Why spend megabucks on a tuner?


I've seen old Marantz and McIntosh tuners sold here on Audiogon for a fortune. My question is: Why?

Most radio stations now have highly compressed dynamics. Most of the few that don't (for my location, anyway) are located on the fringes of reception. And then what happens when you move to a different location, which may have even fewer good listening choices?

At least with a turntable or CD player, I feel that you have a lot more choices. And, it's not location-dependent. With streaming audio becoming a reality for most people, and now HD radio (which I'll admit I haven't heard yet), why is there still such a market for high-end tuners?

Michael
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xsufentanil
Answer simple. With a LP or CD you have to buy cd or venyl.
As we can't listen to cd with out a cd in! right? Radio station cost nothing... So i thing it a wise investment.
I have a MD FT101A I paid 350.00 for it from an audiophile that was moving back to France back in 2005.He also had a pr of speakers and speaker cables that Kevin Voecks made for him. I use my tuner on a regular basic.Mostly in the mornings with classical stations as well as WMNF Tampa.It has a very nice sound that a couple other tuners I've owned did not have .So it was money well spent.
I just came across this thread and I found it interesting. I also bought a Mr 78 tuner off a guy on here. It was mint and I always wanted a good tuner. (Don't ask me why) I purchased a Magnum Dynalab off of Audio Advisor. I listened to it for a couple of days and realized there was only 1 good sounding station. Now I don't live in a small city, in fact I live in the second biggest county in the United States. So I told my wife I wanted to sell this tuner before it becomes a boat anchor. She said she likes it and doesn't want me to sell it. So now I'm looking for a boat.