Any good FM tuners around for less than $200?

I do not have a preamp in my system, and my amp does not have a mono switch. My two channel system consists of an Art Audio Carissa tube power amp and Cain and Cain Abby speakers, with a Teres Audio turntable/Wright Audio tube phono stage and an Audio Aero Prima CD player. The power amp only has one set of inputs and one set of outputs so the turntable (well, the phono stage actually,) CD player and, hopefully, tuner will be connected to the power amp via a 3-position Mapletree switch box.

I didn't realize that about the antenna connections on the FM-90X; if I decide to pursue that tuner, I will ask the seller about that. I still don't have any sort of radio antenna, other than a few of those cheapie wire antennas that come with integrated receivers, but I was hoping to at least hook one of those up until I could get a 'proper' antenna.

With my setup, without a preamp, would I be better off just going for a stereo tuner? It almost seems that way to me....

Holly

Hi Holly,

The Art Audio Carissa Signature has a specified input impedance of 180K, so that would be a fine match with the FM-90X and nearly all other vintage tube tuners, even with the tuner output connected to both input channels (resulting in the tuner seeing a 90K load).

The FM-90X has no volume control as such, just a small level control on the rear panel which would probably be impractical to use as your main volume control when listening to it. But if the Carissa Signature includes the optional volume control, that would be no problem either.

If you should decide against the FM-90X, but still want to consider a vintage tube tuner, given your price preference I would continue to recommend considering a mono unit.

FWIW, the best performing vintage tube mono tuner in my experience that with some patience I suspect can be found in your price range is the H. H. Scott 310D. It includes a front panel volume control and a multiplex out jack, and it provides standard screw terminals for connection of 300 ohm twinlead (which is what the cheapie indoor wire dipoles connect with). As you probably realize, those screw terminals can be easily adapted to coax with an inexpensive adapter, sometimes referred to as a balun or a 75 ohm to 300 ohm matching transformer.

Best regards,
-- Al

Thank you once again, Al. :-)

My Carissa power amp does have the optional volume control (and a remote.) I want a vintage tube tuner! lol Anyway, I am glad to hear that my amp will match well with tube tuners. Now to find one!

I will try to be patient - I have yet to find very many (OK, I have found almost none...) of the tuners recommended in this thread on eBay or similar sites, so I think I may be in for a long wait.

Speaking of which, what price/price range is considered acceptable for the FM-90X? (If anyone knows....)

Holly

I have decided to go with a modded Eico Classic 2200. This is not one of the tuners recommended in this thread and the brand doesn't even get a mention on FMTuner Info, but I have read some positive things about the tuner and trust the opinion of the person who will be selling it to me, so I am very hopeful.

I will be able to audition it in my system before paying for it, so I can't see a downside!

Thank you again to everyone who offered me help here. I didn't choose any of the tuners you recommended, but I learned a lot, enjoyed the research and much appreciate the time you all took to respond. :-)

Holly

Ryan, you obviously know a lot more about tuners than I do in regard to how they work; however, I've owned a lot of good tuners in the past including several that are highly touted on the fmtunerinfo site, for whatever that is worth.

IMO, from what I've owned and have heard, I believe that analog tuners sound warmer and more realistic and I prefer them over digital tuners, YMMV. Thanks for educating me though.