i have listened to quite a few tunas over the past few years. i still own.. hmmm... several. ;~) here's my extensive audition list:
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adcom gft-1a
accuphase t100
accuphase t101
accuphase t109, joseph chow mods
aiwa at9700u
audiolab 8000t
b&o beomaster 5000
creek t-43
denon tu-850
draco micro cpu 100 (needs refurb)
eumig t-1000
fisher fm90r
harman kardon citation 18, stephen sank mods
harman kardon citation 18, mike williams mods
hitachi ft-8000
jvc fx-1100
kenwood kt-7550m bill ammons mods
kenwood l-07-tII, modded
kenwood kt-9900
larsholt signal master 8
leak trough line 3
luxman t-12
magnum dynalab ft-101
marantz 20b, complete refurb (inside a marantz 19 receiver)
mcintosh mr-77 refurb'd
mcintosh mr65b, stephen sank refurb & mods
meridian 204
mitsubishi da-f20
nec t6e
nikko gamma 1
onix bwd-1 w/soap-2 power supply
philips 22-ah-105 (euro deemphasis)
philips 185
philips 186 (euro deemphasis)
philips ah6731
pioneer f-91
restek d1 (euro deemphasis)
revox b760
revox b261
roksan caspian
rotel rht-10
rotel rt-2100
saba ts-2000
sansui tu-517
sansui tu-719
sansui tu-9900
sansui tu-x1, joseph chow mods (in transit)
scott 310-d
sherwood s-3000-III
sony st-s730es
sony st-a6b
sony st-a6b (both a6bs need a refurb)
stromberg-carlson sr445
sumo aurora
sumo charlie
tandberg 3011a
tandberg 3001a
tandberg 3001a w/minor power supply mods
technics st-9030, modded
technics st-8600
technics st-9600
technics st-heathkit aj1600, bill ammons mods
telefunken ebu-3137-7 ballampfanger
yamaha t-2
fisher mx100 decoder
one thing audio mpx decoder
trio mpx decoder (needed refurb)
scott 335 mpx decoder
studio 12 mpx decoder, minor mods
the gear marked "needs refurb" and "euro deemphasis" hasn't been properly ewaluated. tho i suspect the philips tunas would qualify for top sonics, based on my experience w/them & w/the other philips tunas.
sonically, i would be happy w/*any* of the above, except for a few. these few are:
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m-d ft101
adcom gft-1a
mcintosh mr77
kenwood kt9900 (bronze-faced kt8300)
what holds them back for me are lack of soundstage dimensionality - they are yust flat sounding.
sonically the top tier tunas for me are:
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accuphase t100
accuphase t101
accuphase t109, joseph chow mods
aiwa at9700u
audiolab 8000t
denon tu-850
harman kardon citation 18, stephen sank mods
harman kardon citation 18, mike williams mods
kenwood kt-7550m bill ammons mods
kenwood l-07-tII, modded
larsholt signal master 8
leak trough line 3
marantz 20b, complete refurb (inside a marantz 19 receiver)
mcintosh mr65b, stephen sank refurb & mods
meridian 204
mitsubishi da-f20
nikko gamma 1
onix bwd-1 w/soap-2 power supply
philips 185
philips ah6731
roksan caspian
rotel rht-10
rotel rt-2100
sherwood s-3000-III (mono)
stromberg-carlson sr445 (mono)
sumo aurora
sumo charlie
technics st-9030, modded
technics st-heathkit aj1600, bill ammons mods
telefunken ebu-3137-7 ballampfanger
if top sensitivity/selectivity is also an issue, the following are eliminated from this list:
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stromberg-carlson sr445 (mono)
sherwood s-3000-III (mono)
philips 185
meridian 204
mcintosh mr65b, stephen sank refurb & mods
marantz 20b, complete refurb (inside a marantz 19 receiver)
leak trough line 3
perhaps "the cream of the crop", from this list are:
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accuphase t100
accuphase t101
accuphase t109, joseph chow mods
aiwa at9700u
audiolab 8000t
denon tu-850
harman kardon citation 18, stephen sank mods
harman kardon citation 18, mike williams mods
larsholt signal master 8
marantz 20b, complete refurb (inside a marantz 19 receiver)
mitsubishi da-f20
philips ah6731
roksan caspian
rotel rht-10
stromberg-carlson sr445 (mono) - sonics only
sherwood s-3000-III (mono)- sonics only
technics st-heathkit aj1600, bill ammons mods
telefunken ebu-3137-7 ballampfanger
i suspect the modded sansui tu-x1 will make "the cream of the crop", but i haven't heard it yet. ;~) the mono tunas are rated using any of the (excellent, imo) properly working mpx decoders listed.
the other tunas above, that i said i could be happy with are *so* close to even "the cream of the crop", that you should consider them, if you like the looks, ergonomics, features, etc.
others have their faves; go to fmtunerinfo.com & its associated yahoo forum for more info.
doug s.,
so many tunas, so little time. :>)