Tuner Opinions

[jcmusic]

I am wanting some opinions on which tuners sound the best to you, via personal experience or another source. Tube or SS.

Jay

[Ballylongford]

McIntosh MR-67 has great sound; Kensonic T-100 may not sound quite as good, but it's got better sensitivity which makes it more enjoyable to use.

I have an upgraded Dynaco FM-3 which sounds pretty good, but its sensitivity is low which makes it inadequate for my area

Which brings up one of the things I think is always important to think about in respect to tuners; it's not just their sound which is important but also things like their sensitivity and selectivity too.

[thepathlesstaken]

I've been very pleased with the capability of a Marrantz 4300 amp / receiver. I am guessing that most of the other vintage Marrantz 70s stuff would have a tuner at least comprable to the 4300.

[boom3]

Hey there...you are lucky to have WWOZ...I used to listen to it when I lived there. I think UNO has/had a pretty decent station that I could pick up in the Quarter.

Since you're on this forum, I suspect you're looking for quality sound from the left end (88-92 MHz) of the dial, rather than super-selectivity to parse out stations at the right end. For that I recommend an older analog tuner. I have a Scott 333B from 1964. It is ugly and has a bit of high-end roll-off. But with only 2 FM stations worthing listening to here, it's fine.

The tube/SS debate about amps does not apply to tuners...Tuners "drive" a high-impedence input on amps and the issue of low damping factors of tube amps versus loudspeakers does not come into play.

You are fortunate to have a first-rate tuner alignment engineer close by, Terry Riemer. He worked on my Scott and also a Trans-Oceanic. I have not spoken with him since K but his website is showing a Metry address, not his former place near the 17th street canal, so I guess he's OK.

484-7173

http://members.aol.com/TerryR6525/Index.html

[Audio Flynn]

I am wanting some opinions on which tuners sound the best to you, via personal experience or another source. Tube or SS.

Jay

http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/kenwood.html

I have a stock KT-7300 Kenwood. I have tried Yamaha and Sansui SS 70s

vintage ones and this one gets the one nice jazz station in town very

nice and clear with almost CD quality soundstage.

Rock and Roll radio in Detroit is HORRIBLE.

I have not tried a tube tuner. Most people that have used a Scott tube tuner seem to like them allot.

[jcmusic]

Thanks for the tip on Terry boom.

Jay

[sheltie dave]

Jay, right now I have the garage sale Marantz 120(like yours,) a Sansui TU-7900, and the MX-110. Of these three, the Sansui is the best for sensitivity and seperation, with the Mac a close second. The 120 Superscope is last, BUT it was made in 1972 and easily could need the most bench time to get it up to fair shape.

As far as Marantz comparisons, the 120 is clearly better than the 120B in my book, and the 150 is the relative king of the hill of superscopes.

I really like the late '70s Sansui tuners, as they had very clean and sleek lines, as well as the cool light green backlights. It seems so far away, as back in the day you could walk into someone's den in the night and immediately tell what kind of system they ran. I also love the oscope on the 120, to the point where I'll be looking for a 4400 quad receiver locally.

[jcmusic]

Dave I agree on 150, also the 2130 those seam to be the best of the Marantz tuners unless you include the 10B. I have a 2100, and a Scott LT- 110, and the 120 which I just got back from getting it aligned. I did a little a-b comparison and I like the 2100 sound more than the 120. It has more sparkle to it, the 120 sounded flat without any life. So I am doing more research on tuners, as the hunt goes on.

Jay

[jcmusic]

Hey Mark thanks for chimeing in, I think I would prefer a better sound to tuning. I only listen too 3 stations they are pretty close so tuning is not an issue. From what I have read about the 10B it tends to be problmatic and costly. I was told about a Harmon Karden Citation 3-x know anything about them? You said you had a Mac 71, how was it for sound?

Jay

[Lascaladan]

I have owned many tuners in my time. Pioneer had a line of product under the Series 20 name, and if I recall the model I had, it was the F26, FM only. Incredible sound from this thing. Parted with it because of needing money for other toys to buy. One of my many regrets. I do not see them for sale anywhere. They also had some amps under the same name which I also regret selling.

[jcmusic]

Yes Mark that is my understanding of the 10B also, so I will stay away from that one.

Jay

[ScorpsFan]

The options others have provided have been great ones, for myself (remembering I'm a bit biased) I enjoy my Nakamichi ST-7 (which can ususaly be found on "the-bay" for a reasonable amount) but you have to know it is run through a 2 channel Nak system (CA-7 control pre-amp, PA-7 200wpc Power Amp) to my Heresy II's.

[jcmusic]

boom3 do you have terry's web site address, send me the link.

Jay

[CaptnBob]

A lot depends on how much you want to spend, of course. A properly set up Scott 350b will stand comparison with the best of them. I once a/b tested one against a 10b. The Marantz won, sounding a bit more open and sweeter, and picked up (as I recall, for some reason) 39 stations at my bucolic outpost compared to 33 for the Scott, but the 350 certainly aquitted itself well.

The Marantz 120, when up to scratch, is not a bad unit by any means, and probably a bargain at the moment.

If you're looking for something a bit less of a financial drain, don't overlook the old tube Sherwoods. They were well thought of in the early sixties. May require a bit of work, though.

Harman Kardon Citation 14 - especially if you need to hear that Dolby broadcast.

There is a website which gives exhaustive evaluations of a bunch of tuners. I'll see if I can track it down.

You could just get a Sequerra and be done with it.

[CaptnBob]

The web site is www.fmtunerinfo.com . It's a must!

[sheltie dave]

Bob, the site is www.fmtunerinfo.com, and is a pretty solid compodium of good info and reviews. Too slow[]

[Daddy Dee]

I've been better pleased with SS tuners.

The state of fm radio is sad, though.

[boom3]

Hi Jay,

I included the URL and local phone number for Terry in my original post. The Forums URL insertion feature is not working. If the address I typed in is incorrect, Google for Custom FM Tuner Alignment and Terry's site should come up on top.

BTW, folks, I have posted, over in "Forum" a list of problems...the forum is very slow, the URL insertion feature doesn't work,. and I can't copy/paste into the message composition window. I'm on Firefox but these problems are happening in IE as well.

[jcmusic]

Thanks boom3 I spoke to him on the phone yesterday,nice guy very informative.

Jay

[Gilbert]

Hey Mark thanks for chimeing in, I think I would prefer a better sound to tuning. I only listen too 3 stations they are pretty close so tuning is not an issue. From what I have read about the 10B it tends to be problmatic and costly. I was told about a Harmon Karden Citation 3-x know anything about them? You said you had a Mac 71, how was it for sound?

Jay

Yea, I know I'm not Mark... but I have a pair of MR71's. I loved the first one so much that I bought a second. I've also been looking into the Marantz 10B, but learned about the same thing you did... They're problematic, but when their working, they're suppose to be the sweetest, but other than drooling on myself, I have no experience with the 10B.

I also own a couple of SS tuners. A Luxman T110, and BangOlson BEOSOUND 2000 (or something like that). They are both excellent sounding tuners, but I too (like Mark) would choose the MR71 over them both. It's just spacious and lusious sounding.