Your thoughts/experience with very good, cheap tuners?


I have owned some hotshot models...Magnum MD-108, Yamaha T-2 and others.  My question is, have you had any realitively cheap tuners that you thought were very good?

jusam

The Sony xdr-f1hd is tough to be in stock form yet also tough to keep cool. Get one modified by the XDR guy and you have an endgame unit. If one is available to purchase. He appears to be backlogged until retirement. These units are not exactly cheap, price wise, yet given the number of hours it will be used is a high value item. 

I have the Sony XDR-FI HD that was modded by the XDR guy. It has the best reception of all my tuners. I do not use this tuner much anymore. It sounds best with a really good RCA cable. I used Audience AU24SE. I may sell this unit.

 

I bought a refurbished Sanusi TU9900 about 2 years ago. It is a warm sounding unit and very enjoyable. I paid $750 and will be keeping this one.

 

Around the same time, I bought an Accuphase T-101, like this one,

Accuphase T-101 For Sale | Audiogon

but the unit I got was modded by someone who seemed like a tuner genius. I paid $1300 for my unit which I knew that was a lot, but I wanted to hear these mods. What I got is an incredible unit. If I had owned this modded unit before the next tuner I list, I would not have bought that one.

I ungraded my Magnum Dynalab MD102 to the MD 108T for $5000. I have a great local station I listen to, so I wanted to hear it on a great tuner. It is a slightly warmer sounding and better sounding tuner than the Accuphase T-101 but not 8X better. My modded Accuphase is not warm, more of a very clear sound. The MD 108T has the worst reception of my 4 tuners. I use the MD Signal Sleuth with the MD 108T and it improves the reception.

Both Onkyo and Yamaha made great tuners in the day.  Mc was also considered pretty good, but they are expensive used.  Onkyo T-9090 II or 4055 are probably pretty cheap used.  Check on AudioMart and you might find one.

Yamaha had a T-2 that was also considered pretty good.

Obviously, the Sequerra was among the best, but even today they are REALLY expensive, and they break pretty easily.  Not sure if you can get parts today for it.

Cheers!

The man wants a “relatively cheap” tuner. I don’t think that’s going to be a McIntosh or a Sequerra or even a Magnum Dynalab.