FM Tuners

Do you feel that a higher end tuner will perform adequately with lesser antenna? I ask because I'm wondering if shifting the cost (and possible hassle) from a roof mount antenna to a better tuner with a lesser antenna would be a reasonable consideration.

My best sounding tuner is the Magnum Dynalab 108T. I also think it has the weakest reception, so I use my MD ST-2 antenna outside my office on the roofline (not on roof). I have great tuning now. Some people hang this antenna upside down in their attic. 

My best reception is with my Sony XDR-F1HD which can be bought used on eBay for under $200. I use a simple $10 diploe antenna inside my office for that one. It sounds very good but not at the level of the 12X more expensive MD 108T.

I bought 3 tuners last month and they are good to great. The best one is the Magnum Dynalab 108T. It has tube somewhere in the signal path. Normally this is a no-no for me but this tuner sounds so good. Crystal clear sound that approaches CD quality. Very expensive for me but it was a trade-in from my 15-year-old Magnum Dynalab 102. The 108T is a lot better in every aspect though the MD102 is also very good.

The next best was the Accuphase T-101 which I bought from a guy/company who was getting rid of all of his modded tuners. This 40+ year old tuner sound incredible. Almost as good as the MD108T. 

Accuphase T-101 Super Tuner (MINT)! | Tuners | Audiogon

Get in touch with this seller and see if he has any more tuners. He had a couple of the T-101 when I got mine.  This guy seemed like he really knew how to make tuners last and sound great. 

The 3rd tuner I got was the following:

Sansui TU9900 Stereo Tuner For Sale - US Audio Mart

This was refurbished last year by these guys who may also sell tuners.

Services | Vintage Stereo Restorations (qrxrestore.com)

This one is not as detailed as the other 2 but a fantastic listen nevertheless.

I have 3 systems and have great streaming setup on each. However, the station I want to listen to sounds better on the FM airways.

The best reception I have was with my Sony XDR-F1HD tuner. It is discontinued but was super cheap. There are a lot of other posters who also think this little guy has the best reception. I got mine modified by this guy.

Welcome - About - Contact (xdrguy.com)

I am no longer using the Sony because my other 3 tuners sound a bit to a lot better.

I have 2 Magnum Dynalab ST-2 antennas. I have 1 hanging upside down on the roof line and the other is inside on a window. I have a 3rd indoor antenna that is truly excellent but I cannot figure out what the name of the antenna is. I bought it a few years ago for about $100.

Best FM Tuners, FM Antennas, Music Streamers, Integrated Amplifiers, Internet Tuners (magnumdynalab.com)

In terms of reception the best to worst on my collection:

1) Sony XDR-F1HD (not using now but worked great with both type of antennas)

2) Accuphase T-101 (use indoor St-2)

3) Sansui T-9900 (use unknown indoor antenna)

4) Magnum Dynalab 108T (use outdoor ST-2)

@christian 

Accuphase T-101 Super Tuner | Tuners | Audiogon

Give this guy a call to discuss this tuner. I can tell you that my modded one sounds exceptional. The link above is for the same seller that modded mine. I met him in-person when we did the sale. A bit of a tuner guru.

BTW - I ran out of RCA cables so I temporarily swapped one from my Musetec 005 DAC to the Sony and this Sony sounds better than I have ever heard. I have always used RCA cables costing less than $100 on the Sony but now I think I will have to keep this Audience AU24 SE RCA on the Sony. The cable costs more than the modded Sony.

Modded Tuners For Sale (xdrguy.com)

This thread inspired me to buy a $10 antenna

Amazon.com: Bingfu 75 Ohm FM Antenna and AM Loop Antenna for Pioneer Onkyo Yamaha Marantz Indoor HD Radio FM Radio Bluetooth Home Stereo Receiver AV Audio Vedio Home Theater Receiver Power : Electronics

and put my Sony XDR-F1HD back in on my office system. This tuner has regular FM and HD FM which is useful when my fav station does news. They basically re-read, NYT, WSJ, etc. Their HD frequency is 24 hours of music (but not as interesting as the DJ based regular programming).

The reception with this antenna is amazing. As I stated above, the best reception I have on my 4 tuners is with this Sony.

Anyways, this Sony is such a good tuner. Ebay has them listed for under $150. I have mine modified by the XDRGuy.com so maybe why this sounds so good. There is a switch in the back that the XDRGuy added that has a big difference in sound. I need to read up on what that switch does, but I think one setting is his mods.

The mods were only a few hundred dollars. I think I paid under $500 long ago for the tuner and mods as a package.