Current FM Tuners

[Geoffrey Stevens]

Hi,

The range of FM tuners available now is pretty small (and not de rigeur with streaming often seen as better quality), but I do like to listen to FM (particularly Radio 3), and I wonder what experience any of you have of current / modern FM tuners. I have a Rotel 950BX that I am very pleased with. However, if a more modern unit gave a similar FM performance (and DAB for non muscial listening. e.g. sport) then I may be tempted.

Any views?

Thanks,
Geoff

[Pharos]

There are some extremely good old tuners, made when FM was in its heyday, and their sound and specs are very difficult to beat, if at all. I have just bought an Accuphase T-107, (£440), and it is wonderful, very comparable with the latest offering from Accuphase (T-1100) which I saw today listed at $2300. There are many competent ones out there, and a cite which evaluates many called Tuner info, or something similar.

[Geoffrey Stevens]

Thanks Dennis,

It looks as though you netted a 'goodun'. Accuphase are certainly highly regarded.
Yes, I've looked at the Tuner Information Centre, and it has certainly informed my views. I'll keep looking.

Regards,
Geoff

[Light Dependant Resistor]

Hi Geoff
I would recommend the Marantz ST6000 which is a LW/AM /FM digital tuner, the sound quality is excellent, and it features two antenna connections, switchable from
the front panel, as well as narrow wide IF for FM. As for DAB Marantz also do a DAB tuner with the same styling, But the ST6000, particularly if you enjoy FM radio is the one to get
for sound quality IMO

[AJSki2fly]

There are some extremely good old tuners, made when FM was in its heyday, and their sound and specs are very difficult to beat, if at all. I have just bought an Accuphase T-107, (£440), and it is wonderful, very comparable with the latest offering from Accuphase (T-1100) which I saw today listed at $2300. There are many competent ones out there, and a cite which evaluates many called Tuner info, or something similar.

I would recommend an Hitachi FT5500 MK2 (not MK1), if you read reviews they were/are considered giant killer and great VFM, hard to find, I got one from Germany on ebay for an excellent price though. It very natural produces good bass, excellent on vocals IMO.

[ovlov854]

I have had tuners from Naim, Magnum Dynalab and now Quad FM4.
The FM4 was serviced and upgraded by Quad to allow 2 presets on each preset button.
Don;t forget the secret of a good tuner is a good aerial

[Barry]

I have had tuners from Naim, Magnum Dynalab and now Quad FM4.
The FM4 was serviced and upgraded by Quad to allow 2 presets on each preset button.
Don't forget the secret of a good tuner is a good aerial

I would concur, I use a Quad FM4 with a roof-mounted three element Yagi aerial. It can pick up a dozen or more stations, though I tend to listen to only three of them.

I have tuners from Cambridge (T55); B&O (1700); Leak ('Troughline' III (stereo)) as well as Quad FM2 and FM3. With the exception of the Leak tuner, they are all very good.

The FM4 is used both for its fine SQ and convenience. Talking of which: how can you store more than one station to each preset button of the FM4, and how do you select them?


But to answer the Geoffrey's question: all the suggested tuners are good, especially ones made by up-market Japanese companies Luxman and Accuphase. Trio and Sansui also made some good tuners, as did Revox. Whatever you choose, you really do need a good roof top aerial to get the best out of any tuner: it is pointless spending a lot on a tuner if you don't give it the best signal.

[Geoffrey Stevens]

Thanks for the various suggestions, and the point about having a good aerial.

I don't have an outside aerial, and I use the (sometimes crticised) Magnum Dynalab ST-2. I'm getting 5 bars of signal on my tuner, so, presumably, a good signal. The only problem that I have (as mentioned on previous threads) if RFI (I think) from my computer. I get a background 'mush' (white noise) when it is on, but this disappears with the computer off, and I get a really clean sound. I need to try re-positioning things to see if this can be improved.

Geoff

[Ali Tait]

Used to have an Accuphase T-101, which was superb. Still regret selling it.

[User211]

I went through tuners from various different decades, and got rid of them all to end up with a 1963 Scott 350 valve tuner.

Technically not great, coloured sonically - definitely, but by far the easiest and most enjoyable to listen to.

Voices through make you literally melt they sound so bloody lovely.

A real treat for the ears.

[hifinutt]

still use our denon 260 tu mark 2 everyday , peanuts s/h . radiotext so i know whats playing . brilliant

[Flo]

The magnum aerial if sited well with good co ax is a good start, used lots of tuners old and new, the musical fidelity one with dab and fm is a cracker, the Cyrus dab fm tuner is cheap and surprisingly good, both With benefit of digital output. For fm only Accuphase are king unless you find a rare trio Or Marantz from radios glory years [1970s] there are warehouses of good stuff for tea money.
My last magnum 106t was sublime, on live bbc broadcasts it was jaw dropping good, play for the day became gripping and immersive, it was good but you can get close ish for a fraction of its cost. Problem is older models usually need a good service by someone skilled at a now redundant technology.

[Barry]

The magnum aerial if sited well with good co ax is a good start, used lots of tuners old and new, the musical fidelity one with dab and fm is a cracker, the Cyrus dab fm tuner is cheap and surprisingly good, both With benefit of digital output. For fm only Accuphase are king unless you find a rare trio Or Marantz from radios glory years [1970s] there are warehouses of good stuff for tea money.
My last magnum 106t was sublime, on live bbc broadcasts it was jaw dropping good, play for the day became gripping and immersive, it was good but you can get close ish for a fraction of its cost. Problem is older models usually need a good service by someone skilled at a now redundant technology.

Especially true of the Marantz 10B tuner, which had an absurd selectivity and could drift out of specification in a few months.

I love listening to the BBC Proms, and BBC plays through my Quad FM4 tuner. As you say, Magnum Dyna are probably at the top of the tree where tuners are concerned, but sadly the standards of FM broadcasting have generally fallen badly in the last 15 years or so (and the BBC are the worse offenders: once their quality set the world standard, but no longer :( )

[Pharos]

Hi Geoff
I would recommend the Marantz ST6000 which is a LW/AM /FM digital tuner, the sound quality is excellent, and it features two antenna connections, switchable from
the front panel, as well as narrow wide IF for FM. As for DAB Marantz also do a DAB tuner with the same styling, But the ST6000, particularly if you enjoy FM radio is the one to get
for sound quality IMO

I bought one 15 years ago for £30, it is good, but not as good as some others, very good value though, and has a calibrated to the dB signal strength meter, which I use when revamping the aerial, it being in the loft..

"but sadly the standards of FM broadcasting have generally fallen badly in the last 15 years or so (and the BBC are the worse offenders: once their quality set the world standard, but no longer )"

Absolutely Barry, they are a disgrace to the world, they used to set the world standards. On R4 I think they often use the lavalier mics under the chin. The quality dropping started in the late 70s, and my reference is listening on what was in '72 on the best BBC monitors, in the control room and studios a 'glass' away from the announcers; it bears no comparison, and the speakers are often not articulate.

[ovlov854]

The FM4 is used both for its fine SQ and convenience. Talking of which: how can you store more than one station to each preset button of the FM4, and how do you select them?

Quad offered me this module which was inexpensive when they serviced/repaired my FM4.
To install presets do it in the normal way but press a second time to preset next station.
To access press preset button a second time

That being said I rarely use more than 3 stations :doh:

[Flo]

Out of curiosity Just dug out my Cyrus fmx with psx power, radio 2 playing usual crap but sounded way better than internet or dab. Luckily I live with sight of the Iow transmitter so my magnum whip Ariel is more than adequate.
Such a shame a couple of small french jazz stations make bbc signal sound broke, I’ve heard suggestions they have been deliberately screwing up quality to force use of dab, stupid when signal starts digital and is converted to analogue [fm] for broadcast.
And dab still costs many times more to transmit than fm, not eco friendly, and I do wonder if this constant sea of microwave energy in the ether is slowly cooking us all!

[Pharos]

Paul Gambacini I take it. Often his 2 hour progs are to me rather distorted, and it was today really getting on my nerves.

Nearly bought a whip aerial, but I live on the seafront and wonder how it would survive, however it is omni-directional and would allow French stuff.

I really wouldn't put it past the BBC to do as you have said, they've been pushing hard for DAB for ages. I've just come across an ad. I placed to sell a tuner in '05, and I posted;

"the quality of DAB is not as good (mp2 codec compression and low bit rate, and the EEC, (particularly the German Government), is not happy with the anticipated switch-off." I also remember that another DAB standard has been developed, so the one being pushed is obsolete.

With regard to us being cooked, think about how many devices are transmitting, numerous frequencies, and zillions of small output devices, but. . . ., all those waveforms will add and subtract to produce peaks of electric field strength, the statement that the signals are all weak is not accounting for constructive interference.

[Macca]

They've been threatening to switch off FM for twenty years now.

FM is limited to 15Khz and 50dB of dynamic range, are the DAB codecs really worse than that? I'd be surprised.

Of course there's no static at all...

[Pharos]

Just happened on this:

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/radio/commissioning/TechnicalSpecificationRadio.pdf

[hifinutt]

Out of curiosity Just dug out my Cyrus fmx with psx power, radio 2 playing usual crap but sounded way better than internet or dab. Luckily I live with sight of the Iow transmitter so my magnum whip Ariel is more than adequate.
Such a shame a couple of small french jazz stations make bbc signal sound broke, I’ve heard suggestions they have been deliberately screwing up quality to force use of dab, stupid when signal starts digital and is converted to analogue [fm] for broadcast.
And dab still costs many times more to transmit than fm, not eco friendly, and I do wonder if this constant sea of microwave energy in the ether is slowly cooking us all!

yes i had a fmx with a psxr , it really was good . glad you still have yours

[Flo]

There’s a lot of sniffy views of Cyrus kit, hifi snobbery if you will. Shame as they make reliable upgradeable kit, that entertains when suitably matched ie pro ac, in Huntingdon (went to school round corner) using parts and materials sourced in uk and eu, case is made in Norway I think.
I grew up being wowed by mission and Cyrus , 3 cheers for uk made kit, the signature range esp phono stage punches well above the price tag.
Having said that my main system has a distinctly Teutonic flavour.

[Pharos]

They've been threatening to switch off FM for twenty years now.

FM is limited to 15Khz and 50dB of dynamic range, are the DAB codecs really worse than that? I'd be surprised.

Of course there's no static at all...

Maybe not technically, but sound wise I have several friends who have tried DAB and got rid of it.

[Macca]

Maybe not technically, but sound wise I have several friends who have tried DAB and got rid of it.

Yes, I heard many such stories back when DAB was the next big thing. Never tried it myself, my 40 year old Technics tuner with rooftop aerial is adequate. Or I can listen to radio on the TV system.

[Pharos]

I use DVB radio constantly for comparison.