Sam Tellig in Stereophile raved re the sub $100 Sony.
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.
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.
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- 75 posts total
Since no one else has mentioned it, I recently replaced my Accuphase T101 with an Accuphase T100. A substantial improvement - not as 'bright', better bass, and more highly resolved. Better reception as well. On those occasions when the signal is high quality it approaches the general quality of the other sources I have. FWIW. |
Newbee -- Enjoy the new Accuphase! Re my own tuner experiences, I'll quote from myself in another tuner thread: I've been through about a dozen tuners over the years, mostly vintage tube units, but a few modern ones as well including a Carver TX-11. The vintage ones include a REL (Radio Engineering Laboratories) Precedent (from 1954), two different Marantz 10B's, a McIntosh MR71, and numerous Scott and Fisher units.The REL is the one I've kept in my main system, and I've sold most of the others. Although ever since I acquired it about 18 years ago, it unfortunately only feels like working properly on some days and not on others (I think it has a problem with a diode or capacitor in the detector circuit). But when it cooperates I couldn't ask for more. Here's a pic from this link of someone else's REL. Regards, -- Al |
The Marantz 10B tuner is my personal favorite. While there have been numerous design innovations since the 1960s --the Schotz front end, for example-- Dick Sequerra's design for Saul Marantz has done something that I've not heard another tuner do. Often I listen in the dark, when sense cues can take on a 'heightened' feeling, but while listening during the day, I became absorbed in my work while the tuner was on. Several times, while alone I was startled back to awareness by feeling there was someone in the room with me. The audio cues that lead to that kind of experience are very subtle and complex. The fact that I was startled, literally to the point of having the hair on my neck stand up, attests to the realism of the presentation possible with the Marantz 10B. Sometimes a component attains highly respected status without cause; in my estimation the Marantz 10B tuner is justifiably worthy of its accolades. |
- 75 posts total