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On-Deck Circle

GAS - GAS, or Great American Sound, was founded by James Bongiorno before Sumo was created and is best known as the manufacturer of the Ampzilla amplifier. Here's a photo of the GAS Charlie tuner, the predecessor of the Sumo Charlie (thanks to Ampzilla Joe for the pic).

Grundig search eBay
Please post in our FMtuners group if you have any information about any Grundig tuner. The top U.S. model in Grundig's Fine Arts line was the very rare T9000 (1988, $1,200), which we've seen on eBay only twice in four years ($211 in 1/05 and $150 in 3/06). Lower in the line, the still-rare T-903 (1988, $450) sold for $100 in 12/02 and $56 in 3/03 on eBay.

Grundig T 7500 (1983?) search eBay
The T 7500 replaced the older ST 6000 (30 presets, battery backup) and retailed for approximately 800 DM in Germany (about $300 US). It is not known whether it was ever sold in the U.S. Our contributor Stephan reports that it has three tuned front-end circuits (one before the preamp, two after) and an additional two in the LO, making it equivalent to a typical 4-gang tuner. There are four cascaded FM IF filters, sufficient for very good separation at 300 kHz and halfway decent separation at 200 kHz. The PLL demodulator uses a Philips TDA1576 chip (another of those is used for scan tuning and on-frequency recognition), and after a discrete birdie filter a TDA1578 serves as MPX. The AF amp consists of discrete transistors, and coupling caps are 1u before and 47u after. Features include 15 presets that also store a 4-character alphanumeric note along with the mono and muting settings, if applicable, 25 kHz tuning steps on FM (with display to 10 kHz), a roughly logarithmic 8-LED signal strength meter, and adjustable output volume and scanning thresholds. Magazine reviewers liked its combination of good reception and sound with useful features at an excellent price point (it was compared to a Revox costing almost three times as much, possible a B261, and fared very well). Overall, Stephan calls the T 7500 "a tuner done right." There are some areas where cost-cutting shows, however, including only one IF bandwidth and no switchable attenuator. In a comparison with the Onkyo T-4650 (Euro version of the T-4500), Stephan found that the Onkyo is more selective in Narrow mode but the Grundig sounds better (somewhat warmer and with slightly better highs), and is somewhat more sensitive in mono. "Stereo sensitivity differs from the Onkyo insofar that the stereo decoder seems to apply some kind of blending when the signal level diminishes, until you get to the point where stereo is still being displayed but is no longer actually decoded." There is a also a Grundig ST 6500, virtually identical to the T 7500 but with a somewhat different case.

Hafler search eBay
Please post in our FMtuners group if you have any information about any Hafler tuner. The only one that is reputed to be halfway decent is the ugly-looking DH-330, which usually sells for $70-135 on eBay (with a recent low of $33 in 6/06 and a high of $149 in 12/05). Be careful and know what you're buying, because the DH-330 was available both factory-built (1982, $425) and in kit form as model no. DH-330K (1984, $400, $60-70 on eBay). Here's a review of the DH-330 from Audio magazine.

Harman/Kardon: There are several Harman/Kardon tuners in our On-Deck Circle and on the Tube Tuners page for which we'd like to get some basic information. If you've used any of them, please post the details in our FMtuners group.

Harman/Kardon Citation 14 (1973, $525, ad, inside, service manual and schematics) search eBay
and
Harman/Kardon Citation 15 (1973, $395, photo, back) search eBay
Our contributor Eli outlines the features and specs of the Citation 14, Citation 15 and Citation 18 (which also has its own separate entry below). The Citation 14 generally sells for $75-125 on eBay, with a recent low of $41 in 3/06 and a recent high of $212 in 2/06. The Citation 15 generally sells for $140-230 on eBay, with a low of $50 in 6/04 and a high of $300 in 7/04 as three wacky bidders ran up the price. Here's Eli: "An eBay listing said that the 14/15 had the first PLL MPX in a production tuner, but I don't know whether this is true. Common to all three:

* Patented "Quieting Meter" that measures the signal-to-noise ratio of the received signal
* All-metal buttons and switches
* FM-only
* Single IF bandwidth
* Rear-panel Muting threshold control
* Rear-panel Stereo threshold control
* Large, heavy metal tuning flywheel
* Thick, heavy aluminum faceplate and overall very substantial construction on essentially the same chassis for all three models
* Fourteens and Fifteens were all finished in silver brushed aluminum, as far as I can tell. Eighteens were nearly all black-faced,but there are some silver-faced Eighteens out there.
* Unusual rounded-corner walnut cabinets were available, along with rack-mount kits and even a screened metal rack designed to hold one of these tuners along with a matching 16 power amp and an 11, 17 or 17-S preamp (the 17-S matches the 18 styling and is simpler than the 11 and 17)

* Specifications (Tuner):
30 dB Quieting Sensitivity mono: better than 11.2 dBf (2.0 uV)
50 dB Quieting Sensitivity mono: better than 15.1 dBf (3.2 uV)
50 dB Quieting Sensitivity Stereo: better than 37.3 dBf (40 uV)
THD @ 1 kHz: better than 0.15% mono (0.09% typical), better than 0.3% stereo (0.25% typical)
S/N ratio: -74 dB mono, -64 dB stereo
Capture ratio: 1.5 dB
Selectivity: 70 dB
IF Rejection: FM 100 dB
Image Rejection: FM 100 dB
Fundamental Plus 1/2 IF Rejection: 100 dB
SCA Rejection: 63 dB
19 kHz and 38 kHz Rejection: 60 dB
AM Rejection: 55 dB
Mute Suppression: 70 dB
Multiplex separation @ 1 kHz: better than 50 dB
Audio Frequency response (before de-emphasis): 10 Hz-50 kHz +/- 0.5 dB"

Harman/Kardon Citation 18 (1977, $595, front1, front2, front3, back, silver, schematics and alignment guide) search eBay
The Citation 18, a solidly built 5-gang analog tuner with good sensitivity and decent sound, was available in black or (rare) silver. It has only two filters, but one is the old 4-pin type that is equivalent to two modern 3-pin filters. We thought the Citation 18 had wide and narrow IF bandwidth settings, but our contributor Eli corrected us: "The Citation 18 doesn’t actually have wide and narrow IF bandwidths. The wide and narrow switch affects only the bandwidth of the muting. It’s quite a strange and useless (to me) feature. I wonder if the designer intended to have two tuning bandwidths, but the accountants ($) or the marketers (deadline) got to it and they used the already-added switch to perform this useless function." It does have adjustable muting and stereo-mono thresholds, and TWO front-panel headphone jacks with an adjustable volume control. Inside, the Citation 18's plug-in circuit boards should make it easy to work on if one can read the schematics. Bill Ammons aligned and tweaked a Citation 18 and says, "For a tuner with only 3 ceramic filters it has very good 400 kHz selectivity and about 6 to 10 dB of 200 kHz selectivity." A contributor to our Yahoo group posted a nice writeup on the Citation 18. Our contributor doug s. says that compared to his refurbished Tandberg 3001A, his upgraded Citation 18 has "better soundstaging and warmth, with equal detail," and it is also much more sensitive than his other tuners. The Citation 18 usually sells for $150-280 on eBay, with a recent high of $316 in 10/04. [JR]

Harman/Kardon Citation 23 (1987, $700/orig $595, photo, specs/alignment guide, circuit description/block diagram, large file: main board showing adjustment points, Audio review, Stereo Review review) search eBay
One of the first digital "super tuners" for DXers, the Citation 23 claimed 30dB of adjacent channel selectivity but Stereo Review's review sample was measured at 46dB. The Citation 23 does not have a wide/narrow IF bandwidth selector, instead using a fine-tuning ("Hi Q") circuit that allows one to tune slightly away from the center of the channel and away from an interfering adjacent channel station. The Citation 23 has 5 ceramic filters, 3 blue ML GDT type which are used in the wide IF bandwidth setting and two blue MZ GDT type which are used in the "active tracking" ("Hi Q") mode. A contributor who obtained many "refurbished" Citation 23s direct from HK found that even after going through their "factory repair facility," quality control was lacking. The tuner's sound varied significanty from unit to unit, with some sounding "pretty good to 'barrel chested' while others were flat out 'muddy'." Our contributor Bill T. found no detectable difference in the sound of the two Citation 23s that he owned, and thinks it's "simply a well rounded performer." But our contributor Hilary says: "Your item on the Citation 23 requested that someone write in with a ceramic filter count. I have the book and it shows three of them in the signal path, with another path coming off from a point between the second and third filters. This path has two more filters in it and goes to a phase comparator in the 'active tracking circuit.' But it probably doesn't matter because you shouldn't buy one. Construction quality is one step below junk, and it's particularly shameful because the tuner is pretty elaborately designed, looks very nice and sounds really great. All of that thoughtful, dare I say heartfelt, design work went straight into the trash because some bastard decided to have these built in the cheapest way humanly possible." And our contributor John V. says, "Hard to use. The fine-tuning feature kinda sucks 'cause you have to use that digital output meter which is not very sensitive. It is forward, almost having an EQ type midrange/upper/midrange push boost. In other words, it sounds like early CDs and CD players. Then the display itself is not bright enough and all the other controls are difficult to use and see. It's a disappointment. The Carver TX-11 kills it sonically [ouch - Editor]. The Citation is sensitive enough, but with its mute defeat, you're not really defeating the mute till you actually stop tuning. If the signal is at 90.3, you can defeat the mute and go to 90.5, but the mute comes on for that moment you're tuning the knob."

Our contributor David Rich notes that the Citation 23 is double-tuned at the antenna and double-tuned after the RF amp. Our panelist Bob has used two Citation 23s and reports: "It has a 5-gang front end, but an unconventionial RF front end box with no 'usual' cap adjustments. The gang inductors are copper air coils, with 'bend the wire' adjustments done at the factory. The service manual has no instructions at all for adjusting them. Despite these issues, the sensitivity is fairly good, better than the Sony ST-S730ES, and as good as most digital tuners except for a few really outstanding models. Be forwarned, the active tracking on both units was grossly off as received, but still *sorta* worked. After adjustments, the active tracking seems fairly effective, but adjustment is tricky. It is roughly as good as, but no better than, the Yamaha TX-1000 in narrow mode with .01 MHz fine tuning. How the active tracking works is pretty amazing: a second varactor-tuned oscillator is driven by a phase-locked loop to recreate the IF signal, free of local interference. The controls allow for mono/stereo operation, but no MPX blend control. Tuning is done in .1 MHz increments. The Citation 23 came standard with a remote control. Overall build quality on these units, compared to other top-of-the-line, expensive digital tuners from Kenwood, Pioneer, Rotel or Yamaha, is a bit below the mark. But overall, the sound and reception after alignment seem very good. To modify the filters or audio caps, you need to remove the circuit board, which means removing about a dozen cables and the rear connections. Common mods include replacement of four audio path caps, removal of the internal 300-Ohm balun, and socketing the filters. In my unit, the first wide filter appears to have a circuit mismatch, likely incorrect drive direct from the IF transformer. The wide stereo distortion would not go below 0.2% until the first filter was relaced with a 0.1 uF cap, and then it dropped like a rock to 0.02%. Selectivity with only two ML filters in wide is fine with a rotating antenna. Active tracking stereo distortion was lower than normal for such a selective narrow circuit, at about 0.15%. With the stock discrete transistor output stage after the LA3401 MPX chip, four new black gate caps, and the filter mod above, the Citation 23 now sounds very good indeed. For the current price (low $100s), I'd say it is a good budget bargain for audiophiles who need a remote control and can do some of these mods to improve the sound." The Citation 23 is not uncommon on eBay and usually sells for $100-175, but can be well under $100 with no remote. The recent high was $298 in 10/05.

Harman/Kardon TU615 (1981, $350) search eBay
The TU615 is an undistinguished but decent digital tuner with 4 gangs and 3 ceramic filters. It had acceptable specs, with the exception of selectivity (so it may be a cheap candidate for filter experimentation). Our panelist Ray says, "It sounds just fine - not outstanding, not bad. I don't have a service manual, but a peek under the hood appears to reveal discrete transistor output amps." The TU615 usually sells for $30-80 on eBay, with a high of $100 in 8/04 in an auction with only one bidder. We don't know anything about its little brother, the TU610 (1981, $200), which should be $30 or less on eBay. [RFM]

Harman/Kardon TU911 or TU911A (1987, $299/orig 1986, $235, schematic, technical manual) search eBay
and
Harman/Kardon TU912 (1986, $295) search eBay
We're taking a wild guess, based on their original list prices, that these digital tuners may be worth a look. We think the TU911A was an updated version of the TU911, but we're not sure. Any of these should be available for $50-60 or less on eBay.

Harman/Kardon TU915 (1984, $450) search eBay
The digital TU915 seems like the best of a rather anonymous group of similarly numbered H/K tuners. It usually sells for $45-90 on eBay, with a high of $152 in 9/03.

Harman/Kardon TU920 (1987, $400, schematic, main board, technical manual) search eBay
The digital TU920 is another tuner that stands out from H/K's confusing lineup of similarly numbered tuners. It has an "active tracking" circuit and appears to be the little brother of the Citation 23. The TU920 usually sells for $85-120 on eBay but "new" ones can go for over $200 (although it sometimes takes the seller multiple tries to find a sucker).

Harvey Radio Labs 193R Model 47 (1947, front, inside)
Here's Mike Zuccaro's review of this very rare tube receiver:
Harvey Radio Labs was similar to REL. This monster 17-tube, dual conversion high fidelity FM receiver was perhaps the first FM broadcast monitor. It had a frequency range of 85-115 MHz, and was a redesign of the earlier 44-50 mc model. This is a great-sounding rack-mount unit that weighs a ton and makes the REL Precedent and Marantz 10B look flimsy by comparison. It has several interesting features, including an antenna tuning control, a two-position "mute" switch (not variable), and lots of negative feedback used in the audio stage. It has two meters, one for signal strength (50 uA) and one for center of station.

I believe the AJ-1510 was the first digital synthesizer product anywhere in the Heath line (no earlier ham products or TVs used direct digital entry). All of tuner's circuits were on plug-in boards, with an extender card supplied. A pre-production engineering prototype of the AJ-1510 was very well reviewed in the May 1972 issue of Audio. There was also an article in the May 1973 issue of Popular Electronics by Heath engineer Dave Thomas, which is basically just a transcript of the circuit description from the assembly manual. The tuner was manufactured until about 1975. It shows up occasionally on eBay, but don't buy one if you can't fix it yourself - the AJ-1510 is not a unit for tweakers, hobbyists or beginners.

Editor's note. Our contributor Mark H. tells us: "Along the way, Heathkit came out with an 'a' version of this tuner, the AJ-1510a. I asked Heath about this and here is their reply from Leon Cray, Technical Consultant, on 5/1/80: 'There have been no engineering changes made to the AJ-1510 digital tuner. The model AJ-1510a was introduced when one of the parts, IC606, on the IF circuit board was no longer available from the manufacturer and had to be replaced with discrete components. Although this did require a new IF circuit board, it did not result in an increase in the performance of the unit.'" The AJ-1510 usually sells for $120-185 on eBay, but a mint one sold for $256 in 9/05 and an unbuilt kit went for an astonishing $2,276 in 4/03. The apparently similar AJ-1510A usually sells for $120-205 on eBay, but one went for an astounding $431 in 1/05. A contributor tells us that the AJ-1510A's circuit board contacts were gold-plated, while those in the AJ-1510 were not.

Heathkit AJ-1600 (1979, schematic, parts) search eBay
Here's a review from Bill Ammons: "The AJ-1600 is a black-faced rack-mount unit with handles. The front end is a 5-gang ALPS with two RF MOSFETs and a MOSFET mixer. This was ALPS' top-of-the-line front end module. This is an analog tuner with a digital frequency display that uses the local oscillator as a frequency source. It has dual IF bandwidths with two standard 280 kHz 3-pin filters in the Wide mode. The Wide mode feeds the Narrow mode which has two of the older 4-pin MJA filters. There is plenty of IF gain and limiting before the ratio detector. The AJ-1600 uses a HA11223 decoder IC and has discreet audio outputs. I was only able to get about 40 dB of stereo separation stock from this one. By changing out the old Wide filters to SFELA10.7FALLs and re-scaling the composite low-pass filter component values, I am now getting closer to 50 dB, with 0.15% distortion in stereo. It is a very sensitive unit, with very good 400 kHz selectivity. When modified to use 4 standard 3-pin filters in Narrow, this tuner can be made very selective, similar to a modified Kenwood KT-7500. The AJ-1600 is very easy to service and modify because all of the PCBs are on connectors." The AJ-1600 usually sells for $150-250 on eBay, with a low of $77 in 11/04 and a high of $360 in 3/06 for one with a wooden cabinet.

Hitachi FT-007 (photo, left closeup, right closeup) search eBay
The FT-007 is a very compact, digital synthesizer FM-AM tuner with elegant rosewood sides. It has a 5-varactor front end (equivalent to 5 gangs) and 4 ceramic filters, and is packed with nice features including pushbuttons for Wide and Narrow IF bandwidth settings, RF band ("double/single"), signal strength readout in dBs, and 16 presets. The FT-007 also has a pushbutton to engage Hitachi's "FCCS" (Field Condition Computer System) circuitry, as described in the FT-5500MKII writeup below, and is fairly selective in stock form. Our panelist Ray compared photos of an FT-007 to his beloved FT-5500 MKII and says, "The circuit board of the FT-007 appears barren as it has lots of open spaces. The IF sections appear to be the same and I find no componentry in the FT-007 suggesting an output buffer nor discrete audio amps. I could not read the numbers on many of the IC's but some appear to be NON-Hitachi!! Bottom line, I do not think the FT-007 is the 'mother of all Hitachi tuners' but rather a restyled and cost-reduced version of the FT-5500 MKII." Then Ray had a chance to see the FT-007 in person: "Thanks to the generousity of some of our members, RFM finally got his mitts on an FT-007 to study, test and play with. The grand finale was a shootout with his modded FT-5500 MKII. The two tuners involved in this shootout have some previous TIC recognition. The FT-007 was the subject of Jim's Shootout #79 and the FT-5500 MKII was reviewed in Jim's Modified Tuner Report of 06/12/05. The FT-007 is a later Hitachi release than the FT-5500 MKII but has virtually all the same performance features. Much of it seems to be contained in larger scale ICs and thus it is a smaller and lighter package. The RF and IF stages are near identical, but the FT-007 uses an LA1265 detector/IF ic where the FT-5500 MKII uses an older LA1235. The same MPX chip is used and the audio output sections are almost part-for-part the same. The FT-007 has shorter and better PC runs, however. In the DX arena I could detect no difference between them, as both are exemplary. They both have the same dBuv digital signal strength meters but the FT-007's read consistantly 10dBuv higher. As Bob says, 'a mere pot tweak apart.' Quieting performance seemed the same for both. On the test bench the FT-007 showed a very flat frequency response of +/- 0.4dB from 20 Hz to 15 kHz. I did see very minor crossover notch distortion which I cannot explain since the MPX IC runs single polarity. I have never noticed this in a tuner before. In Ray's Room they shared a splitter and were A/B'd for sonic differences. This was very tough and my findings amount to mainly 'piddling differences.' The challenge was made more difficult as the FT-5500 MKII has a higher output level, so adjustment had to be continually made. However, the modded FT-5500 MKII sounds better. It has a more robust lower midrange, giving more realistic body to the music. They both have plenty of bass presentation. With multiple vocalists there is a realistic separation between them with the FT-5500 MKII. Both give a wide image but that elusive third dimension seems more pronounced with the modded FT-5500 MKII. I do think the FT-007 would better the sound of a stock FT-5500 MKII but that's stretching the imaginative audio memory a bit much for RFM. If forced to choose between them in stock form, I think I'd take the FT-007 (sorry old pal, but that's why I stuck that hot iron into your innards back when)." The FT-007 is very rare and only a few have been seen on eBay over the past several years, selling for $75-90. [EF][RFM]

Hitachi FT-920 (1977, $300) search eBay
We'll be adding more information on the FT-920 eventually, but for now, this quote from our contributor Thrassyvoulos will have to suffice: "Sonically, the FT-920 is a true bargain, but compared to the FT-5500 MKII it clearly loses in the realms of sensitivity and selectivity, though it's not bad." The FT-920 generally sells for $40-65 on eBay, with a recent high of $102 in 5/06.

Hitachi FT-3500 (1981, $170) search eBay
The FT-3500 is a basic slim-line FM/AM tuner with "vector tuning system," whatever that means. We wouldn't necessarily go crazy looking for one but our contributor Chris C. seems to like his: "I have a little FT-3500 as my current office tuner. It has 3 gangs on FM, 2 on AM. There are two chips visible: AN217P, which appears to be the AM RF-IF chip, and an HA 12412, which is the FM IF amp/detector/meter amp/etc. chip. Hitachi makes its data sheet available for that (thank you, Hitachi). But I didn't see an IC for the MPX. Discrete components in the Hitachi tuners? This little low-end tuner seems surprisingly sensitive in my poor-signal office environment. It does at least as well as its predecessors, the Sansui TU-317 and an old H-K 430 receiver. It sounds pretty good, too, although it's not a critical listening setup here." The FT-3500 should be findable for $20 or less on eBay.

Hitachi FT-5000 (1979, $300, photo) search eBay
Our panelist Ray offers this review: "The FT-5000 was an early fully digital tuner. Its service manual is dated September 1979. Its circuit features and ICs seem pretty typical of the midrange tuners from many manufacturers through the '80s. It has 4 varactor 'gangs' and 3 280 kHz IF filters, and a single dual-gate FET RF amp with AGC and PLL in the MPX section. One giveaway of its vintage is the use of three AA cells for memory backup. The FT-5000 uses the HA1196 for MPX and unbuffered audio out. The de-emphasis, via feedback, seems spot-on at 75 uS and the output is very clean, i.e., no visible pilot signals riding along. Some specs: IHF sensitivity 1.0 uV @ 75 Ohm; THD .20% IHF, stereo; S/N ratio 73 dB mono and 68 dB stereo; alternate channel selectivity 70 dB IHF; capture ratio 1.0 dB; stereo separation 48 dB. Subjectively, it sounds quite good and has excellent quieting. One-on-one, it easily bests my similarly equipped H/K TU615 in both RF and audio performance. BUT, it ain't no FT-5500MKII! I'd call the FT-5000 a good value at less than $40.00, IMHO." And as luck would have it, the FT-5000 can indeed be found for as little as $20-25 on eBay. [RFM]

Hitachi FT-5500 MKII (1984, $350, photo, service manual, Hi-Fi News review, Hi-Fi Answers review, New Hi-Fi Sound review) search eBay
Somewhat scarce in the U.S., our panelist Ray's favorite is a solidly built, low-profile, black digital tuner with some unusual and nice features. In the mid-1980s, the FT-5500 MKII was highly regarded by the European audio press, but received little recognition in the U.S. Its front end consists of 5 varactors (equivalent to 5 gangs) for FM, in a sealed module that isn't represented in detail on the schematic, and 2 for AM. The FT-5500 MKII has a wide/narrow selector that changes the bandwidth for both FM and AM. The IF section in Wide mode has 2 ceramic filters around a group delay circuit and 2 gain stages. In Narrow mode, the group delay circuit is bypassed by 2 more ceramic filters, for a total of 4 filters in Narrow. The FT-5500 MKII's "FCCS" (Field Condition Computer System) appears to be similar to Onkyo's "APR" system. When the FCCS push-button is selected, the tuner auto-scans 2.5 MHz up and down the band from the tuned frequency to assess the potential interference and signal strength, and then selects the optimum RF and IF settings. These can be manually overridden, but the computer seems to always get it right. Stations' FCCS settings can also be stored in each of the 16 memory preset settings. One (not-uncommon) shortcoming is that the muting switch and stereo/mono are on the same button, which prevents one from choosing to listen in stereo to stations with signal strength below the muting threshold. The digital signal-strength indicator has exceptional range, 10 to 80 dB microvolt, which equates to 21 to 91 dBf (add eleven to the display). The FT-5500 MKII also has an auto quieting control (a blend circuit) and recording calibration tone button. Ray found that his sample, in a side-by-side comparison to a stock Kenwood KT-7550, was better at quieting weak signals and sounded much better. The FT-5500 MKII also outperformed the KT-7550 on AM. Ray says that he has had several other tuners, including a Pioneer TX-9800, and prefers the Hitachi overall. Ray did some mods to his FT-5500 MKII as can be seen here. He changed where the the de-emphasis is done. Stock, it was in the feedback loop of the op-amp (built into the MPX chip). He added a new op-amp output stage, and added the RC components to implement the de-emphasis in a passive filter. See the Modified Tuner Report for Jim's reviews of Ray's two mod attempts, and see Ray's report on a shootout between his modded FT-5500 MKII and a stock Hitachi FT-007 in the above writeup for the latter tuner.

Our panelist Eric found that Ray's FT-5500 MKII had excellent selectivity in Narrow mode, with good quieting on weak stations adjacent to stronger locals. Our contributors Tim and Ann chime in: "We've been putting our recently acquired FT-5500 MKII through its paces and Ray is on to something, IOHO. It's a damn fine tuner. It's closer to having that McIntosh 'house' sound than any non-McIntosh tuner we've listened to here. It does not have as much 3-D depth as some tuners we've listened to, but it does have a very, very good midrange, the bass is phenomenal, and the highs are good as well. And the built-in digital signal strength meter calibrated in dBs is just as accurate, we've found, as using a scope to help aim our antenna, and it's a whole lot better than trying to use a standard signal strength meter like so many tuners use. It is the most sensitive tuner and best DXer we've tried here." And after an extensive listening test involving their stock FT-5500 MKII, Ray's modded one, and a McIntosh MR 74, Tim says he "wouldn't kick the Hitachi out of bed for eating crackers!" The FT-5500 MKII usually sells for $85-140 on eBay. The more common FT-5500 (1981, $350, photo, usually $20-50 on eBay but $102 in 7/05) is believed to be somewhat similar. Ray says, "The FT-5500 was the ground-breaker with the initial release of the FCCS technology. The MKII has different pilot tone cancellation to reduce HF audio garbage. Also, the MKII's memory presets include the FCCS RF and IF settings, and the front end was revised to include use of GaAs FETs. The MKII has improved pilot filtering and is more resistant to out-of-band RF noise." [EF][RFM]

Hitachi FT-8000 (1979, $460, photo, large files: block diagram, schematic 1, schematic 2, schematic 3) - We'll have some basic factual information on this very rare tuner eventually. Our contributor Thomas calls the FT-8000 one of the best-sounding digital tuners he has heard, and prefers it to the underrated FT-5500MKII. Our contributor Noel says, "I have used an FT-8000 in a third system and have always been very impressed with its ability to pull in stations in the basement with just a wire. But I got another one for $30 on eBay with a beat-up case and for grins I hooked it up in one of my two reference systems. It is substantially better sonically than the Pioneer F-93 I just disconnected. Very natural mids and highs, and very articulate bass. Voices have a way of naturally jumping out in the room. An exceptional solid-state tuner on the cheap." To illustrate the potential variability of different samples of the same tuner, our contributor Dana says that his FT-8000 had "solid bass and a relatively nice soundstage, but I found the overall presentation quite dry and lifeless to my ears, versus equally priced analog units from Kenwood or Sansui." But our contributor doug s. replied: "I think it's excellent sound for the money. It is right there w/the Tandberg 3001a's I used to own; I didn't experience any of the dryness Dana talks about." Our panelist Ray reviewed the FT-8000's schematic and believes that it's basically an FT-5000 with the addition of an audio output buffer. Here's the Japanese version of the FT-8000, courtesy of k-nisi's site. The FT-8000 usually sells for $75-140 on eBay, with a high of $153 for a mint one in 1/06.

JVC FX-1010TN (1989, $480, photo) search eBay
Our contributor Greg reports: "This tuner was the replacement for the FX-1100BK. The FX-1010 is one of a handful of tuners that use the ultra-low distortion Sanyo LA3450 multiplex decoder. The tuner uses JVC's 'OPTICALINK digital tuning system' which is not just a gimmick. There is a large, dedicated OPTICALINK board inside the tuner with many ICs, resistors, transistors, and caps. Quoting from the service manual, 'In the digital tuning system employed by this unit, an optical transmission system is used between the tuner circuit and the logic circuit, to prevent noise from the logic section from being introduced into the tuner system.' The block diagram of the OPTICALINK system reveals several photocouplers and an A/D converter, among other components. The FX-1010 uses a total of 6 ceramic filters, but only 4 affect the selectivity. Wide mode uses CF201 and CF202, and Narrow mode adds CF203 and CF204. The other two ceramic filters (CF601 and CF602) appear to feed the A/D converter in the OPTICALINK system. The 'TN' designation refers to the titanium color finish that JVC used in the late '80s and early '90s." Two FX-1010TNs sold for $261 and $149 on eBay in 9/02.

JVC FX-1100BK (1987, $470, photo, schematic) search eBay
Our panelist Bob believes that the FX-1100 and the FX-1010 were basically identical except for the color (black vs. titanium). They did have exactly identical specs and were the same weight. Bob says, "Nice little tuner, 5 gangs, 4 filters. No signal strength bars, just a dB readout on the front panel. One problem: It has muting and stereo/mono on the same switch. But the sound is very, very good, and so is reception sensitivity. Probably a better unit for those with overload problems vs. those who are in the boonies. It does have a MPX blend/quieting circuit that is engaged automatically, called QSC or 'quieting slope circuit.' It lights the 'QSC' on the display when on. The tuner is sensitive as to setup, and as furnished to me was totally off for a DX type. Once you figure out the influence of the three adjustments (muting pot and the two dB display pots), you can set it up to be perfect for weak stereo reception with MPX blend. It works pretty well now, and is fairly sensitive and quiet." Our contributor Ryan adds that the FX-1100 has a few other nice features as well: dual antenna inputs, an RF attenuator that he says "seems to work better than most," and a very accurate signal strength meter that takes up an incredible amount of board space. Ryan also notes that "in addition to its very well-executed PLL detector, there are also separate distortion adjustments for wide, narrow, and mono which help give this tuner great sound after a careful adjustment." Our contributor doug s. adds, "This is a fantastic-sounding tuner that is also quite sensitive. Compares favorably w/the much spendier Tandberg 3001a. Soundstage is a hair more forward than that of the Tandberg." doug adds, "though 'ugly,' it's something I could listen to happily ever after, if someone came along and relieved me of all my other tunas. It sounds great, has excellent sensitivity, and a few cool features as well, like measuring signal strength in real time, and being able to set the call letters for the stations being received." The FX-1100BK usually sells for $85-140 on eBay, with a low of $36 in 10/04 for an "as-is" one and occasional highs around $180.

JVC VT-900 (1974, $400, photo) search eBay
The VT-900 is a rare 4-gang FM/AM tuner with an analog tuning knob and a large digital frequency readout, somewhat resembling an SAE Mark VI or VIB. Our contributor John V. tells us that the VT-900 "sonically is for all practical purposes a [Pioneer] TX-9500, maybe a little softer in the midrange. Sensitivity/selectivity is very good - you can 'blur' the readout when fine-tuning a station, and it will stay." The VT-900's specs do indeed claim excellent sensitivity and overload rejection. Its back panel features include a variable muting level control and jacks for an oscilloscope. The only VT-900 seen in a long time on eBay sold for just $50 in 11/02.

Kenwood Tuners can be found on a separate page.

Klein + Hummel search eBay
We give this German manufacturer's FM2002 (photo, inside, German article) an honorable mention. See the series of posts in our FMtuners group beginning here for great information on Klein + Hummel and its successor, Wieschhoff.

Kyocera T-910 (1984, $590, photo) search eBay
The T-910 is a rare and very unusual digital tuner that is a pretty good performer when working properly, but no one should buy an "as is" one because it's virtually impossible to fix without a service manual (as our panelists Bob and Jim learned). It has 8 memory presets for FM, 8 more for AM, and an output level knob on the back panel. Our contributor Bill T. found that his T-910 outperformed a Nakamichi ST-7, although he thought the T-910 sounded "somewhat thin and closed-in." Here's a review by our contributor Ryan: "First off, GORGEOUS digital tuner. One of the absolute best-looking that I've ever seen. Every photo I've seen of this thing just does not do it justice at all. Back panel has fixed level and variable outputs, an AM antenna input, and two 75 Ohm coaxial threaded FM antenna inputs which are switched by a relay. Initial glance shows 5 gangs and 5 filters. Standard metal fence around the front end. Filters are GDT type for the most part - SFE10.7MXs and a couple that are just 'M', which is rather vague. Narrow mode could thus be made quite selective. Tuning is done in 100 kHz steps by two very handsome round aluminum push buttons. All of the selector funtion buttons are backlit by an LED when pressed. Functions: rec cal, MPX filters, DNR, blend, mono, mute off, 25 uS deemphasis, and multipath. Yes, it does multipath indication, nice. Why in the world there is 25 uS deemphasis I have no idea. Dolby was dead by this time as far I know. A mystery, I suppose; the 'DNR' would seem to support the built-in Dolby. The inside looks good, with some nice polystyrene caps and 'Audio Use' labeled Elna 'lytics around what I assume to be the MPX and what looks like the audio buffer. I cannot find anything about the multiplex, but it looks like a Harris, so I assume a successor to the fine HA11223W, which was quite good in its own right. It is quite large in physical size, and is labeled HA12031. All in all, a very nice-looking tuner. If you're just some casual guy who doesn't listen to a tuner much, but has a high-end good-looking system stuffed with Krell and the like, and need a digital tuner, and don't want some cheap-looking Kenwood, Sony, or Sansui taking up tuning space, this is THE tuner to own, IMHO, unless you have tons of cash to waste on a new Magnum that you'll only use once in a blue moon." But uh-oh, stop the presses, here's Ryan again with a revised view: "The Kyocera T-910 is a piece of complete and total garbage. Every single unit I have heard of has the same problem, and it's a design issue. There is a ghastly low-level high-pitched whine that you'd have to be half deaf not to hear, although it can be more or less pronounced at any given time." See how our panelist Jim ranked one T-910 compared to many top tuners on our Shootouts page. The T-910 usually sells for $100-175 on eBay, but the alltime high is $280. [BF][JR]

Lafayette LT-425T (inside, schematic) - The LT-425T had 4 FM gangs and 3 AM gangs and might be the only Lafayette tuner worth seeking out on eBay.

Leak - See the Tube Tuners page for information on Leak's Trough Line series of tube tuners.

Linn Kremlin (1994-2000, $4,400/orig $3,700, open, closed, inside, top board, main board) search eBay
Our panelist Jim did a Shootout with this rare and very pricey British tuner and provided the above photos of its insides. The first photo shows a full inside view, the second is a closeup of the top board which holds the audio section, and the third shows the main board with the top board removed from the tuner section. Jim didn't see any common ceramic filters and didn't pry open the three cans. Please post in our FMtuners group if you have any personal experience with the Kremlin. The only one we've seen on eBay in the past few years sold for $1,575 in 5/04.

Linn Kudos (1995-1998, $1,750/orig $1,195) search eBay and
Linn Pekin (2001) search eBay
We have no personal experience with either of these high-priced tuners, both of which can sell for $400-675 on eBay. The British magazine Hi-Fi World had this to say about the Pekin: "Good when it comes to facilities and features. The Pekin suffers from insensitivity [a common problem with British tuners - Editor] and a slightly thin sound, although vocals are clear and detailed." Please post in our FMtuners group if you have any information about either of them.

Luxman Tuners can be found on a separate page.

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