Is yamaha CT1010 tuner good?

Yes, the Yamaha CT1010 is a very good tuner. At the time it was manufactured it was the next model below the top of the line Yamaha CT7000 tuner. While not in that class, it shared many of the excellent attributes of the CT7000. This tuner will not be a DX-ing champ, but is has good channel separation and a musical and engaging analog section. I've owned mine since it was new, and have never felt any desire to change.

I think you should never prejudge a component w/o first trying in your system. It might turn out to be a magical combination. Older tuners are good way to spend little money and many will sound better than recently made tuners. I've recently compared 3 mid-80's tuners and the oldest and least expensive of the bunch sounds by far better than the others within my system. Check out www.fmtunerinfo.com to learn more about tuners.

Kotta, I actually did try the Akai but it was with a different antenna and with different interconnects. It was an unfair ab comparison but the Yamaha did sound a bit cleaner and the Akai had a bit more sparkle.I'm waiting to receive some OK interconnects for my tuner but it's difficult for me to spend too much more for the interconnects than the tuners themselves. I am a true believer in good cables but somehow it's hard to spend twice as much on i/c as the tuners. On other sources I wouldn't think twice but on a tuner I don't know where there ceases to be a difference.
Would the tuners benefit from a $20 cable, $50, 1$100 etc. On my Etude when I had it I used Cardas Quadlink because I had the extra interconnects but I don't know if it was more than necessary. Advice on how much to spend on interconnects for a tuner would be appreciated. Actually it would be nice to get some suggestions on what interconnects to try.

I'm using Van den Hul 102b interconnects w/my tuner in my main system. I bought these from www.hificables.com They were very reasonably priced and shipping wasn't too bad. Nice interconnects w/good bass and a very smooth sound. On a budget, I would try Straightwire's Musicality II/Chorus. They are priced around $25/40 for 1m.(I believe) I'm using AQ Quartz and Music Metre's III/Signature's in other systems. If you're looking to spend as little as possible, the Straighwire Musicality II are fine cables. A used set (under $50) of AQ Quartz's isn't bad at all either. (BTW, my main system's tuner is a Sherwood 102b ($30 used) which sounds superb! Go figure! Also, an excellent indoor tuner is able from www.ccrane.com (Called the "Reflex" I believe. Around $25 and comes w/30 day trial period. A great buy.) Hope this helps, Bill.

Meant to say the "Reflex" from www.ccrane.com is an antenna, not a tuner. Time for a tea! Bill

I have owned a Yamaha CT1010 Tuner and the CA1010 Preamp
since 1977 and have never had any trouble with it, still own
it today. The money you spend on the tuner, used if in good condition, IMO should not detract you from purchasing better than average interconnects for it I just up graded mine and yes it does make a big differance. Monster cable about 70.00