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Are There Alternatives to the Marantz 10 B ?

Hi,

I've been sinking my money (what little I have) into a DAC DSD upgrade and to pay for it, I decided to sell my Magnum Dynalab tuner. I liked the MD fm tuner but I wasn't ecstatic about it. For one thing, I was constantly wrestling with the dipole antenna to bring in the signal and that got rather inundating. The sound was really very good at certain times but rarely when a program came on that I had been waiting to hear.

So what I've been wondering is whether or not stereo fm tube tuners exist that offer a great audiophile sound but that don't receive the same level of attention as the Marantz 10 B? I suppose the hope is to find that 'build your own tuner kit' or advice on purchasing a particular tuner and how to modify it and all of this for a reasonable sum of money. And when it's all said and done, if I've still fallen short of my aim, then I'll get a job in the diamond mines and save until I've got enough for the Marantz 10 B.

Thanks!
128x128goofyfoot
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Sounds like you may need a better antenna more than a top quality tuner. That said, though, you may find this thread to be of interest.

Among quite a few vintage tube tuners I have owned, including two Marantz 10B's and the comparably expensive REL Precedent I currently use (in conjunction with an H. H. Scott LM-35 multiplex adapter/stereo decoder), the best relatively inexpensive (I suspect <$500) tuner in my experience has been the combination of an H. H. Scott 310D tuner (mono in itself, but providing a multiplex output jack for connection to an external multiplex adapter/stereo decoder) with a Fisher MPX-100 or H. H. Scott LM-35 or 335 multiplex adapter.

Of course, condition is a HUGE variable when it comes to vintage tube tuners, and many specific models (including the ones I suggested) are likely to require a good deal of patience to find, especially in top condition.

Regards,
-- Al
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,665 posts
 
I agree with Al. No matter what tuner you get it will not change if you use the same dipole antenna.

I've been down the road with many vintage tuners and I got fed up with the problems of a 40 year plus tuner and the cost and time when something fails.

Now I have a Magnum MD-90 and enjoy it as much as anything else I have owned.So you should start out with a good antenna before you do anything else.
goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot OP
1,370 posts
 
Thanks Al! Funny, I just saw this H. H. Scott 310D tuner on ebay a couple of weeks back. Anyhow as I'm in no hurry, I'll keep looking. Again much appreciated.
goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot OP
1,370 posts
 
Yogiboy, I had the MD 90 with the MD ST-2 dipole antenna and it was sketchy regarding the signal. I could have purchased the signal sleuth but decided that I would like to try a tube tuner over the MD 90 and to then search around for an external antenna. The problem is that I live on the 1st floor of an apartment building so an external antenna could be tricky.
By the way, the REL Precedent has me fascinated. Isn't this tuner initially a mono tuner that can then be modified into stereo?
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