Review: Yamaha CT-7000 Tuner

Category: Miscellaneous

I've had this tuner for a year now and it continues to amaze me. From college radio to our classical station to ultra-compressed classic rock stations, the tuner delivers a broad, deep image (two things quite important to me), with detail and tonal accuracy from lows to highs. To aid reception, I went with a $10 Terk antenna and it is more than sufficient to bring local stations in at full strength. Does it sound as good as a CD? That depends on the CD, but usually not. CD's usually trump the tuner when it comes to high frequency accuracy, something particularly noticeable if you attend to the decay of a cymbal. Also, image depth isn't as pronounced as with my Arcam Alpha 9, nor do subtle details come through, e.g. distinct voices in background vocals. But we're talking radio here, and stations do a good deal to the signal before it hits your antenna. So one can't lay all this at the foot of the tuner. Suffice it to say that the tuner is totally involving, so while I'm listening, I don't find myself wondering what X would sound like on CD. Also, I don't listen to the radio to hear what I have on CD. Instead, I listen to hear what I don't, and for that purpose, particularly with regard to classical music, it complements my system very well, standing on its own among some solid equipment. In closing, two tweak discoveries, and a question. The background quieted when I ran the tuner through my line conditioner. Also, it was responsive to different cables. I came to favor the LAT over the Kimber Hero and the Tara RSC Prime Gen 2. I'm curious whether anyone has upgraded the RCA inputs, and with what results.

Associated gear
Maggie IIIA's
Bryston 4bst
Musical Fidelity A3cr Pre
Analysis Plus Silver Oval IC
LAT 100 IC
R Gray LC with PS Audio Lab II PC

Similar products
None