Whether or not the Playmaster AM tuner was a copy of the Allen Wright tuner, EA had reviewed that some time before, so it wouldn’t be beyond the bounds of possibility that they got some inspiration from it. However, I’ve been searching Ebay (and before that, which was Fairfax’s Australian equivalent) most of this century, and have never seen either a Playmaster (apart from the earlier silver one, which matched the Twin 25 and 40-40 amps) or SC/DSE tuner for sale on there – the Sony ones do come up quite regularly, though, so are the best bet. Silicon Chip Studio AM Stereo Tuner (SC Feb-Apr 91, 1990’s Dick Smith kit – cat no. Playmaster Stereo AM/ FM Tuner (see EA Dec 85 – Mar 86) Sony ST-JX220A, ST-JX221, ST-JX230A, ST-JX420A, ST-JX430A and ST-JX520A (note that the ones with 'A' for Australia are the stereo AM models - there was also an ST-JX520 etc - AM mono, without the wideband AM frequency response)Īs well as the two kits you mentioned above (ETI-475 & Playmaster AM tuner), which were definitely wideband designs, there were also: Ones which are definitely wideband AM tuners, either mono or stereo (not that there are many AM stereo broadcasters left in Australia, if any), include the following models:Īudiosound (Australian manufacturer) AM101 (reviewed EA Nov 80) and T751Īllen Wright Tuner 2 (reviewed EA Aug 80) I should state here that I own an ST-JX220A and an ST-JX230A, and can confirm that on AM, they are definitely much better sounding than most other AM/FM tuners (and radios), due to their wide bandwidth. By contrast, I’ve seen some Japanese AM/FM ‘hi-fi’ tuners tested as having AM bandwidth (-3dB) of less than 1kHz, and the majority have less than 3kHz bandwidth, which is about what the Sony ST-JX220A (and the others I’ve mentioned below) does in narrowband mode! So it's no wonder they sound bad, having similar bandwidth to a telephone channel (3.4kHz). Sony made some good ones that I know of, with better than 10kHz frequency response on AM – the ST-JX220A (their cheapest) was reviewed in Electronics Australia (EA), March 1986. The wideband ones can be recognised (usually) by having wide/narrow AM bandwidth switches on the front panel. Try a wideband AM stereo tuner from the 1980’s – they usually had much better AM frequency response than the AM sections of typical ‘hi-fi’ mono AM/stereo FM tuners. My first ever 'hi-fi' setup back in 1975 was my builds of a kit Garrard turntable, Playmaster Twin 25 stereo amp (later upgraded to become a Twin 40) and a pair of Phillips Magnavox MV-50 speakers. Maybe if I can't find one of the two suggested AM tuners I could build one to the kit designs. Or maybe it was the ETI 475 AM Tuner Kit published in September 1980.ĭoes anyone know more about this, or know if either of these AM Tuner kits sound okay? So, it's over to the fellowship? What AM tuners do you suggest I should consider?Ī bit of research has come up with the suggestion that the Electronics Australia Playmaster HiFi AM Tuner kit published in editions from Dec 1982 to Mar 1983 was basically a copy of the Allen Wright AM Tuner. If I have to get an AM/FM tuner in order to get a great sounding AM section, I'll do it. I'm certainly not interested in a tuner with a DAB+ section as everywhere I've lived, even with a great aerial setup, I just can't stand the constant cutting in and out of digital radio. But some of you may have other ideas and recommendations. A valve or solid state discrete component based AM tuner is likely to be the solution that best suits. There are those that say the best AM tuners were made in the 1960s and 1970s. Lately I've been using PK's Loop Antennas with success. I also have a Yamaha AM Stereo / FM Stereo Tuner T-420A that I haven't listed to yet. Sangean PR-D7 AM/FM Digital Tuning Radio Receiver.
Other AM sections I regularly listen to on my other sound systems include: What I've always been missing is a great AM tuner for this setup. I think it's one of the best and sweetest sounding FM tuners ever made. The FM tuner is a Yamaha CT-7000 FM Stereo Tuner. Most of the setup dates back to the 1970s and 1980s with most components purchased be me secondhand even back then. Stax SR-5 Electrostatic Ear Speaker with SRD-6 Amplifier. Rega Planar 3 Turntable with Audio Dynamics Corporation ADC LMF-2 Tone Arm and Amber Io Phono Cartridge I'm in the process of resurecting my vintage stereo system:
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