tuner questions

I bought a tivoli radio clone made by Emerson. AM/FM stereo $.9.99 at Target. - get one if you can still find one-Laughable how good it sounds and reception is great too. a no brainer
OR- just hook in a tuner lots to choose from- Dyanco fm3 or fm5, scotts, Marantz etc.

Since you have a NAD Int. amp, I would suggest a matching NAD tuner. (Especially if it could be remote controlled!) There are so many good vintage tuners out there which can be bought for a song. A good tuner will make a big difference sound quality wise, no question. Good Luck.

Try this great resource for FM tuner information:

http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/

I am lucky enough to live where i can receive 3 different NPR stations with good sound quality, so a tuner is my 2nd favorite source next to vinyl. So much new music i probably would never had heard. I reccomend an analog tuner, they are inexpensive and sound better usually( the Proton 440 sounds excellent as do all the NAD digital tuners. I have an analog NAD 4030A(fm only) that is excellent, usually about $100. The Kenwood, Pioneer and Sansui 6000 series and up sound great and have strong signals. The pioneers have pretty good am too. An outdoor antenna is a must. FMDXantenna sells a 1/2 dipole antenna on Audiogon reasonably, i use his 1/4 wave ground plane and am very happy with it. All that new music out there for free, tuners rock.

Given that there are very few high-quality FM stations left, and the broadcast quality of AM is a moot point, don't spend much on a tuner. There are some very good, used Japanese-made tuners from the late 1980's and early 1990's that are inexpensive and offer very good performance. One of the best tuners I ever owned was a NEC T6-E (which cost about $250 new), and I still regret selling it (I think I got $75 for it). My current tuner, which I use exactly as you propose to do, is a Proton 440, and it filled the bill very nicely for me.

The following tuners are currently listed here on Audiogon for less than $200 and -- assuming they are in good working condition -- should do nicely to meet your needs:
1. Sansui T-7 ($50): http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?misctunr&1154525010
2. Rotel RT-935AX ($95): http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?misctunr&1154390780
3. Sansui TU-S9 ($195): http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?misctunr&1154028038
4. Harmon Kardon TU 912 ($80): http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?misctunr&1153493497
5. Adcom GFT-555 Mk2 ($125): http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?misctunr&1153171351
6. Luxman T-215L ($75): http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?misctunr&1152724357
7. Cambridge Audio T-500 ($130): http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?misctunr&1152724357

There are two additional costs you might have:
1. replacement of the aging electrolytic capacitors (15 years is about the max lifespan);
2. a good outdoor antenna, which you will probably need if you live in an area that has lots of multipath distortion problems (say, downtown NYC), or is a long way from the broadcast antenna.