Arcam alpha tuners any good ?

[Michael loves music]

Saw some cheap old Arcam alpha tuners on eBay etc are they a good make ? I seem to remember at the time early 80s they were quite expensive and British made ? Any advice most welcome thankyou

[Macca]

Yes they are a good make. But internet radio and DAB have taken over so there are so many tuners out there now people are literally giving them away. Someone on here was offering 2 Sony ES tuners for just the postage last week. I think only one went so have a look for that ad.

[DSJR]

The limiting thing now is FM in the UK, which is pretty dire a lot of the time. Heavy compression, the BBC altering the eq almost daily it seems to me and the BBC transmission being the tapped off mangled digital signal I'm told.

I use a Delta 80 tuner, which I like a lot when the signal allows it to shine. Their tuners are good as a brand and very cheap now.

[twotone]

I recently bought a Denon DNP-720AE network player which includes internet radio and FM and is fantastic value for money.

I've had loads of FM tuners but internet radio is superb and just as good as FM now, IMO.

There are some amazing internet radio stations best one I've come across so far is FIP which is a French FM station now broadcasting on the internet, wonderful!

[Michael loves music]

Just bought a nad 4225 tuner off ebay for £6 off the bay will match my nad 3020e amp and 520 CD player says very good condition good sound not sure if it will come with short hang at the back fm aerial or interconnect but I'm sure they are not expensive

[Kvaal]

No worry! If there is no antenna, you can use a thin wire, any sort will do. NAD used to supply their A/V recievers with just a single wire antenna with a simplistic connector on the centre pin of the connector.

If you live in a place with in-house antenna system, you probably will get the best results not using it. They are often noisy.

[Michael loves music]

Can I get a thin wire off ebay ? Could I get a interconnect wire on eBay ? We get good fm reception so I'm sure ok ?

[Kvaal]

What about some dumpster-diving? You only need approx 3 feet of thin wire, any sort. Just take the plastic off one inch or two in one end of the wire.

No connector on your tuner, just clamps.

[Michael loves music]

Will a thin wire get a signal on fm ? Just want to listen to radio 2 now and again

[Kvaal]

Yes, no problem.

[DSJR]

It's been said that internet radio is better than FM and DAB... All I can say is that the occasional BBC show I've listened to on I-Player is superb and pretty uncompressed from memory - one notable one was the series of Brian Johnson (ACDC) playing some favourite tracks - superb sound on t'internet I remember.

[eisenach]

Saw some cheap old Arcam alpha tuners on eBay etc are they a good make ? I seem to remember at the time early 80s they were quite expensive and British made ? Any advice most welcome thankyou

FM can be excellent; my tuner is on a par with CD and SACD from a Primare player. You may need a good aerial; a wire aerial may work if you're in a good reception area, but often it's not good enough.
I had an Arcam Delta 80, which was good sounding apart from modulation whine which could be heard on quiet passages.

[Michael loves music]

I've found an old male to male rca lead that should fit nad tuner to amp so just Ariel fm wire to get now lady is posting nad tuner tomorrow collect plus at a cost of £6 seconds total cost of tuner £12 so a bargain will match my nad amp and CD player lovely

[Macca]

I may be able to lay my hands on a NAD 5120 turntable if you want to go for the full set....

[Floyddroid]

The matching tuner to the A60 amp was a cracker.

[Michael loves music]

Nad tuner has areil wire attached lady seller just emailed me that's great news

[Michael loves music]

Lady couldn't find areil so I've got a thin piece of wire which end do I take the plastic coating off ?

[walpurgis]

Not sure what you mean.

[Kvaal]

Any end if there is no connectors. Use a pair of scissors and cut gently round the wire, not to hurt the core. One inch will do.

[Michael loves music]

Done as you said but won't work cannot get stations but digital display moving the nad does have a dedicated Ariel socket are indoor ariels any good or has it got to be a roof one for radio. 2 in fm ? If a roof one how much would a fitter charge for Ariel and fitting £100 ???

[Michael loves music]

I've put indoor fm Ariel on eBay and some just £3 delivered a pink wire with dedicated end to plug in round socket on back of my tuner would this get radio 2 in fm ? Please could you look on eBay and advise thankyou want to drop the wire at back of white draws to hide it as in the gallery and my profile picture cheers mike

[Kvaal]

Put the wire-end in the third clamp, counted from the right, seen on the back-side, or in centre of the socket. Let the wire hang down straight, not winded-up. If any problem, try to straighten the wire upwards or other direction. Should work.

[The Barbarian]

The 'T21' is an exceptional tuner which goes for peanuts. The weird Green/Red LED display takes some getting use to but the Signal strength i used to get without an arial lead was amazing.. Great pre tuning array on the back aswell as a Audio level control.

This Tuner & the Sudgen 'T48' were my fav two tuners back in the aerly 80's

[Michael loves music]

There are only 2 clamps and an Ariel socket its a nad 4225 model

[Kvaal]

Connect to the centre in the aerial socket. Set the amp on "tuner" and volume low listening level. Check the rca between the tunder and the "tuner" input on the amp.

Info on the tuner here:

http://nadelectronics.com/products/tuners/4225-Stereo-Tuner

[Michael loves music]

Many thanks for reply will try first thing in morning it's lighting up fine lovely red display and as new came in original box

[Michael loves music]

Didn't work but my sister has got a square fm Ariel on wire giving me at weekend so will keep you informed

[shane]

According to that manual, your tuner has a 75ohm FM aerial, which is what you would normally expect. This takes the same sort of aerial plug that old-fashioned analogue TVs use. I you want to make a make-shift FM aerial, get an aerial plug and two or three metres of co-ax. Fit the plug to one end of the co-ax and strip back about one metre of the outer covering of the other end, exposing the braiding. Then pull the inner core out of the braiding just where the outer cover now ends (you don't have to remove any insulation from the inner core) and make a T-shape, with the inner core forming one arm of the T and the outer braiding forming the other. You now have a basic FM Dipole which should be adequate for pulling in BBC stations in a good strong signal area. Experiment with positioning, keeping the arms of the T horizontal. If you get good radio 2 in stereo with no hiss, you're home and dry. If it hisses or distorts, you're going to need a proper FM roof or loft aerial.

[Michael loves music]

Wish I'd bought a denon tu 1800 dab tuner off eBay but the nad tuner matches my other nads and I'm sure when get my sisters fm Ariel radio 2 will sound ok ! I've got a pure evoke in the lounge so now how clear dab is

[Kvaal]

A good transmission on FM will be better sounding than the common DAB-transmission. Some prefer the FM-transmission under equal conditions if they have the choice. Better quality of sound.

[Michael loves music]

Got a rabbit style wire Ariel tuned radio 1 radio 2 in and our local radio Leicester sound is fantastic and bright green fm light on each station so tuned in perfectly I'm so pleased as the tuner was only £6 ! I have a pure evoke in the lounge and honestly there is no difference in the sound ! Thankyou so much for all your help cheers mike

[RichB]

The limiting thing now is FM in the UK, which is pretty dire a lot of the time. Heavy compression, the BBC altering the eq almost daily it seems to me and the BBC transmission being the tapped off mangled digital signal I'm told.

I use a Delta 80 tuner, which I like a lot when the signal allows it to shine. Their tuners are good as a brand and very cheap now.

+1 BBC on FM is unlistenable these days.

[Kvaal]

Good you found a happy solution. Keep visiting TAS!

[Michael loves music]

Fm stero light has gone out on radio 1 but still on with radio 2 and our local radio leicester ? Is it the signal moving ?