Need a good tuner and there aren't many?

sws2, i agree w/the sound quality of the linn/naim. but ya can't get their top tuners for $1k, even used. that's why i got the onix bwd1, w/soap power-supply - virtually indistinguishable sonics from the linn/naim, better selectivity, better price. regards, doug

I have listened to or owned most of the best known tuners including Mac Mr 71s, 78s, Marantz 10Bs. The best overall tuners I have owned that are solid state are the Naim and Linn tuners. They are very simular sounding to a tweaked Marantz 10b. The Naim and Linn tuners are not however the best at selectivity,etc. They are amazing sonically though.

Ezmerelda, try contacting Ken Mull at Audio Advisor and find out about the Musical Fidelity A3 tuners. I have found them to offer excellent sonics if the broadcast is up to snuff. They are not the most sensitive though, so if you live way out in the boonies, you might need a more sophisticated antenna array. I have three year old MF E-50 that works very well and am quite pleased with it. For comparison sakes, i also have three Quad FM 4's, a Yamaha TX-950 and a Citation 23. All of these are highly reviewed pieces for the cash. The FM-4's are EXCELLENT tuners also, but their cosmetics are different ( tiny ) and they don't use RCA's as outputs. You would have to have an adapter cable, which is no big deal. Another benefit to the Musical Fidelity deal is that they have remotes now ( most "quality" tuners don't ) and AA offers their 30 day return privilege. Good luck in your search. Sean >

I have a McIntosh MR-78 available for sale if you are interested. It is universally considered to be one of the top 3 tuners ever made and when you hear it you'll know why. They really are exceptional in all respects. I've recently moved to a rural area in the Rocky Mountains where multi-path is a big problem and the stations in this area aren't so great anyway. It has been lovingly cared for and is in excellent condition with all original documentation including service manual. If you are interested and would like more info please e-mail me at: tswhitsel@aol.com

For what it is worth, I have the Fanfare FT-1A, and I realize it is over your $1000 request, but I thought I would at least give you my two cents on it. Before I bought it, I picked up an old Sansui TU-717 on eBay to get my feet wet using a tuner again. Rightly so, the Sansui couldn't hold a candle to the Fanfare. Things I like about the Fanfare: it may have nothing to do with performance but it is a beautiful piece and it is much smaller than the older tuners; it has remote control, this is very handy!; it has presets, I use these every time I use the tuner, don't be fooled into thinking they are not necessary; it pulls in a lot of stations, I now mostly listen to a station I didn't know existed. The Fanfare has five signal strength lights, this station I found, for the most part, will only light up 4 of the lights as it is a week station and distant, yet there isn't a lot hash when playing it, although I do play it in mono. That leads me to another thing, when programming presets, you can program it in mono or stereo; it is very musical, you do not tire of playing it. I find I use the tuner more than any other source. Unfortunatly we are still at the mercy of the signal. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

Tuners are the one component that I think it is great to by an older piece. It seems that tuners from the mid 60's to 70's were exemplary. My old Sansui has not been beaten yet by the new tuners that I have tried over the years(never tried any of the big bucks products). I am in an unusual area, being less than 1/4 to 2 miles from the tv/radio towers. I am actually under the signal. So, an analog tuner, that I can fine tune, works better for me than the digital models I have tried. I can really adjust, and lock on to a signal with my Sansui.

I can vouch for the Dynaco; still have mine for a spare(from years ago) but it hasn't been in the system since I got my FT101 with the Sleuth preamp. I listened to a lot of 'affordable' tuners, then I heard the Dynalab & it was a no-brainer. I'm told that Meridian has a great new tuner but that's more $.

For new stuff, check out the Creek T43 which has a MSRP of about $695. See reviews at www.hifichoice.co.uk/archive/ and www.audioreview.com

agreed w/outdoor antenna - try antenna performance specialties - gives me great reception in a *very* difficult area. besides the mac tuners (their mr 67 & 71 are also nice, keep an eye peeled for a tandberg 3001, an onix bwd1 w/soap, sansui tu9900 or tu-x1, yamaha ct7000. *all* these tuners will rival any tuners out there, for less than $1k...

Simple, buy a McIntosh model MR78, the best for a grand. Also think about an outdoor antenna, doubles the performance of any tuner for a couple of hundred dollars.