Valve Radio Vs Solid State Radio

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

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.

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

http://www.analogconsultants.com

wider
sound

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

Ken

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

http://www.analogconsultants.com

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

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

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Joerg wrote:



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.

Joerg wrote:





Ask Denon.

ruff

Hello Patrick,



Not really. I have a 6kHz filter in mine. Then you can tune it "to the
side" and get excellent sound. Of course, you'll have to have a good
speaker or even an amp connected.

Also, you can design your own filter. Most of them feature four or more
selectable filter sockets so there is usually a free one to have at it.

But the best is SSB reception of AM stations with a 6kHz filter. That
runs circles around any regular radio.



Don't know but I bet it can't suppress and replace the carrier in bad
fading situation, like my comm receiver can.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Joerg wrote:



Most comm radios I have repaired have lousy AM, but
quite reasonable FM.



I am not a radio expert.



Most folks wouldn't know about this, and not want to get a comm radio
for the lounge.

6 kHz isn't a great deal of bw.




Of course not.

The original poster wanted good local reception i thought,
and for that an AM radio doesn't have to have the complexity
of a comm set, especially if tubes are to be used.
There is the synchrodyne type of circuit,
which can be done with a chip, but I have
not seen an easy to make tomorrow kit.


Patrick Turner.

Hello Patrick,



The ones I dealt with never had FM. The pro-receivers are usually 10kHz
to 30MHz. I did see some that went all the way to a GHz but I wasn't too
impressed.



It's usually their wives who'd object to that ;-)



For one sideband it's plenty. In the US stations must not emit anything
past their slot which is 9kHz wide. In other countries it is 10kHz but
that also won't allow more than 5kHz audio BW. Else the radio
authorities would come out and shut the place down.



Kits aren't around much anymore these days, at least not in the US. For
good local AM I'd still vote for the tube set. Plus, a glass of Merlot
just looks nicer in front of that versus some plastic transistor thingie.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Joerg wrote:



Here the appear to allow 9 kHz of AF bw.
Oz is a big place, and its easier to spread out all the stations.



I couldn't find an AM radio quite good enough for me so I
made my own.
I first tried a synchrodyne using tubes, but I couldn't get the
diode ring demodulator tranny to work, and then when i tried a
self oscillationg 6BE6 mixer tube for the AF I still got poor
selectivity and other problems.
Afaiac, superhets are king.

Patrick Turner.

As I said before, check out the Tivoli Audio range of am/fm radios

Steve

Steve Batt wrote:



The manuals on line for the Tivoli Audio AM/FM radios don't include the AF
response data.

So I will assume the products are junk.

Ain't it grand the way idiots advertise their products,
but they don't tell you what you could expect.

Patrick Turner.

Remember Patrick that assume made an ass out of u and me.

I have one of these table radios and they certainly do not sound 'junk',
have a listen before you pass comment.

Steve

To escape from what I am left to assume, what is the
measured AF bw for the AM radio?

Patrick Turner.

You know, I cannot answer that question
I am at least going on what my ears tell me not what is not told to me by
the manufacturers. As I said above 'have a listen'

Steve Batt wrote:



One day I might.

Too busy right now to farnarkle around with AM radios.

Patrick Turner.