For what it is worth, I have the Fanfare FT-1A, and I realize it is over your $1000 request, but I thought I would at least give you my two cents on it. Before I bought it, I picked up an old Sansui TU-717 on eBay to get my feet wet using a tuner again. Rightly so, the Sansui couldn't hold a candle to the Fanfare. Things I like about the Fanfare: it may have nothing to do with performance but it is a beautiful piece and it is much smaller than the older tuners; it has remote control, this is very handy!; it has presets, I use these every time I use the tuner, don't be fooled into thinking they are not necessary; it pulls in a lot of stations, I now mostly listen to a station I didn't know existed. The Fanfare has five signal strength lights, this station I found, for the most part, will only light up 4 of the lights as it is a week station and distant, yet there isn't a lot hash when playing it, although I do play it in mono. That leads me to another thing, when programming presets, you can program it in mono or stereo; it is very musical, you do not tire of playing it. I find I use the tuner more than any other source. Unfortunatly we are still at the mercy of the signal. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
Need a good tuner and there aren't many?
I'm looking for a really nice tuner. Fanfare, Day Sequarra, and Magnum Dynalab are all good and a bit pricey. The FT-101A by Magnum Dynalab is about what I was needing but I was wondering if there are any other modern ones or older that are worth checking. It doesn't seem like there are many choices in the modern/new tuner arena for what I'm needing. I heard the Dyna-FM3 when properly running are one of the best period at a quite affordable price. Some of the older Mcintosh seem quite desireable but I don't know how much of there being wanted is due to their sound and how much due to the heritage/name. Any opinions on stuff under $1000 that offers very, very, very good performance while not the ultimate would be appreciated. There are no dealers in this area who can help me. Thanks.