Mcintosh mr65b and mr55a. I paid around $400.00 for the mr65b and $350.00 for the mr55a. The mr65b sounds very lush and rich and looks new, really a very pretty radio. After it plays for about 15 minutes I sometime have to slightly retune some stations, then after that its rock steady, as far as drift goes. The mr55 for mono is very very detailed I can hear people breathing - the announcers breathing and if they say a word like porportion I can hear the 'pah' sound of porportion very clearly. I love both these radios. They are original and work flawlessly, not bad for 50 + year old radios. If you can get one in goof shape buy one. The mr65b says mr 65 on the glass face plate but mr65b on the model no one the back of the chassis.

Great soundi; beautiful looks (have you ever seen an MR-65B in a well oiled real walnut cabinet?) It's a classic looking piece of gear that is extremely pleasing to the eye, and faithfully honors the music.

These old MAC tuners do run hot in their cabinets. If you are going to listen to yours on a daily basis, you might consider removing it from the cabinet so that it can cool more effectively.

Actually, for the past several months I had been looking for an old Mac tube tuner and had lost a bid on a beautiful MR-71 with walnut cabinet, which ended up selling for just under $700.

I went the Audio Classics Website and began to do more research on these grand old tuners. What I found was interesting. Audio Classics, the premier used McIntosh equipment dealer on this planet, had a decent amount of information on the vintage MAC tuners ranging from the MR-55 to the MR-71.

I was all set to go for either an MR-67 or MR-71, when I saw some information on the MR-65B. As it turns out, this was the first stereo tuner built by McIntosh back in the early 1960's.

And, it is also by quite a large margin, the rarest of the MAC stereo tuners, with only 1600 built. Only the MR-65 & MR-66 mono tuners had lower production numbers, and then, not by much.

Not surprisingly, Audio Classics also gets quite a premium for the rare MR-65B; $2000 for one which has been serviced and is in good cosmetic condition. One might only imagine what an MR-65B in absolutely pristine condition might fetch, since at $2000, the MR-65B is only a few hundred dollars less expensive than a Marantz 10B in good condition -- and the the 10B sold for twice as much as the MR-65B in its day. However, the 10B, is not nearly as rare.

Over the past week, I took delivery of a beautiful MR-65B, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. The MR-65B has a sound very similar to the 10B which I owned more than a decade ago - a very lush and articulate midrange, which is nver fatiguing; and motivates to liisten for hours on end.

You can see a photo of this tuner on my Website:

http://jimmyblues.angelfire.com/page1.html

As for the older MAC tuners, in my opinion they are all beautiful works of art; whether you own an MR-55 or 55A; MR-65 or MR-65B; MR-66; MR-67 or MR-71.

Similar Products Used:

Revox B 261, Tandberg 3011A, Marantz 125, NAD 402

reproduces Music so real,it sounds like there right there playing it LIVE In the Room

Sometimes the MR-67 has a hard time pulling in Disant FM Stations over 50 miles.

I Pick up The MR-67 at a tag sale in 1974,It was working but the lady,said she was tried of it, I"ve been using it ever since,with a mc5100,About Two years ago I had Audio Classics redo it, cost me about $1000.00, But well worth it Sounds Better than New! I Sometimes keep it on 24hrs for two or three days It the best tunner I've ever Had,I"ve own at least ten Different tuners.

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Krag FM Tube Tuner,No were as good as the MR-67

even mono sounds good

are you kidding?

Previous comments from other reviewers are correct without a doubt. Listening to your favorite broadcast on an MR 67 is essentially a guarantee that you will wreck your underpants in your listening chair. Lay down a moist towel or some plastic. I'm looking forward to having audioclassics.com do a Modaferri modification and will report back the differences. I don't know if it is solely the tubes or the analog circuit design or some magic in between, but the CDs have been gathering dust ever since I plugged mine into the wall.

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numerous digital tuners of little note- Onkyo, NAD, Sony, Harman Kardon

Makes you not want to go out on saturday night

Only that it takes about 4 hours to get to temp. - and as the caps are specd' to be on value only when warm, this warm-up time is real. Such is the way of the tube tuner!

Read my older review, it is still valid. After owning the tuner for a few more years, and countless hours spent listening, I have to say that it has the uncanny ability to make broadcast sound better than cd. WAY better. Drop your jaw and get lost in the music better. Really

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many

I too am a tuner fanatic and own an MR-67 in mint condition. I AB'd it next to my solid state MX-118, and there is no comparison. The MR-67 wins on musicality and warmth. What a rush to listen to Prarie Home Companion boradcast live from the Fox theatre in Atlanta. Awesome.

I have had other high end tuners, and the MR-67 is tops in user interface (love analog tuning mechanisms, they are so user friendly) and sound.

Liked it so much that I sold the MX and bought a C-22 reissue. Beautiful site to see these two Macs next to eachother.

warmest sound around...great mac look.

weak / distant stations aren't its strong point. weighs more than my rack can handle.

i picked this unit up for $250 needing repairs, $150 later here's my take.

most FM tuners sound the same...a little jittery--treble is too hot, vocals a little nasaly. radio just gets you tired after a while...listener's fatigue. not so with the mac. you can really sense the difference with this classic tube tuner. let this beautiful piece of art warm up, turn the dials (no digital shtuff to be found on it--definitely my style, but not everyones)and you're in for some of the best sounding FM music to be had.

hell, commercials sound good on it!

if you can get one of these units, do not pass it up. yes, while MD makes a nice tuner these days, you'll pay far more for it, lose a lot if/when you go to sell, and maybe, MAYBE get a little better sound....though sound is always subjective.

i love the warmth of this tuner. my cd player (denon 560) gets me tired after a few hours, but the tuner never will.

5 stars. they just dont make them like this anymore.

my setup:
PRE: conrad johnson PF2
AMP: conrad johnson MF 2100 (100 wpc--an awesome pair with the PF2)
CD: denon 560
tape: denon 580
cd-r: tascam 700 (the best value for a cdr out there)
speakers: boston acoustic HD-10s
speaker wires: upgrade in progress
interconnects: radio shack gold

btw: if anyone can rec a great set of bookshelfs that would match my system well, itd be most righteous.

looks, value, quality

some tubes really expensive

The Mac tuner to have. Period. MR65 a bit soft, but still better than just about anything. MR71 a bit grainy. MR67 just perfect. Mind you that the MR65,67,and 71 are lightyears better than just about any other tuner EVER made. On sound quality they are better than the 10B. (The 10B is just a better tuner...)

Don't expect to get weak distant stations with these though -- that is what the MR78 is for.

Time for another of the 60 plus tuners I have had and compared.This may be the best sounding next to the Marantz 10B. Yes it sounds better and more sen than the MR-71.
This is the model before the MR-71 and has really good sen and sel but the sound is so warm it detailed that is makes FM really warm, not the harsh sound of many tuners. To make it like new send it to Audio Classics for a tune up and you will keep it for many years.
Really weak stations are a bit of a problem, but better than all Fishers in my opinion, including the 1000. Again, this is all first hand knowledge. Tubes last forever.
For a great tuner review read Vacuum Tube Valley tuner shootout, best test I have read.
All my opinion and no ties to any of these companies, just a tuner fanatic.

Beautiful Sound and Style

Weak RF section

Extremely engaging sound comparable with 10B's. Won't pull in as many stations as MD but doesn't matter much since I'm in metro area w/ plenty stations to choose. It is one of the best audio bargains around. Grab one now before price goes up through roof!

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MD 102
10B