2. misc-audio
  3. 987522263

Best Tuner under 500?

I'm in the market for a tuner and have been looking at the Rotel RT-955 ($499). I live in a tiny town 20 miles outside of New Olreans, and listen mainly to out of town AM talk shows while the wife enjoys top 40 FM radio (when I'm nowhere to be found!). Any thoughts on the Rotel? Are there better tuners for about the same price or cheaper? Will I need an external antenna or possibly one I can mount in my sizeable attic for extended AM access? (Homeowner's association restrictions on external extrusions). If it matters, other components include Acurus ACT-3 pre-pro, Adcom GFA-6000 amp (soon to be upgraded), B&W DM-640i mains, and Paradigm PS-1200 powered sub. I recently upgraded from a 1994 model Yamaha Pro Logic receiver which had terrible AM reception. My vehicles' cheap factory head units reception out performed the receiver's FM and AM by a long shot. What's the deal here?
herbl4

Showing 1 response by tsquared

tsquared
32 posts
 
I'll third Woodfield on the FT-11. A great little tuner. If you must have a remote, I would get the Jolida. It runs around 350 new. I had it for a while, but sold it expecting a big improvement with the FT-11. I think I even liked it more than the FT-11 that I currently am using. The Ft-11 does pick up channels a little cleaner than the Jolida using the same antenna, and you can pretty precisely fine tune the Ft-11. The overall musicality of the Jolida was a little better. (It is a tube tuner- a cheap tube that will last years). Anyway, hope this was helpful. You can usually get an FT-11 used around 275-300 if you can find one. You can get a new Jolida for about the same if you look around. You will almost never find the Jolida used, probably for a reason. There's something to be said for owning such a piece. Hope this helped.

Todd
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