Anyone have a good tuner they wouldn't mind parting with?

doug s. · « **Reply #20 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 04:49 am »

Quote from: JoshK on 18 Jul 2008, 07:05 pm

I have a really nice Sumo Aurora.

hey - that's a nice tuna - where didja get it?

doug s.

Wayner · « **Reply #21 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 01:17 pm »

Thanks again guys and especially Gary that really made a tempting offer.

While I was at the J and R website, I found an Onkyo tuner that has DAB, AM/FM and can also accomodate XM and Sirius radio all in one chassis for $389. I think I'm going to take the plunge. Anyone heard anything about this product? It also has a $50 dollar rebate!

Wayner

doug s. · « **Reply #22 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 01:49 pm »

Quote from: TheChairGuy on 18 Jul 2008, 09:30 pm

Wayner: Plenty of castoffs at goodwill stores...most no more than $20.00

Give it a good antenna and enjoy any of them for what they offer...it's not a hi-fi/hi-res source anyhow (it's can only be as good as the source, and the source are stock Redbook players at most radio stations now - unless that has changed recently and I'm not aware), not better.

Fine for the background chatter that FM is for $20.00. The stereo subcarrier is at 19 kHz, and the signal must be filtered considerably below that so the subcarrier does not leak in.

John

it's plain to see you have never heard a good tuna w/a good signal & a quality broadcast. the sound quality will rival the finest digital or analog playback of anyone on this forum.

but, you're right about one thing - if you know what you are doing, you don't have to pay a fortune to get good fm sound - i found my jvc fx1100bk for $10 on my local craigslist, (they usually sell for ~$100-$150), & it's a killer performer, both sonically & reception-wise.

doug s.

Wayner · « **Reply #23 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 01:50 pm »

Here is the site for the tuna:

http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=T-4555&class=Tuner&p=i

aa

jkelly · « **Reply #24 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 01:57 pm »

Quote from: Doublej on 18 Jul 2008, 11:14 pm

I think the rebate is available here. Thanks for the tip.

http://www.kbia.org/hdradio/2008rebateform.pdf

Thanks for the rebate! I just bought a Visteon HD ZOOM for my carPC and now it only
cost $7.

Jeff

doug s. · « **Reply #25 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 02:01 pm »

Quote from: Wayner on 19 Jul 2008, 01:17 pm

Thanks again guys and especially Gary that really made a tempting offer.

While I was at the J and R website, I found an Onkyo tuner that has DAB, AM/FM and can also accomodate XM and Sirius radio all in one chassis for $389. I think I'm going to take the plunge. Anyone heard anything about this product? It also has a $50 dollar rebate!

Wayner

xm/sirius is extremely annoying to listen to for background music - a bud of mine has it, & i get a headache within a half hour, when it's on. at my suggestion, he got a tube buffer, & it's not quite so bad now. but, it's impossible to turn the wolume up to any reasonable level and actually listen to it - after 30 seconds, you will be running to the remote or wolume control to get rid of the foul sound asap. re: the specific onkyo you mention, i dunno anything about its standard analog performance, but for the money, you will do far better buying a wintage fm tuna, for normal fm, in most cases.

i have never heard the dyna fm-5, but several folks on the tuna forum say it's a nice piece - you may wanna consider sending it out to a qualified tech & having it refurb'd & modded, instead of buying something else.

if you are ok w/the cheesy look & minimal controls, buy the sony xdr f1hd for $50 w/the rebate now being offered, and pick up a new or used tube buffer stage for $100-$200, & you will have the best sound you can get on difficult stations, & wery good sound on the rest. and, you won't have to pay a subscription fee to be irritated by the sonic garbage offered by the paid satellite services.

doug s.

Wayner · « **Reply #26 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 02:13 pm »

I'm not really interested in satelite radio (I like free things). It's nice to have it built in if I change my mind. The FM-5 is a very capable tuner, but I'm not quite the heavy FM user as you are, Doug.

I think I'm going to go for the Onkyo and see what the hell it's all about. Onkyo has been known to make some pretty good stuff for the mass market money.

W

doug s. · « **Reply #27 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 02:20 pm »

Quote from: Wayner on 19 Jul 2008, 02:13 pm

I'm not really interested in satelite radio (I like free things). It's nice to have it built in if I change my mind. The FM-5 is a very capable tuner, but I'm not quite the heavy FM user as you are, Doug.

I think I'm going to go for the Onkyo and see what the hell it's all about. Onkyo has been known to make some pretty good stuff for the mass market money.

W

i am confused, wayne - if not wanting to do satellite radio, why spend almost $400 bucks on this thing? you don't want its satellite capabilities, dab isn't awailable in the usa, & for that money, you could buy a wintage tuna, & have money left over, (or not, if you're nuts, like i am!), & better sound, to boot.

doug s.

Wayner · « **Reply #28 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 02:48 pm »

First, I was looking to replace the ole' FM/AM tuner. Not all of us are big fans of vintage gear. I don't have time to monkey with replacing caps and fixing things up, and I'm not going to ask Frank to work on the stuff either.

2ND, I have a curiosity for HD which this radio is capable of.

3RD, I have a fear that the federal government is going to want the FM analog band for something else and if they do that, all of your vintage tunas will be magically turned into boat anchors.

4TH, I wanted the RDBS feature. I hear new music, I'd like to know who did it.

5TH, I always like to keep my options open and satelite radio is one of them.

and lastly, cause I want to.

Wayner

avta · « **Reply #29 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 02:52 pm »

I've got a Magnum Dynalab FT 101 A that I no longer use. I bought it in 1997. I'm not sure what a reasonable price for it would be but let me know if you're interested.

Goosepond · « **Reply #30 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 03:28 pm »

avta,

You've got a PM.

Gene

Quote from: avta on 19 Jul 2008, 02:52 pm

I've got a Magnum Dynalab FT 101 A that I no longer use. I bought it in 1997. I'm not sure what a reasonable price for it would be but let me know if you're interested.

doug s. · « **Reply #31 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 03:31 pm »

wayne, i dint know that the onkyo has hd. but, yust fyi, the sangean hd tuna, which sells for ~$250, has been clearly smoked by the $100 sony, both for sonics & for reception, by those who have compared. re: refurbing wintage gear, it's not required, unless you have known issues. except an alignment should be done w/all tunas, to be sure you are getting your best out of them, even if you buy a new one. even brand-spanking-new tunas have been shown to be way off re: their factory alignment - it's hit or miss.

re: analog fm going away, that may be true, but not in your lifetime. you can trust me on this, or you can follow all the talk about it on line, as i have done for the past several years...

i would still recommend the sony f1hd - it will meet all your reqs except for the possibility of paying to be assaulted by satellite sonic garbage. and, after spending $50 for it, you will have a lot of cash left over to check out satellite in the future if you so desire.

best, whatever you decide...

doug s

Wayner · « **Reply #32 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 06:10 pm »

Thanks for your input, Doug. We all know you are the king of tunas and your words do not fall on deaf ears (not deaf yet, anyway).

One feature the Onkyo has that still keeps my interest is that the HD is a switchable band and when it's in that function, all it will do is receive HD, which was a complaint of the Sony (not being able to switch between the analog and digital versions of broadcast from the same station.

The Onkyo is also the only multi-format tuna like it in the world and I think someone should buy this thing and get the low down on it's performance, ease of use and stuff like that.

There is a 30 day money back from J & R and free shipping plus it's also one the tunas listed for a $50 dollar rebate. I may take the plunge and then if not happy, go for the Sony.

Thanks

Wayner

Wayner · « **Reply #33 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 06:14 pm »

I also currently own the Sony SA50ES tuna which I think is a fairly good quality machine. Right out of the box it had very good sound and where I live (in deep fringe), it filled up almost the entire FM band with stations every .2. My Dynaco FM-5 can't do that. My Soundcraftsmen can't either. I will admit I'm leary of low cost Sony stuff. I have respect for some of their ES products (tunas and pre-amps).

W

JoshK · « **Reply #34 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 06:20 pm »

Quote from: doug s. on 19 Jul 2008, 04:49 am

Quote from: JoshK on 18 Jul 2008, 07:05 pm
I have a really nice Sumo Aurora.
hey - that's a nice tuna - where didja get it?

doug s.

I like it a lot. It has presets and yet sounds very analog and pulls signals really well without noise. I just don't listen to the radio hardly at all and if I do I flip my Onkyo receiver on and it has a pretty decent tuner built in.

JoshK · « **Reply #35 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 06:23 pm »

My humble $.02... HD isn't worth a darn. Here in the NYC area, we have quite a few HD radio stations. My Onkyo NR905 receiver has an HD radio built in. The stations don't sound better in HD, in fact they may sound worse, they just have zero noise. Kinda like CD versus LP. LP might have a bit of surface noise but the overall sound quality can be much nicer.

KS · « **Reply #36 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 06:31 pm »

My experience here in a fringe area near Seattle is the opposite of Josh's. HD sounds much better than analog, especially on the classical station that uses both halves of the channel.

Anyone know how many digital-to-analog-to-digital-to-etc. conversions there are with HD radio? The source is usually CD digital, then it is converted to analog for conventional FM transmission, but is it kept in the original digital for HD or converted from the analog back to digital for the HD transmission? I'd prefer an HD tuner that has a digital output for the user's DAC, which one of the Sangean tuners has, but the Sony is getting better reviews for the reception---and costs much less, which doesn't hurt a bit.

Wayner · « **Reply #37 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 08:01 pm »

This is all very interesting. I think I'm going to do the Onkyo and send it back if not 100% happy. Sounds like it could be a hit and miss.

Wayner

doug s. · « **Reply #38 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 08:15 pm »

Quote from: Wayner on 19 Jul 2008, 06:14 pm

I also currently own the Sony SA50ES tuna which I think is a fairly good quality machine. Right out of the box it had very good sound and where I live (in deep fringe), it filled up almost the entire FM band with stations every .2. My Dynaco FM-5 can't do that. My Soundcraftsmen can't either. I will admit I'm leary of low cost Sony stuff. I have respect for some of their ES products (tunas and pre-amps).

W

sony es gear is good. i had a 730es tuna, & it was superb in all aspects - both reception and sound. the dyna tunas sound good, but as you say, reception is not their forte...

if you spring for the do-everything onkyo, please report back!

doug s.

doug s. · « **Reply #39 on:** 19 Jul 2008, 08:18 pm »

Quote from: JoshK on 19 Jul 2008, 06:23 pm

My humble $.02... HD isn't worth a darn. Here in the NYC area, we have quite a few HD radio stations. My Onkyo NR905 receiver has an HD radio built in. The stations don't sound better in HD, in fact they may sound worse, they just have zero noise. Kinda like CD versus LP. LP might have a bit of surface noise but the overall sound quality can be much nicer.

analog will sound better than hd. hd has the adwantage if you cannot get a clean signal. at least that's the case w/the sony xdr f1hd - its sound is much cleaner on marginal signal. that's the case, even w/non-hd broadcasts - its reception is as good as you will find at any price, both for analog & hd signals... again - use a tube buffer to warm up the sound, w/o reducing transparency...

doug s.