tuner allignment?

[daviethek]

I'm an od FM'er. I have a question for the technicians among AR. How does one know when a tuner needs an allignment? Is it simply a matter of the sound becoming dull or are basic signal strength/reception problems also a sign. I am not having any DX problems but the overall sound quality sounds a bit pinched. I've tried cleaning contacts and cleaning anything else that doesn't interfere with sound and it hasen't helped. Will an alligment help dynamics? The tuner is analog.

mil grazie

[markw]

It's not like one day it's working fine and the next day it's not. It's something that gradually kicks in over time. sort of like losing one's 20/20 vision. You really don't conciously notice it until you go to the doctor and he fits you with a pair of glasses that restores it. It's like a relevation in hindsight.

You might notice a lack of seneitivity, separation or things like that. Ot. like you say, it just seems to "lack" something it once had. Nothing that smacks you in the face and it you might even attribute it to the antenna or atmospheric conditions but, when it comes back properly* aligned, it's like you never heard it before.

I'll go so far as to say this is true for analog tuners at least. My 2270 was like a brandy new piece of wonder when I last had it aligned a few years ago. I try to get it done at least every 10 years or so.

*by a real pro, with the proper equipment and experience, nt justsome schmuck up the street.