Dr. Flicker's man cave audio

[The Vinyl Adventure]

ooooh it does get political on this website sometimes

[Dr. Flicker]

Here's is what I hope to be my newest addition...





from fmtunerinfo.com...

Shootout #75 (posted 01/04/05): Kenwood L-02T vs. Mitsubishi DA-F20
Winner: L-02T

If tuners were wives, I would be in jail for having too many. As a matter of fact, I would be before the judge once again for cohabitating with this new lovely. The DA-F20 is a unique beauty that will never be accused of being just another "me too" black audio box. I'm happy that this review starts off the Shootouts for 2005.

I set up the L-02T and DA-F20 on a quiet, rainy night. This was actually the third or fourth attempt to complete this review as it's been one strange series of interruptions and changes at Tuner Central, Texas. Earlier listens showed a lot of promise that proved true this time around. I started the DX tests with 88.7 KTCU in Ft. Worth. Since KTCU increased their power output, 88.5 causes less interference during tests, at least on better tuners and with my directional antenna setup. I also fear that attempts to find 88.7 KTPB Kilgore, Texas, will become more difficult. Both tuners were able to reject 88.5 and receive a good stereo signal from KTCU, in both wide and narrow modes, but both had some background noise on this still-weak signal. The L-02T seemed to suppress the hiss-type noise slightly better. I rotated the antenna from west to east in an attempt to capture our other 88.7 in Kilgore. Neither tuner could find KTPB but the L-02T captured KTCU off the rear of the antenna, while the DA-F20 produced only noise as I fished between locals 88.5 and 88.9. On another day, with different weather conditions, I was able to get waves of music signal from KTPB, better through the L-02T than the DA-F20. For another DX acid test, we point the APS-9 toward 105.5 in Oklahoma. The DA-F20 could not find anything usable between locals 105.3 and 105.7, while the L-02T was able to find 105.5 in intermittent waves. 88.1 KNTU in Denton, Texas came in clean, loud and clear on both tuners.

The DA-F20 was a pleasant sonic surprise. It held its own against my benchmark and I found myself doing more direct listening and less A/B comparing. I almost felt compelled to just sit and listen. On many a Shootout night, listening has felt like work, but with this tuner, it felt like a vacation. Before I pick the nits between it and the L-02T, I'll sum it up with a few direct words: clean, fast, precise and musically involving.

Now, next to the L-02T, the bass wasn't quite as rich but seemed quicker, by just a touch. Both tuners had dynamics working for them. The Mitsubishi's midrange was very focused and believable. In comparison, the sound was a step more forward. It definitely kept me interested in the music. The DA-F20's highs were more extended while still sounding like a real part of the music. Stereo imaging was precise. The midrange seemed just right with a nice open quality. Everything seemed just about right, to such a point that I gave up looking for flaws between the two. It was seductive in a toe-tapping, not sleepy, sort of way. Finally, I turned off the L-02T and just enjoyed this new wife... err, tuner.