Valve Radio Vs Solid State Radio

Just wonder what your personal opinions are on which sounds better.

I have a Kriesler valve based table radio and also a table radio that is solid state. But when I listen to each I have to admit the old radio gives a far richer sound. Sure it's got valves and is bulky but it sounds a damn sight better then the smaller all transistor cousin.

I find the other radio gives a slightly harsher tone to both music and voice, and even when it is tuned in properly too.

Of course this is just my opinion, and opinion can be subjective. Just wondering what others think, but for what it's worth I'm still using the older radio to listen with.

-- John

Remember the good old 1980s When things were so uncomplicated I wish I could go back there again And everything would be the same

I've got a ticket to the Moon I'll be leaving here any day soon Yeah I've got a ticket to the Moon But I'd rather see the sunrise in your eyes

(c)1981 E.L.O.

Reply to
Kate Fights, I Cry
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The valve radio has a decent sized speaker and is almost certain to be wider bandwidth than a crappy cheap transistor radio, so it will certainly sound better. But I wouldn't bother going out and buying one; a decently designed and built transistor radio is equally as good.

Ken

Reply to
Ken Taylor

Not quite what I was talking about. But interesting all the same.

Thanks for writing

Reply to
Kate Fights, I Cry

Well in this case they are both table radios just one is about half the size of the other and uses solid state parts... Though until it dies I'll use the valve one.

Hell I got it at an auction so may as well get use out of it.

Reply to
Kate Fights, I Cry

Most domestic valve radio was build as a lowest common denominator product where every component inclusion was argued over. I have an AM Kriesler stereo unit with Garrard turntable and electrostatic tweeters I rebuilt in 1990: it was full of out of tolerance resistors and leaky wax capacitors.

Possible a larger speaker, a larger case and class A audio contributes to the sound. It would typically be a single ended class A output stage too, likely a pentode stage.

It's possible to have good sounding valve radio Patrick Turner has build a modified one and I think has the schematics on his website.

Reply to
Mark Harriss

Have you had a listen to the Tivoli Audio model 1 ? not cheap at $300 for a mono am/fm table radio, but it does have a beautiful sound. I have this 1.

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Steve

Reply to
Steve Batt

Hello Ken,

Mostly, yes. But I have an Australian example that even a cheesy enclosure can contain an excellent radio: An Astor BPJ from 1959. It's in a rather flimsy plastic case but the radio itself is a superb design. It offers by far the best AM performance (it's AM only) of any radio I have except when compared to professional receivers. So whenever I listen to AM it is usually with that old Astor.

Sometimes I wonder if there is any modern radio with a decently designed RF section. Excluding professional gear that people wouldn't place in their living quarters I haven't seen one in two decades.

Regards, Joerg

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Reply to
Joerg

wider

sound

Yer durn tootin'. People obviously just won't pay for a decent AM radio so they're no longer built.

Ken

Reply to
Ken Taylor

Hello Ken,

Or, people have forgotten or never heard how good AM reception could be so they don't even ask for good AM performance anymore. Surprisingly, some car radios are pretty good on AM. Some.

BTW, FM is going the same route. What some manufacturers call "IF filter" wouldn't even qualify as a paper coffee filter these days. On our latest "FM stereo" I can set the tuning 300-400kHz away from a stong station's frequency and still hear it. It's the pits. I guess everybody listens to CDs or some MP3 tunes these days.

Thing is, you can go to a large store and find not one good receiver. Oh well, I just keep some old tubes sets. And a few spare tubes.

Regards, Joerg

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Reply to
Joerg

Denon have (or had) a couple of tuners in their range; the TU-255 & the TU-1500RD, both of which are fine tuners in either AM & FM mode. When I bought the TU-255, I had two other tuners; an Audiolab 8000T and a McIntosh MR75. The TU-255 was not quite as good as either, so when the opportunity arose to trade it in on a TU-1500RD, I did, not really expecting it to match either of the other two. I was wrong; it not only matched them, but exceeded their performance in terms of sensitivity, selectivity & audio quality. And best of all, it cost less than half what I subsequently sold the 8000T for, and a quarter of the price the MR75 brought on eBay. So have a look around for a TU-1500RD. It might be a lightweight, both literally and in audiophile terms, but it's performance is quite surprising.

ruff

Reply to
roughplanet

"Joerg"...

** Ever heard of AFC ( automatic frequency control) ??

............... Phil

Reply to
Phil Allison
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Speaking of AM whatever happened to AM Stereo?

Reply to
Kate Fights, I Cry

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Reply to
Lord Garth

Hello Phil,

ROFL.

Actually when you turn AFC on it gets even worse. Then the tuner hangs on to a strong station for more than 400kHz. In my opinion AFC was a kludge, probably invented because some folks couldn't figure out how to design a stable oscillator.

Regards, Joerg

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Reply to
Joerg

Hello Kate,

Living in the US where AM stereo was very popular on car radios all I can say is that the typical new rig from the store doesn't have AM stereo. Seems like it's fizzling.

Most AM stations are talk radio or programming to small ethnic groups. Neither would care much for stereo.

Regards, Joerg

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Reply to
Joerg

Hello Ruff,

Thanks for the hint. The price is reasonable as well, I believe around $250-300. But my wife doesn't like the old tower stacks where every module of a stereo system had to have their own enclosure.

Then again, why not just connect the old tube set to the stereo? That gives superb AM performance at next to nothing in cost.

The real topper is a 2nd hand communications receiver with crystal filters. With some luck it won't cost more than the Denon but then you have a setup that's almost as good as the station monitors. Also, I somtimes use that to listen in single sideband mode when fading gets bad. That way I can enjoy programming that is almost unintelligible on even a good AM radio.

Regards, Joerg

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Reply to
Joerg

"Joerg"

** The point is that AFC creates an effect like that of a very broad IF when this is not the case.
** No - the AFC is counteracting your attempts to re-tune the radio - it needs to be disabled when tuning.

In any case - a broad IF is *required* for low distortion on the FM band - plus you will not hear adjacent channel signals along with the wanted one since the FM "capture effect" prevents that.

** So the dial says - but the local oscillator frequency has been pulled in the opposite direction to the tuning dial.
** Variable VHF oscillators stable to within +/- 20 kHz over the room temp plus internal gear temp range are indeed a design challenge, especially in the case of varicap ( non tuning gang) tuners. However, AFC compensates for oscillator drift and mistuning for very little cost.

Modern FM tuners ( since the 1980s) have their tuning frequencies derived from a crystal time base so drift is eliminated.

.......... Phil

Reply to
Phil Allison

Communications radios are terrible performers if you want decent local station performance; they are deliberately selective, and most without more than a maximum of 3 khz of AF bw.

Sure, OK for DX.

What is the measured and guaranteed AF response from the Denon using AM and local stations, if the station modulation or test signal has 20 kHz of flat level AF modulation?

Patrick Turner.

Reply to
Patrick Turner

Ask Denon.

ruff

Reply to
roughplanet

Very handy for FM satellite reception where Doppler shift means that the frequency appears to move constantly. Both my R-9000 & R-8500 have it & I wouldn't want either of them without it.

ruff

Reply to
roughplanet

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