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Any good FM tuners around for less than $200?

There is not much discussion of tuners these days - who still listens to radio unless it is over the Internet?? lol I imagine there are still some folks that like the radio, and hopefully some of them are here on Audiogon.

I would like to add a decent - not top of the line, obviously, given my budget - FM tuner to my 2-channel system. I am rather overwhelmed by the info on the FM Tuner Information site - I don't understand a lot of it, and many of the tuners they review and like are seldom available for sale these days. I just want a good sounding, not too expensive tuner that will 'satisfy' my occasional radio listening needs! The stations I listen to - mostly via car radio - are local and primarily public (no ads) radio stations, though I do listen to some classic rock stations as well.

A tube tuner would be nice, but possibly more than I can spend, especially if it needs tube replacement, alignment and that sort of thing. Solid state will do, obviously. So, Fisher? Rotel? Marantz? Something totally different?

I do not currently have an outdoor antenna, but that is something I hope to get in the future - one that can be mounted on the exterior wall as opposed to the roof

What tuners would you recommend that I put on my short list?

Holly
oakiris

Showing 3 responses by lou_setriodes

lou_setriodes's avatar
lou_setriodes
698 posts
 
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.
lou_setriodes's avatar
lou_setriodes
698 posts
 
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.
lou_setriodes's avatar
lou_setriodes
698 posts
 
I agree with you Mike. There are a lot of tuners to choose from at this price point. I had the Yamaha CT-810 once upon a time and liked it very much. The height of the 1010 could be of consideration though as it was a very large, tall tuner.
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