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magnum dynalab 90 tube or solid state

hifinutt

hifinutt

hifinutt
any of you knowledgable guys advise what is better , the tube version or ss?
i guess you have to worry about retubing but what are the advantages of both ?
 
Solid state is the cheaper version :)

Tubes are fun (and sometimes a pain) and if the tuner follows my (limited) experience of tube pre-amps it should be worth the extra cash. Signal tubes apparently don't die as often as power tubes. This has not stopped me ordering two complete sets of spares (about £50 per three valve set) for my valve pre - we had a valve tv when I was a kid!
 
fortunately since a demo of a bel canto tuner showed up my aeriel as no good i now have a good one and my little cyrus fmx sounds briliant but i know there is better.
now the question is , is the tubed version worth the extra or should one get the md100 ss for a few pennies more than the tubed 90 version .
 
i know the tubed 90 well, as my best mate has it, sounds much nicer than the SS version , also the md st90 antenna is the one he uses with it, and i thought it so good i bought one for my sugden tuner. I will be buying a 90t when i can.
 
thanks . interestingly the 90t that was reviewd in dec hi fi press is for sale at a reasonable price
of course it has single ended output with 1.0 output. now the md100 has xlr with 2.2 similar to cd output.
as i run a music first silver mark 2 passive would the higher output be better sounding with the passive ?
my cyrus output is even less than the md90 rca ! and sounds good
 
I have a FT101 (ss) that I use with my Naim gear. The tuner sounds great. Now I primarily listen to classical, and jazz. The classical music often times sounds really good, better than my CD' sor LP's. When the recording is good and the receptionis good the tuner has the best soundstage and aire of any of tubed units. It makes me wish for the good old days when radio ruled. The unit responds well to cables, which is how I tweaked the sound to my liking. I do use a tubed DAC and phono so I am familar with tubes. I would love to hear a tubed tuner but really feel no need to since the ss version sounds so good. It's just as well since the tubed tuners are mucho $ vs the ss.
 
hifinutt said:
fortunately since a demo of a bel canto tuner showed up my aeriel as no good i now have a good one and my little cyrus fmx sounds briliant but i know there is better.
now the question is , is the tubed version worth the extra or should one get the md100 ss for a few pennies more than the tubed 90 version .
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Why not the Bel Canto? What makes you think the MD will be better? Its only a solid state tuner with a basic tube output stage - like all the Magnum Dynalabs...
 
roaster, thanks. the tubed versions md say have a bigger soundstage but as you say they are much more money and i guess the valves need changing. certainly its a tough call when money tight. the md 100ss is a better spec with xlr and that one on ebay is very tempting

biggus . yes the bel canto was marvellous and had a remote but they don`t have the `well known factor` that magnum do . i have put umpteen comments on the web re the fm1 [just google and you will see pages of my comments!!!] with little response

just put a thread about magnum and wow theres a big response from many lovers of this brand. the advantage of the bel canto is you can upgrade with a dedicated psu [the vbs1 [£1299] but that makes big total spend altho the psu can upgrade 3 pieces
 
hifinutt said:
biggus . yes the bel canto was marvellous and had a remote but they don`t have the `well known factor` that magnum do . i have put umpteen comments on the web re the fm1 [just google and you will see pages of my comments!!!] with little response

just put a thread about magnum and wow theres a big response from many lovers of this brand. the advantage of the bel canto is you can upgrade with a dedicated psu [the vbs1 [£1299] but that makes big total spend altho the psu can upgrade 3 pieces
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What difference does that make if you heard the Bel Canto and liked it. Surely you are buying one to listen too and because it is good, not because of how well known it is. Buy with your ears, not what others say on the web.

Course you won't get much feedback on the Bel Canto as it is brand new and not many will have been sold due the economic climate and the uncertainly of the FM in the UK, plus the Dynalabs have been going years. For what its worth I have had several Dynalabs here and I think they are very ordinary - not that well made either considering the price, plus I know a few people who have had faults with theirs and they are not that easy to get repaired.

The Bel Canto (if as good as is reported) will have the big advantage in that if you upgrade your DAC in the future as technology improves you should get good improvements in sound.
 
yes , thats a fair point altho the analogue output on the bel canto seemed as good as the digital . certainly the bc products are incredibly reliable , you almost never read a thread about faults , the only one being with the standard bc remote which is not used now , its a much better one .

of course the major difference with the md t models is the valve sound
any idea how often they have to be changed and does it have to go back to audio freaks ?
 
hifinut, if you intend to leave the tube unit powered all the time my guess is that you will have to replace the tubes in about 3-4 months. Tubes are not expensive and you can change them yourself easily. It is just a matter of pulling them out of their sockets and replace them with new ones.
If it was me, i'd go with the MD 100 because it is just a better tuner. I have an MD Etude witch I bought 23 years ago and it is powered on 7 days a week all year long. I have never changed or repaired anything on it, not even a single light bulb! I should also say that I listen primarily to only two uncompressed FM radio stations and it is the best source I ever had.
 
A trial of one perhaps but my MD102 has been utterly faultless. Magnum Dynalabs are expensive but in SQ terms you get what you pay for. My well refurbished Troughline and T de P valve decoder does not come near it in sound quality. If you have the cash buy one.
 
changing the tube (the 90 has one - unless balanced is specified) is easy and you can diy - furthermore it has a standby mode it sits in ready to go
 
TLS said:
hifinut, if you intend to leave the tube unit powered all the time my guess is that you will have to replace the tubes in about 3-4 months. Tubes are not expensive and you can change them yourself easily. It is just a matter of pulling them out of their sockets and replace them with new ones.
If it was me, i'd go with the MD 100 because it is just a better tuner. I have an MD Etude witch I bought 23 years ago and it is powered on 7 days a week all year long. I have never changed or repaired anything on it, not even a single light bulb! I should also say that I listen primarily to only two uncompressed FM radio stations and it is the best source I ever had.
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thanks, as far as i know the tubes stay powered all the time even turned off
 
i am advised the valves only cost about 38 quid so thats pretty cheap, after closely considering all your advice for which i am most grateful i tried to get a newish 90t but it had sold so settled for a s/h md100 . wll keep you posted how it sounds . thanks again pfm
 
hifinutt said:
i am advised the valves only cost about 38 quid so thats pretty cheap, after closely considering all your advice for which i am most grateful i tried to get a newish 90t but it had sold so settled for a s/h md100 . wll keep you posted how it sounds . thanks again pfm
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Good decision hifinut! It will be interesting to read your comments and see how it compare with any other sources that you have. I just hope that FM will last forever :)
 
yes, second that, a good buy that one was, and do let us know what you think of it, all the best,
P
 
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