Luxman TS-113 (1988)
The TS-113 is a satellite broadcast (BS) tuner from the Alpine/Luxman collaboration, released in Japan in August 1988 at ¥57,100. It was a niche product even then. BS tuners were early adopter gear, made for picking up Japan's fledgling satellite television broadcasts. It's a single-purpose box, 438mm wide and just 61mm tall, built to a price point that suggests it was meant to sit in a rack next to more conventional Luxman separates.
The engineering focus was clean reception. It uses a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) channel selection circuit with a newly developed front end, plus a fine-tuning mechanism to lock onto the broadcast signal. Tuning status shows on an FL display. Fine-tuned channels can be stored in PROM memory, so switching channels doesn't lose the picture. A threshold extension circuit and a "high-performance video circuit" round out the reception side.
The output side is well equipped for the price. There are two analog video/audio output systems (video at 1Vp-p/75Ω, audio at 2Vrms), plus a coaxial digital audio output. That was a forward-looking feature in 1988, and it let owners feed a digital signal straight to a compatible DAC or recorder. There's also a bit stream output pin terminal and an RF output on UHF channel 13, presumably for connecting to a TV without direct video inputs. The audio section has two bandwidth modes: A mode (5 Hz to 15 kHz ± 1 dB) and B mode (5 Hz to 22 kHz ± 1 dB). Harmonic distortion is rated at 0.08% or less in A mode and 0.05% or less in B mode. A wireless remote was included, and the unit could be linked to an external timer for unattended recording.
Beyond the spec sheet, the historical record is thin. No owner reviews, no market reception data and no documented quirks or failure points have surfaced in the usual collector channels. The TS-113 is a fairly obscure entry in Luxman's catalog, a Japan-only satellite tuner from the late '80s that most Western collectors have never seen in person.
- Channels: BS1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15
- IF frequency: 402.78 MHz
- Video output: 1Vp-p/75Ω; audio output: 2Vrms
- Digital outputs: coaxial pin terminal and bit stream pin terminal
- RF output: UHF ch 13, 75Ω unbalanced
- Dimensions: 438 × 61 × 300 mm; 3.7 kg
Similar items on eBay
No exact Luxman TS-113 listings are live right now — these searches show current Luxman and similar vintage audio gear on eBay:
As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our independent vintage technology research.
Related Models
- Luxman T-353L (1975)
- Luxman T-300V (1957)
- Luxman T-50A (1975)
- Luxman 5710-FM
- Luxman R-1050 (1975)
- Kenwood KR 3200 (1973-1975)
- Kenwood KR 3400 (1977-1979)
- Kenwood KR 4070 (1977-1979)
- Kenwood KR 4200 (1975-1977)
- Marantz 1515 (1976-1978)