because it sounded so good. Need to look into it as it wasn't pulling in stations last time it was on in the rig...a freshly aligned Luxman T-110 took its place.

 

RE: NUR and FMT, posted on November 11, 2021 at 14:05:01
bquisp
Audiophile

Posts: 458
Location: Chicago, IL
Joined: January 3, 2005
 Thanks for the reminder. I'm in the Chicago area but had given up on FM - will have to give it another try - thanks!

 

RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on November 13, 2021 at 17:04:00
Todd Krieger
Audiophile

Posts: 37333
Location: SW United States
Joined: November 2, 2000
 Radio is dead because there are only two or three good local radio stations nowadays (in the Phoenix, AZ area)..... I have a nice tuner (Yamaha T-85, modified), but unless I'm in the mood to listen to random classical or jazz (the latter limited to certain times of the day), the music on FM radio just doesn't interest me anymore.

Back in the 1980s, I used to tune through and listen to 10 to 15 radio stations..... Now it's two or three........

 

RE: is that their (one?) little component tuner?, posted on November 17, 2021 at 04:00:24
dee eye why
Audiophile

Posts: 1148
Location: so. ohio
Joined: March 20, 2003
 Yes. That's the one.


.
Freak out...Far out...In out....

 

RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on November 21, 2021 at 14:34:10
aclearspot
Audiophile

Posts: 204
Location: norcal
Joined: May 9, 2003
 I listen to FM every now and again. Im always out the low end of the dial listening to college stations mostly.Of coarse there is Saturday and the roots reggae show on 89.5 KPOO San Francisco -4-7pm

 

RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on November 24, 2021 at 21:11:03
Wojciech
Audiophile

Posts: 4130
Joined: June 23, 2009



I inherited my late friend's (artist, drunkard, womanizer and what else ..) "modified" Yamaha-T80. "Modification" was to use a solvent to expose those red lights. For some reason I like this tuner more than aligned and recapped T-2. I wonder if I will change caps in this one I will dislike it like T-2.
Detroit has a few good stations. WRCJ classical days and jazzy nights all week without commercials public supported radio is a delight. NPR when they don't try to do politics (hopelessly leftist :) and some cool Motown music.
Fm is the best music format when its good. It just gets the essence of music best. There is something transformative in the airways which change MP3 format into some magic over the air. And, some of those radios do look like a Christmas tree on the shelf.

 

well, the aesthetics are debatable... , posted on December 7, 2021 at 17:37:20
mhardy6647
Audiophile

Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 but the T-80's a nifty tuner.
I -- ahem -- wouldn't mind havin' one myself. They're still right pricey, though, which is a big inhibitor to me. ;)

all the best,
mrh

 

RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on November 24, 2023 at 09:01:01
reuben
Audiophile

Posts: 1639
Joined: September 28, 2004
 Is that 89.5 in Bridgeport CT? If not, try streaming at WPKN.org. Radio is still very much alive there.

Dark energy? Ridiculous!
We live in an electric universe.

 

making progress on my FM3, posted on November 25, 2023 at 21:44:11
ltman
Audiophile

Posts: 582
Joined: June 23, 2023



The dern power switch was frozen in off position. I bought a brand new replacement switch and I will eventually R&R but decided to work it a bit with deoxit tonight and after bringing it up slowly over a couple hours on the variac, success!

With just some speaker wire on 300ohm antenna connection it sounds quite good. No hiss or hum to speak of when listening through a creek headphone amp to my Grados. So that is a very good sign. And the tuning eye tube seems to work perfectly.

I have the cheapest iphone and the lighting didn't work well for the photo.

Next step will be to replace the power cord, and then make a good 75 ohm antenna connection, before I begin the big project of cap replacements...

Been listening to KCNV 89.7 here in Sin City. Classical FM is far from dead here. Brings me back to 1980s in Beantown listening on the Heathkit AJ-14 I built.

I would give my left nut to wind the clock back to then, and do everything differently :)



 

RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on November 25, 2023 at 21:51:32
ltman
Audiophile

Posts: 582
Joined: June 23, 2023
 Analog or HD listening?

I fired mine up a week or two ago to do some non "real-time" comparison listening vs. my Sony ST-J75 and nope, the XDR went back into the box within a couple hours. And I tried both HD and Analog, and I have very good signal from KCNV 89.7.

Granted I was not A/B listening in real time, but the XDR had no dynamics, no "air", no extension at either end of the frequency spectrum. Maybe I just got a bad one?

 

RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on November 27, 2023 at 08:45:53
FRG7SWL
Audiophile

Posts: 2109
Location: NorCali
Joined: March 26, 2003
 Itman, those Sony XDR-F1-HD tuners need four capacitors removed to attain
their full fidelity potential. Luis of stereoadvisor removed them from moi's first F1-HD; they looked like little dots. Replacement F1-HD apparently had them removed by previous owner, thank God. ... During those two super moons a few months back, San Mateo's KCSM 91.1 Mhz signal blew into Sactown like it did back in the late 80s-early 90s. When second super moon disappeared, so did KCSM signal. ... Gave Semper-Fi bud moi's Sangean HDT-20 tuner during summer. He loves KSEG "Eagle 97", & lives close enough to transmitter to get good HD signal (HDT-20's have poor FM reception, which is anathema to Sangean's long-standing dx reputation). ... Speaking of Sangean, made a curiosity purchase of their re-furbed ATS-405 portable. XLNT FM reception from its' SDR topology, & you can clearly hear station signal quality via headphones. Reception is akin to Sangean's HDT-1 & 1X tuners, minus HD. AM dx is commendable too, with proper band-width selection. Amazing how a 45-degree rotation will still bring in an entirely different station on same frequency, propogation permitting. SW reception is comparable to venerable ATS-803A. ... Radio may have lost its' romanticism in modern times, but there's still enticing programming to discover via timely band-scanning. 73s para Sactown

 

RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on November 27, 2023 at 23:02:34
ltman
Audiophile

Posts: 582
Joined: June 23, 2023
 I'll research about those caps, thanks.

I am lucky to have line of sight from my 2nd floor porch to my classical station's (KCNV 89.7) tower on a local mountain, and have a 6 element yagi zeroed in.

The yagi made a world of difference compared to the numerous dipoles and omnis I tried.

 

RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on November 28, 2023 at 17:50:01
FRG7SWL
Audiophile

Posts: 2109
Location: NorCali
Joined: March 26, 2003
 Itman, since you have good line-of-sight reception, an F1-HD shouldn't be necessary. Unless you want to listen to HD sub-carriers. F1-HD's are intended for us auld dx goats, whose favourite stations are always just beyond the horizon. Therefore, if ya ever get interested in FM stations from L.A. or Phoenix, ... OBTW, according to Brian Beezley, K6STI, those capacitors which need removing are C11, C12, C21, & C22. ... 73s para Sactown

 

RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on November 28, 2023 at 18:36:53
ltman
Audiophile

Posts: 582
Joined: June 23, 2023
 thaks for the info, I only listen to analog radio once I learned that HD was lossy. Can't see listening to lossy after paying $3K+ for my speakers :)

I will look for the schematic to find those caps. Might as well try it because I don't like the sound as it is now.

 

RE: Now -- I understand that radio is dead, but..., posted on December 9, 2023 at 13:20:27
posaune32foot@gmail.com
Audiophile

Posts: 64
Joined: March 8, 2023



Kenwood 8300 Classic look

 

RE: are these the caps to remove?, posted on December 12, 2023 at 21:23:40
ltman
Audiophile

Posts: 582
Joined: June 23, 2023




Circled in red are the 4 caps?

Seems like they would be almost impossible to desolder from the board without destroying adjacent components.

Can I just cut each of them across the middle with a razor blade to make them electrically open in the circuit?

If I cut them would that release any corrosive substance onto the board?





 

RE: are these the caps to remove?, posted on December 14, 2023 at 07:59:07
FRG7SWL
Audiophile

Posts: 2109
Location: NorCali
Joined: March 26, 2003
 Yes they are, Itman; according to Brian Beezley, K6STI(have included his updated review). Unless you can circumcise a gnat, would be careful about using a razor blade, or x-acto-knife, trying to remove them. Who knows what circuit board damage could ensue. Took stereoadvisor's Luis less than an hour to remove them. ... 73s para Sactown

 

understood, posted on December 14, 2023 at 19:47:52
ltman
Audiophile

Posts: 582
Joined: June 23, 2023
 thank you sir. I'm 71 - and consider myself extremely lucky and undeserving to get that far - and my eyes aren't what they used to be.
There was a time when I _could_ circumcise a gnat. :)


I'll let you know how it goes. It would be awesome if the tuner finally sounded decent in the highs. I was always disappointed in the sound from the get go. Couldn't figure out what all the hype was about. Now I guess it was all about DXing, which I never had the knowledge to do.

 

Seems surgery was sucessfull, posted on December 14, 2023 at 21:07:07
ltman
Audiophile

Posts: 582
Joined: June 23, 2023
 And patient lived!

Those dern caps were really tiny and fragile. All 4 of them came apart in pieces while desoldering, but I made sure that none of the pads on the board had shorts and no remnants touched any adjacent traces or pads.

I did need to bump up the temp on my iron to 850. At 750 it just didn't provide enough heat to keep two joints melted at the same time.

First hour or so of listening is enouraging. Will do some careful a/b listening later vs. my JT-75.

The XDR-F1 still sounds a tiny bit less extended than the JT-75 however the 75 is a bit weak in the bass so that might explain the difference in what I am hearing.




 

RE: Seems surgery was sucessfull, posted on December 15, 2023 at 09:26:30
FRG7SWL
Audiophile

Posts: 2109
Location: NorCali
Joined: March 26, 2003
 Congrads Itman! F1HD's are extremely quiet tuners in eliminating propogational hiss. Sangean HDT-1X is akin to Carver's TX-11 tuner, where you can still hear just a bit of hiss @ moi's digital rfi-laden QTH. Read somewhere TX-11's were Bob Carver's tribute to legendary Marantz Model 10B tuner. F1HD's are also supposed to emulate 10B's too. ... BTW, seems Brian Beezley is a Sony ST-J75 fan, too. He mentioned on FM Tuner Info "there is one critical adjustment that keeps the tuner from muting on bass notes".
Have included FM Tuner Info's Sony section. Continued good listening. ... 73s para Sactown

 

RE: Seems surgery was sucessfull, posted on December 15, 2023 at 14:13:07
ltman
Audiophile

Posts: 582
Joined: June 23, 2023
 yes that bass problem might be a slight issue with my main listener JT-75, although I have a second JT-75 that is basically unlistenable due to that problem. The tuner with the severe problem is on my todo list for the fix adjustment. The "good one" I might not screw around with since I fear I could make it worse instead of better...

And I got lucky last night and found a fully modded tuner for a steal on the Bay.

When it arrives I will update with photos. Appears to be an amazing deal - and may make up for some of the dogs I have bought on the bay.

 

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