RECIEVER recommendations

Luxman R-117!

You will not beat this for the money or otherwise. 160 watts of clean smooth sound with agruably one of the best tuner sections made.

A good one goes for around $500 delivered on ebay.

I agree w/Rarl about tuners. I use an old Akai tuner that originally came with a stereo stack about 20+ years ago. I use one of those wire in clear plastice T's just thrown on top of the cabinet and the little 6 inch wide unit brings in everything with good signal strength. It sounds ok too, decent stereo separation and sporatic soundstage depth. It's been with me for a long time and I doubt I'll ever replace it, it frees up my choices for other electronics.

I own the Arcam AVR200, Rotel 1065 & Rotel RX-1052. The 1052 is amazing when paired with the t-style antenna that comes with the unit. I'm able to clearly pick up more stations then ever before. I own two different Terk antenna's and they don't seem to help much, just the out of the box cheap antenna seems to have the best reception. The problem is the rotel connection in the back is not a typical 75 ohm connector, it has a circle in the center that doesn't allow for perfect connection wiht aftermarket solutions. Overall, I'm very happy with the RX-1052, but it's to soon for a detailed review.

Please consider the Magnum Dynalab MD-208 Stereo Receiver. The web site is http://www.magnumdynalab.com/home.html

This is a remote controlled solid-state receiver with digital volume control. Discrete all-analog FM tuner section (digital readout). Power output: 100Wpc into 8 ohms (20dBW), 160Wpc into 4 ohms (19dBW). Current output: 30A peak. THD: 0.15%. Damping factor: >100. Audio frequency response: 10Hz-17kHz, -1dB. THD (stereo): 0.18%. Capture ratio: >1.5dB. S/N Ratio: 80.0dB.

I own the MD-208 and it is an excellent unit. cheers.

Last year I wanted a receiver or integrated for my office system and I only wanted to spend about 700-1000 used. After listening to several receivers - Onkyo, Arcam, Rotel, Denon, NAD - I bought a vintage Luxman (R107? 70 watts) for $300 on eBay - great receiver with a wonderful tuner in it - nice looking too. Couldn't be happier. I think the rec for the 160 watt R1170 is right on. These Luxmans remind me soundwise of Accuphase gear. They're very reliable and smooth and the tuner sections are killer.

The Tandbergs are also great sounding and were SOTA in their day. Do consider high end receivers from yesteryear - especially if you'll be doing FM listening - those were the says when receivers were true statement pieces and still has excelent tuners. Otherwise, if you go the new route, I'd still consider a separate vintage tuner.

The Luxman won't outperform my (Cary/Herron gear in the main system but it sounds great in the office and it's easy to use. I think the tuner sounds better than the Magnum Dynalab. No remote though.

However, if I was planning to use a receiver eventually in any kind of HT set-up, the Arcam AVR200 was a great option. Its tuner is just OK, however, something I find typical with Brit receivers.