Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Confessions

OK, so this is the "stereo" forum and for many here 2 channel music might sound fairly retro primitive ... just a cut above tube amplifiers and vinyl.

Getting to it ... I like dedicated FM tuners, have a bunch, including some Denons, Kenwoods, and a gorgeous H.H. Scott tube tuner, my favorite, by far. But here's the thing, not only is the Scott a tubie, therefore the object of derisive laughter from the technocognicenti, but it is also mono.

Yes, my favorite FM music source is mono. I use an Antique Sound Labs MG S1 15DT integrated Single End Triode 5 watt per channel amplifier, an H.H. Scott 331, a Reckhorn B1 active cross over to a pair of Dahlquist DQM905s, with supertweeters, and a Velodyne 10" sub.

So, what is it about mono FM compared to stereo? It is clean. Very low noise and a weird sense of live music.

You think stereo is retro. Mono. I confess.

Funny, I just bought a mono FM radio from Tivoli. Good timing on your post!

Very good!

I'll bet it sounds great and looks really cool. It's taken me a while to accept the Foodie notion that we "eat with our eyes"; I suspect that - given the elegance of some of those pieces - we hear with our eyes, too.

Cheers.

Are you using only one speaker with your throwback system?

Sorry for the sorry picture, but I couldn't get rid of the flash on my little digipixilator.

Ola, the Tivoli is a great choice! Sounds better than the Bose Wave (I have an old one and it doesn't sound bad) and sure looks a whole lot better than the Bose.

Yes PMB, 2 speakers, a pair of Dahlquist DQM905s and a pair of supertweets. Sort of Mono a Mono.

I'll get some pictures of those as well.

That's a great looking tuner, 2x6!

I had one of these once:

That's great!

I had one of those Kenwood tuners too. It was great.

Thanks CB9 and TomT for noticing!

Mark and cat person that looks like a Kenwood KT815, a really wonderful tuner. Personally, setting aside the absolutely wonderful tube H. H. Scott tuners, I love some of the Kenwoods, Pioneers, of course the Macintosh big MRs, but I keep coming back to the Kenwoods. I have a KT8005 in my garage system. Sounds great.

Wish I still had my Pioneer SG90 EQ.

That was a great tuner sir Q! Sansui made some wonderful and gorgeous tuners, Pioneer made some of the most beautiful with the best toggles, big rotary metal knobs, meters, Onkyo made some great ones, even Mitsubishi made some world class tuners.

Sony has a $99 HD FM tuner which is supposed to be world class. I have to try one of those out sooner or later.

However, I still have to praise the sound quality of a great mono FM tuner. The sound is so rich and pure ... so mono.

Yes, it was a Kenwood KT815. I had a directional antenna with a rotator... man I used to have a blast listening to FM from all over the place. I wouldn't be surprised if I listened to Jack on the air in Connecticut at some point...

I mean, who listens to FM anymore? I stumbled on our local college jazz station (I think 88.9 or 89.3) out of Long Beach and its signal is strong and clear and their choice of music is often terrific. While cooking or sitting around with friends, I turn on my tube amp and tube tuner already selected to my favorite jazz station, and the warm, rich (mono) tunes fill my large kitchen den area.

FM ! that's been my music source of choice for downstairs music. I used to listen to FM in New York City in the 70s on our Harman Kardon tube amp/tuner or The Fisher 800c tube receiver, but haven't listened to FM music since, until now.

And now I've regressed from FM tube stereo to FM tube mono, and am loving it.

Cheers.

I used to love what some stations played at 3AM. Now, since the ClearChannel takeovers, radio mostly sucks. There are very few stations I can tolerate, and all of those are independent stations.

Most of FM is crap. You have to find the gems lodged in the cracks between the stations.

Listen to FM all the time, either over-the-air or internet streaming. It's great if you pick the right stations, such as these .

I also listen to FM on the way into and from work, no gripes.

I listen to NPR on the car radio. That's it for me.

When driving I listen to a local community radio station that plays NPR during the day and Jazz at night.

Our local NPR affiliate (KPLU-FM) is a REALLY great jazz/blues station. Listen to it all the time.

Beautiful tuner, 2x6.

My college roommate had one of those giant Kenwood tuners; it was awesome. He still has the integrated amp, and it still sounds great. Not sure of the model, but it was one of their better ones from the late 1970's.

You still keep in touch with your college roommate? That's cool. I wonder what the heck happened to mine? He's probably got a couple kids by now.

Hey, look over your shoulder, top post-counter. He's slowly gaining.

I may have to break his fingers soon.

Dang, I've been offline all day. Now he's taking off again.

OK, so I listen to FM mono on a tube amp and tube tuner and I don't what that makes me ... But, gee, to those folks with 12,000 posts ... do you guys have jobs?

two by six is my hero. i wish we were next door neighbors. he could come over to my house and watch blu rays with me with the sound e provided by 2 watt tube amp.

No. I don't have a job. I siphon a penny from each dollar you earn. Lucky for me, you're a wealthy bastard and your bank's security is no match for my hacking skills.

Hey lampshade, I wish we were neighbors too! Thing about tube amps is that they they are not portable, and though they only put out 5 watts per channel, they are heavy and if you touch them in the wrong places they will turn you into a smoking raisin on the floor unable to enjoy any tunes whatseover.

Anyway, cheers!

OK PMB, glad to contribute to your hacking posting enterprise!