I also listen to a lot of FM Classical here in Western Mass (WFCR). I can solidly recommend these two FM tuners. I own them now, and have owned others through the year.
* Fisher FM90B - a late, basic model Fisher tube tuner with sound that puts most solid state to shame. Fisher was renowned for their tuners, and the renown was well earned. This uni often appears with a walnut cabinet for under $200. Stock, it should work; with $100 of new tubes, an alignment touch-up, and perhaps a few cap replacements, it will be as transparent and musical as anything you can buy. Two features should also serve you well: the tuner has output volume controls so you can align volume with other signal sources, and it has two sets of antennae input jacks, one of which atennuates the signal to prevent overloading for city listening.
* Carver TX-11 or TX-11b - This carver tuner sounds virtually identical to the Fisher (I've AB'd them) and superior to any other transistorized tuner I've placed it against (about a half dozen of them). It has sophisticated multipath elimination and noise-reduction circuitry that can be useful in a big city environment. It can generally be purchased used, often in very good condition for $150 or less.
Why pay more. These two tuners come from an era when FM was much more central to hi-fi listening, and accordingly the tuners are better performing and more sophisticated than those made today.
* Fisher FM90B - a late, basic model Fisher tube tuner with sound that puts most solid state to shame. Fisher was renowned for their tuners, and the renown was well earned. This uni often appears with a walnut cabinet for under $200. Stock, it should work; with $100 of new tubes, an alignment touch-up, and perhaps a few cap replacements, it will be as transparent and musical as anything you can buy. Two features should also serve you well: the tuner has output volume controls so you can align volume with other signal sources, and it has two sets of antennae input jacks, one of which atennuates the signal to prevent overloading for city listening.
* Carver TX-11 or TX-11b - This carver tuner sounds virtually identical to the Fisher (I've AB'd them) and superior to any other transistorized tuner I've placed it against (about a half dozen of them). It has sophisticated multipath elimination and noise-reduction circuitry that can be useful in a big city environment. It can generally be purchased used, often in very good condition for $150 or less.
Why pay more. These two tuners come from an era when FM was much more central to hi-fi listening, and accordingly the tuners are better performing and more sophisticated than those made today.