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Tuner choice

I know no one is interested in tuners given streaming etc and on and on, but I moved to a place with some excellent radio stations and I think having a tuner would work for me. I got one for free from my brother, a 70s vintage Dynaco kit and it seemed to warm up over time without any repairs etc. although the light is out and gauge doesn’t seem to work. Muting is not functioning but once on a station it brings in some pleasant sound.
On the other hand, I see old units on eBay that are low cost, some say tested, mint condition, etc. so would it be worth a couple hundred dollars to have a different tuner? Or is the Dynakit not a bad vintage tuner and if it’s working, I’d be smart to stick with it? Any suggestions for replacements worth the change?
 

thanks

lynnj

Showing 4 responses by yyzsantabarbara

yyzsantabarbara
4,524 posts
 

I bought 3 tuners back in Oct 2021. A new Magnum Dynalab 108T which is incredible. A used 40-year-old modded Accuphase T2 (I think) that was fixed up by a real tuner expert. It sounds almost as good as the 108T.

I also got a 40-year-old Sansu TU9900 that is warmer than the other 2 but also very good. Not at the same level as the other 2 but it was also recently refurbished by Sansui experts in Oregon.

I also have a Sony XDR-FIHD mooded by the XDRguy.com. This unit cost about $500 after the mods and it was good. Not as good as the other 3 until I put in an Audience Au24 SE RCA interconnect and the sound quality was transformed. This is an excellent unit and has the very best reception of all of my tuners. The MD 108T is the worst for reception so I use a MD ST-2 antenna on my roof for that one. The other 3 us indoor anntennas.

I would check on Audiogon for tuners to see if the guy who sold me the Accuphase is selling anymore. Or, get a used modded Sony XDR. 

I will see if I can remember the guy who did the Accuphase work.

yyzsantabarbara
4,524 posts
 

This is the guy who fixes up tuners to sound incredible.

 

ACCUPHASE T-100 (Super Tuner)! | Tuners | Audiogon

 

 

yyzsantabarbara
4,524 posts
 

I was listening to some Pink Floyd on a local classic rock station on the Accuphase T101 (modified) that I mentioned previously. I was listening on my RAAL SR1a headphones. I was so shocked at how good it sounded that I had to listen to the same track on Qobuz to compare with the streaming version.

That  40 year old Accuphase is incredible and available on A'gon.

yyzsantabarbara
4,524 posts
 

I got 4 tuners. 2 70's models that were refurbished and 1 from the 90's and 1 brand new ($7000) from last year. If I had know better I would not have spent the $7K and used only the 70's tuners I had. Though the only reason I got the 70's tuners (also last year) was because the $7K model wounded so good and I wanted a tuner for all my systems. The $7K model is the best but the others are so close.

Certain Vintage tuners sound incredible. The best value in my audio purchases.

 

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