Analog still rules! LOOK HERE!

[ginovino]

Like I don't have enough TOTL tuners already and more than I could handle at one time... How could I pass up this beauty? what do you think?

[DanTana]

Looks great Gino, but which one sounds best?

[Inspiribomb]

Very sharp, that bad boy come with handles?

[grumpy]

Love to hear that ole girl !

[styler]

she sure is purty, is she allowed to date? :D

[ginovino]

she sure is purty, is she allowed to date? :D

I keep all of my belongings away from the above, lest they have their hearts broken.

Since you been away at sea, my good fortune has gotten BETTER! When are you shipping off again pray tell? :ntwrthy: :beerchug: :ntwrthy: :wave: :zoom:

[ginovino]

Looks great Gino, but which one sounds best?

Right now, the Sansui TU-919(modded) is still king of the hill on so many levels.
Kenwood KT-917 very strong second(unmodded)
Kewood 600T(modded) 3rd place only because of tighter tuning, less noise

Sansui TU-9900 (modded) is really 3rd place because of the luscious sound it makes, but the one(and only) classical station in NYC worth listening to is on 96.3mhz. Thus I hear the I.F. freq 10.7mhz (x9) = 96.3mhz! so i get modulation noise! Just not enough shielding in this unit.

[ginovino]

Love to hear that ole girl !
If you want to dance with her, it wil cost you plenty! Besides, your married to a "classic" already! ( or has the shine worn off?)l

[approse]

Gino,
Just to mention it only as a point for comparison.... I have a just aligned, unmodded at the moment 9900 as well as several lesser Sansuis. None give me any problems when tuned at 96.3 one of my fav stations here. No modulation noise on frequency, it cancels out, only a slight note of it as I tune off frequency which i consider normal the way the noise reduction works. If I had to venture a thought here, it would be perhaps the IF is either amplified too much or if not modded the gain is set much too high allowing the IF harmonic to compete with the actual signal. Normally the noise reduction built into the circuit will cancel (phase out) a lesser signal on the same frequency.

Ron

[timoteus]

Very nice. You have quite a stable of tuners there. I wish more tuners had an AB Antenna switch like the 917 so you can use an omnidirectional antenna while scanning the dial, and then switch to a directional antenna once you have picked a station to maximize reception.

Have you seen pics of the bronze KT-9177? That's a beautiful tuner too. :thmbsp:

[ginovino]

Gino,
Just to mention it only as a point for comparison.... I have a just aligned, unmodded at the moment 9900 as well as several lesser Sansuis. None give me any problems when tuned at 96.3 one of my fav stations here. No modulation noise on frequency, it cancels out, only a slight note of it as I tune off frequency which i consider normal the way the noise reduction works. If I had to venture a thought here, it would be perhaps the IF is either amplified too much or if not modded the gain is set much too high allowing the IF harmonic to compete with the actual signal. Normally the noise reduction built into the circuit will cancel (phase out) a lesser signal on the same frequency.

Ron

thanks for the heads up! Let me clarify: The 9900 (this is my 2nd Tu-9900 in 25 years) had the same problem when it was first introduced back in 1981. the 96.3 station in NYC is the NY TIMES and broadcasts at maximum power allowed by FCC. Of the 4 tuners i have , the 9900 is more susceptable to this problem than the others. This tuner was aligned and moded by APS - Ed Hanlon, who lives about 50 air miles from the same station. He encounters some of the same crap.

Heres a scale to follow my comparison: absolute black is a 10, absolute white is 0(zero). A dipole is used for all reception, all stations (for now).
the Tu919 quiets to 9.5-9.8
the KT-917 quiets to 9.3-9.6
the 600T quiets to 9.3-9.5
the Tu9900 quiets to 9.1-9.4
Of course I am speaking only of the 96.3mhz signal(10.7mhz IF) in this comparison.

This is added 8/27/05. I have to add a note of CLARIFICATION and APOLOGY to Ken ########, Pres. of #############s.com to THE ABOVE COMMENTS I MADE 8/24/05.
The Tu-9900 I speak of was upon arrival, originally destined for upgrading and go directly to Ed Hanlon of APS "fame" for upgrading when it arrived in my hands. Unfortunately it arrived DOA. Ed directed me to Ken ######## of #############s.com to bring this unit back to life if possible, before any upgrading was possible. Ken repaired the unit and like the true audio surgeon he is, supported me in my battle with the seller. Futhermore, as luck was on my side, Ken was also the technician APS (Ed Hanlon) used to perform many of the upgrades and modifications offered by Ed Hanlon at the APS website.

Ken performed the ACTUAL modification and upgrade work to my Tu-9900 under the APS banner. I mistated that APS (Ed Hanlon) aligned and moded my unit. That was not correct and I thank Ken for bringing it to my attention.

My apologies to Ken ########, whose technical knowledge and thoroughness I have the highest regard for and well deserved respect as an Audio Equipment technician of the first magnitude, par excellence'. :thmbsp:

[goldear]

Wow, that is one SWEET looking unit! :thmbsp:

I have a feeling that one might even be able to sonically give my beloved old MR-67 a run for its money when modified.

[ginovino]

Wow, that is one SWEET looking unit! :thmbsp:

I have a feeling that one might even be able to sonically give my beloved old MR-67 a run for its money when modified. With all do respect, thanks for the flowers.... Your Mr-67 first has to get in line on the TIC and humble the 60 or so units behind the KT-917... I like to brag! :naughty:

Seriously, thanks for the nice words.

[ginovino]

Due to the nice words and comments from my AK brethren, here are the pictures I promised last night:

[Inspiribomb]

Everybody loves twins!!! Gorgeous duo you've got there, my friend :banana:

[mattybumpkin]

What you already have said, Ken @ Stereo Surgeons is a GREAT guy and knows his stuff. I drive about 1 1/2 hours to drop my gear off to him, so far he has worked on my CR-1020 and my tube preamp (Belles 21A) in my main system. We always have a great chat when i'm there.

Regards,

Dan

PS - Nice gear!!!