Guess I was starting to get brainwashed by that article. I'll admit, I was very tired while reading it.

No problem, John. I got very tired OF reading it.

Larry

I wonder if that contraption would filter out interference on AM radio? I get a lot of that at my location.

I couldn't even finish reading that hog wash. It reminds me of an old children’s tale, The Emperors New Clothes.

Most audiophool-oriented huckster advertising is like that (and almost all articles like this have their roots in such advertising).

The hucksters know that their target clientele are almost exclusively technology-illiterate wannabees who are desperate to put up a good show and talk a good game. Ads (and then articles) like this one are meant to give them the game they want to talk, and the show they want to put up, while shamelessly fleecing them in the process.

It all comes from the same school as 19th-century phrenologists, mesmerizers and patent-medicine quacks.

I'm still waiting for some truly-enterprising huckster to present a vast and glitzy "study" which "proves," once and for all, that the horoscope of your sound system makes an ineluctable, pointillistic and inimitable difference. Behold the sonic Age of Aquarius! Give your soundstage the harmonies of the stars!

Devil knows what an opportunity, if it's played right...



Larry

Oh, Larry, you hit the nail on the head.

There's certainly a line that's drawn at the point where technology ends and tactics/snake oil
starts.
Nevertheless, reaching for the clouds and euphoria has always been a fantasy chased by fools.

Precisely.

Larry

Hey that might be a worthwhile project for me to undertake. After all, I am an Aquarius!!!

It might make me an instant millionaire.

And as I stated previously.....
"Nevertheless, reaching for the clouds and euphoria has always been a fantasy chased by fools"

Larry, I was only being slightly facetious. If someone played his cards right, it wouldn't surprise me one iota if he succeeded in spades...

Larry

I bought a spare tuner for the Mark I on eBay last night for $28. The tubes alone are worth the price. I am hopeful this one has the transistor preamp and equalization control still hooked up. I want to find out how the phono sounds with this circuitry in place. I'll recap the tuner, clean and test the tubes, install an RCA jack for the phono connection, and find out how she sounds on phono. The original tuner in my Mark I already had the transistor preamp and equalization control disconnected when I received it.

Worse case; the phono input will sound like the pits. Your 15-inch woofer will violently eject its cone and flaming voice coil through the grille and on to your living room carpet. The fire will spread quickly, leaving you homeless. You will take to the streets and a life of crime. You'll be arrested and thrown into a cell with a scary dude named Bubba.

But hey, it's worth the risk, you got a spare everything. I don’t know where you would ever find the 10Khz whistle filter choke for the broadband AM tuner.

Doug, do you write the commercials for Direct TV?

Here's the finish line: "Don't get arrested and thrown in jail with a scary dude named Bubba. Get rid of cable. Switch to Direct TV...."

Seriously, though, I do want to hear with my own two ears what this tuner will sound like, in original condition, in phono mode. It might actually sound better than you think.

Larry,
Don't forget, I have an SHF-2. The single transistor phono pre-amp stage is identical to a 6-HF-1. It's equalized for an ESL Concert moving coil cartridge. When you plug in a modern moving magnet cartridge, it's all overloaded bass with the high frequency response of a '30s Zenith console with the tone organ set for minimum highs. You know, that warm tube sound.

Well, I don't want just that "warm tube sound." Still, I would like to hear what this set sounds like with the phono equalization control in all the various settings. I probably wouldn't like the sound of any of the settings, but I still want to hear it. I can set the extra tuner up on top of the Mark I (on a towel, of course) and hook it up to the phono and amplifier to hear what it sounds like. It'll be just one of my many experiments of late. Remember, your SHF-2 doesn't have the equalization control circuit... that may make some difference.

Have you determined that the transistor preamp is still in place? I would have thought it would be rare to find one that hadn't been subjected to the "RCA fix." Wouldn't that mean that basically the stylus would never have been changed?

-David

I won't know that until the extra tuner arrives. From what I see underneath, it appears that nothing has been disconnected. I am hopeful that's the case and that it's factory original and the transistor is still there.

David, I checked the pictures closely and the transistor is in place, and also the coaxial cable going from the terminal strip where R57 junctions is still in place, and so is the wire running to the equalization switch.

I guess the owner of this set did continue to use the ESL cartridge, or used it until the needle played out, and quit using the phonograph.

Cool! Now you can have some fun experimenting.

-David

I got the spare tuner in this week, cleaned it up and recapped it, and it works good on FM and tape. It is all original on phono as nothing has been modified, and the transistor is still in place. I may test the phono later, but decided not to do it right now. There are cracks all around the counterweight on the tuning shaft, and evidently a crack in the back is causing a bind with a washer that goes against it on the shaft as it tries to bind up every 2 inches or so of moving the tuning dial. I think I'll pull the counterweight off and try to fill the pot metal with something and I'll have to smooth down whatever is causing the bind. I removed the C-clip on the back and pushed the counterweight forward and it turns smoothly that way, but that wouldn't be suitable for a permanent installation.

My questions for you experts is this:

1. How would I convert the 3 pin phono jack to an RCA jack? The original jack uses a three wire coaxial cable with a center conductor, a green wire and a shield wire connecting to it. Is a three pin jack convertible to an RCA jack in this application?

2. What should I use to fill the cracks in the pot metal counterweight?