Non Naim tuners

Thx michelw!

To this day, I have a fondness for Technics and am so glad to see them back with decent HiFi products

not to mention turntables to seriously drool over , and which would not look out of place in many of the quality systems on this forum

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Yes the new kit dies look good. I read somewhere that the head of Technics was brought in by Panasonic and she is a lady musician. Getting the brand back to its roots and music.

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Here are a couple of tuners from my collection that I sold on fairly recently. Both are now being enjoyed by enthusiastic new owners;

A Linx Theta, which was basically a Magnum Dynalab FT-101 in racy clothing.

A Sony ST-S555ES, which featured the rather short-lived idea of a current drive output, but was the first in a series of flagship state of the art tuners from Sony with dual antenna inputs and top specifications.

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As I have said on a number of occasions, in my view the NAT01 tuner is the finest source component ever manufactured by Naim Audio (and I include the ND555 with 2x PS555DR in that comparison).

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Would not disagree…

David

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I would encourage you to get the battery in the Quad FM4 replaced with a battery using a different technology. The original battery lasts years, but eventually leaks, and damages the circuit board when it does. I spent more to have the board cleaned by the authorized service center in the USA than the tuner originally cost me years earlier. Amplabs either does that work, or would know someone who does.

In the UK Quad does the service themselves. They normally fit a battery custom-potted in epoxy which doesn’t leak, but they can also fit a modification that replaces the IC with one that doesn’t need a battery backup. But this is quite a bit more expensive than the potted battery.

Anyway I replace the battery myself. It doesn’t take long to do if you have reasonable soldering skills. But it’s best to catch it before it leaks because that is a messy business to clean up.

Best

David

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I have seen some beautiful tuners in this topic. Great stuff! I have been a fan of tuners from my childhood years. Since then I have owned quite a few of them. Get ready for a trip down memory lane. :grin:

The beautiful Marantz ST-17:

I loved the Technics ST-G70, especially the display and tuning dial:

This Sony I ordered from the US (to NL) as it had exceptional reception:

This Kenwood is a best buy for sound at its new price:

The Marantz ST-15 was great as well. Sounded good, but no DBA+ unfortunatly.

And my all time favourite, the Kenwood L-1000T. I have had 4 of these over the years.

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David,

Thanks for letting me know that Quad does this type of service themselves, including the option to use a better technology.

In my notes I found a reference to Dada Electronics EU and Dada Electronics North America, which offer service and upgrades for vintage Quad gear.

This was a great tuner back in the day - the Denon TU-260L Mark II. Lovely looks and sound:

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I use an Ocean Digital Internet Radio Adapter. Gives a really good choice of DAB radio using Wi-Fi

Thank You @davidhendon for giving this thread traction. Some
Lovely tuners on here.

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My first serious tuner was a Leak Stereofetic tuner which was in a matching wooden sleeve with a Stereo 30 amp. Google images will bring up several examples. Back in the day it was only Radio 3 (called the Third Programme until 1967) that broadcast in stereo from 1959 onwards and in the late 60’s and early 70’s John Peel had a weekly slot on the predominantly classical station so that we could hear pop and rock album releases of the day in glorious stereo. Radio 2 and 4 followed in stereo in the 70’s and then finally Radio 1 found its way onto FM in stereo. Now running a Philips head early NAT 05.

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Looking through some files I came across one more pictures of various tuners I’ve had here;

A Yamaha CT1010; I found this one a bit cool and aloof in sound. Lovely to look at and use, but not really for me…

Pioneer TX-8100; Beautifully built tuner and with that lovely illumination. I still have this one along with the matching amp, cassette deck and PL-61 turntable.

Leak Troughline 3; A great sounding tuner, if very insensitive. Loved the magic eye tuning indicator.

Lecson SFM2; A rarity, and a striking looking tuner. Was equipped with Dolby! Recently sold to a collector and enthusiast.

Clark & Smith; OK, not really a stand alone tuner, more a radio set, and one that will be familiar to many who remember them from their school days. A lovely bit of kit and another magic eye!

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Gosh the Pioneer is lovely, can i prebook a ticket for the grand opening of your hifi museum😉

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My family had one of these, it was old school, good quality and my main source for years, for taping off the radio.

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Wow the Lecson must be a rare beast, especially the tuner.

I must say that magic eyes are fantastic for tuning, fun to play with and great looking.

One of the differences between the MD-100 and MD-107.

The Lecson is looking fantastic. Is it sounding as it looks?

The Lecson was good, if not quite up to the best. However, it had never been serviced, so who knows…?