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What are the Best FM tuners?

This is an often asked question. This is my current list of favorites:
A. Good out of the box, judging sound quality only, not in order of preference because each has merits:

1. Very rare Accuphase T-103
2. 1 out of 10 Tandberg TPT 3001As
3. Onkyo T-909
4. Bogen TP-100
5. Akai AT-S7
6. JVC FX-1100B
7. NEC T-710
8. Onix Audio BWD-1
9. Kenwood KT-990D
10.Crown FM-2
11.Marantz ST-17
12.Sim Audio "Moon"

B. Modified tuners, both RF and audio performance, in order of preference:

1. Kenwood KT-727
2. Kenwood KT-3200D
3. NEC T-6E
4. SAE 8000
5. Accuphase T-101
6. Sony ST-S550ES
7. Onkyo T-4500
8. Tandberg TPT-3011A
9. McIntosh MR-74
10.Luxman T-110
11.Onkyo T-909
12.MD-102, early version

Sure, there are others -- and you may have your own opinions -- but these have proven to be excellent choices over the past 20 years.
bdscott
isellstuff
99 posts
 
Hi, you left out a couple.
First, I used to own a Kenwood KT-990D, and it was
okay, but NOT great. There was still alot of FM noise
even when I swiched from wide to narrow. And both
of the radio stations that I listed to were less
than 30 miles away. ALSO, NO FM HIGH BLEND CONTROL.
Second, you left out the Yamaha TX-1000.
I got that AFTER the Kenwood, and did ALOT better.
Also, the Yamaha TX-1000 and TX-950 have a
FINE TUNING AJUSTMENT on them, so that when you`re
listening to say 97.9 you could use the
FINE TUNING CONTROL and listen to 97.92 That`s
where I got the BEST signal.
Also, you left out the Sony ES SA5ES tuner.
Again, the best that Sony EVER made,
BUT I DON`T think it has a fine tuning control.
Just my .02.
hifixpert
25 posts
 
For those of you not familiar with Don Scott, he is a legendary FM Tuner authority, specialist and modifier; and moreover is honest and decent to a fault. I feel exceptionally privileged to have purchased a NEC T-710 from him that he further modified for even better sonic performance. At its best, this is what the hobby is about.
subaruguru
1,375 posts
 
Where does my MD100 fit in? I found it a bit bright, so tamed it a little with Harm Tech Truthlink XLRs. Any easy DIY mods? Thanks. Ern
hepl
147 posts
 
For my is the Linn Kremlin. The sound is very close to that of a cd. Hector
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