The best sounding FM Tuner is.....

I'm currently using a very nice old Amber 7 tuner. Still own a Kenwood KT 917 which I'm not going to replace because FM content in my area doesn't justify it. However, I have to say I am surprised this tuner was not specifically mentioned at all. I have owned an MR 78, an Accuphase T 101, a Mitsubishi DA-F10, a few Pioneers, an old Fisher tube tuner which I can't identify today, NAD 4055, Draco Micro/CPU 100 and dozens of others over the years. Of all of these, I would say the KT 917 was the best all around performer. Are they so rare that none of you have heard one?

hi sutts,

the accuphase t101 is a fantastic tuna, imo. as is the t100. these are both near as good as it gets, especially if you're looking for "full bodied". they may not be the last word in detail, but they are close, imo. another to check out if you're wanting full bodied is the sansui tu9900. again, not the last word in detail but still close. all these will respond well to mods, tho i only owned stock iterations.

my all-around fave is still my modded hk citation 18. it was good enough that i was able to part with a modded accuphase t109. not sure what i will think when i receive my modded sansui tu-x1. ;~)

from what folks who have listened to one have said, the new accuphase t1000 is the one to get, but it won't help you if you're looking to stay under $1k. :>)

for me, at <$1k, i would look for a hk 18, a mitsubishi da-f20, or an aiwa au9700t & get 'em modded, if you're wanting to improve on your t101. but, the results will not be mind-blowing - the t101 is a damned nice tuna, imo. and you're right, i would awoid the tandberg 3001a - extremely overpriced, imo - nice sonics & reception, but you can do better for less. and, quite unreliable & difficult to service. i owned two of 'em & was happy to sell 'em both.

macro, i have not heard a kt917, but the folk at the fmtunerinfo.com site think pretty highly of it. it did fairly well in their shootouts, tho many less expensive tunas did better. (and some more expensive ones dint do as well.) i have owned an immaculate kenwood kt9900 (bronze kt8300) & was extremely underwhelmed - excellent reception, so-so sonics. that, & a refurb'd mac mr77 were the only two tunas i have sampled over the past several years that i wouldn't be happy with, sonically. (and most mac tuna aficionados will tell you that the 77 *and* the 74 are better sounding than the more well-known 78.) but these analog kenwoods' sonics *do* respond phenomenally to mods. i owned a modded kt7550 (bronze-faced kt7500) that sounded *superb*. the fmtunerinfo.com site has quite a bit of info on the 917 as well as a lot of other kenwood tunas - kenwood seems to have made about as many tunas as all the other mfr's combined.

ymmv,

doug s.

I went from an Accuphase T-101 to my KT 917 and found that the Kenwood was quieter and had a greater sense of precision in both function and presentation. The T-101 was softer sounding and the 917 seemed more honest due to higher resolution. They were both great but the KT 917 was an easy choice when I had them both here for comparison.

I've owned alot of tuners since I created this thread almost 7 years ago. It's kind of amazing that we audiophiles have such a passion for the analog gear of yester-year. After trying Fanfare, Magnum, vintage Yamaha, etc. I finally settled on a Kenwood 600T in my main system and a Kenwood KT-8300 for my office system. I sent both of them to ComponentsPlus USA to have the premium upgrades performed. I really didn't realize just how much improvement the mods would render. I probably now listen to the tuners more than any other component. The only others I want to try is a Marantz 10B, an Accuphase 109 and maybe the megabuck top of the line Magnum. Thanks everyone for your input! Happy listening......

I place a vote for the Linn Kremlin.