The best sounding FM Tuner is.....


OK Magnum Dynalab, Fanfare, Day Sequerra, etc. owners...I have no "high end" dealer in my area that carries a great tuner. I probably will not have the chance to listen to or 'a/b' compare a tuner before I decide to purchase. I'm asking anyone with comparison experience or anyone that feels that the own the best to respond in this discussion. Thanks, I look forward to reading your responses!
jaguar

Magnum Dynalab: MD 108

I loved tuners since I bought my first stereo system. It offered me "free music" and I was able to try different directions, you know, some jazz, classic etc. I owned some of these socalled ' Reference ' tuners like the Onkyo or Revox. They really hurt my ears. Crap.Wasted time and money. After this experience I bought 7 years ago my Dynalab 'Etude'with the Signal Sleuth 205. These two units survived every change in my system, until a friend really wanted to have them. I ordered the 108 without listening. Got it, connected it and had really problems to believe that I am listening to a TUNER. Unbelievable. I had the Naim 01, good sound, but the 108 smokes it in EVERY area. It is lean and quick-sounding with excellent frequency extension. Instruments like piano and drums are rendered with weight and authority, but without any overhang or woolly quality that can obscure clarity. Vocals have excellent detail and body. High frequencies are very well extended and not bright, edgy or grainy-sounding, as is often heard from lower-quality units and it can throw a wide and stable soundstage. This is amazing because we all know what kind of signals are coming out from the Radio Stations. A really, really excellent unit. I use it very much and I am always impressed. There is some hype about the ' Marantz 10 B ' or the ' Sequerra ' tuners. I know some owners. Well, when something in these units stop working - specially with the ' 10 B ' - then it is over. Definetly. Same with the Sequerra. So here is the new Star. System's Components: Turntable: Basis Debut Vacuum Mk.V Arm: Graham 2.0 Deluxe Cartridge: Takeda ' Miyabi ' CD Transport: Goldmund Mimesis D/A Converter: DCS ' Delius ' D/D Converter: DCS ' Purcell ' Phono Preamp: Stan Klyne 7 PX 3.5 Line Preamp: Stan Klyne 7 LX 3.5 Power Amps : 2 x Pass Aleph 0 ( Mono ) 2 x QUAD II ( GEC, Mullard ) Speakers : Kochel ( Horns ) Tuner : Magnum Dynalab ' MD 108 ' + Magnum Dynalab ' Signal Sleuth 205 ' Headphone : Stax SR-404 Sign.+ SRM-006t Interconnects: XLO Ltd. Edition Phono Cable : XLO Signature Speaker Cables: XLO Signature Shotgun Digital Cables: XLO Signature AES/EBU Power Cables: XLO Ultra Record Cleaner: VPI HW 16.5 Power Conditioner: Burmester 948 Rack : Solid Steel
The Marantz 10b is the best sounding tuner ever made. Anyone who would argue otherwise hasn't heard one that was working properly. You can buy a mint Mac MR-71 for under a grand that will make anything else in it's price range sound broken. I've got an old Knight tube tuner, that while hardly state of the art in it's day, is more musical then any solid state tuner I've had.
Sansui TU-X1 or TU-9900. They really can hold their own against ANY tuner.Whats nice is that they can be had for a reasonble price even today. Don't, however, forget to hook them up to a "real" antenna such as the APS-9. Just my $0.02.
Marantz 10b w/o a doubt in my mind. Heres a sob story for you I missed one several ago in a estate sale for 75 bucks by 15 minutes (bo ho). Right now I magnum dynalab etude. But by no means equal a 10b or a Day sequerra .
MR-71, without any reservations.
And I currently own almost all the others including a 10B.