Tuner - FM over the air - suggestions

@curiousjim

Heck yeah, why not? It’d get me started at the very least...!  OK, I think I sent you a message about it.  Thank you very much!  

I’m in an urban area, currently Pasadena, CA. KUSC over the air would be nice.

Might be moving to Tucson, AZ area within a couple years, so still relatively urban/suburban and I imagine Univ of AZ has a decent classical station...

I think I'm leaning towards newer or even new instead of vintage, and I think the HD option is nice but not crucial.  I understand there are a lot of internet options out there and could just use my new Bluesound node for that, but I'm just looking for the simple idea of an over the air fm tuner that does the job casually and easily and with it's own rca input on amp to easily select it rather than needing to mess with anything else other than power on, input select (ease of use for other non-audiophile folks in the household too).

There are many available over the air where I live, and streaming is an option but as I state I'd like to have the option to tune in over the air as well.  When I had a tuner I found myself frequently just hitting "on" and enjoying it all day long.  I'd like to be free of internet necessity and sometimes prefer old school radio, like I often enjoy over the air TV and don't even have cable tv nor netflix... 

@tablejockey

thank you for the Sony receiver suggestion, it’s a good one, amazing for the money really... I actually have that exact model of Sony receiver up at my Minnesota lake cabin, playing a Pandora shuffle over an old iphone and cds via a legacy JVC cd changer through updated Epi m50 "The Mite" speakers that sit on my fireplace mantle reinforced modestly through a judiciously placed compact Pinnacle sub down in the corner where I store the firewood, and that Sony does an admirable job in that setting.

The tuner is for my setup back in Pasadena, which has a Marantz Ruby as the heart amp. I could hook up the excellent Marantz nr1200 to the Ruby and use that as my tuner (and streamer for that matter), but the nr1200 is designated for office duties.

@jl35

I’ll look into that! I’m into refurbished gear and other such bargains.  And the MD tuners look amazing, even their oldest one which is aprox $300 refurbished and would probably be all I'd need.  

I'm going to start with that free Pioneer that's been offered, and that'll take the edge off the hunt and will mitigate for my purposes for now... that said, that MD suggestion is very interesting and I'm still looking for more suggestions based on my budget and purposes.  The Pioneer will work in my circumstances, but eventually radio, like TV is likely to go all digital... however, in the meantime, over the air on the Pioneer, here I come!

I’m appreciating all the suggestions I’m getting here! Thank you!

@ghdprentice

It’s getting hot all over the SW, though... and Tucson is better off than PHX or Vegas for water, as T gets more rain and still has enough aquifers to last my lifetime, anyway, and it’s substantially cooler than PHX too. I might consider Reno area, Oregon is out (can’t stand the rain nor the culture). Pasadena good... sort of... but it does have grid problems and many other L.A. problems... plus my Pasadena house is crazy valuable and will set me up for life if/when I sell it so if it’s too hot in Tucson (Oro Valley, north of T, is my prospective destination... misnomer though, not really a valley and is actually higher elev than T) for a couple months I’ll be able to rent a cabin up top of Catalina Mtns or just enjoy my Minn lake place. As for the grid, it’s also an issue all over the SW, and I’ll be going big-time solar system if I move to OV, including getting a couple storage batteries in a few years after this next exponential leap in battery tech kicks in, and a car charger in the garage for a plug-in hybrid, get myself substantially independent and selling power back to the grid. Most of the year, Oro Valley has paradisical weather, lots to do (amenities and clubs in the Sun City neighborhood), and easy living. If I miss CA, I’ll have enough $$ to hop on a plane, fly into Burbank or San Diego, and kick it for a few days.

Thus my current line of thinking... and another reason to be reasonably frugal with my stereo hobby -- I’d rather invest an extra 10k into my solar system, like getting the batteries for example, than straight up spending it on high price stereo gear since what I’m getting at "budget audiophile" prices is exciting, excellent and satisfactory... sure, a $20k amp or speakers is nice, but not MORE nice enough for me to go "beyond" (if that) what I’m currently rocking. I'd rather bolster the solar and/or my Vanguard mutual funds stash...

Thus, a modest tuner to go w my Marantz Ruby - Klipsch Heresy IV - Epi system, plus another $3k maybe to experiment with Q Acoustics Concept 50 or the Polk r700... that’ll be all done then. After that, it’s just enjoy it all for many years.

@russ69 

Good tip on the Green Valley station... do you know the station #?  

GV is just south of Tusc, and I'll be, if I move there, north in Oro Valley, but it's not that far so I bet a half-decent tuner, like that Pioneer I've been offered, will pull it in.

Great suggestions!  You folks really have a lot of good ideas.  

In addition to the freebie Pioneer (thanks again!), I really like the looks of the refurbed Dynalab, the Galaxy, and the Teac...  The Dynalab is probably the most "upscale" but they all would do the job I'm looking for in my prospective environments.  

@dpop  I did find the teac 670 on ebay new old stock NOS w all the trimmings: remote, manual, antennae, unit.  Looks mint and fits the aesthetic and intent:  $107 incl taxes and shipping,... so I snagged one, I mean why not, it's under my budget, it's a brand I like, and between it and the Pioneer I think I'll be all set until the whole world goes digital which will be a few years away here in U.S. anyway.

Thank you again, all of you.

@dpop  thank you for your insights, and I think I can trust your Teac suggestion which I appreciate.  I can't wait to try it out when I get back to Pasadena.