Can ya believe it? We found a receiver that aspires nothing , yet seems to
have what it takes for our quest. It's a miracle... or is it? This lil' goody is only 25
watts a channel, yet seems to play MUSIC quite nicely. The amplifier section uses a
"High Current Output Circuit" according to the manufacturer. Can you believe it
retails at discount stores for only $99!!! It's a MIRACLE!!! So how DO they do it? Volume,
volume, volume (and inexpensive Chinese labor helps a bit too). Like our speaker page, a
full review will be forthcoming. As ALWAYS, we will also have a "tweekers
corner" for these under $200 goodies. If you liked the way it reproduced
music/movies/sound as a stock unit, just wait until you hear it tweaked!
And Now It's Miller, er, um,
Tweakin' Time!
Ok, so the unit probably cost ya about $100. Hey, it probably sounds
pretty good, a bit recessed in the highs, yet at least it's not harsh,
"threadbare" and annoying like most other cheapies. It's tough for me to tell
folks to spend another $50-100 on parts for something that cost only $100 to begin with
YET when the final outcome sounds, in my humble opinion, better then most $500 receivers
what's a woman to do??? The really cool thing about this receiver, besides how good it
sounds for the $$$, is that the top AND bottom plate are easily removed with a screwdriver
so it makes it REALLY EASY to tweak :-{)+ .
Teac was kind enough to send me the schematic :-{)+ . Ya know what i
learnt??? (Said with humor) That schematics have all these squiggly lines, a few diamond
lookin' boxes, a big box thing with a lotta lines connected to it that means a computer
chip. And to top that off, there's a bunch of weird lines that kinda look like this
--www-- on 'em too! SCHEMATICS?!?!?! BADGES??? We don't need no stinkin' badges!!!
Ok, so please make sure it's unplugged FIRST so no power is going through
it. SAFETY FIRST!!! Now take off the top and bottom of the unit. See that big power
transformer. It's a keeper in my humble opinion. See those two power capacitors on the
main circuit board with the value of 50 volt 4700uf made by CHHSI??? DUMP 'EM!!! i
nicknamed them "chinsey" caps 'cause that's what they are, CHINSEY!!! What we
wanna do is simply replace them with some nice caps like Elna's Cerafine or, better still
depending on your preferences, Black Gates. Yes, i'm a BIG fan of Black Gates in most
applications. The Elna cap. actually seem a bit more vibrant in this application in my
humble opinion. The Black Gates seem to be smoother, almost too smooth to my ears. In the
end it's your call, your money, your system. So if you got some really "aggressive
sounding" speakers you may wanna go with the Black Gates. Most ???normal??? folks
will go with the less expensive Elna Cerafine caps.
The only other thing i'd suggest upgrading is that cheezy power cord.
Maybe a good, solid 16 or 14 AWG twisted pair wired one from your local hardware store.
This didn't do much sound wise yet i feel better knowing some lousy $1 wire isn't used to
bring the power to my component. Just my 2 cents here. Your mileage may vary.
Well, there's not much more i really wanna say right now 'cause, hey, it's
only about $100 for the unit and this simply cap/plug upgrade seems to do nicely. Those of
you who wanna get REALLY tweaky please lemme know what cha did and the results thereof. If
we all share our experience, we all learn from one another. Thanks for your time. It IS
appreciated.
