야마하 튜너 T-7 (1980년 / 아날로그 튜너)

야마하의 명기 튜너 T-1 (1978), T-2(1978), T-7(1980)

야마하 T-7 특장점 (중고시세 10-20만원)

1. 전혀 빈티지 답지 않게, 웬만한 현대 기기들보다 어 이쁘고, 잘 어울린다.
2. 튜닝 놉을 돌리다보면, 신호 잡히는 곳에서 노란색 불빛이 강해지고, 다이얼에서 손을 떼면, 자동으로 최적 주파수 조절을 한다.
3. T-7 은 아날로그임에도 채널을 메모리에 저장하면, 아날로그 튜닝놉이 끼긱 대면서, 설정한 채널을 찾아간다. 디지탈 같은 아날로그 튜너다. ( 저장방법: 채널 맞춘 다음, memory 버튼과 저장할 숫자를 함께 누른다. 총 5개까지 저장 가능 )
4. 똘망똘망한 소리 성향이고, 수신율이 "매우" 뛰어나다. 고음이 쏘지 않고, 저음도 가볍지 않은 똘망똘망한 소리.(야마하 튜너의 일반적인 성향) 빈티지 시스템에서 fm 들을 때, 너무 답답한 소리가 나올 경우, T-7 물리면 매칭이 좋다.

** 야하마 t7 튜너 구매 주의 사항

(싸구려 디지털 튜너 Yamaha T-07 과 헷갈리면 안됨)

1.프리셋 저장이 충전식 배터리인데, 대부분 방전 돼있다. 저장했다가도 껐다 키면 메모리가 다 날라간다. 확인 필요. 매뉴얼상에는 전원연결시 만땅 충전시까지 약 3일 걸리고, 4개월 정도까지 유지된다고 한다. 외국 포럼 찾아보니 메모리 저장 문제가 많이 대두돼있드라. 그 점을 제외하고는 훌륭하다.

2. 모노 스위치 없음. 

3. 프리셋 저장 방법 : 주파수 눈금 아래, 아주 작게 프리셋관련 버튼 6개가 있고, 그 중 빨간버튼+메모리1,2,3 이런식으로 동시에 눌러주면 저장된다.

4. 밤에 주파수 눈금이 안보인다! ㅠㅠ

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Yamaha T-1 (1978, $365, front, closeup, back, schematic) search eBay

The T-1 is a 4-gang, black analog tuner that is larger than the T-2 (here is a photo showing both for comparison) but not as good a tuner. The T-1 can't match the T-2's great front end and we thought it has only one IF bandwidth, but the T-1's "RX Mode" button, with Local/Auto-DX settings, appears to be the same as Wide/Narrow on other tuners and not an RF sensitivity setting like the Onkyo T-9090 and T-9090II have. Our contributor PZ comments, "What is perhaps a bit odd is that choice of DX cannot be manually forced. There is some built-in lag in the auto switching to DX so that a borderline station would not go back and forth."

After reviewing an old sales brochure for the T-1, PZ adds, "This is definitely a sleeper tuner. Despite the fact that the front end has only 4 gangs, the T-1's specs beat a lot of 5-gangers.( 4 gang 임에도 불구하고, T-1의 스펙은 수많은 5 gang 튜너들을 능가한다. ) I think they look pretty comparable to the best later digitals such as the T-85. The spurious/IF response ratio is 100 dB, image ratio 90 dB, sensitivity 9.8 dBf IHF and 50 dB quieting 36 dBf in stereo. Capture ratio is 1.0 dB, AM supression 65 dB, and selectivity is 55/92 dB in Local/DX mode (Wide/Narrow). The local mode has two LCR block filters and the DX mode adds a '4-resonator low-spurious ceramic filter' [but see Ken's comment below - Editor]. It may be possible to replace that one to make it more selective if one wants to. Distortion in local/stereo was rated at 0.05% @100 and 1k Hz and 0.08% at 6 kHz, and about 10x higher in DX. S/N ratios were 86/84 dB (mono/stereo) @85 dBf. While these numbers are not as strong as the T-2's, the T-1 has the advantage of a good 3-gang AM tuner at half the price of the T-2. When the AM signal is strong enough, a built-in antenuator automatically expands the frequency range. Switching the IF to Local expands it further. The 'OTS' is just a type of AFC, just locks the oscillator, not like the CLL of Luxman that locks the whole front end. At about $350 new, the T-1 was a very good value when new and at current prices on eBay, usually below $100, it's a very attractive buy (relative to the popular analogs from Sansui, Pioneer, etc.). Most T-1s will need some dial lights replaced, but it's no big deal. I found lamps at Radio Shack. The green rubber hood does require some care to remove, because there's no replacement if they're ripped and not having that green color for the dial will be a shame."

Our contributor Ken found that instead of the two LCR block filters and "4-resonator low-spurious ceramic filter," his T-1 "actually has 5 three-pin filters on the FM side (CF 201-204 and CF-206), and a can style for AM (CF-205). The main circuit board is marked N07012 and the serial number is 18488, U.S.-only version. My service manual shows the old circuitry, so I'm looking for the 'other' one." Like the T-7, the T-1 has variable outputs whose volume is controlled by a thumbwheel on the bottom of the unit (front center). See PZ's introductory paragraphs at the top of this page for more info on the T-1. Sale prices for the T-1 on eBay can fluctuate, with lows in the $40-70 range (one even went for $20 in 8/10) and occasional highs of $140-150 (with an all-time high of $201 in 9/04 as a bunch of newbies got carried away), or anywhere in between. The lesson here is not to overpay for a common tuner like the T-1 when the bidding exceeds its historical price range - you'll almost always have another chance to buy one at a more reasonable price. PZ adds one final comment: "I really like the T-1's tuning indicator. The marker bar has a lamp that goes bright and dim when passing through a station, so you don't have to look at the tuning meters at all and can just keep your eyes on the scale. When the bar brightens up, you stop and then you'll hear the station. Only then do you need to look at the meters to apply a little touch-up. Please note that this lamp is burned out in most units sold on eBay."

Yamaha T-2 (1978, $750, black, silver, closeup, schematic, owner's manual) search eBay

The T-2 is a usually black (but occasionally silver) FM-only analog tuner with a 7-gang front end. Our panelist David "A." tells us that the T-2's tuning capacitor has one gang in front of the first MOSFET RF amp, three in front of the second MOSFET RF amp, two in front of the MOSFET mixer and one for the bipolar local oscillator. (However, our contributor Georges says there are two gangs, not three, before the second RF amp and three gangs, not two, after it.) The T-2 sounds excellent and one contributor says he prefers it to the CT-7000. The T-2 has four 3-pin ceramic filters, 2 for the wide IF bandwidth setting and 2 more for narrow mode, and should be suitable for modification with narrower filters. Our contributor John V. says: "The T-2 is one of the best-sounding tuners solid-state tuners I have owned. It is incredible how open it is in the mids and top, and still has bass, almost as smooth as tubes. Easy to use." Our panelist Ray chimes in, "I found the T-2 to be a great urban DXer. I also put it in my main sound system to square off sonically with my recently modded SAE Two T3U. The T-2 came off a bit thin and mechanical sounding in the mids by comparison... I did say a bit."

Our contributor Paul Bigelow reviewed the T-2 in our Yahoo FMtuners group:

"The Yamaha T-2 was manufactured in the late 70s and is available in several versions. It is a high-quality FM-only tuner with a heavy aluminum case and digital readout. The tuner is analog. No presets. Scope outputs are available. The tuner does have a defeatable auto-tune circuit. A silver-faced unit was produced for Japan. Other markets had multiple voltages, and an additional digit for FM.

The circuit has two RF amps 3sk45 -- a good dual gate MOSFET with a respectable noise figure (there are better). The mixer is a 3sk45 as well. The tuning capacitor is 7 gangs: 1 for the antenna, 2 for the first RF amp, 3 for the second RF amp. The oscillator gets one section. The 10.7 IF then goes though an adjustable IF transformer then on to the 'IF strip.' My version of the T-2 utilizes 5 3-pin ceramic filters. Each is accompanied by an IF transformer. The filters all appear to be identical: green with a white dot. Three are used for wide, an additional two are added in for narrow. There are no 'separate' IF paths. It must be stated that the service manual and its schematic differ from my tuner. The schematic and picture show 4 'blocks' of 3-pin filter and IFT as a unit. These may be difficult to modify. The 5-ceramic filter unit should be relatively easy to modify after the heavy case is removed. The IF amps are a combination of Toshiba 7060P and UPC577H IC IF amps. The signal then reaches the discriminator/ratio detector. The detected signal is then demodulated into stereo by the Sanyo LA3350. This IC is supposedly known for high SCA rejection. The separated signal is then sent to the discrete AF stage. This stage makes good use of film caps and differential amps. Output is either fixed or variable. All tuner voltages (except for the lamps) are regulated.

Using the tuner can be a bit tricky. There is a Hi Sensitivity / Hi Selectivity Switch and there is an Auto DX/Local switch. As best I can tell from the schematic, the Hi Sensitivity / Hi Selectivity switch only affects the gain of the RF amps. I do not think it switches the IF filters. That job apparently is left to the Auto DX/Local switch. I think for DX use the best combination is Hi Sensitivity ON and Auto DX ON. The Auto DX will 'automatically' switch filters as needed. The additional filters get switched out with strong signals. I think this arrangement is a bit awkward, but it seems to work out OK.

Performance Impressions (as compared to my tuners): 

Sensitivity: Good sensitivity. I think the SAE MKVI is more sensitive, as are the Kenwood KT-7001 and Marantz 10B. 

Selectivity: Very selective (in DX mode). Only the 10B is better [of Paul's tuners - Editor]. 

Noise: Very quiet. The Sumo Charlie has better quieting sensitivity. The T-2 is about on par with the 10B. 

Stereo separation: Very, very wide. Almost as good as the Charlie. 

IP3 [third-order intermod rejection - Editor]: About as good as the 10B. The Charlie is better -- go figure! 

Tuning Knob 'feel': Little backlash, just a hint of wobble. The 10B is superb -- no backlash, play, or wobble."

Our contributor Brian M. adds, "The T-2 has many useful features that the Fanfare FT-1A lacks. I think reception is pretty close, the T-2 being a little better, but the T-2 allows me to do some fine tuning to receive things the Fanfare can't. And the Fanfare doesn't have the life and definitely not the highs of the T-2." Our contributor JR tells us that the T-2 has a "blend" toggle switch "which includes AUTO, which dynamically changes the blend according to the quality of the signal (internal processing), and OFF, which allows full stereo when available (and when Mode isn't set to Mono)." See our contributor PZ's introductory paragraphs at the top of this page for more info on the T-2. See how one T-2 sounded compared to other top tuners on our Shootouts page, and read David "A"'s Ricochet for another perspective. An owner's manual for the T-2 may be downloaded free from the Yamaha website. On eBay, the T-2 can sell for anywhere from $160-200 (with a low of $122 in 10/08) to $425 or more for mint ones, with an all-time high of $500 in 8/06.

Yamaha T-7 (1980, $410, )

4 gangs, 오토튜닝, 모노 스위치 없음. 

Don't confuse this tuner with the T-07, a cheap digital model listed above.(싸구려 디지털 튜너 Yamaha T-07 과 혼동하지 말라. ) The T-7 is a 4-gang, black analog tuner with motorized presets. Our contributor PZ reports: "The T-7's front panel layout is almost identical to the T-1's. They both have the same 5 push buttons on the left below the dial and meters on the right. The buttons are Calibration Tone, Hi-Blend, Muting/OTS (off/multipath), RX Mode (auto-DX/local), Function (AM/FM). There is no option for mono. Both tuners have a fixed level output and a variable output on the back panel. The attenuator of the variable output is a thumbwheel located on the bottom of the unit (front center). This is very nice for A/B comparison against another tuner because the level can be matched easily. The T-7 incorporated some 'digital features' at the end of the analog age. The tuning meter found on the T-1 is omitted, and in its place is a pair of horizontal green lines flanking the red vertical marker. The brightness of the green lines change as the red marker sweeps through a station. Equal brightness of the two lines indicates centering. The frequency scale is just white letters marked on the black finish below these indicators, very small and hard to read. The problem is lessened by having 5 small lighted presets buttons so that there is less manual tuning. A motor moves the tuning knob to get to the preset station. I have only seen this gimmick in one other analog tuner, the Nakamichi 430. It does work, gets to the right place every time. The analog signal strength meter on the T-1 is also replaced by a 24-segment 'signal quality' meter on the T-7. Pushing down the Muting/Multipath button softens the brightness of this meter and I think it becomes just a multipath indicator. The space made available by eliminating the tuning meter is filled by the Local/DX lights and the stereo light. As far as audio quality goes, I couldn't hear any significant difference between the T-7 and the T-1, and also no difference from the digital TX-1000U." See PZ's introductory paragraphs at the top of this page for more info on the T-7.

Our panelist Bob adds: "I just put a T-7 into working order with a total realignment. WOW is all I can say for the sound. Very low measured distortion, and very nice bass. A bit of a pain to tune, as the dial is small and not lit, but worth it. It has a crystal lock that works well. The T-7 is similar to the T-1 cosmetically, but I'm not sure about the circuitry. There appear to be some fancy circuits in the T-7 that have not been noted before, but I have no manual so can't say. Perhaps it is a pulse count detector or...? The T-7 reminds me of an econo Tandberg with linear dial and presets. It has a wide/narrow IF bandwidth switch (but they call it 'distant/local'), and decent specs."

Our contributor Brian Beezley did some work on his T-7: "The Yamaha T-7 is an interesting analog tuner with sophisticated circuitry and an intriguing motorized station memory system. It also has an unusual balun arrangement. The T-7 has a center-tapped antenna coil in its front-end module. In the usual arrangement the whole winding provides a 300-Ohm balanced input, while one side of the winding with respect to the grounded center tap provides 75 Ohms. However, this scheme works well only if the leads to the rear-panel terminals are short - a couple inches at most. Even if the balanced winding is connected to the rear panel with 300-Ohm ribbon cable, the impedance of one side with respect to ground isn't likely to be anywhere near 75 Ohms. I encountered this problem in a Technics ST-S16 tuner, whose 75-Ohm input was essentially unusable due to the awful return loss (terrible impedance match).

"The T-7's front end is far from the rear panel. Yamaha solved the connection problem by providing a second transformer near the antenna terminals. This transformer connects to the front end using a balanced wire pair. (Actually three wires are used, with the center wire not connected at either end. Presumably this arrangement provides an impedance closer to 300 Ohms for the spaced outer wires.) The rear transformer is resonated by capacitors on the primary and secondary windings. In my tuner this transformer was not well resonated in the FM band. In fact, bypassing this 'balun' improved the 50 dB quieting sensitivity by 1 dB at 98 MHz and 2 dB at the band edges. This is the largest improvement I've yet seen from a balun bypass. To bypass the rear transformer, unsolder the wire pair at the front-end terminals. You can leave the wires connected at the rear and secure the pair by wrapping them through nearby holes in the side panel. Next, snip the lead from the coaxial input socket to the board. Solder a short piece of RG-59 to the coax connector, grounding the shield directly at the connector. Run the coax around the board to the bottom side. Solder the center conductor to the rear antenna terminal, marked ANT1 on the top of the board. Scrape the green solder mask from the nearby groundplane and solder the shield there. It's important to run the coax to ANT1, not the other side of the input coil marked ANT2. The two sides of the input winding do not present the same impedance to ground, presumably because the coupling to the other winding differs. I have seen this effect in other tuners. In the T-7, sensitivity is better using ANT1." An owner's manual for the T-7 may be downloaded free from the Yamaha website. The T-7 usually sells for $50-105 on eBay, with lows of $20 in 8/08 and $27 in 7/09, and highs of $155 in 1/08 and $130 in 10/10. [BF]

Yamaha T-07 ( 아날로그식인 T-7과 전혀 다른, 안에 텅빈 완전 저가 디지털 튜너)

We'll let our contributor Gary B. handle this one: "I got a Yamaha T-07 and finally got around to listening to it. This is a really cheap tuner, not to be mistaken for the T-7, and has almost nothing inside. It looks like the entire thing is only two chips and two ceramic filters. Sensitivity is only so-so, with a lot of stations I normally receive full quieting in stereo coming in with some noise in stereo. But the surprising thing about it is that its selectivity is really good, at least in mono. Makes me think it might be worth some effort to tweak it further. Perhaps an Ammons board to get more gain in the IF and an output buffer would make it sing, or maybe it just needs alignment to get the stereo noise down." The T-07 usually sells for $20-30 on eBay.