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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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In Reply to: What are your most pleasant tube surprises? posted by nightdoggy on March 19, 2007 at 18:08:23:
nightdoggy,This is an easy queston for me as four months ago upon receipt, I had to pick my jaw off the floor after five minutes with a McIntosh MR67 tuner (1965). And this MR67 has 10 of 12 tubes original plus I'm reasonably sure it's never been re-aligned. The soundstage was wider than the speakers and deeper than the room with a bass that is tranparent and detailed that absolutely shakes the floor, so smooth, articulate, and dynamic I only wish I could find a CD player that makes this sound. The MR67 actaully made me immediately dissapointed with the Cambridge Audio 640C- though I was listening to CD's on FM, the sound was vastly better than if I played the CD's directly. - An astounding device really and I never heard FM this way.
I use a tuner all the time on the office but in my main system - Audio REserach SP10 and D115, I used a 1965 McIntosh MX110 tuner preamp for 15 years- and that has tuner circuitry similar to the MR67. With prices for vintage tuners getting silly- though not as silly as 5751 and 6911 prices, I decided I should get settled with two good tuners and bought a Revox B160 (1988), the MR67, and an MR77 (1974) which I'm listening to again since about an hour ago. I can't decide which two of the thre to keep except the MR67 is so obvious ! Earlier, I thought th eMR77 was the clear loser, but today with a lot of sorting of the office system, it suddenly seems far better than I remember. I do also have a Scott 330C mono tube tuner and that one is so good it almost convinces me to stay with mono FM! Really, I think I like the MR67 sound more than Marantz 10B. The office system of an Audio Research LS3 and D130 solid state is wonderfully neutral to evaluate sources. With the MR67, I actually have what sounds like a fantastic tube system.
The MR67 is so amazing, I've gradually over 4 months bought the finest NOS tubes I can find as a gift to it for being so good!
For those interested, here are my tube choices for the MR67:
3- 6AU6 : 1st, 2nd IF / 1st limiter> Raytheon black plate 7543 > The 7543 is a special low noise, premium ruggedized 6AU6A
2- 6BL8: L&R audio amplifiers> Valvo E80CF pinched waist gold pin
12AU7 : MPX oscillator> Amperex Bugle Boy 7316
12AT7: 2nd RF amplifier,mixer > Valvo, Hamburg blue label 6201 gold pin
6DS4 : Nuvistor 1st RF amplifier > Amperex by RCA
6AB4 : Oscillator> Telefunken EC92- Germany
6CS6 /EH90: (GE) 4th IF, 2nd limiter> Telefunken EH90
6U8 / ECF82 : MPX amplifier> Amperex 6GHA- orange globe label- France- NOS > the MR67 designer Modaferri recommends the higher gain
6GH8A in place of the 6U8 in MR67.6AV6/EBC91 : Muting amplifier> Telefunken EBC91- Germany- NOS
- a nice thing by the way is that the less often used tuner types are very inexpensive- I bought 4 Telefunken ECB91s in sealed boxes for $2 each! The 7316 was a bit more- at $40 the most expensive single tube I've ever bought.
With new caps and alignment and the above tubes, I expect to be buried with the MR67!
I'm grinning just thinking about the MR67 !
Cheers,
Bambi B
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Follow Ups
- McIntosh MR67 tuner - I haven't heard it in two months, but I'm still grinning ! - Bambi B 19:50:05 03/19/07 (0)
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