Tuner recommendations

Some of the best inexpensive tuners are early 80's Sony's. Just compared a Sony ST-J75 to my Kenwood KT-7300 and they were both excellent sounding, but the Kenwood was slightly better IMO. A nice feature of the Sony is the pre-sets. In my daughter's system she has a Sony ST-J44 and it's a great tuner as well considering I spent $20, inc. s/h. In my main system I have an 80's Sherwood TD-120 (paid under $30)which when I compared to the Sony J-75 sounded better! Didn't pull in weak stations quite as well, but within the context of the associated equipment sounded superior. Comparing these inexpensive older used tuners to modern inexpensive tuners, i.e, Marantz/Nad/Yamaha, and it's no contest. (I've owned the Creek T43 and the MD something in the past, but didn't have the opportunity to compare.) No need to spend a fortune on a tuner. Just make sure you have a good antenna as mentioned above. One thing you will sacrifice w/ an older tuner is convenience. The Sony's ST-J75/J44/J5 and the Sherwood are really good tuners for peanuts. The Kenwood does sound nicer, as I'm sure does many other vintage 60's/70's tuners, but will cost more $$.

Nate, search the forums here for some useful past threads on this topic. One outspoken expert warns everybody off MD, which he says is junk.

I just recently re-introduced FM to my system and it's musically one of the best things I've ever done. And a great outlet for gear flipping, if you are so inclined. Tons of stuff out there for very little money. And the older tuners are really sexy.

I listen to FM fairly regularly, and just had to have a remote in order to switch away from lame tunes. I'm extremely happy with the Parasound T3 with a Fanfare antenna. I should disclose, however, that I've used only the balanced outputs and I almost always leave it in mono.

Mike R.

I am currently using a Yamaha CT 610 II am/fm tuner that I bought off EBAY for 40 bucks and it sounds darned good. I am moving that to my teenager (with his Dynaco SCA 80) and replacing it with a Yamaha T7 mostly because the T7 has a much lower profile and space is at a premium.

The guys suggesting tuners from the 70s are correct! If you want to spend some serious money on a tuner pick up a Sansui 9900 or a Kenwood KT600 (or KT7500 and have it modified) or a Luxman T110. The new tuners that cost 500 and up are a waste of money IMHO unless you simply have money to burn and want the convenience of just buying it at a store.

Carl

Your system says you won't be happy going budget. Like the poster above, I have a Kenwood KT-917. It's very nice but possibly overkill for my situation.

Where do you live and what are your listening options? In my experience, much of the best relayed sound comes out of small community radio stations because they lack the inclination or the budget to compromise the signal. With a decent antenna and a good 70s era Japanese tuner, you can actually approximate the quality you're used to from CDs.

I would second the above comments about Kenwood and Sansui and also advise that you consult www.tunerinfo.com. In my experience, they provide reliable, possibly definitive, data and opinions.

Like Steven Stone told me years ago, FM stands for Free Music.