FM Tuners

dunno - I'd guess that depends upon how much radio you listen to & the quality of the broadcasts? Hopefully someone with experience you seek will chime in here...

I think that once you reach a specific level with a tuner, the remainder of how well it works is up to the antenna system and the quality of the broadcast. From a personal standpoint, i would NOT bury myself financially into ANYTHING unless i was ABSOLUTELY and POSITIVELY sure first hand that it would give me what i was looking for.

Try shooting for the less expensive model and put the difference into a good outdoor antenna. You'll be better off doing this than buying a more expensive tuner and trying to make do with a lesser antenna. I bet that the "cheaper" tuner and "good" antenna will be more than enough to keep you happy.... Sean
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Dunno & Sean thank you for the wise advise. Have either of you auditioned these units? or the step down versions MD100,Md90 or FT101A/ETUDE.
Thank you.

For the record, i'm assuming that "Dunno" was Bob as his post was above mine.

I have used a Magnum 101 and found that two of my other tuners sounded better and operated with less problems. Those are MY results in MY systems at MY location. Much of what you experience with a tuner will be location and broadcast dependent. Then again, i live less than 20 miles from most of the major broadcasters in my area, so other aspects of these specific tuners might not come into play. My experience has been that tuners with the best sound quality typically do not have the best "ears" i.e. they lack "sensitivity" to weak or distant stations. That is why i stressed the importance of a good outdoor antenna if you are ANY type of distance from the transmitters.

I have another tuner on the way as we speak. It too is supposed to sound EXCELLENT but is lacking in the "long distance receive" category. Luckily, i am not in that boat at this point in time. Should i choose to relocate further away from Chicago, i may be forced to change all of my "tuner criteria".... Sean
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I posted this link on tw other threads before I found this one, which seems more appropriate. What do you guys think about this website - it seems to cover a lot of the same ground as this discussion:
http://www.geocities.com/tunerinfo/

The site also reinforces my DIY/anti-Magnum bias (I just can't see spending thousands of dollars on a tuner when I can buy one for a few hundred and work on it to make it better!). I happen to love old tuners and didn't really realize that you can really get audiophile stuff on eBay.