I need a tuner used <$300

sts9fan · « **on:** 14 Mar 2008, 03:37 pm »

My girlfriend is going to kill me if I don't get a AM/FM tuner. Any suggestions?

Kris

Sonny · « **Reply #1 on:** 14 Mar 2008, 03:45 pm »

Kris, I have a nice Sansui 217-T that I never use...
If you're interested, let me know.
T

Toka · « **Reply #2 on:** 14 Mar 2008, 03:49 pm »

Do you need a remote? Presets?

Sansui tuners are great...so are Yamaha tuners. I got a TX-1000U for just a hair over $300 a while ago, but I got lucky with that one. Amazing, amazing tuner.

bpape · « **Reply #3 on:** 14 Mar 2008, 03:51 pm »

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?misctunr&1210201122

Bryan

DeanSheen · « **Reply #4 on:** 14 Mar 2008, 04:04 pm »

This is your daddy: http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/

Lots of options.

Forum here: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/fmtuners/

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #5 on:** 14 Mar 2008, 05:02 pm »

Tuna's are the domain of doug s. Do a search using the word "tuna" and not "tuner" and you'll have plenty of food for thought. However I would imagine it won't be long before he sees this thread and responds here.

sts9fan · « **Reply #6 on:** 14 Mar 2008, 06:09 pm »

Thanks for the info guys

Kris

doak · « **Reply #7 on:** 14 Mar 2008, 08:34 pm »

I bought a Luxman T-117 on EBay a last week for $250 and am quite happy with it.
I've been through many tuners over the years: new ones, vintage tube, vintage SS, etc.
This one is was "plug and play" - very good sound and reception. I can recommend it w/o reservation at this price level.

BTW: I've learned that the T-117 does NOT sound good "cold." When first turned on it sounds "shallow" and "transistory."
EZ fix: Just leave it on all the time - consumes mabe a few watts of power so not a problem to keep it "toasty."

lazydays · « **Reply #8 on:** 14 Mar 2008, 10:40 pm »

I bought an HD tuner off a dealer on Ebay about two weeks ago just to see what they sound like. My Sansui TU 717 will never be used again in this system! Everything about it better than the Sansui.
gary

Les Lammers · « **Reply #9 on:** 15 Mar 2008, 05:02 pm »

Quote from: lazydays on 14 Mar 2008, 10:40 pm

I bought an HD tuner off a dealer on Ebay about two weeks ago just to see what they sound like. My Sansui TU 717 will never be used again in this system! Everything about it better than the Sansui.
gary

Which tuner did you get from ebay?

doug s. · « **Reply #10 on:** 28 Mar 2008, 04:06 pm »

either you have extremely poor analog broadcasts in your area, or your sansui needs work, or both... even folks who like hd tunas agree that w/a good quality broadcast, analog sounds better w/a decent tuna. even ask david day about it; his company - day sequerra - makes kilobucks hd tunas; the cheapest is $1600, & they go up in cost from there. and a properly working tu717 is more than decent.

doug s.

Quote from: lazydays on 14 Mar 2008, 10:40 pm

I bought an HD tuner off a dealer on Ebay about two weeks ago just to see what they sound like. My Sansui TU 717 will never be used again in this system! Everything about it better than the Sansui.
gary

doug s. · « **Reply #11 on:** 28 Mar 2008, 04:10 pm »

get one yet? dead yet?

sorry i didn't respond sooner, i was taking a little break...

there's a plethora of great tunas awailable at $300 & below. if you tell me what's important to you - sonics, ease of use, ultimate sensitivity, digital vs analog, fm or am/fm - i might be able to offer a few suggestions. or, as mentioned, go to the tic (fmtunerinfo.com); lotsa good info there.

doug s.

Quote from: sts9fan on 14 Mar 2008, 03:37 pm

My girlfriend is going to kill me if I don't get a AM/FM tuner. Any suggestions?

Kris

lazydays · « **Reply #12 on:** 28 Mar 2008, 07:45 pm »

Quote from: Les Lammers on 15 Mar 2008, 05:02 pm

Quote from: lazydays on 14 Mar 2008, 10:40 pm
I bought an HD tuner off a dealer on Ebay about two weeks ago just to see what they sound like. My Sansui TU 717 will never be used again in this system! Everything about it better than the Sansui.
gary

Which tuner did you get from ebay?

Sangean HDT-1; Everyone that's heard it remarks about how much better they like it than the Sansui.
gary

lazydays · « **Reply #13 on:** 28 Mar 2008, 07:54 pm »

Quote from: doug s. on 28 Mar 2008, 04:06 pm

either you have extremely poor analog broadcasts in your area, or your sansui needs work, or both... even folks who like hd tunas agree that w/a good quality broadcast, analog sounds better w/a decent tuna. even ask david day about it; his company - day sequerra - makes kilobucks hd tunas; the cheapest is $1600, & they go up in cost from there. and a properly working tu717 is more than decent.

doug s.
Quote from: lazydays on 14 Mar 2008, 10:40 pm
I bought an HD tuner off a dealer on Ebay about two weeks ago just to see what they sound like. My Sansui TU 717 will never be used again in this system! Everything about it better than the Sansui.
gary

My 717 was about as mint as you can get, but the sound was just not involving & somewhat dull to me. Signal reception with it is about as good as a midline Onkyo, and nowhere close to a 9090II. But the thing I like best about the HD tuner is the range it has. Much more presence with real live bass. With a non HD broadcast I see little difference between it and the Sansui except it seems to be able to draw in more stations. I'd put the 717 about on par with an old Onkyo T-9, but without the ability to draw in the weakest stations. they even have a similar sound.
gary
gary

vman71 · « **Reply #14 on:** 28 Mar 2008, 07:57 pm »

If you haven't bought one yet, I have a Vintage Audiophile Sony ST-S550ES ST S 550ES ES AM/FM Tuner. ($100)

Excellent condition vintage Sony ST-S550ES AM/FM tuner featuring a Radial Power Supply. This is from the high-end Sony ES (elevated standard) line and features wood grain sides. The unit is in excellent cosmetic and working condition. This is an exceptional tuner and a must have for those desiring a great AM/FM tuner.

richidoo · « **Reply #15 on:** 28 Mar 2008, 08:33 pm »

I have Sansui TU517. Bought on ebay for about 250? Sent to Stereo Surgeons for new caps, minor repairs like bulbs, feet, cleaning and alignment, total cost $600 and 5 months wait. It was good enough straight from Ebay, just needed cleaning and alignment which could have cost only $150, giving a 400 total. Were I more confident back then I could have done some of it myself except for the alignment. But I love it. It tunes stations 30-40 miles away clear as day, using a ratshack yagi antenna 45 feet up on the roof, bluejeans Belden 1694A with Canare connectors, and grounding block from Altelicon, and FM coax humbuster from Jensen. It sounds as good as my Altmann DAC on good reception nights. If your 717 sounds bad then it either needs work or you're not feeding it well. All ansuis are old enough to need new electrolytics, cleaning and alignment, and the latter 2 should be done every couple years. It is a high end source, so it will show you the weaknesses in the signal. TU-717 is one of the best values in Tuners available. I would recommend Ken at Stereo Surgeons but allow time for the master to do his work, and burn it in, and mail it out.

Alex Lok at theanalogstore.com is also good with tuners, has calibrated alignment tools (he is a friend of mine.)

I'm glad to meet someone who prefers digital radio to analog, there aren't many who do. The objectives of HD do not include better optimum sound quality than analog, but some stations have processors set to default and non audiophile type engineers so maybe your HD streams are mixed a little different. WCPE in Wake Forest built their own analog processor to audiophile standards. On the hour their ID includes a 2 second long tone that is way lower than 50hz! Other than compression, it really does sound as good as a CD. A friend is an engineer with Clearchannel and runs 5 stations, 3 are digital. He doesn't have much good to say about it from technical or sound quality perspective. Of course, with the resolution turned up it could sound pretty good, but I don't know what the max resolution an HD tuner can handle, I wouldn't expect more than 320kbps?

kyrill · « **Reply #16 on:** 17 Jan 2009, 12:10 pm »

i need a tuner as well just to keep me inform of musical developments. The better internet music stationa ( Pandora and a like) are forbidden outside US.

but i need a tuner w ith digital out even with analogue stations
is the Sangean HDT-1 doing that and is it listenable on a high end stereo setup?
Kyrill

Wayner · « **Reply #17 on:** 17 Jan 2009, 01:48 pm »

I purchased a new Onkyo AM/FM/HD tuner T-4555 and am very happy with it. J and R usually have it tho the link says they are out of stock at the moment.

http://www.jr.com/t4555b-t4555-dab-fm-am-tuner--black/pe/ONK_T4555B/

Wayner

JoshK · « **Reply #18 on:** 17 Jan 2009, 06:55 pm »

Don't want to be a pimp, but I have a Sumo Aurora that Doug S sold me that I'd let go. I don't use it since I got my Onkyo receiver. My wife is the one to listen to the radio and she uses the receiver in the LR.

lazydays · « **Reply #19 on:** 17 Jan 2009, 07:02 pm »

Quote from: kyrill on 17 Jan 2009, 12:10 pm

i need a tuner as well just to keep me inform of musical developments. The better internet music stationa ( Pandora and a like) are forbidden outside US.

but i need a tuner w ith digital out even with analogue stations
is the Sangean HDT-1 doing that and is it listenable on a high end stereo setup?
Kyrill

first of all I cannot mount an external antenna around here. It's nothing more than a high quality lightening rod! The Sansui does pretty good, and like I said reminds me of an outta the box Onkyo T-9. I've owned about a dozen Onkyos in the past, and with two exceptions all were good. But the HDT-1 just seems to work. It's a little brighter than the Sansui, and has more bass. The remote is kinda cheap, but works. Neither of the two will run with an Onkyo 9090II in anyway shape or form! Been there and done that. But my favorite Onkyo is the old T-9. Not the best sounding, but still pretty good. They say a modded T-9 is outstanding by the way. Personally if I had to do all over again I think I'd bought an XM tuner that also has the standard antique AM/FM section in it (maybe a marantz 7001).
gary