FM Tuners

Using all capitals is extremely annoying. It also makes it harder to read and follow along. I know that you've been asked NOT do this in the past and we are asking again. Please refrain from using all capital letters when posting.

The most sensitive tuner that i have ever used is a NAD 4125. It can pick up a weak station that is appr 40 miles away at full quieting using a 6' piece of coax with NOTHING connected to it. It is simply a piece of shielded coax that is screwed in at one end and hanging horizontally behind the tuner. Quite honestly, this is performance that i have a hard time believing. As a point of reference, i have tried a Magnum Dynalab FT-101, Musical Fidelity E-50, Quad FM-4, Citation 23, Yamaha TX-950, Pioneer TX-9500, etc... using an indoor wire dipole ( the big wire "T" that comes with a tuner ) and NOT gotten the station in as cleanly.

This is not a fancy tuner, only has five presets, no remote, etc... and is quite old. It makes use of Schotz tuning circuitry from what i can recall. I think that Proton also made tuners with similar circuitry. Both should be dirt cheap. So cheap that i'd be embarrassed to admit what i paid for it and where i purchased it from.

Set one of these up ( or something similar ) with a reasonable antenna and you'll probably be in business. Sean
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how does the NAD 4125 sound compared to the other tuners you listed? i have a tandberg 3011A... very nice tuner but since i live in manhattan, i cant pull signals (even major broadcasts) without some serious interference!

chuck

FM reception is VERY location dependant. The transmission/reception is "line-of-sight", therefore if the antenea can't see the brodcast tower, you won't get the station. Sean listed tunners esp. the NAD that will work in the rolling hills of electrostaticman's area. His other alternative would be to get a good antenea and mount it HIGH, as high as possible.
Tapashead, you being in NYC and have a lot of signals comming at you every way but loose, can get buy with a less involved rig. A good sounding tunner that can separate out multichannel and be narrowly selective is all you need. From My experience, the T'berg will be fine, esp if you like the sound that it presents.
Happy listening.

I found the Fanfare FT-1A to be the best-receiving FM tuner I have tried from my location near a major metropolitan area (Wash DC). It is not a flat area, there are some hills, but I don't know how "rolling" or comparable to your location in CA. This tuner was very sensitive and worked well for me w/just an indoor antenna.