Tony, I have not experimented much at all with antennas but from all I have read, I have know doubt it makes a difference; it boils down to how much do you want wrapped up into an antenna.
I purchased a Fanfare FT-1A tuner a couple years ago and also purchased the Fanfare FM-2G dipole antenna; this antenna may not be the best but it serves my purpose. This antenna costs about $100, if I were to do it again, I would consider the APS-9B for $120, that is, if I could use it fine w/o a rotor.
The advantage to the dipole is it is simple, once it is mounted, you are done. The advantage of the more elaborate antennas is that they can be positioned in a specific direction to lock on to stations. Unless you listen to just one station, you would most likely want a rotor to be able to reposition the antenna.
http://www.antennaperformance.com/
To follow up on my post on vintage tuners, aside from the aforementioned Fanfare FT-1A tuner, which I enjoyed, I have used the Sansui TU-717 and the Yamaha T-2, my current tuner. The Sansui and the Yamaha are from the late 70's.
I have not spent much time comparing these tuners to one another, but I will say I prefer the Yamaha to the Fanfare (except for the Fanfares remote and presets). There are many very good vintage tuners available at affordable prices.
Like cassette decks, some of the best tuners were made in the past when there was a bigger emphasis on them.
All that said, I wouldn't want to deter anyone from purchasing a new unit if they had their heart set on one, there are some nice tuners available.
