Tuner Information Center...gospel?

fmpnd, you were not completely ignored - in fact, i replied to you, referring you to more info about the rht-10 on the fmtunerinfo.com site. you will also recall i teased you about the fact that you thought your modded 990bx wasn't as good as your md108! :>)

part of the reason (the main one, imo), that you didn't get a better response, is the fact that the rht-10 is a *wery* rare tuna; (only ~500 ever made), most folk have never heard one. i certainly haven't. i had a chance to buy one a while back, i should have jumped; but it was a bit over my budget. (is the one you have a line on awailable for a good price?) :>)

i would hazard a guess that a stock rht10 would be comparable to your modded 990bx, but, per the info on the site i referred you to, it can be modded to be even better (perhaps the best, according to the info on the fmtunerinfo.com site?)

doug s.

ps - the naim nat-01 *was* in the shootouts; it fared poorly. the one *i* heard was fantastic, imo...

doug s.

I stand corrected Doug, you have always been one of the few willing to give advice without hesitation and I do appreciate it. Yes, I did wonder whether the reason I got so little response was unfamiliarity with the Rotel - but heck, these guys seem to have heard EVERYTHING out there so I figured that wasn't it. Maybe you are right.

I will say this 990 BX is a killer for its meager price. The RHT-10, although not priced very low (2/3 of retail) is LITERALLY brand new (20-40 hours at most played and placed back in the box and stored for years).

Your thoughts?

Thanks for pointing out your previos response and for all of your valued advice.

Frank

hi frank,

i really *do* believe that hardly anyone - on the yahoo tuna forum, or anywhere else, for that matter - has heard the rht-10 - too rare. which is why i pointed you to the yahoo tuna forum's sister site - fmtunerinfo.com - comments from someone there who has actually listened to a modded one.

re: whether or not the rht-10 is worth it, well, there was one f/s here on agon from israel for ~2/3 retail, i personally would pass on that. i *should* have nabbed the one for ~1/2 retail about a year ago. ;~) oh well...

there's really so many nice sounding tunas - especially after mods - that, unless you have lotsa $$$, & *really* like the looks of a certain model - like the rht-10, for example - it's hard to justify spending a lot of cash on something like that. but, then again, i am talking to someone that bought an md-108 - even used, i think i couldn't afford that! :>) in your case, it may be worth trying the rht-10. get it modded to the gills & tell us what you think. even if ya pay top dollar, it *still* will cost less than even a *used* md108. and, you could always sell it w/o taking *too* much of a hit, especially if it's been modded.

tunas that i would recommend modding for an all out assault on the best sound there is, but still at a reasonable cost, would be the accuphase t101, rotel rt-2100, mitsubishi da-f20, harman kardon citation 18, philips ah673, roksan caspian (if this can be modded?), aiwa 9700, heathkit aj1600, & sansui tu-9900. this small sampling is based upon my personal experience, and also takes into consideration "cool" factor. :>)

i await my accuphase t109; it should be coming back from joseph chow any day now, modded up big time. i also have high hopes for this one, but it's not what i would normally consider *bargain*. i was lucky, & got it *right* on ebay a while back - it was japan-spec, & needed to be conwerted from 76-90 band to usa 88-108 band. i think folk were afraid it couldn't be done, & it affected bidding. i was lucky; joseph chow did it for a reasonable price, but it took him >6 months to source the part, as accuphase wouldn't sell it to anyone here in the usa. he had to sneak one in from a friend of his in asia.

i *do* own a coupla relatively spendy tunas, but, (like my t109), i got 'em right, so i can sell 'em w/o taking a hit. problem is - i may have to keep 'em! lol!

regards,

doug s.

Well guys and gals....here's my last foray into the fantasy. The one I will call the "Ferrari for the price of a Fiat"...and once again, it doesn't exist.

I picked up a used Kenwood KT-5020, #8 on the tuner shootout list, and after burn-in, some cleaning and hooking up to an antenna...well:

In my main system...quite simply a joke...extremely mid-fi at best. Dull, little bottom end, little top end and a muffled/veiled midrange. No sense of detail, no soundstage depth, no soundstage width.....think: mid '50's Wharfedale speakers........yuk!

But, maybe unfair...I'll try it in one of my second systems using KEF bookshelf speakers, wireworld interconnects and speaker wire and an older, but near the top Sony ES series two channel receiver.....well, it sounds just the same. Thought I'd compare the KT-5020 to the tuner in the Sony receiver...wow, the Sony sounds good by comparison...has bass, has top end, you can hear details like a singer taking a breath.....wanted to make sure...so on the same song kept switching back and forth from the Sony's FM to the Kenwood..yup not able to pick up the sound of the inhale at all on the Kenwood. Not only mid-fi, not very good mid-fi. The Mitsu DA-F20 they have ranked one notch higher is a much better "sounding" tuner.

So what am I to say, the #8 ranked tuner on the shootout is not even as good as an unmodified 717 Sansui...which I feel is good mid-fi. ......oh wait, now the smear on cymbals, I'm hearing now, is purely awful.

So,...kinda have made my own point to myself that I stated in the my first post.....the "something for nothing" dream of picking up a 200 dollar used Japanese tuner that is "state-of-the-art" in sound...heck better than the MD-108 is...well B.S.

Now before everyone starts defending their tuners....the Sansui 919, Accuphase 100, Mitsu 20..and a few others, aligned and modified are very good. But most on the shootout list are nothing special, and some of ones ranked lower..the MD-108, Yamaha 7000 etc. ARE pretty special. I've wasted enough time trying too many of these old, outdated tuners.........perhaps if I bought an old set of Wharfedale's??........