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Adcom GFT-1A Digital Tuner ? how good?

Anyone have experence with this tuner? How would u rate it?
jazzcatlewis
jvia
195 posts
 
I own one, its ok, not terrible,not great. I consider FM to be background noise, so I don't worry about it a lot. I will tell you that any of the better(and usually older) analogs, or for that matter any of the older so so analogs will usually perform better in real life. I currently have 3 analogs for sale(not a pitch) that provide better reception and a lot of the time selectivity. If you want great digital FM, you have to spend a fair amount of money. Look at a top of the line Yamamha T1 analog(had one, wish I still did) if you want the black slim finish, and any of the older analogs that you like the looks of if you just want good FM
sedond
1,391 posts
 
definitely the best tuna adcom ever made. their later tunas were less $$$, & had worse specs. s'phile, years ago, rated it *best sound, but only w/a strong signal*, in a tuna comparo they did. i had a chance to a-b my gft1a w/a magnum dynalab ft101 (not the *a* wersion) several years ago. to my amazement, they were pretty much equal, both in sensitivity & in sound quality. of course, i greatly preferred the magnums' ergonomics & appearance. :>) it took an onix bwd1 w/soap p/s to significantly better the adcom's sonics. and, no, i'm not really innerested in selling - for the $150-$175 i could prolly get for it, it really isn't worth selling - i may as well hang on to it for that 3rd system isle no doubt be setting up in the future... ;~)

doug s.

ps - jvia, if yuve ever heard a great tuna w/a great station (usually requires having a great outdoor antenna - i like the aps-13), yude be amazed at the sound-quality - easily good enuff for critical listening, definitely *not* background noise.

jvia
195 posts
 
Sedond , I pretty much consider any fm to be background noise, and not what I choose for serious listening. I listen to a great deal of fm, but its usually doing while something else as well, like right now I'm listening to a morning jazz program while writing this. As far as good with a strong signal, most of us live in a fairly large city that for whatever reason, we can't put up antennas. I think most would be surprised at how good a lot fm is with a good outside antenna, but most of us cannot do that(a lot of communities don't allow outside antenna anymore).
I use a Terk antenna, something anyone can get and use and I can recommend. I think if I have a quote "high end,highly rated tuner by anybody" it should perform well in real world situations. And by performing well in real world situations, I mean providing selectivity and sensitivity at least as good as any of the analogs out there. Its not that big a difference, but you cannot fine tune most of your digital tuners, and it hurts their performance. I just sold a Revox 760, a lot more money yes, but in performed in the real world quite well(you can fine tune), a joy to listen to and a joy to use. But still not my first choice for serious listening. I have nothing against the Adcom, I have had mine for many years now, but as much because of its slim design and affordability than anything else.
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