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TUNERS..anyone?

Hey all,Im getting back into the FM thing since I was given a Adcom GFT-1A
The antenna is a $15 Radio Shack cat.# 15-1843 it is about 4"x4" and 1/2" thick.It seems to pull in stations really good and lights up the signal strength meter on the tuner to 5 out of 5.
I love the sound of this tuner and it's my first adventure with good FM.I can't believe how transparent,warm and smooth this thing sounds.My only complaint is the drums(rock music/metal) coming through with lack of slam.The drums seem like they are far away,distant like.If I crank the volume that helps some but they still just don't have the slam Im use to with vinyl and CD.
1) whats up with that?
2) WHY does FM sound so DAMN good??
3) Whats a KILLER tuner (used) for <$1K?
david99

Showing 2 responses by avideo

avideo
222 posts
 
David - as several people have already posted, you are
probably receiving rock/metal/etc. without "slam" on the
drums due to the compression that most commercial radio
stations use to process their broadcast signal. Since you
seem to be getting a pretty decent signal with your current
Adcom tuner; you might want to try to tune in a local
college or PBS station and see how they sound. You might
be surprised to hear a lot of lower bass level information,
as most non-commercial stations do not "process" their
broadcast signal.
As for tuners under 1K that you might want to look
into; you might want to check out some of the older McIntosh
tuners. I have an older model MR-73 that I had aligned and
tuned up; and it sounds great. Best of all - it only cost
me a little over $500.00 for a tuner that works and looks
like new. Also, don't forget to use some decent interconnects. If you listen often, you will notice the
difference at once.
avideo
222 posts
 
David - Glad to hear you have become a proud owner of a
McIntosh tuner. I'm sure it will bring you many hours of
listening pleasure.
As the owner of a MR-73 myself, I would like to suggest
a possible interconnect to use. I'm not sure what sort of
electronics you have other than than the tuner. In my case,
I have a McIntosh Pre and Amp; and I'm using the Transparent
MusicLink Plus between my Tuner and Pre. It sounds very
open and detailed; and on local stations where they don't
process or compress the music, everything sounds very
natural. In fact, two people I know personally are hosts
on our local clasical station - and when they are on the
air their voices sound just like would if they were at my
home or office.
I might also mention that the slightly less expesive
Transparent MusicLink also has a very similar sound. In
fact, I was using the MusicLink for several months before
upgrading to the MusicLink Plus. If you check around here
on Audiogon, you will find both of these ICs turning up
used fairly often.
As for a manual for your tuner, you might want to call
McIntosh directly and see if they have one available. If
not, try Audio Classics - which is a great source for Mac
gear and literature.
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