Any good FM tuners around for less than $200?

Given that you have an interest in vintage tube tuners, and that your listening needs are "occasional," and that you would prefer not to spend more than $200, you may want to consider looking for one of the many such tuners that were made in the late 1950's and early 1960's that are monophonic.

Those typically sell for MUCH lower prices than their stereo counterparts that were made in approximately the same period, and later. Also, many of those mono tuners provide a "multiplex out" signal that can be connected to a separate stereo "multiplex adapter," should you decide to add one at a later time, the combination of those two components comprising a stereo tuner.

I should add, though, that the best multiplex adapters, such as the Fisher MPX-100 and the H. H. Scott 335 and LM35, typically sell for well upwards of $250 if in top condition.

Another point to be aware of is that tuner sensitivity and antenna quality are significantly less critical if your listening is in mono rather than in stereo, as stereo is much more hiss prone than mono when signal strength is marginal.

Finally, I'll mention that I've had several 30 to 60 year old vintage tube tuners that have performed very well without apparently ever having been realigned. Although I've also had some clunkers in that respect, and of course tubes and capacitors can be major uncertainties as well.

Regards,
-- Al

I haven't had the opportunity to pull any of my tuners out in a very long time, but it's fair to say there are a lot of really good ones for very reasonable prices. At one point, tuners were a big hobby of mine, and I went through hundreds of them in my system and on the bench.

If you want a tuner for audiophile use, alignment is CRITICAL. There are usually 20-30 adjustments inside the box. And here's an ugly tip: Most people that do it can get it "okay" but not perfect unless the tuner is a piece of junk. My alignment gear was good to under .002% THD, whereas your average stereo shop was good to about .2%...

The so-called "high end" brands are generally not where you want to look, unless you believe that op-amps and capacitors can make up for car-radio grade circuitry.

The Marantz ST-17 looks really good, but the almost-new sample I had (and still have) was poorly aligned out of the box and didn't work as well as it could have. Might be over your budget, too.

The best digital tuners out of the box are going to be the Yamahas, and they are dirt, dirt cheap for what you get. I did a bunch of the write-ups over at the fmtunerinfo site a decade ago, and you can check it out for the technical overview of Yamaha's digital line. The T70, T80, T85, TX900, TX930, TX950, TX1000, and TX2000 are all superb tuners. For often only $25, T70 is an outrageous bargain. Here's a good review buried a long way down: http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/ricochets.html The guy who wrote those write-ups was supremely qualified--more so than virtually anyone else who could possibly comment on tuners. But all these years later, all the Yamahas are cheap.

Moral: If the tree took your money, spend $50 (or less) on a Yamaha T70. It will destroy almost anything else out of the box under $300.00, maybe more. A Magnum Dynalab can't even come close to it, even if it looks a lot better.

Holly,
The FM tuner info site is a great place to start but I don't think they are the end all/be all when it comes to tuners, but definitely a great reference.

Basically you have to decide on a digital or analog tuner and do you have the space for an old school analog tuner. Analog will sound better, it's just warmer and more realistic sounding. I personally love the old smooth flywheel of an analog tuner too.

However, I have had a few good digital tuners (NEC T-710, ads T2, and B&K TS108). The B&K will probably be the easiest of these to find but I found the ergonomics a nightmare and thought the NEC was a better sounding tuner, while the ads just a was a pleasure to use...having said that, I prefer any analog tuner over these models. Perreaux also supposed to make a great tuner and I'd like to try one, but ultimately I know that analog is better.

Currently, I use 2 tuners and got them both well under $200 including shipping. I have an old Pioneer TX8500II and a Creek CAS3140 with a DIN/RCA cord. The DIN/RCA makes all the difference in this unit. I a/b'd the Creek against a Tandberg 3030 receiver and it was pretty neck and neck, while the Pioneer TX8500 is a rung or two below their flagship TX9800 which Absolute Sound magazine rated as of the the best sounding tuners of all time. I think it's all about how many gangs the tuner has...

Also, I've never got mine aligned either. When buying, I simply ask, does it tune in easily and strongly and does the station 98.1 show up truly as 98.1 or is the tuning way off. Maybe I've been lucky...good luck in your search.

Magnum F11...budget route...NAD

Not to be brusque, but Lou's advice is simply wrong. Analog is warmer and more realistic? Really? The only difference is generally varactors versus a tuning capacitor. An "analog" Dynalab uses varators... So does an "analog" Tandberg 3001. Confused yet?

With tuners, it's 95% about the design and alignment. FWIW, "alignment" has almost NOTHING to do with what shows on the dial. It is the 20 adjustments in the front end, adjustments in the IF strip, adjustments in the multiplex, you name it. These are very complex devices, and to even begin to under the terminology entails a very, very high learning curve.

If the original poster wants a good, cheap tuner, the Yamaha T70 or T80 is the way to go. These tuners will blow away any comparably priced "analog" with a flywheel by a mile. You need to spend 5x-10x the price to get a comparable "analog" tuner. I don't even want to get into what it would take to match them in an "audiophile" brand.