Luxman T14 tuner

 

General:

Around 1981 Luxman company came with its T14 tuner.

Front ^

With wood cabinet ^
 

Owners manual:

click here to download the owners manual of the Luxman T14

Frequecy indication ^

 

Signal meter leds ^

 

special features:

This T14 is a digital FM tuner, with switchable IF and station memory.

The front-end employs a 5 gang electronic capacitor tuning device.

 

Front scale in dark ^
 

Schematic:

click here to download the service manual of the Luxman T14

 

The leaking battery problem ^

 

Modifications:

First thing to check is the NiCd memory battery.
European users should check the mainsvoltage selector and set it to 240 Volt.
Some capacitors may be bad and should be replaced.
The 300 Ohms antenna connection may be obsolete.
Set the deemphasis switch to 50 µS in Europe and 75 µS in USA, check in your country your local setting for best sound.
The Audioscript anti-birdies filter can be the cause of problems, read the notice on the Luxman T12 page on this website.
Some upgrades can be made in the IF, MPX and LF section, to improve the sound of the T14,
as Luxman made some minor design errors in this tuner, that were corrected in later series of the T14.
Check the 4 connectors on the pcb, these are not super quality and after many years can give severe problems.
If you exchange the scale lamp for a LED: on the left side there is a lamp holder in rubber unused, that can be used:
It gives with a LED, so in total 2, one on each side, a nicer effect on the scale.
The LF stage with the IC, can be improved by using small MKT capacitors and stage shielding.
 

 

The Europe version interior of the tuner ^ you can see at the left the small pcb of the "anti birdies filter" that is not original Luxman.

 

The USA version interior ^
 

Sound:

The sound is great after modification. This tuner can be very sensitive.

 

USA version pcb ^

One big pcb inside the T14, Europe version ^
 

Conclusion:

This Luxman T14 FM tuner is a great product, receiving properties are good, sound is great after modification,
and although in the 1980's some critisism was issued about digital tuners,
this T14 is a great tuner, it disproves that analog tuners are better.

 

 

© Hans Hilberink - PE1MMK / ON9MMK ® 2003 - Last update: 27-03-2020.