Tuner Advice. Help a lost soul.

You might wish to consider a Magnum Dynalab FT 101A. They can be found used for approx. $450. It's the real deal and sounds consistenly musical. I've had one in my system for about 8 years now and it always delivers!

NEC made a very fine line of moderately priced tuners in the late 80's and early 90's. I recently sold my NEC T6-E to a fellow in Connecticut who absolutely raved about the quality of radio reception he was getting on New York City stations. If you can find a NEC tuner in the T6-E or later series (T6-F, etc.), they often sell for less than $100 and are absolutely unbeatable at the price.

Both the Creek T43 mentioned and the Cambridge Audio clone (Yes, Mike Creek did design both) interestingly use a high end car stereo chipset. Mike discovered they had better reception and sounded better than most digital tuner stuff. Go to http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/ for reviews on both.

I have an old Sansui tuner. I can vouch for those that say they are good. Over the past 15 to 20 years, I have bought 4 tuners to try and replace it. They were all returned. I have now stopped trying, and just enjoy the music. New tuners are almost all digital. While, I thought that would be a help, it is actually a negative in my case. I am in a weird situation. I live 1 - 2 miles from the Philadelphia radio and tv towers. I am UNDER the signal. A good analog, that you can REALLY fine tune has proven best for me.

Buy an old McIntosh. I have had a several Dynacos including Frank Van Alstine's best effort and a Magnum Dynalab 101a plus their Antenna tuner and a good old Mac is the better deal. Just make certain that it is Stereo. Caveat: Old Macs are not the most sensitive or selective, for that you need an MR 78 (or later), but for excellent sound at a reasonable price try a MX 110. I have an MR 71 but they are $600-800 in good condition. Why by a Mac? 1. they sound better (much) 2. they never depreciate they only appreciate 3. Their build quality is beyond belief. Good luck

The Dyna FM-3 and FM-1 with multiplex boards can be found on the used market for quite cheap ($75-$125 or less). Audio by Van Alstine has an article on thier website telling how to maintain one and bring it up to spec. www.avahifi.com Right now I'm contemplating one or a Magnum Dynalab. For the money the Dyna can't be beat.

I picked up a used Magnum FT-11 tuner here on Audiogon for $260. Helluva tuner, helluva deal

definitely buy a used tuner. revox b261 (excellent sound, even tho digital, & it's tunable in 0.125 increments), onix 0a21 - especially w/soap power-supply, magnum ft101a, older accuphase's, sansui tu-x1 or tu-9900. don't forget your roof-mounted antenna from antenna performance specialties - ~$225.... doug

If you're a lost soul, Find Jesus!

I think you'll find the Creek T43 tuner (retail $699) to be the best new tuner you'll likely come across for anywhere near this price range (new). Used you could get near half price range! Best to ya....

A used Onkyo "Integra" T9090 or T9090MkII tuner will cost you around $350 to $600 used depending on condition. Great tuner. All Onkyo "Integra" Tuners sound very good. Other than those two the others can be found for between $75 and $150 used. The newest model is the T4711, then the T407. I have three Integra Tuners. A T4500, T4017 and T4057. NAD are pretty good sounding also for a budget audiophile piece. The current Creek model has gotten good reviews. Cambridge Audio makes the same Creek model without the all the fancy options which sells new for around $250. The Cambridge (Creek) can be purchased from Northampton Audio /Spearit Sound online. My Onkyo Integra T4057 is is the closet. Want it?? Good Luck.

McIntosh MAC 1700, a hybrid tube and solid-state tuner (used) for $300-$400, on auction sites Great sound, beats a lot of the $1,000-$2,000 tuners. Also, McIntosh MR-71, tube tuner. Very smooth sound. Sells (used) for $500-$1,000 on auction sites. Or try any of the older model Sansui receivers. Excellent sound for $100-$200.