[Vintage-Audio] Re H. Scott LT-110 Tuner

Wed Oct 2 10:42:01 2002

I'm using a vintage Pioneer tuner , I believe its' the TX-7800 tuner. I've used it for the past twenty + years..and the dial lights still work.. I use it with a Sony amp of about the same vintage and an outdoor FM antenna.. When the band is open its' great!..The switchable FM pre-emphasis circuit is nice..

I know this is vintage audio, but FWIW, the Drake SW-8, in my opinion, probably has some of the best FM stereo sound I've heard using a pair of Sennenheiser (sp) headphones...The built in speaker is OK, but its' mono..When you plug the headphones in, wow! And when the band is open, it does a decent job using the built in whip antenna on FM..

73'

Dan
KO4RA

Salmons, Michael wrote:

> Absolutely.
>
> It seems that the only modern tuners of worth are high-end (magnum dynalab and fanfare are the brands most often touted as excelling in both performance and sonics). I'm sure someone on this list can refute this, it is a bit of a generalization. If you go to Best Buy or Circuit City and buy a home theatre amp expecting a decent tuner built in, don't bother, you won't find one.
> There have been a few midline manufacturers who have produced a smattering of good tuners in the past ten years, like NAD and Onkyo, but they usually are not designed to enhance fringe-area reception, which is the situation a lot of people are in (myself included). They are usually oriented for urban or suburban area reception, which means less sensitivity, and few have better than middling selectivity.
>
> I have been using a Pioneer TX-8500II (I think they made it around the end of the seventies) for some time now and I am quite happy with it. It bests the several modern tuners I have compared it to quite easily; it is a very sensitive radio and has very good selectivity. Audio quality is superb. I am in the middle of ordering a murata supernarrow filter for it right now to sharpen its selectivity somewhat. I'm using a standard dipole with it now, and its performance is good despite being in my basement; I can't wait to hook it up to a decent rooftop antenna (when I can afford it!).
>
> The other older tuner I have had great success with is the Hallicrafters SX-96. It was designed mostly for shortwave listening, but it tunes the AM band. This radio is double conversion (as a result it really locks onto signals) and has a variety of filters, so I can fine-tune the selectivity as required. With a decent antenna this radio is unbeatable. Many evenings I've enjoyed the news and classical programming on CBC, Manitoba on 990 khz in surprisingly good audio quality.
>
> Another tuner of note is the Sony ST-80, although it would require some modification to make it really shine. Despite this it does a very good job right out of the box. This is early 70s vintage and I see them on ebay all of the time for $20 or less.
>
> Michael Salmons
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Duane Fischer, W8DBF [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2002 5:22 PM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: [Vintage-Audio] Re H. Scott LT-110 Tuner
>
>         Hi All,
>
> I have been listening with the 1963 H. Scott LT-110 FM stereo multiplex tuner,
> while the LK-72b amp is being repaired. I have not bothered to connect the tuner
> to the outside directional FM antenna, just a pair of rabbit ears. Not a very
> good antenna, especially when set upright with arms spread against a wall behind
> my LD storage cabinet. Rather blocks FM line of sight signals. They darn near
> need a Leader Dog to find their way!
>
> Just the same, this puppy sucks in signals like a Kirby vacuum with a souped up
> V/8 Chevy sb engine running on airplane high octane fuel. The sensitivity and
> selectivity is absolutely astounding. The designer was certainly thinking
> quality when this tuner was designed.
>
> Some circuits are of mil spec construct, even to the point of using mil spec
> parts. Perhaps overkill, but quality was obviously a high priority with the H.
> Scott company.
>
> Have any of you experienced superior performance on the older tuners as compared
> to those built today?
>
> Duane W8DBF
> [email protected]
>
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