How is it ? that a tuner smokes the table ???

I don't think its unusual for a tuner to sound "intimate" as you describe. With good source material at the station, dynamics can be pretty good as well. I could relate similar experiences using Tandberg, Carver, and other tuners with a good source station and source program material (particularly live broadcasts as someone above mentioned) as well.

However, the frequency response is rolled off at the top end due to format limitations, right? For some who find a hot top end annoying, this can actually be deemed a good thing.

So I don't necessarily find it to be that surprising. A tuner as costly as that Magnum Dynalab should blow away most anything else as well I would expect at that price.

can't argue with what you said Mapman, this old dude struggles to hear above 16k anyways.

but it is surprising to me because many analog front ends here and world wide easily surpasses the $10,000.00 mark and still is
unable to match the tuner for sound.

What is also surprising to me is the signal on vynal is probably more direct , than a signal passing thru the air
with all the interferences, not to mention all the processing, and reprocessing to analogy and ranes as the
highest quality source I know of or experienced.

"What is also surprising to me is the signal on vynal is probably more direct , than a signal passing thru the air
with all the interferences, not to mention all the processing, and reprocessing to analogy and ranes as the
highest quality source I know of or experienced."

I think you can assert it sounds really good, intimate, dynamic or whatever, but these are subjective judgements so that is OK.

Not sure how you establish the source as "highest quality" though. That would be difficult to prove or establish using any meaningful specs or measurements, I would think.

Personally, I do not believe that the best specs always wins in regards to enjoyment of sound, nor do I believe that price is a reliable indicator of resulting sound quality or enjoyment potential.

>>but it is surprising to me because many analog front ends here and world wide easily surpasses the $10,000.00 mark and still is unable to match the tuner for sound.<<

I can assemble a dozen analog front ends for less than $10K that will blast the 109 into embarrassment.

Dealer disclaimer: I sell the 109

Dear Jimpcn, Thank you for correcting which issue of Audioxpress your pre-amp came from. I was wondering about the issue you originally cited because the closest article that I could find that made sense from Oct. 2005 was, "Design a High-Performance Valve-Based Line Amp." And, I recalled you mentioning the phono stage; a line amp would not have one.

2005 looks like an interesting year with the series of articles of tips on constructing tube amp projects.