Luxman T-12 Vintage FM Tuner

General:
This T-12 from Luxman is a beautiful and great sounding FM tuner. The entire unit has considerable weight and feels super well manufactured. 

It features a classic backlit analog tuning readout perfect for matching with a 1970’s HIFI setup, or adding a bit of vintage character to a modern setup. 

In testing our favorite local FM radio stations sounded great and tuned in with ease.

But the best feature is the tactile feedback built into the tuning knob that’s something we’ve never seen before.  When the tuner locks on a station, there’s an actuator that locks the turning dial to let you know your reached the perfect tuning point!

Included along with the tuner will be its original box.

From Luxman:
The Luxman T-12 is an exclusive FM tuner of Accutouch Quartz Lock system. The most eminent feature of this Accutouch system is to seize the exact tuning points even including that at the RF stage even if such ambient condition as temperature fluctuates.

In conventional quartz lock system this operates only to keep stable the local oscillator, and provides no effect to the RF stage. Therefore, tuning accuracy depends on the actual tuning operation, which may cause deterioration of such characteristics as distortion, IF response ratio or separation etc. While, with the T-12, an accurate center point is detected by use of quartz circuit and the exact point is mechanically locked, thus possible tuning error is completely removed.

Naturally, the primary target of the T-12 is placed at the sonic excellence. At the front end, a five-gang tuning capacitor exclusively made for FM is adopted to utilize every superb characteristic obtained at the IF and its following stage. High selectivity at each RF amp ensures sufficient interference rejection performance.

IF bandwidth selector is provided, which realizes ultra low distortion characteristic in the wide position thanks to two pairs of LC block filter of good phase characteristic, and in the narrow position, high selectivity is obtained by coupling a ceramic filter with a block filter. Also the quadrature wideband detecting circuit contribute to lower the distortion.

The multiplex circuit with pilot canceller, improvement of the phase characteristic of the low-pass filter, and adoption of DC-amp configuration at the audio output stage, all of these help realize superb sonic quality.

The T-12 represents the finest standards of design and craftsmanship, but the proof is in your handling and listening.

SkyFi Cosmetic Notes:
Some light marks on the chassis. Overall very good.

Brand Background:
The history of the LUXMAN audio brand began in 1925, at the birth of radio broadcasting. LUXMAN has paid particular attention to the world of audio and has gained high reputation as a quality brand of high-end audio products both domestically and internationally.

Ownership:
Single Owner

Connections:
RCA,

General Sound:
Smooth, uncolored, undistorted natural and clean

Cosmetic Condition:
8/10 = Very Good. Excellent front faceplate, one minor flaw on chassis side or top. See our detailed rating description here.

Working Condition:
Working perfectly and tested in our lab.

Included:
Unit and box

Packing:
Original Manufacturers Packing

Specs:
Type: Mono/Stereo Tuner
Tuning Bands: FM
Tuning Scale: Analog
FM Tuning Range: 87.5 to 108 MHz
Sensitivity: 1.8uV (FM)
Signal to Noise Ratio: 80 dB (FM)
Distortion: 0.5% (FM)
Selectivity: 60 dB (FM)
Frequency response: 20 Hz to 17 kHz (FM)
Output: 1000mV

Dimensions:
17.24 x 12.68 x 3.07″

Weight:
15 lbs.

Approximate Age:
1978

Link to Manual:
Click Here

Recommended Cables:
Kimber Kable – RCA Interconnects – Better

Kimber Kable – RCA Interconnects – Best

Testing Process:
We start with a visual inspection of all internal components to make sure that there are no signs of heat stress or damage. Capacitors are checked for telltale signs of predictive failure including bulging, shrunken wrappers, or physical leakage. We also inspect the PCBs for discoloration from resistors or transistors that may have been running hot.

On vintage units we often spot check select capacitors for value and ESR. Vintage analog tuners also have moving parts related to the tuning gang and dial string. These parts are inspected for smooth operation.

If the unit passes visual inspection it is bench tested for a handful of key performance parameters using a Sencore SG80 AM/FM Stereo Analyzer. The SG80 allows us to “simulate” an ideal radio station using precision test signals instead of music. This device in conjunction with an oscilloscope allows us to properly evaluate the following parameters:

1) AM Reception (Where Applicable)
2) FM Mono Reception & Tuning Meter Function
3) FM MPX Reception (Stereo)
4) Dial Tracking: How accurately the tuner dial or display indicates the actual frequency of the broadcast being received.
5) Stereo Separation: A properly working stereo tuner will have minimal crosstalk between the left and right channel.
6) Sensitivity & Signal Strength Meter Function: By lowering the output of the SG80 we can simulate weak stations and determine how well the tuner will be able to pull in weak distant stations. This adjustment also helps us verify signal strength meter function.

If the tuner has acceptable performance related to the parameters above we connect the unit for listening tests with a simple dipole antenna. We listen for audio reproduction quality of local stations and evaluate how many stations the tuner can receive while we sweep through the dial.

We are looking to verify that the tuner can decode stereo on strong local broadcasts and pick up a wide variety of local stations at the bottom, middle, and top of the frequency band. At this point we also test convenience features such as muting, filters, built in oscilloscope function, etc.

We finish up with an extended listening test on our long term test rig. We tune in to a strong local station and monitor for drift over a minimum period of 2-3 hours.