Which one is better tube tuner or Digital tuner?


I have a McIntosh C2200 tube pream and I am thingking of adding a tuner. I am worried about reception issue and would like to know which one would give me an excellent sound quality? What do you think? Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
geoff136
Internet radio will give you stable reception vs. any tuner you can think of. It will not give you an excellent sound quality but weak reception less likely will. You can also have an amplified antenna for your tuner, but you can also face RFI in your tube preamp.
One is not necessarily better than another, so the same arguments about other types of tube vs digital equipment. What will be different, like for everything else, are your preferences for sound and the specs for the tuner to match your listening area, such as sensitivity, etc.

IMO - It would be best for you to describe any listening preferences for tube or digital gear, and then describe your listening environment. For example, urban, suburban, rural, and the stations you want to pick-up and how far away. And, how much do you want to spend?

I'm also seeing a decline in FM stations and rise of streaming stations...For better or for worse. Even though the sound quality is not very good right now with the streamers, this will surely improve. I own a Squeezebox Touch that I picked up for $249, and I have access to a world-supply of stations. The SBT is also a compact and network-based music server that can sound very good when a quality DAC is used with it.

I own a highly-customized McIntosh MR-71 Tuner that I love and that has given me much joy. However, I fear it will become a museum piece or a beautiful paperweight in the near future.
Both can be great but are only as good as your antenna and distance from stations you want to hear. My favorite tuner I ever owned was Luxman T117, its digital.

I concur with chadnliz. My favorite tuner of all time is the Luxman T-117. It sounds incredible when I listen to my favorite Jazz and Classical broadcast. Sounds so warm and natural. Blows away any streamer, which I like to stream too but only for background music. The Luxman T117 Tuner never sounds fatigue or analytical. You would swear that you  are listening to a high end 20K CD player like theAccuphase DP750 sacd / CD player which I currently own and listen to.

All I can say having owned about two dozen tuners, the Luxman T-117 stands on top in my book. Just an incredible tuner and if you can find one buy it.

I've enjoyed an analog Magnum Dynalab FT-101A tuner (FM) for many years. Much better sound quality than streaming. I'm fortunate to live in an area with good reception..

Let's hope the OP resolved his tuner concerns since he's had nearly 10 years to decide.