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Radio Road Which tuner to get and getting the most from it. Thank God, for the radio! |
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Radio Road Which tuner to get and getting the most from it. Thank God, for the radio! |
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The first ES tuner from around 1985, principal claimed specifications:
Sensitivity: 1.8uV (FM)
Signal to Noise Ratio: 80dB (FM)
Distortion: 0.15%
Selectivity: 60dB
Frequency response: 30Hz to 15kHz (FM)
The Sony ST-S555ES uses a system called the Direct Comparator Circuit (CX778), yielding a stunning s/n ratio of 80dB; apparently it went into Sony's tuners for a decade. This was from the day when FM really mattered. Extraordinary S/N performance seems to be the Secret Sauce... the result is a wide soundstage, great dynamics, and a surprising level of musical detail. All that, plus the smooth extended high end. The 555 lacks a little in bass compared to my other tuners (currently a Yamaha T-1 which sounds a little 'warm' and an Yam ST-70 which sounds 'just right') but a modest tweak of the bass tone-control makes it perfect. Y'all remember tone controls... I have a dispensation to use them on FM.
The 555 has an unusual feature called "ACT" (Audio Current Transfer) which moved the R-C network at the audio output stage to a small outboard box which can be located right next to the amplifier inputs. I can't see the logic, maybe it has something to do with induced noise?? ACT uses a mini-DIN jack on the tuner and a shotgun cable connected to the box. Those boxes often go missing and now sell for big bucks. Mine came haywired with an ugly 10-cent RCA cable and a warning not to connect it to any direct coupled devices!
You can "mod" the 555 audio outputs in a variety of ways; I did not want to drill the chassis, so I removed the old mini-DIN chassis jack and installed an S/PDIF video cable jack in its place that looks tidy; good new jacks are sold today by vintage video-game nuts online. That fat S/PDIF cable has 2 nice miniature coax inside. In the box are 20uF Solen film caps and 670-ohm resistors and short captive RCA jumpers. It all sounds good- very quiet and lively.
The 555's RF performance is exceptional and yields a very quiet reception here in FM's "Black Hole of California" which seems unfortunately centered on the Bearcave. It locks right on to my excellent LA jazz station and classical station with FM bandwidth set to "wide." There are numerous settings and provisions for switching 2 antennas plus a -20dB attenuator switchable for antenna "B"- they weren't fooling around.
FM may be playing to my prejudices by adding some slight softening to digital playback, but the effect is pleasing. I listen to FM a lot; it's far less prone to listener-fatigue than digital streamed "radio" IMO. I did my first serious listening today and tonight and during the Latin jazz show, actually ran over and bought a CD they were playing, it sounded so darn good.
[Thanks to Tuner Information Center and The Vintage Knob for technical data and descriptions]
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Topic - Sony ST-S555ES FM Stereo Tuner review - mr.bear 21:46:10 01/27/18 (0)
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