The best sounding FM Tuner is.....


OK Magnum Dynalab, Fanfare, Day Sequerra, etc. owners...I have no "high end" dealer in my area that carries a great tuner. I probably will not have the chance to listen to or 'a/b' compare a tuner before I decide to purchase. I'm asking anyone with comparison experience or anyone that feels that the own the best to respond in this discussion. Thanks, I look forward to reading your responses!
jaguar
Hi doug,
Thanks for such a complete response!
Guess I need to hear more tuners!
Certainly no offense taken.
I'll do some research and try to pick up a selection from your lists for a listen.

I did buy a Kenwood 9900 with intentions to have APS modify it but it sounded thin and raspy, and I was afraid it didn't have the potential for greatness. I may have been too quick to judge.

Do you care to say who you would recommend for mods?

It's very helpful to get your opinion, in contrast to the ones on fmtunerinfo.com, since you have such extensive tuner experience.

Thanks again.
Regards,
Martin
hi martin,

i also forgot to mention the hitachi ht-8000 - another cheapie tuna that sounds fantastic, & has excellent sensitivity.

re: the kenwood kt-9900, i agree it is a miserable sounding unit stock - i owned one & was extremely disappointed. but, gawd, was it pretty! :>) i recommend it for mods, cuz the modded kt7550 i owned, (which isn't nearly as good stock as the kt-9900), was fantastic.

for mods i would recommend joseph chow or bill ammons. ed hanlon of aps does do good work, so i have been told by those i trust, but i, personally, couldn't send him my biz cuz he refused to provide answers to *any* questions you may have about what he does. i attempted to do biz w/him a coupla times, but didn't follow thru, cuz he was so rude to me, and accused me of trying to steal his "trade secrets"!?! the one time i did actually send him a tuna, it also needed repairs; he said he couldn't fix it, so he sent it back. the guy i sold it to was able to get it fixed no problem.

joseph chow adwertizes on agon. here's his website:

http://www.componentplus.us/pages/upgrades.html

and bill ammons' info can be found on the fmtunerinfo.com site. one caveat about mr. chow - you have to specifically ask him to replace & match the filters, it's not part of his normal procedure. (unless he's since changed this.)

bill ammons is *the man* when it comes to tuna, imo. i have also had decent results from stephen sank, who did my mr65b & hk citation 18, but i don't think he does filter matching/replacing, either... and, he takes *forever*.

regards,

doug s.
Hi doug,
Thanks again for all the very helpful information!
You have given me a lot to work with, and it's greatly appreciated. I'm on my quest for a great tuner!

Regards,
Martin
Well now this is an interesting thread. Especially since we are getting into high definition broadcasts.Not many folks are focused on these components anymore. If so they go after the solid state by far.Yes the Onyko's have terrific reception,amazing. The modded Onyko that I listened to I had to turn it off within several minutes it's sonics were that bad. It was proclaimed to be as good as the Kenwood and Sansui hot shots but less monies with the mod of course. I've listened to a Marantz 10B and then the world reknowned HH Scott 4310 Broadcast tuner used in tandum with the same. They would go back and forth to pick up the best signal and the winner would lock in and broadcast, talk about ahead of their time, WOW. The 4310 creamed the 10b within seconds, it was amazing. I beleive upgraded and properly aligned this tuner will crush anything known to man. Also there is a close second best Scott tuner also. What is it? In my most humbled opinion, Joe