Article: Tivoli Model One

[Michael Jones]

You can view the page at http://www.audioenz.co.nz/content.php/59-Tivoli-Model-One

[Owen Young]

A geeky Q: I'm not familiar with the Tivolis sadly, but does the tuning have a 'geared-down' feel to it (what radio enthusiasts would call a 'reduction drive') or does it have a more direct, 1-to-1 rotation? Love those 'skirted' knobs.

[Brian Ono]

I have a tangent uno which is very similar,best thing since sliced bread.:)

[got tinnitus]

When I retire, I'll treat myself to a Tivoli.

In the meantime I'm making do with my Grandfathers multi-band Sony circa 1976. Only thing is the FM band is for Japan...

[Daddy Dom]

Owen, I'm sorry I can't be more specific but the tuning dial has a lovely 'viscous' feel and is a joy to operate. These have a lovely non-fatiguing sound and are a good example (IMO, of course) of something done Just Right. We even have two! One's in a lovely glossy piano finish and t'other's in racey old open-grained matt black. And the craziest thing about them is the fact that being "only" mono matters not a jot.
DD

[Cooksferry]

I have a Model 2 which I've owned for 3 or 4 years and only used a couple of times.
I should drag it out and find a home for it somewhere in the house.
I bought it to use in the man cave but for some reason it never worked properly on FM in there but was fine in the house.
Gave up in the end. Nice radio though.

[Owen Young]

Thks, DD.
What I mean is that old tuners & radio transmitters often had a Reduction Drive mechanism which meant that when you rotated the dial quickly, the tuning indicator moved much slower, allowing fine easier tuning...a sort of 'vernier' feel. Does the Tivoli indicator ring move around at same speed as the knob?
Nice tuners also aditioning had a flywheel to assist tactile feel of the tuning knob!
(Of course the Tivoli is unlikely to have all that sort of sophistication.)

[Brian Ono]

Precisly why I prefer the analogue dial to the pushbutton presets.Fortunately only listen to 2 stations .I have a tuner set for each.

[Owen Young]

I hope you swap the stations now & then, so that you don't deny yourself the tactile pleasure of spinning a high quality tuner knob :D

[Papa Hemi]

"you don't deny yourself the tactile pleasure of spinning a high quality tuner knob "

Denial is for monks..

[chopper]

No the dial is integral to the knob.
Its got a nice action though but not what you are after

[Ernie]

When I retire, I'll treat myself to a Tivoli.

In the meantime I'm making do with my Grandfathers multi-band Sony circa 1976. Only thing is the FM band is for Japan...

I encountered an elderly gent in my retail days, who told me his idea of multi-room was moving his Tivoli from one room to another.

[Brian Ono]

:)
I hope you swap the stations now & then, so that you don't deny yourself the tactile pleasure of spinning a high quality tuner knob :D
Im always checking its right on station:D

[Gary.M]

I don't have one Owen, but I've played with one. Feels like a reduction drive to me, with damping.



Thks, DD.
What I mean is that old tuners & radio transmitters often had a Reduction Drive mechanism which meant that when you rotated the dial quickly, the tuning indicator moved much slower, allowing fine easier tuning...a sort of 'vernier' feel. Does the Tivoli indicator ring move around at same speed as the knob?
Nice tuners also aditioning had a flywheel to assist tactile feel of the tuning knob!
(Of course the Tivoli is unlikely to have all that sort of sophistication.)

[TonyD]

I don't have one Owen, but I've played with one. Feels like a reduction drive to me, with damping.
I agree ... I have a Tivoli Pal which has a similar tuning knob. The inner black knob moves 'further' than the outer silver indicator dial.

[William]

Was this Tivoli checked for FM compatibility in this part of the world? Very important to do so. Most American stuff is 75 microseconds whereas we are 50 microseconds. Really affects the 'treble'. Should be in the review.

[neil]

I would think that as the model was sourced from the NZ Distributor it will be suitable for use in NZ.

[Michael Jones]

Neil's on to it.

[ajst2duk]

Was this Tivoli checked for FM compatibility in this part of the world? Very important to do so. Most American stuff is 75 microseconds whereas we are 50 microseconds. Really affects the 'treble'. Should be in the review.

Thats a cracker 1st post - and it has me worried now as I have three of them, 2 sourced from USA. To my ears these have always been great, but now I'll die wondering if I lived listening to music that has mis-matched microseconds !!

[Owen Young]

Do you think you'd notice if your FM treble was down 10dB?

That's what USA de-emphasis would sound like here.

[William]

Well well. The faith in distributors is touching and the sarcasm is contemptible. But I digress. Some time ago I wanted a quality radio - either Bose or Tivoli so I checked with the retailers whether they were set with pre-emphasis for this part of the world. Waste of time. So I contacted the distributors. They wouldn't even know the difference between AM and FM let alone whether their FM radios were 50 or 75 uS! So I emailed the Bose and Tivoli manufacturers in the USA. "Nope - we only do 75 uS ! There's another standard?" Bose would not even give me the circuit diagrams so I could modify it myself. So I abandoned the exercise. [I should add that I own two two high end Japanese tuners both of which have switchable de-emphasis]. Recently I re-instigated the exercise and again contacted Bose. Turns out they have now commenced to manufacture radios with the Australasian/European 50 uS - to simplify things they allocate 50 uS to all 240 volt radios. Fair approximation. Not sure whether Tivoli now do the same. But it means there must be hundreds if not thousands of Bose and Tivoli radios here with incorrect de-emphasis. Guess it doesn't matter if you only listen to compressed distorted commercial stations but not acceptable for national and concert programmes.
Hence my earlier observation - should have been commented on in the review. How about a follow up.

[neil]

Rule of thumb.... 'If it sounds good it is good'.... Tivoli's sound good, therefore they are.

[Owen Young]

Well well. The faith in distributors is touching and the sarcasm is contemptible...
acerbic - Often describes a sharp or biting mood, temper, tone, or wit... (however) a bit less sharp than sarcasm.

[Newbie]

Rule of thumb.... 'If it sounds good it is good'.... Tivoli's sound good, therefore they are.

But maybe, just maybe... they could sound GREAT with the perfect de-emphasis! ;)

[Michael Wong]

Has anyone compared the Tivoli with the original Kloss Model Eight Radio ?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/KLH_Model_Eight_Radio_-_8-16-07.jpg

[johnnyrs]

But maybe, just maybe... they could sound GREAT with the perfect de-emphasis! ;)

Perhaps better in Dobly?