What are some excellent mid -priced tuners?

Following along Haoleb's theme, unless a remote is a must for you, I suggest you go to the vintage tuner site listed above and do some research on some vintage tuners, finding one that appeals to you.

I owned the Fanfare FT-1A for over a year and thoroughly enjoyed it. A couple of months ago I did the research I mentioned above; in doing so you will come to learn that some of the best, if not the best, tuners were made in the past, much like cassette decks.

I purchased a Yamaha T-2 on eBay for $368 and it betters the Fanfare's performance at every level. As for features, the Fanfare has remote and presets but the Yamaha has other tuning features that the Fanfare lacks. The Fanfare has 4 gangs, the Yamaha 7!

I also have a Sansui TU-717 mentioned above and agree that this performs quite well also. I haven't spent a lot of time with it, but the time I did, if pressed, I would put the Sansui's performance above the Fanfare as well, without doubt for pulling in stations.

I have no experience with the MD's, but before buying the Fanfare I was comparing the MD's, everything I read placed their performance on par with the Fanfare; I chose the Fanfare because these reports said the performance was the same but the Fanfare came with remote and presets to boot.

FWIW, a bit to my surprise, I have not missed the remote or presets. If I was using it as the person states above, while sitting and reading and wanted to channel hop, then it may be more important, but I can spin the dial and be to a station very quickly.

Understand, I was very happy with the Fanfare, you can search past comments made by me.

My vote is for a Vintage Sansui TU-517 or Tu-717.. i have the TU-517 and it has such sweet smooth warm sound. Pulls in Plenty of stations and is very high quality. the Sansui's are analog stereo tuners and can be found on ebay for around $200 or so.

You don't have to pay 1600 for that MD100.. You can find them here on the gon for around 1100-1200 or an Etude for around 700-900. The MD100 has exactly the same specs as the Etude model. I did an A/B with a 2001 Etude model and the MD100 and couldn't distinguish any differences.

I understand what Jvr means when he says some tuners sound like a radio - they are thin sounding as if you were listening to a jambox or old transistor radio - a good tuner will be full bodied in its presentation of the music just like listening to a CD player of high quality. I have a hard time liking a good many tuners for this very reason.

Jvr,

I know what you mean- I hate when a tuner sounds like radio, or when a CD player sounds like CD, or a Reel to Reel sounds like tape or especially when a turntable sounds like vinyl. Sorry for the sarcasm- I guess I just don't understand your comment. What should a tuner sound like if not Radio? What does the Mac 67 Tuner sound like?

i second the mac 67. at your price range i do not think you can do better. marantz 10b if you can find one at that price level. i have heard the md and fanfare. a little thin to my tastes. sounds like radio. imo.

good listening

IMHO get the Audio Refinment Complete tuner (YBA)... Around $700 and will not disapoint you... I tried it against a few high priced tuner like the Sim Audio Air Tuner and ended being as good if not better (at half the price)... I also tried the MD100 from Magnum Dynalab and I would still choose the Audio refinment...

Don't forget to get the best antenna possible. This will make a BIG difference...

I bought a Myryad tuner (they only make one model, i forget the name/number) here for about $700 and it is an excellent performer. Comes w/remote and many presets and sounds wonderful. My favorite of the tuners I own is my Mac MR67, which I also got for $700, I think from eBay. I spent a couple hundred dollars more replacing a burned out light and all the tubes w/Telefunkens and it is the best-sounding tuner I have ever heard, at least in my home. No remote or presets, though, and alignment by one of the vintage tube outlets costs about $300. I haven't done the alignment and it still sounds incredibly rich and deep and receives stations superbly.

At $1600 plus an additional $400 for the remote controlled version, you may not consider the top-of-the-line Magnum Dynalab MD100 a "mid price" tuner, but I absolutely love mine. I wouldn't trade it for anything, and having a remote controlled tuner is one of life's greatest pleasures. It's sort of like buying your first microwave oven: after you buy it, you wonder how you lived without it. If the tuner is on while you're reading and you want to skip the commercials, you just hit a button on the remote without getting up... just like in the car. If you want an MD100, be careful when shopping. There is no difference in the model number between the one WITH the remote and the one WITHOUT it. If you're shopping the audio sites for a used one be sure which version you're looking at, but sonically you can't go wrong.

Check out Fanfare

Give the Creek T43 a listen $699.

If you are interested in unsed Vintage tuners check out:
http://www.geocities.com/tunerinfo/

Of course the Fanfare should be mentioned. It is as good (IMO, better) than the Magnum Dynalabs at the same price point. The comparison in my home lead me to buy the Fanfare. The comparison was recently covered in this thread:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ymisc&1012872881

Take Care, Aaron

You can pick up a lot of great Mac vintage tuners in excellent condition on ebay or even the Gon. The 78 is the top dog.

Get a Magnum Dynalab Etude, MD100 or MD102. The Etude can usually be found used on Audiogon. The MD100 is the newest release of the Etude model. The MD102 is the best SS tuner out there. Like Gthrush1 said, get a Yagi and put in on your roof. If you can only do indoor, than use an ST-2 inside with a Signal Sleuth. I listen to my Etude more than my CD player, the sound is just wonderful!

All of the Magnum Dynalab products are very good. Keep in mind, though, that most audiophiles overlook and compromise the most important part of an FM source -- the antenna.

It is worth the effort to climb up into your attic and install a quality Yagi antenna, such as the MD APS-9. Don't skimp on the coax either, since it will likely be a long run to your tuner.