• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

My first Mac!

Yggdrasill

Yggdrasill

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I'm a bit of a tuner nut and today I picked up a local MR74 for a very decent price. It's in beautiful cosmetic condition and good functionally, though I suspect it would benefit from an alignment. It came with the vinyl case which is unmarred, and has a surprisingly classy look. :thmbsp:

Man it's a beautiful piece, rivaling my TU-9900 for looks and sound quality. I have to confess that I'm a sucker for that vintage McIntosh look with the polished black glass face place and illuminated green lettering. It's pretty sweet. And the sound is rich, with almost too much bass! That's unusual for a tuner.

No pics yet, I know I know. I had to plug it in before anything else and then I didn't want to unplug it. But I'll shoot some tomorrow. I can see how vintage McIntosh gear could be a slippery slope...
 
Register to hide this ad
Let's check it out!!

http://www.berners.ch/McIntosh/de/MR74.htm

Inspect the area around the fuse holder on the back panel for any signs of rust or oxidation. Also notice the original HEX head screws on the sides of the top cover. They turn yellow and can be replaced with BLACK stainless phillips screws which will look like NEW Mc product!! I'll post some photos of the MC2505 as an example.


-Gregory
 
Yggdrasill said:
I'm a bit of a tuner nut and today I picked up a local MR74 for a very decent price.
Click to expand...
Great find. Starting at the top for ss tuners from McIntosh. Many critical FM listeners think that the MR74, when recapped and aligned, is the top-o-the-heap for McIntosh tuners for good sound. I've owned all the others through the MR80, but have yet to experience the MR74. Some day.
 
Congratulations!

I was only a year-and-a-half or so ago that I got my first McIntosh piece. Nothing like that feeling! For the first couple of weeks, I'd start grinning like an idiot every time I looked at it...and that was when it was off.

Enjoy! :tresbon:
 
Congrats ! I had the same experience with an MR77 about 2 years ago. Amazing the bass these old units can deliver, eh ?

jblnut
 
Well, it's not tubed, but it'll do, I guess. :D ;) Just messin' with you a little, congrats, & enjoy! :thmbsp:
 
Hope this is a good example.. and let's ASK the group instead of preaching to it. Look at the side-screws on your 70's McIntosh gear. You'll likely see #6-32 hex head screws. Here's an example of a McIntosh tuner with those screws: http://www.berners.ch/McIntosh/Images/MR77_Right_01.jpg

What do you think of the inexpensive upgrade to the 2505 below? The first pic is with all bright stainless steel Phillips #6-32 x 1/4" screws, and the second pic is with BLACK stainless screws on the front cover:

MC2505_bright.jpg



MC2505_black.jpg




On the bottom cover too:

MC2505_bottom.jpg


These screws won't rust or oxidize in your lifetime, and maybe even your children's lifetime.

You could always save the original screws in a small plastic zip-lock.


-Gregory
 
Last edited:
MX117.MC7150 said:
Great find. Starting at the top for ss tuners from McIntosh. Many critical FM listeners think that the MR74, when recapped and aligned, is the top-o-the-heap for McIntosh tuners for good sound. I've owned all the others through the MR80, but have yet to experience the MR74. Some day.
Click to expand...

I really wanted an MX117 but haven't been able to find one. One sold on Ebay a month or two back but went above what I was willing to pay.

I find it interesting that many sites, and McIntosh people, I speak to don't have more kind words for the MR74. Just today I was talking about the tuner with a semi-retired tech who worked at Magnolia Hifi for decades and now has his own repair business. I told him I really liked the sound quality on the 74 and he said, "Well, you could just save your pennies and get an MR77 or MR80, if you really want to hear a good McIntosh tuner."

First of all, I'm not sure that the incremental cost is worth the possible incremental increase in SQ. But second, I've noticed that even though the 74 sold for seven years (72-79), it is far more difficult to find on used sites such as audioclassics or mcintoshaudio than the 77 or 78 or 80. 74s do appear regularly on Ebay, but they don't seem to get traded in as often. That must say something.
 
Yggdrasill said:
I find it interesting that many sites, and McIntosh people, I speak to don't have more kind words for the MR74. Just today I was talking about the tuner with a semi-retired tech who worked at Magnolia Hifi for decades and now has his own repair business. I told him I really liked the sound quality on the 74 and he said, "Well, you could just save your pennies and get an MR77 or MR80, if you really want to hear a good McIntosh tuner." First of all, I'm not sure that the incremental cost is worth the possible incremental increase in SQ. But second, I've noticed that even though the 74 sold for seven years (72-79), it is far more difficult to find on used sites such as audioclassics or mcintoshaudio than the 77 or 78 or 80. 74s do appear regularly on Ebay, but they don't seem to get traded in as often. That must say something.
Click to expand...

In catalog #039-961 you can compare the MR74, MR77 and MR78 head to head: McIntosh Catalog 038-961. Those were the days of the MPI4, the ML1 through ML10 and the C28 / MC2105. McIntosh tuners already had black cylindrical knobs which indicates that TUNER technology led amplifier technology, as the NEW McIntosh amplifiers had not yet been released, i.e. MC2125 and MC2205.

The MR74 has a Selectivity control or variable IF bandwidth which switches in additional narrow (and low distortion) filters for tuning weak stations in the slot directly above or below a STRONG local station. Those were the days of outdoor TV/FM antennas and IMO such an antenna is required to properly use a McIntosh tuner. FM broadcast material isn't what it used to be unfortunately, unless you have an eazy-listening or classical station within 60 miles.

This was my Channel Master 4408 `FM Stereo Probe´antenna in the Chicago suburbs. The year was 1988, and here is the FM log.

4408G_Chicago.jpg



I wasn't too keen on AM/FM tuners.. in favor of straight FM. The MR74 is a fine instrument which deserves TLC and preservation.


-Gregory
 
Last edited:
Yggdrasill said:
I really wanted an MX117 but haven't been able to find one. One sold on Ebay a month or two back but went above what I was willing to pay.

I find it interesting that many sites, and McIntosh people, I speak to don't have more kind words for the MR74. Just today I was talking about the tuner with a semi-retired tech who worked at Magnolia Hifi for decades and now has his own repair business. I told him I really liked the sound quality on the 74 and he said, "Well, you could just save your pennies and get an MR77 or MR80, if you really want to hear a good McIntosh tuner."

First of all, I'm not sure that the incremental cost is worth the possible incremental increase in SQ. But second, I've noticed that even though the 74 sold for seven years (72-79), it is far more difficult to find on used sites such as audioclassics or mcintoshaudio than the 77 or 78 or 80. 74s do appear regularly on Ebay, but they don't seem to get traded in as often. That must say something.
Click to expand...
The MX117, like the MR75 (which it uses for the tuner portion) is actually the 'least-McIntosh' of the SS tuners. The front-end is a Nakamichi piece that McIntosh used at the time.

Assuming all have been recapped and aligned, the MR78/80 will privide better reception at the extremes. The designer of the MR77/78 (RModafferi) has stated that the MR77 sounds better than the MR78/80, even given his current mods. And, the critical listeners on the FMTuner forum are pretty much in agreement that the MR74 is the best sounding of McIntosh solid-state tuners. I'm saving my pennies for an MR74 as my next McIntosh purchase.

As Gregory states (and I'm sure you know), there is nothing like a good yagi antenna w/rotator and RG-6 coax to make your FM tuner sing. I use a pair of smaller yagis in parallel due to space constraints.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom